YouTube meet NewTube
March 30th, 2007 | Posted by Todd Boes
Some interesting stories from BusinessWeek on the almighty Google and the “NewTube” beginning…
BusinessWeek’s cover story asks if Google, the search Goliath, is too powerful; I guess that depends who you ask and the industry in which you play. Those of us in the ITV space don’t feel the need to slay the giant, but recommend they play nicer with their media and entertainment company brethren and future offspring like NewTube and MySpace TV.
As for NewTube, I’m as curious as anyone to see not only what comes out of their planned summer launch, but what else this launch spawns. Will “You” and “New” play together? Will they fight?
The opportunities are great; the stakes are high; the industry is abuzz; I’m glad it’s Friday.
Internet TV Land
March 28th, 2007 | Posted by Todd Boes
NBC and News Corp.’s announcement that they’re creating an online distribution channel is no longer breaking news in the traditional sense, but it’s still huge news in the eyes of media companies, portals and industry insiders. Now the press, analysts, bloggers, consumers et al are wondering how these media giants intend to do it. NBC and News Corp. have outlined aggressive goals and expectations are high for them to deliver what they’ve promised to the standards consumers expect.
A recent Red Herring article nicely outlines the opportunity this partnership presents to eager players in the online video space, and Andrew Ross Sorkin reflects on the inevitable power struggle facing the various Internet TV drivers vying to power the NBC/News Corp. venture.
The excitement never stops in Internet TV land.
All Aboard: Yahoo, AOL, MSN & …
March 26th, 2007 | Posted by Todd Boes
The ever-growing online video train has some major new content providers hitched it to, with bigwigs like Yahoo, AOL and MSN teaming up with NBC and News Corp., giving YouTube some serious competition – Yet, there are many other media outlets that haven’t yet boarded.
Who else do you think will join NBC and News Corp.?
According to an article from Businessweek on Friday, ABC.com experienced more than 55 million downloads since launching its content online last summer. No spotlight-hungry media giant will willingly forward over that much traffic — but if the new video portal from NBC/News Corp. becomes all-the-craze this summer, what company would deny their brand from 96% of the Internet audience?
Then again — Just how many tickets is the NBC/News Corp. train selling?
The Giants Continue to Awaken
March 23rd, 2007 | Posted by Todd Boes
Yesterday’s news about NBC and News Corp. validates what we’ve been saying all along: media companies want to control how their shows are watched online; they want to hold onto ad dollars; and they want to control the distribution pipeline.
This is a win-win both for the new venture and for consumers. It spells enormous syndication and ad opportunities for the media companies…and consumers will get what they want: professionally produced video delivered on the sites they frequent.
With all that said, we think there’s definitely more than enough room for YouTube to play in the online video sandbox and we do think they serve a great purpose. And perhaps with this news, they’ll start focusing on better quality, original user-generated content.
The industry giants continue to awaken and we look forward to seeing this play out.
Online video advertisements…much more than merely a necessary evil.
March 22nd, 2007 | Posted by Todd Boes
I think I speak for most consumers in saying that we’re willing to give up 15 seconds of our lives to sit through ads in order to watch Internet videos for free, unless of course it’s a 15-second ad promoting a republican presidential candidate during an episode of Jon Stewart. Like traditional TV ads, online video ads need to be relevant to their audience; contrary to popular opinion, they’re an extremely effective way of reaching an audience.
A recent study from DoubleClick reveals that online video ad click-through rates range from 0.4% to 0.74%. To a consumer these numbers may not seem impressive, but think about it this way: “Less than 1% may not sound like much, but it is far higher than most display ads. Plain GIF and JPG image ads typically get about 0.1% click-through rates.”
These click-through rates provide insight into audience behavior, invaluable to media companies that broadcast content via online video. In the words of Will Richmond, President of Broadband Directions LLC, “As media companies increase their investments in broadband video initiatives and these become core to their future financial success, being able to accurately measure audiences’ viewership and interactivity will continue gaining in importance.”
New Media - Making Money the Old Way
March 20th, 2007 | Posted by Todd Boes
If nothing else, the traditional broadcast TV model made money. Loads of it.
That’s why some networks are loath to let it go. But, clearly the times are changing – consumers are going online for their news, weather, sports and entertainment. So, if media companies know they can make loads of money and stay relevant to consumers, why wouldn’t they change with the times?
As Judson Laipply puts it, whose “Evolution of Dance” clip is the most watched in YouTube history …”The media giants…realize that profits are falling. But instead of seeking out creative ways of trying to work with the changes in culture, they are trying to stop those changes.”
Our upcoming webinar is going to lay out exactly how media companies can create great programming, move it online and reach millions of consumers, and…make money.
On Thursday, March 29 Maven will be presenting its webinar titled “Internet TV: Create. Syndicate. Profit. Create Your Own Direct-to-Consumer Channels and Syndication Network” at 2:00 pm EST.
You can register for the webinar at www.maven.net/vision/#features.
March Madness
March 16th, 2007 | Posted by Todd Boes
March has been a crazy month, and we’re just halfway through. From high-profile lawsuits to college basketball galore online, there’s a lot happening…and we couldn’t be more excited.
March Madness, in this case, the basketball tournament, is about more than just last-minute shots and feel-good Cinderella stories; it’s all about the current and future of online advertising, syndication opportunities and social networking. Media companies and marketers are looking for new and innovative ways to grab the attention of a highly-engaged and excited niche audience. CSTV, the leading digital and cable programming company dedicated to college sports, is a great example of a media company doing this now.
What online initiatives will win out is almost as difficult to predict as which teams will make it to the Final Four.
What are your predictions?
