Yahoo! Acquires Maven Networks
February 12th, 2008 | Posted by Hilmi Ozguc
When I co-founded Maven Networks it was with a singular vision that video would be critical to the future of the Internet. Throughout the last few years we have focused and improved on that vision with important contributions from our employees, our customers and our partners — through dedication and hard work, we have made Maven synonymous with Internet TV. Today, Yahoo!, one of the world’s most premier brands and leading global Internet companies, has validated our strategy & execution with the acquisition of Maven Networks. This is a huge win for Maven, Yahoo! and the online industry at large.
The combination of Maven Networks with Yahoo!’s own vast technology resources, deep industry relationships, and huge global audience will deliver an unrivaled video publishing, syndication and advertising solution. Yahoo! will be investing in the growth of Maven’s overall video business, its technology platform, infrastructure and, above all, its people. The combination of Yahoo! and Maven Networks paves the way for the creation of even more advanced video content monetization and distribution capabilities for media companies and advertisers worldwide.
This is the next stage of the vision we have worked so hard to implement. Our customers have spoken, the market has spoken, and now our vision is validated with this acquisition. This deal makes great sense for Yahoo! to further grow its multi-billion-dollar advertising business, as its advertisers and publishing partners are looking for more advanced and highly scalable video solutions. The Maven platform will now be serving an audience size that is unparalleled, 500 million visitors every month around the world, and be at the disposal of a premium roster of advertisers and publishers.
Yahoo!’s intent is to build upon all Maven business relationships and expand on those with additional product and service offerings. We look forward to working with Yahoo! to continue to deliver exceptional video capabilities and experiences beginning today.
Hilmi.
Fred Thompson - another actor/politician whose show will come off the airwaves entirely if he runs for president…or not?
July 26th, 2007 | Posted by Tara Bartley
NPR aired an interesting story this morning about how NBC will stop airing re-runs of Law & Order episodes featuring Fred Thompson if the former Senator makes his White House bid official. Though there’s only a synopsis of the story on NPR’s site, the gist of it is that if NBC were to continue to air the episodes, it would have to give all of the other presidential candidates equal air time.
Apparently the same held true for Arnold Schwartzeneeger when he ran for governor of California and Ronald Reagan when he ran for president. Who knew? I guess I’ve seen The Terminator so many times, I didn’t realize that it wasn’t being aired on Sunday afternoons during Arnold’s campaigns.
But back to the point, what does this mean for NBC.com’s Law & Order web site and their online video clips of the show? Mr. Thompson has been on the show for five years, 100 episodes, that’s a lot to wipe out. Does it all come down? I wonder.
The twist is that the same rules don’t apply to cable networks so can those channels air syndicated episodes with Mr. Thompson?
Last but not least, is this why he’s holding out on announcing his bid for president? So he can collect as much money as possible while NBC airs re-runs through the summer? So many questions.
I think we can all agree that his castmates can’t be happy.
The MPAA cracks down on guerrilla video sites
June 28th, 2007 | Posted by Tara Bartley
The Motion Picture Association of America has filed suit against two guerilla video sites, YouTVpc.com and Peekvid.com, as reported in the WSJ today. Both sites offer menus of all different kinds of video inlcuding television shows and movies. When you find what you’re looking for, you simply click on it and the video plays in the site’s players.
YouTVpc.com claims that they’re not violating any copyright laws because the content is uploaded and stored by others, often outside of the US. One of the site’s co-founders, Mr. Martinez was interviewed for a WSJ article back in April and said that before launching YouTVpc.com, ”he was frustrated that there were few options for watching TV shows and films on the Web….also, TV commercials annoyed him.” It seems to me that there are plenty of options for watching both TV and movies online. And “advertising annoys him”? Does Mr. Martinez understand that both the TV and the movie industry are profitable industries? Where does he think the profits come from?
I recently attended a seminar sponsored by the Online Publisher Association about the results of an online video advertising study that the association had conducted. I’m also certain that it was said during the seminar…”almost all of the participants of this survey understand that there’s always going to be some form of advertising if they’re watching the videos for free”.
Surely Mr. Martinez understands this as well since YouTVpc.com has it’s own advertising.
Hey Bud.TV, you’ve got to syndicate
May 30th, 2007 | Posted by Todd Boes
The WSJ ran a story today about the woes of Bud.TV and explained that instead of scrapping the project, Anheuser-Busch will instead give the web channel another try by making its content “edgier”.
The article reminds us of the good ole days with Bud hits such as Louie the Lizard and the “Whassup?” commercials. But Anheuser’s stumbles over Bud.TV speak to the difficulty that non-Web-based businesses have in driving traffic to their Web sites.
The more important reminder of the article comes from Joe Laszlo, a senior analyst at Jupiter Research who says…”You have to syndicate your videos across multiple sites; it’s key if you want to grow an audience over time.”
Anheuser says it will make a big push to get bloggers to talk about the programs the site offers - and I would if I could, I couldn’t get in to the site. I was asked to fill out a form and I’d get access in 2 days. Am I’m definitely older than 21.
More than Friendly Competition?
April 25th, 2007 | Posted by Todd Boes
Viacom has made no effort to disguise its animosity toward Google, but are its blows toward the newly-minted “most valuable brand” a reflection of intense competition or are they of a more sinister nature? Yesterday, BusinessWeek’s Andy Beal proposed that Viacom’s action may not be solely in the interest of protecting content, but perhaps may be part of a larger effort to seek revenge on the company. As Viacom continues to wage its battle, pulling more allies to its side and partnering with smaller Google/YouTube competitors, does this spell disaster for Google? Or can Google survive the multidirectional ambush without traditional media companies on its side?
Also, check out NewTeeVee, which has an interesting analogy of the Google attack landscape.
Do media companies simply want to put Google in its place or take it out all together?
Will MySpace News mean MySpace Ad Dollars?
April 19th, 2007 | Posted by Todd Boes
Interesting news coming out of MySpace on the social network front…the anticipated MySpace News service is finally being launched to help boost ad revenue and keep its audience on the site for longer periods of time. The new service will display reader-recommended stories, ranked according to their popularity level. But will this translate into sought-after advertising dollars?
We and the media and publishing companies with whom we work are big believers in the power of social networking; after all, anything that helps broadband channels increase ad dollars is great, but are MySpace-ranked stories that particular “anything”?
We’re not skeptics; we merely like to ask questions.
A little too late?
April 18th, 2007 | Posted by Todd Boes
Is Google waving the white flag? According to Eric Auchard’s article yesterday from the Web 2.0 Expo, Google Chief Eric Schmidt announced that the company is on the verge of introducing “Claim Your Content,” a copyright protection tool that will enable media owners to automatically detect and report piracy on YouTube. Wasn’t this what Viacom was demanding Google develop several months ago? And wasn’t it Google’s resistance that sparked the fire for Viacom’s huge lawsuit against them last month? When Schmidt was asked about this by a trusted reporter, he admitted that, “as the product rolls out, the issue becomes moot”.
But is it really a moot issue? Only time will tell.
Men Lead in Online Video Fun, but Women not Far Behind
April 16th, 2007 | Posted by Todd Boes
Reuters published an interesting article late last week highlighting the different online video habits between men and women – drum roll please…men are watching more videos online.
The article noted that men are more visual and utilize the Internet for leisure, whereas women use it for accomplishing day-to-day errands or work-related tasks. To us, this sounds a little stereotypical.
Women’s’ real disinterest in online video comes from the lack of content available – although YouTube has become a media magnet for its humorous nature and user-generated skits, it’s not necessarily the content women care about.
This is where the major media and publishing companies have a leg up – eMarketer predicts nearly 85% of women will be Internet video viewers by 2011, and they won’t be on YouTube. Hearst recently launched an Internet video channel for TeenMag.com and will soon launch 12 others for magazine brands including Good Housekeeping and Cosmopolitan; media companies are starting to provide more video for women.
As the Reuters article noted, media giants have a real opportunity with the growing female audience…with enhanced online video offerings, women have more flexibility to catch their favorite shows online whenever and wherever they want.
Reach More People, Far More – Syndicate.
April 2nd, 2007 | Posted by Todd Boes
Last week, we presented a webinar with industry pundit Will Richmond of Broadband Directions offering insight into the ever-changing broadband video industry - including key success factors for launching channels and details surrounding managing syndication networks.
And no doubt about it, online syndication is a key cog to the future of Internet TV. As a primary component to wide distribution and broad reach – syndication and control are what it takes to win in the new frontier. Syndicating content to local affiliates allows media companies to control how and where their programs are accessed and distributed.
If you missed our webinar and want to learn more about the opportunities syndication brings, you can check it by registering here to view the recording.
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.
