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MediaPost Publications Video Ads in the Shallow End 05/12/2009

MediaPost Publications Video Ads in the Shallow End 05/12/2009.
Aiming for better scalability and measurability for video ads online, ad network ShortTail Media has partnered with WPP's Schematic and video measurement firm Visible Measures to develop a new video ad platform.

Dubbed D30 -- short for Digital 30 -- the platform is slated to launch this summer, and helps advertisers more effectively distribute their existing 15- or 30-second spots across premium sites by delivering video ads in overlays served on top of site pages.

"We're marrying what has traditionally been the most scalable and sell-able of offline ad units -- the 30 second spot -- with online Web sites," said David Payne, co-founder and CEO of ShortTail Media. To provide reach and engagement reporting, the platform incorporates Visible Measures' video measurement technologies. Partner publishers and advertisers have yet to be announced.

"This is the first broad-scale platform to offer easy integration of high-quality video ads into premium, non-video environments," said Bob Keyser, SVP of Schematic.

"By requiring a minimum 10-second view of the spot, the D30 delivers a higher rate of viewer engagement than standard display ads that are often skipped or overlooked," Keyser added.

But Keyser and Payne -- former SVP and general manager of CNN.com -- are not the only executives out to reshape online video advertising.

Tracey Scheppach, SVP and Video Innovation Director at Starcom USA, is credited with conceiving of "The Pool" -- a more consumer-friendly replacement for the standard pre-roll ad unit, which is expected to debut next February.

Last November, Publicis' VivaKi unit -- headed by Curt Hecht, president of VivaKi's Nerve Center -- brought together top online video suppliers (AOL, Broadband Enterprises, CBS, Discovery, Hulu, Microsoft and Yahoo) -- along with a half dozen major marketers -- to develop The Pool.

Advertisers that are participating in the initiative -- all clients of Publicis agencies -- include Allstate, Applebee's, Capital One, Nestle and Purina, each of which has been guaranteed rights to purchase the first new inventory that will be made available with the new format.

Headquartered in New York and Atlanta, ShortTail Media is a privately held company.

YouTube opens virtual screening room

RYAN NAKASHIMA
Associated Press

June 19, 2008 at 12:00 PM EDT

LOS ANGELES — Google Inc.'s YouTube is setting up a virtual screening room to bring the work of independent filmmakers to a global audience.

Struggling filmmakers already use YouTube to kick-start viral marketing campaigns. The new feature, which debuts Wednesday, gives them an easy-to-find home — and makes them partners in drawing new ad revenue.

“Hopefully as they see thousands of people watching their films, it's going to be a very eye-opening experience,” said Sara Pollack, YouTube's film and animation manager.

The screening room will highlight four new films a week, picked by a YouTube editorial panel...

Read more: YouTube opens screening room for indie filmmakers 

MixPo Launches Online Video Advertising Platform...

Announces Pacts with Real Estate Leaders, Including ActiveRain

SEATTLE --(Business Wire)-- Mixpo, an online video advertising company dedicated to serving the local small and medium-size business (SMB) market, today announced that it has launched a comprehensive online video advertising platform and signed a series of agreements with three leading organizations in the real estate sector, including ActiveRain, Miller Condominium Marketing (MCM Group), and Realogics/UrbanCondominiums.com. ActiveRain represents more than 80,000 member-agents across North America, while the MCM Group and Realogics each represent many of the Pacific Northwest's premier condominium developments.

Gmail - CBS In Discussions To Outsource News Gathering - itzgreg@gmail.com

http://community.icontact.com/p/smithgeiger/newsletters/daily-news/posts/cbs-in-discussions-to-outsource-news-gathering
Industry News
CBS In Discussions To Outsource News Gathering
 

• Murrow, Sevareid, Collingwood and the rest of them are rolling over in their graves today.  CBS, the home of the most celebrated news division in broadcasting, has been in discussions with Time Warner about a deal to outsource some of its news-gathering operations to CNN, two executives briefed on the matter said Monday. During the last several months, talks with CBS have been revived and lately intensified, according to the executives who asked for anonymity because of the confidential nature of the negotiations. Broadly speaking, the executives described conversations about reducing CBS’s news-gathering capacity while keeping its frontline personalities, like Katie Couric, the CBS Evening News anchor, and paying a fee to CNN to buy the cable network’s news feeds. Another possibility, these people said, would be for CBS to keep its correspondents in certain regions but pair them with CNN crews. For CNN, a deal with a broadcast network would mean a new revenue stream without having to add much in costs. For CBS, an arrangement with a cable channel would allow it to cut costs while maintaining the CBS News brand, although in a much trimmed-down fashion. CBS is mired in last place amid the continuing struggles of Ms. Couric, who was given a $15 million a year contract, to attract new viewers.  The discussions are being led by Sean McManus, the president of CBS News, and Jim Walton, president of the CNN news group. Many questions remain regarding unions, rights issues and the level of involvement of other CBS News products like “60 Minutes” and “The Early Show.” If a significant deal is reached between CNN and CBS, it would mark a watershed in broadcast history, a strategic shift in the face of changing market forces by the network that is widely credited as having invented television news, establishing a powerful tradition with journalists like Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite.  I bet Katie Couric is having second thoughts these days.  [NY Times]

I Want My Empty TV: Google's Play For Broadcast 'White Space'

MediaPost Publications
by Joe Mandese, Tuesday, Mar 25, 2008 7:30 AM ET

DAYS AFTER LOSING A BID to acquire a valuable portion of U.S. broadcast spectrum auctioned by the U.S. government, Google has called on federal regulators to gain access to another, "unused" part of U.S. TV signals to provide wireless Internet access. Google called the signals, known as "white space" in the TV industry, an "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to provide ubiquitous wireless broadband access to all Americans."

"As Google has pointed out previously, the vast majority of viable spectrum in this country simply goes unused, or else is grossly underutilized," Google Media Counsel Richard S. Whitt, wrote in a letter filed with the Federal Communications Commission on Friday. "Our nation typically uses only about five percent of one of our most precious resources. Unlike other natural resources, there is no benefit to allowing this spectrum to lie fallow. The airwaves can provide huge economic and social gains if used more efficiently, as seen today with the relatively tiny slices utilized by mobile phones and WiFi services."

Read more: I Want My Empty TV: Google's Play For Broadcast 'White Space'

Most Downloaded Content Not Watched On TV

Ars Technica
By Jacqui Cheng          | Published: March 21, 2008 - 06:32AM CT

Video content online may be growing in popularity, but the vast majority isn't getting anywhere near a TV screen. New survey results from Macrovision (commissioned by Harris Interactive) say that only a small number of adults who download video content from the Internet play it on a TV or DVD player. The results expose challenges for content providers looking to expand their viewership of online content, and serve as a reminder about the restrictive limitations of DRM.

The company surveyed 2,254 adults in the US during December 2007, and found that 43 percent download some form of digital media from the Internet. Over a quarter said that they download TV shows regularly, and 15 percent said that they download full-length movies. Still, more than half of those surveyed said that they go no further than their monitors to watch that video content.

This should come as no surprise—most content providers use DRM in such a way that it makes watching video anywhere other than the PC inconvenient, if not downright impossible. For example, video from sites like Hulu can only be watched through a browser, so the only way to watch it on a TV would be to use a computer connected to it (something that the majority of users don't have). Similarly, downloads from NBC Direct may not be limited to the web, but can still only be played on a single authorized computer at a time.

Read more: Most Downloaded Content Not Watched On TV

GM Changes Game, Puts $1.5 Billion Online

Media Buyer Planner

GM, in what could signal a no-look-back shift to digital marketing, will dedicate half of its $3 billion budget to digital and one-to-one marketing in the next three years.

As the country’s third largest advertiser, GM’s switch may be the online marketing shot heard round the automotive world. GM, which spent nearly $10 billion on advertising last year, will use several online methods including gaming, search, mobile and a broad array of interactive applications.

Consumers looking to buy new vehicles were among the first to embrace online research to support buying decisions. And while television and print still have a place in product launches and awareness, many dealers now accept that the purchase process starts - and sometimes ends - online.

The news is not good for traditional media and may be exacerbated by a directive from GM’s Brent Dewar, vp-field sales, service and parts in North America. Dewar told Ad Age late last year that the auto maker will try to persuade its regional dealer ad groups “to shift their focus to digital vs. spot TV” starting this spring after the dealer co-ops, which spend $500 million annually, are revamped...

Read more: GM To Spend $1.5 Billion Online Through 2010

Online Video Will Not Replace TV - eMarketer

Link: Online Video Will Not Replace TV - eMarketer.
MARCH 12, 2008

Ben Macklin, Senior Analyst

There is no correlation between US Internet users watching video online and a potential audience for television content delivered on the Internet. Just because consumers are currently watching free, short-form video does not necessarily indicate there is a viable business model to support viewing of traditional TV content online.

Most of the evidence available suggests that online video content is supplementing and complimenting traditional TV content and viewing habits rather than replacing or supplanting them.

Audiences are fragmenting, but they have been fragmenting ever since the introduction of cable TV. People may be watching less of the traditional broadcast channels in favor of cable, time-shifted content and Web-based content, but overall TV usage has still increased, according to Nielsen Media Research.

The vast majority of online video content is short-form and bite-sized. It is not the new TV. Not only is the content different, but the way people view it is different: lean-forward compared with lean-back.

NBC.com’s study on show streaming - Lost Remote TV Blog

Link: NBC.com’s study on show streaming - Lost Remote TV Blog.

NBC.com has the results back from another in a series of consumer surveys from people watching “NBC Rewind” video. As we’ve seen from ABC.com and others who have commissioned similar surveys, the ad recall for show streaming is off the charts: 86% in NBC.com’s case. And NBC.com said “ads with interactive elements were more likely to elicit higher brand recall as well as higher agreement that ads were entertaining and relevant.” The survey also concluded that 77% say NBC Rewind was a compliment, not a substitute, to TV. Press release with a few more details follows below…

PRESS RELEASE — BURBANK, Calif. – March 5, 2008 – NBC Digital Entertainment today announced its findings gathered from the fifth wave of quarterly consumer research studies conducted during the last quarter of 2007. Among the highlights: a large amount of users are staying through entire episodes, higher brand recall and increased satisfaction with the NBC Rewind video player. The announcements were made by Vivi Zigler, Executive Vice President, NBC Digital Entertainment.

“Digital entertainment is truly a consumer’s medium,” said Zigler. “We are constantly developing and re-shaping our offerings based on what our users like and how they interact with our site.”

Media News - TV Ratings - Television Programming

Link: Mediaweek's Digital Download- Media News - TV Ratings - Television Programming.

AP Helping Local Sites Monetize Video Content
January 09, 2008
Mike Shields

The Associated Press has introduced a new feature geared for enabling local Web sites to monetize their own video content.

Local newspapers, radio and TV stations who are affiliates of the AP’s Online Video Network receive a regular stream of video content created specifically for the Web, along with an AP-managed video player. Now, these sites can take advantage of a new tool that allows them to upload their own locally produced video content via the player and then attach their own local ads to it.

The idea is to provide a means for local news outlets to post video coverage of various events – such as breaking news or the latest high school football matchup – on their Web sites without having to build out or license new technology. The AP says that initial tests have suggested that its 1,900 plus subscribers should expect more traffic and ad dollars once they implement the new tool.

“We’ve seen some early adopters dramatically increase stream counts by using this capability, which allows affiliates to keep all their video in one place, which them lets them sell local advertising against it,” said Bill Burke, the AP’s director of online video.