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Globally, YouTube's Market Share is 20 Times Its Nearest Competitor's
I've often said that YouTube is the 800-pound gorilla of online video, but I was always basing that on its share of the U.S. market. Now, with comScore's first-ever release of global data from its Video Metrix service, it's clear that YouTube is in fact planet earth's 800-pound gorilla of online video.
As seen in the chart below, in October YouTube delivered almost 44% of the 201 billion videos viewed globally, nearly 20 times as much as China's Youku, which was in second place with 2.3%, and nearly 7 times as much as the #2-5 players. Since the global market is so fragmented, based on some assumptions I've made, it's quite possible that YouTube has more market share globally than the top 100 video sites, combined. Wow.
Categories: Aggregators
Topics: comScore, Google, YouTube
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Visual Effects Drive Online Video Ad Engagement: Study
Since online video burst on the scene, there has been a demarcation between "premium" content and everything else. A common definition is that "premium" content comes from well-known brands (e.g. studios, TV networks, etc.) while everything else doesn't. But a more subtle distinction often can be found in premium content's higher production values - improved lighting and sound quality and the use of visual special effects (VFX). VFX can range from the small (animating objects) to the big (whole scenes treated with specialized looks). VFX gives content something extra, ranging from a real "wow" factor to a more subtle polish that makes it innately more appealing.
Just as premium content providers have long understood the value of VFX, so too have advertisers, particularly for expensive, high-profile TV ads. Now, with the migration of audiences to online video, and the interest of brands in increasing their spending in this medium, VFX can similarly improve the effectiveness and ROI of online video ads. That's the conclusion of a new research study from GenArts, a leading VFX provider. While my usual caveats about sponsored research apply, the study demonstrates multiple ways that VFX-enhanced ads increase key ad metrics.
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Mobile Video Viewing is Still Spread Evenly Throughout the Day
Mobile video viewership appears to be settling into a pattern as mobile video ad network Rhythm New Media's new Q3 '11 report once again shows that video consumption is pretty well spread throughout the day. As seen in the chart below, there are small blips up during the morning, lunch and evening plus a more noticeable drop-off in late-night, but overall it's a pretty smooth distribution.
The new data synchs with prior Rhythm reports, going back to Q2 '10, as I previously reported. An exception to this is that when broken down by device type, viewing on iPads has a higher spike in evening viewership, while smartphones has a higher spike during lunch time.
Categories: Advertising, Mobile Video
Topics: Rhythm NewMedia
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Specific Media Achieves 240% Gain in Reach One Year After BBE Deal
Specific Media, which acquired online video ad network and technology provider BBE one year ago, has since achieved an approximately 240% gain
in its video reach, to approximately 80 million viewers in October. Specific, which runs one of the largest display ad networks, has combined both companies' strengths in order to expand its footprint. Matt Wasserlauf, EVP of platforms and services at Specific and formerly head of BBE, explained to me last week that the video ad network has grown significantly by leveraging Specific's thousands of publisher relationships.
Categories: Advertising
Topics: BBE, Specific Media
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Brand Lift Gains Momentum As Online Video Ad Campaign Metric
Traditional ways of measuring the effectiveness of online video campaigns such as click-through and completion rates are being enhanced with brand lift metrics such as awareness and intent that are common in other forms of advertising. The latest indicator is that Adap.tv, an online video advertising marketplace, has integrated Vizu's Ad Catalyst solution, which measures brand lift, to offer this capability to its clients. Yesterday the companies released a case study which speaks to the new insights online video advertisers can gain from studying brand lift as well.
Categories: Advertising
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Research: Heavier Ad Loads Don't Turn Off On-Demand Viewers
Over the past several years, as more networks have begun delivering their TV programs for free online, a pressing question has been how "heavy" an ad load is appropriate to include. Too many unskippable ads and the viewer could be turned off to the new medium; too few and the network would undermine its own P&L as viewing behavior shifts online (see my post quantifying these risks). While it's still too early to know precisely where to strike the balance, new research released yesterday indicates viewers' acceptance of heavier ad loads in on-demand programs is actually quite high.
Categories: Advertising, Video On Demand
Topics: AAMP, BlackArrow
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Buffering: Video Engagement's #1 Enemy
If you're like me, then you've no doubt experienced the frustration of trying to watch an online video only to have it periodically pause and then re-start, sometimes repeatedly. The pausing triggers a decision of whether to hang in there and hope things improve, or just bail out and move on to the next activity. These "buffering" moments are the bane of the content provider's existence - suppressing viewership, reducing monetization and frustrating users. And the causes can vary, including possible issues with the CDN, broadband ISP, computer, player software, etc.
Though the buffering problem is omnipresent, I haven't seen its consequences quantified as well as on a free new infographic from video optimization technology provider Conviva. By embedding its software in client-side video players, Conviva has a unique view into users' video experiences across numerous content customers including HBO GO, ESPN, Netflix, Fox, NBCU and others.
When Conviva detects an issue with the user's video streaming experience, it intervenes appropriately, for example, switching CDNs, reducing the stream's bit-rate, diagnosing network-related problems and so forth. Conviva now optimizes more than 1 billion streams per month, which speaks to how widespread delivery issues are. The result is improved engagement - a higher-quality stream, better user experience and stronger monetization.
Among the key data points in the infographic:
Categories: Technology
Topics: Conviva
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Study: Tablet, Connected Devices Driving Higher Video Engagement and Longer Sessions
Let's face it: few people savor the idea of snuggling up with their desktop or laptop computer to watch long-form video entertainment. So even as online video consumption has surged, the industry is challenged by the fact that the vast majority of viewing is still locked to the computer. Now however, as video viewing via tablets along with connected devices and game consoles that allow TV-based viewing are beginning to go mainstream, new data from Ooyala suggests that engagement and session lengths are increasing as well. This is a positive sign for everyone involved in the online video ecosystem - brands, advertisers, content providers, distributors and device makers.
Categories: Devices
Topics: Ooyala
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Taboola's Video Recommendation Widget Reaching Over 64 Million U.S. Unique Users Per Month
Taboola's video recommendation widget is now placed on pages of content publisher web sites reaching over 64 million U.S. unique users per month, according to Quantcast data. Adam Singolda, Taboola's CEO explained that the 64 million amount means Taboola's exposure is ahead of the uniques at popular sites like Bing, Pandora and CNET, and just behind Twitter, Wikipedia and Amazon, again, according to Quantcast data (see chart below).
Categories: Technology
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Report: Standards, User Experience Are Key Hurdles For Online Video Advertising
Though online video advertising is surging, standardization of ads and the user experience are key barriers to its continued growth. That's according to video ad network BrightRoll's 2nd annual publisher report, released this morning, which contains insights about the current state of the online video advertising market. Since the vast majority of the online video ecosystem is supported by advertising today, understanding how to increase spending and effectiveness are crucial to its ongoing success. BrightRoll surveyed over 100 executives at premium content publishers for its report.
Categories: Advertising
Topics: BrightRoll
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Exclusive: More Netflix Subscribers Still Use DVDs Than Streaming for TV Viewing
Streaming may be the future, but for the present, more Netflix subscribers age 13-54 still use DVDs and Blu-ray discs to watch TV shows and movies on their televisions, according to a new research report that Knowledge Networks will release later this morning. As the chart below shows, among those surveyed, 29% said they use DVDs and Blu-ray to watch Netflix content at least once per month on their TVs, while 20% said they use streaming to watch on their TVs.
For Netflix users the TV is still the primary viewing screen; 44% of those saying they use Netflix at least once a month use their TVs to watch, with 30% using a computer and 11% using a mobile device. Even among those using a computer, DVD usage is holding up pretty well, with 9% of respondents who watch Netflix at least once per month saying they use DVD, and 15% using streaming. This data, along with other results in the research, raises further questions about whether Netflix acted prematurely in deciding to split off its DVD operations to focus on streaming, a point I have made previously.
Categories: Aggregators
Topics: Knowledge Networks, Netflix
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New EyeView Research Demonstrates Impact of Personalized Online Video Ads
Video ad technology provider EyeView is unveiling research this morning that demonstrates how personalized online video ads can improve viewers' purchase intent, brand favorability and brand loyalty. The research underscores how online video advertising continues to differentiate itself from traditional TV advertising with real-time, dynamic creative that breaks through. EyeView CEO Oren Harnevo walked me through the research findings last week.
The research was conducted by Knowledge Networks (KN), which queried approximately 400 online users which were divided in half. Both halves were shown the same online video content with adjacent pre-roll video ads, but one half saw standard TV ads from travel provider Kayak and the other half saw these ads with personalized messaging (e.g. specific flight information from their local airport, etc.). Reactions from the two groups were then compared.
Categories: Advertising
Topics: EyeView
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comScore: VEVO is Top YouTube Partner Channel By Far
Music video site VEVO attracted nearly 60 million unique viewers and generated over 844 million videos viewed to its YouTube partner channel in July, making it by far the most popular YouTube partner channel, according to new data released by comScore.
comScore has recently begun measuring traffic for a select number of YouTube partners. As the chart below shows, Warner Music's channel was second in unique viewers with 31 million+, while Machinima's was second in videos viewed with 265 million+. From its inception, YouTube has been providing technology to VEVO, which was founded by Sony, Universal and Abu Dhabi Media, with EMI licensing its music videos.
Categories: Aggregators, Music
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Video Ads Gain Acceptance; Gap With TV Ad Loads Means Big Opportunity Remains
Yesterday video ad manager FreeWheel released its Q2 '11 Video Monetization Report, chock full of interesting data points gathered across 11.3 billon video views and 6 billion video ad views in the quarter. Among the key findings: long-form content (defined as 20 minutes+) carried an average of nearly 3 ads per view, with an 81% ad completion rate.
I agree with FreeWheel's observation that the implementation of multiple ads in long-form content is akin to the TV model, and the strong ad completion rates (especially for mid-rolls which were the highest at 94-96%) indicate that consumers are becoming more accepting of the fact that premium online video content will be accompanied by ads, just as it is on TV. The data suggested two additional things to me: first, while long-form monetization is improving, a huge opportunity exists in the ad load gap between online delivery and TV and second, online video completion rates could become the basis to offset DVR-driven ad-skipping.
Categories: Advertising
Topics: FreeWheel
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VideoNuze Report Podcast #107 - CTAM/Nielsen Research - Aug 5, 2011
Daisy Whitney and I are pleased to present the 107th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for August 5, 2011.
In this week's podcast, Daisy and I discuss research released earlier this week by CTAM and Nielsen which found, among other things, that 85% of video app users are watching the same or more regularly scheduled TV. In addition, the research found that around 75% of video app usage on mobile devices actually occurs in the home. Daisy and I talk about the implications of the research, and additional data points we've seen that reinforce its conclusions.
Click here to listen to the podcast (11 minutes, 13 seconds)
Click here for previous podcasts
The VideoNuze Report is available in iTunes...subscribe today!Categories: Podcasts
Topics: CTAM, Nielsen, Podcast
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85% of Video App Users Watching Same or More Scheduled TV: Study
For those fearing that video consumption through mobile and connected devices threatens to disrupt traditional linear TV viewership, a new study suggests it's not happening en masse, at least not yet. The study, fielded by Nielsen and the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM) indicates that 85% of video app users are watching the same or more regularly scheduled TV. There's no trend data however, so it's not clear how the amount compares to a year or two ago.
Further good news is that video apps appear to be adding value to TV programs and TV networks. As the below graphic shows, 46% of video app users report more engagement with the program/network, 35% report more visits to the program/network web site, and 37% report watching more associated programs or networks.
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SNL Kagan Forecasting 10% of U.S. Homes Will Cut the Cord by 2015
Researcher SNL Kagan is forecasting that 10% U.S. homes (12.1 million) will cut the cord on their pay-TV subscriptions by the end of 2015, substituting in over-the-top alternatives. At the end of 2011, 4% or 4.5 million homes will have done so. Still, Kagan sees pay-TV subscriptions actually increasing, though not at a rate fast enough to maintain current penetration levels (see yearly forecast after the break).
Kagan isn't providing any additional profile information on these cord-cutters, but as I've said before, I think the most vulnerable buckets are the "cord-nevers" (i.e. college grads and others who simply don't sign up for pay-TV service in the first place) and entertainment-only viewers who don't care about live sports that are only available on cable TV channels.
Categories: Cable TV Operators
Topics: SNL Kagan
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HTML5 Playback Now Up to 69% of Online/Mobile Video
MeFeedia released its latest analysis of HTML5 playback adoption, finding that 69% of H.264 (the dominant video format) video is now available for HTML5 playback. As the chart below shows, that's roughly 7x the level it was in Jan. '10, although adoption appears to be slowing a bit since Feb. '11 (see chart below). Separately, MeFeedia found that WebM, Google's open source format accounts for less than 2% of video, though that will increase as YouTube converts its videos to WebM
Categories: Technology
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Guess Which Sports Property Had the Most Unique Viewers in May (Hint: It's Not Yahoo, ESPN, MLB or SI)
Here's a interesting tidbit from comScore's Video Metrix - the top sports property in May, as ranked by unique viewers, wasn't any of the names you'd expect (e.g. Yahoo Sports, ESPN, MLB, SI, etc.), but rather a little-known, four year-old start-up named CineSport. As the chart below shows, CineSport generated 13.1 million unique viewers in May to top the list (CineSport was actually number one in April too, and has been so periodically before as well). How CineSport is generating so much viewership says a lot about how online video is creating unexpected new opportunities for those with clever approaches. Last week I caught up with CineSport's CEO and founder Gregg Winik to learn more.
Categories: Sports, Syndicated Video Economy
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comScore: YouTube's Time Per Viewer In May Tops 5 Hours, More Than Next 5 Sites COMBINED
comScore released its May 2011 U.S. online video rankings today which once again illustrated the extent to which YouTube remains the 800-pound gorilla of the online video market. For the first time, YouTube's time spent per viewer during the month exceeded 5 hours, coming in at 5 hours, 11 minutes. That reflects nearly 2.2 billion viewing sessions generated from over 147 million unique viewers (83.5% of all Americans who watched any online video in May).
Looked at another way, YouTube's 5 hours, 11 minutes of viewership is more than the next 5 properties ranked had during the month, combined. The number 6 property, Microsoft's sites, had 46.5 million visitors for the month, less than a 1/3 of YouTube's, and 252 million viewing sessions, just 1/9 of YouTube's (see below). Hulu is the only property remotely close to YouTube in viewing time per user, racking up 3 hours, 38 minutes per viewer in May from 196 million viewing sessions. But Hulu had 28.5 million unique viewers in May, less than 1/5 of YouTube's.
Categories: Advertising, Aggregators
Topics: comScore, Hulu, YouTube
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