Perspectives What's this?

In early September, my 11-year-old son filled out a get-to-know-you school questionnaire, listing his favorite things - tigers, the color orange, and...binge-watching.

My boy, who dove deep during summer break into Alphas (originally on Syfy, now on Netflix, highly underrated), has tons of company. More than 75% of TV Guide users say they binge-watch regularly. Remarkably, a behavior for which we didn’t even have a name a few years ago is now an exploding mass-market consumer habit that is changing the TV game - and benefitting both consumers and entertainment companies - in three major ways:

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Making the long flight back from Las Vegas to London, I always have plenty of time to reflect on the Consumer Electronics Show when it’s over.  As usual, the level of innovation and the growth of consumer connectedness this year was staggering.  The sheer breadth and scale of the exhibition space makes it difficult to initially take it all in. Themes make themselves apparent slowly, trends and developments slowly reveal themselves as connections and commonality coalesce into patterns.

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According to a recent study by Nielsen, 15% of viewers said they enjoyed watching television more when social media was involved. By now, we know that consumers are using these screens to browse the web, talk on social networks about what they're watching or access complementary content that enhances their experience. So what new and different opportunities does this activity create for pay-TV operators and programmers to leverage the second screen for increased tune-in, engagement and ad revenues?

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It's apparent that the long-awaited convergence of TV and digital video is happening. From consumer adoption of connected TVs, increasing preference for cross-screen content and decisions from major brands to move ad budgets online, it's easy to view 2014 as the launch pad for digital video's rise.

The challenge ahead is to fuse the effectiveness of video branding with the efficiencies of digital personalization. The first milestone will - of course - be measurement. The digital video market today primarily measures digital video advertising with the same metrics as traditional TV ads. Even today, in an environment in which digital has proven its power, most online video ads are un-personalized TV spots measured by the TV metrics of reach or gross ratings points (GRP).

This approach doesn’t take advantage of today's more precise measurement techniques. While reach and overall awareness are important, brands can now look directly at performance metrics that drive purchase activities, such as product research, lead generation, in-store foot traffic and offline sales.

Eyeview, the leading personalized video advertising platform, recently hosted its second "Beyond Impressions" event at New York City's Gansevoort Hotel. Focusing on the main challenges and trends in digital video, industry experts from Land Rover, Media Storm, Macy’s, Mercedes-Benz, Nielsen and others came together to share thoughts on digital advertising best practices and predictions for the future.

A common thread throughout was that advertisers everywhere must reset their thinking and throw out antiquated, TV-based approaches if we are ever to take full advantage of the full power that digital tools offer. Here are a few major discussion points and takeaways from the event.

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Data is changing network TV advertising sales in ways that rival previous industry shifts. Cross-platform advertising and audience measurement, advanced audience selling capabilities, and new campaign creative informed by big data insights are driving this change.

The result? More opportunities to increase monetization of ad inventory, including working with advertisers and agencies to differentiate cross-platform campaigns, establishing a cohesive premium programmatic strategy, and developing original branded content tailored to resonate with target audience segments.

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The list of YouTubers who owe their success to YouTube alone is shrinking. After years of dominating the online video market, YouTube is no longer the only place where online video is happening. From big video outfits like Maker Studios, to independent YouTube stars like PewDiePie, video producers who got their start on YouTube are now looking beyond YouTube for their next act.

Diversify revenue streams. It sounds simple enough, but as smart a move as this is, there are plenty of potential pitfalls in its execution. Because as much as relying on YouTube as your sole revenue stream is a mistake, not fully taking advantage of the alternative distribution channels at your disposal - or using them haphazardly - is an even bigger mistake.

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The concept of native, sponsored, or 'advertorial' content is not new to digital audiences, but when it comes to native video content, many publishers struggle to get beyond one-off executions. A recent Mixpo survey found 53% of publishers already offer a native advertising solution and 74% of respondents believe it is extremely or somewhat important to have a native product offering.

The opportunity lies in the execution: 47% of those marketers indicated they were unsatisfied with their ability to distribute native content. "Marketers want to spend money in this channel," says Rob Rasko, CEO of the consultancy 614 Group. "If publishers give them what they’re looking for, they’ll grow their revenue."

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A new wave of viewers has emerged: they're connected, they know what they want to watch, when they want to watch it, and most importantly, how they want to watch it. They are chomping at the bit for premium content that is both accessible and affordable. At the same time, the advent of OTT and connected TV devices has made way for a whole new viewing experience where "television" simply refers to the largest screen in the house.

We all know the TV ecosystem of tomorrow will look vastly different than today's current landscape, but what changes can we expect? Here are four predictions for what trends will emerge over the next few months and years:

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