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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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Consumers are spending more of their time with YouTube videos, which represents an opportunity for brands to connect with consumers with a more personal and engaging message.

Nielsen has already reported that when they include measuring YouTube's audience later this fall it will debut as the largest destination for video viewing among all cable networks and video websites - perhaps by a wide margin.  YouTube has 1 billion unique monthly visitors globally and it continues to grow fast.  In 2012 YouTube grew 55%. Television viewing, however, according to Nielsen, was down by almost 7% in the first quarter of 2014 among 18-24-year-old.


There is a new culture developing within the social ecosystem that has been called "Gen C."  Gen C is the YouTube generation.  Gen C describes people who care deeply about creation, curation, connection and community. It's not an age group; it's an attitude and mindset.  While Gen C may not be every brand's target audience, the very notion that this is now labeled a generation underscores how large the movement has become.

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Over the last several years, the TV landscape has changed at an almost frenetic pace. Everything from the shows we watch to the devices we watch them on looks different than it did just a decade ago.  More and more of us own TVs that facilitate choosing from an unprecedented amount of content that we can watch on our terms. In fact, a recent study revealed that the number of American households with Internet-enabled TVs has doubled in just the past four years, from 24 percent to 49 percent.

Connected TVs, however, are just one of a deluge of new products and services that are quickly shaping consumer behavior and bringing about massive change. So much in fact, that the TV viewer of the future will look very different than she does today. She’ll be savvier and more discerning than her contemporary counterpart… and she’ll need to be, in order to navigate the labyrinth of options available to her. Read on for four predictions on what she’ll look like.

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Through our ongoing work with cable operators and programmers on initiatives that range from technical infrastructure evolution to business strategy, IBB Consulting has identified five key trends that will collectively drive the video delivery industry.

Over the next five years, there will be challenges and opportunities that span technological updates, deployment of new services, shifts in the marketplace and the ability to adapt to consumer behaviors.

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Discussion about programmatic buying is plentiful these days, with many calling it "the hottest sector of advertising right now." As brands and agencies continue testing programmatic options across different types of media, questions - and many opinions - remain about how digital and TV can play together in the programmatic space.
 
The reality is that both digital and TV could stand to take some cues from one another to improve efficiencies. It's critical to take a realistic perspective on how these media could best converge, easing the buying and selling processes and advancing the entire ad industry. Adopting such an approach will help marketers execute and measure cross-platform campaigns that, as Unilever's CMO Keith Weed remarked at Cannes, will allow them to "lead with brands and not channels."
 
How can TV buying and planning enhance digital, and vice versa?

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We've all heard the good news: programmatic video is growing fast. New reports showing ambitious predictions are great clickbait fodder for the trade press and all of us video adtech people are happy to bask in these figures.This mojo, however, has been threatened by a raft of publicity around fraudulent traffic being a large part of that growth. And by large part we mean up to 70%. Some of the most important players in the industry, such as TubeMogul, Tremor and Vindico have ramped up their efforts in order to combat fraud but there is a lot more work to do yet.

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