Cynopsis: DIGITAL
03/19/12
Good morning. It’s Monday, March 19, 2012, and this is your first early morning digital briefing. If you would like to read this or any other Cynopsis editions online, click here.
As we continue on the path to what may be the larger digital industry’s biggest event of the year, the Digital Content NewFronts at the end of April/beginning of May, I touched base with Yahoo!’s VP & Head of Video, Erin McPherson, who has been a driving force for both Yahoo! and the industry at-large in developing and shaping the digital screen as an increasingly viable one for original and premium programming.
Last fall, Yahoo! premiered seven original web series all designed for women, as well as an eighth show from Morgan Spurlock intended for all audiences. How have they fared in terms of viewership and advertiser interest?
Our new Women’s Lifestyle programs have been incredibly well received by our audience. Since premiering on our new video destination, Yahoo! Screen, in October 2011, the programs have delivered more than 200 million streams, and many of the shows commonly rank in the Top 25 list of the most watched web series as measured by comScore, including breakout hits Ultimate Proposal hosted by ABC’s Cameron Mathison, Let’s Talk About Love with comedian Niecy Nash, and Chow Ciao with Top Chef’s Fabio Viviani. This combination of premium content and quality audience has also been successful for our advertising partners: Since the launch, Toyota, Unilever, Kraft, and P&G have all signed on as advertisers.
You’ve likened Yahoo! to “a fifth network, or really the first digital network.” What similarities exist between how Yahoo! views, produces, markets and distributes original video content and that of traditional broadcast networks?
At Yahoo!, we are combining the best practices from traditional media with everything that’s powerful about digital media to create a unique content experience for our audiences. We are actively employing the practices that traditional media does well, building brands and franchises, gathering audiences around “tentpole” and “anchor” events, and marketing and promoting content experiences. We then layer in the power of digital media, which for Yahoo! includes our global platform, wealth of data and insights, technology-driven personalization, and multiple screens. I would call it “TV on steroids.”
Part of Yahoo!’s strategy is to invest in compelling original content that is based on what we know our audience wants. The Women’s Lifestyle programming, for instance, is a great example of this, as the launch was not contingent on a sponsor financing. Instead, we financed development and production of the shows and invited top advertising partners to participate on a “share of voice” basis. The content for these shows was then developed using Yahoo!’s unmatched data and insights, content optimization and personalization technology, and our deep expertise in contextualizing video experiences. This informed content creation process ensures that we are always on-track to deliver a high-quality, premium digital video experience that meets the needs of our constantly growing and evolving audiences and is the perfect opportunity for brands to laser-target their consumers.
Over the last several months, Yahoo! has partnered up with a variety of content creators ABC News, Disney Interactive, Morgan Spurlock, Funny Or Die and more. Will this be more of a focus for the company going forward? What is and what will be the interplay between original content created by Yahoo! itself, and that developed through partnerships with other content creators?
Our strategy is to offer our audiences the best in premium video on any platform, mixed in with our own winning original franchises. We produce over 25 ongoing programs in-house through Yahoo! Studios, and as we diversify our content offerings, we will be partnering with more of the entertainment industry’s top talent both behind and in front of the camera. Recently we’ve partnered with leading Hollywood production studios including Paramount’s Insurge Pictures, Electus, Vuguru, Playtone and more. We’ll continue to look for these opportunities and we’ll continue to grow our video offerings to include new shows that will captivate and entertain new online video audiences now and well into the future.
How would you compare what Yahoo! wants to do in terms of digital programming with what Hulu, YouTube and even Netflix are doing? Or, is it part of a growing ecosystem of original, television-like digital content meant to engage an increasingly connected audience?
Yahoo! is going for something different, something better, and something primed for longevity. We start by programming content that we know our viewers will love. We base it on data from the millions of consumers that come to Yahoo! every day.We apply this insight to the creative process and look to develop the best scripted content with the most popular celebrity talent and putting it all in one place – on Yahoo!. But our big differentiator is video in context: video in the context of our leading content experiences on News, Sports, Finance, omg!, Shine, and more. We have these incredible multi-media experiences across screens, at scale and we can bring relevant video programs to our audiences where they are already passionately engaged.
In Yahoo!’s opinion: define the relationship between digital advertising and digital video content?
Digital advertising and digital video content are a natural fit. Video is a highly adaptable and engaging medium. At Yahoo!, we constantly innovate to provide more unique consumer touch points for our advertisers. We offer brands a deeper level of engagement with consumers through our Into_Now second screen companion application and a richer media environment in and around the Yahoo! video experience that extends across properties and screens. We also develop unique content experiences with the world’s biggest talents and storytellers (like Electric City with Tom Hanks) and because of our reach, our content leadership and our programming expertise, we have the singular ability to get the right message in front of the most relevant audiences on a massive global scale.
Hulu has launched a new web video player that brings, most prominently, a bigger screen to the video service. Specifically, Hulu says the new video player is 55% larger than the older one, and features a new frame and drop shadow, all over a new dark gray matte. Coinciding with the screen expansion, video details have been now moved to below the player.
Google TV has added a bunch of new international channels in the form of apps for U.S. viewers, for free. These include apps for news services such as Al-Jazeera and Euronews, as well as one for Japan’s Crunchyroll (anime and dram), Raaga (South Asian music) and PPTV (HD programming featuring Asian blockbuster films and TV dramas).
At IP&TV World Forum 2012, Ericsson will demonstrate its portfolio of multiplatform and multiscreen products and solutions for operators and content owners. Ericsson products to be on display include its Multiscreen TV Solution; the U.K. debut of its Multiplatform Stream Processor family of products, which combine hardware and software to enable the expansion in TV processing that is needed to deliver multiscreen offerings; Media Delivery Network, solutions that, among other services, reduce the traffic burden; Media Delivery Management System, an on-demand back office platform for delivering content at scale to multiple devices; and WatchPoint Content Management System v2.0, which provides centralized management of any metadata format, any content type and any workflow process, and enables visibility throughout the content lifecycle.
Veria Living has launched the Healthy Home channel within its newly redesigned website, VeriaLiving.com. Covering aspects of health and wellness in the home, the site features news and info in the form of articles and video content, as well as expert advice from bestselling author Beth Greer.
Exponential Interactive, the maker of the eX Advertising Intelligence Platform that aims to help brands reach and engage with connected audiences using stats from a large database of anonymous consumer information, has filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission in regard to a proposed initial public offering. The number of shares to be offered, as well as the price range, for the IPO has not yet been determined, although a Dow Jones Newswires report indicates it may be up to $75 million. Exponential Interactive divisions include display ad provider Tribal Fusion, brand engagement platform Firefly Video and in-stream video ad company AdoTube.
DramaFever, a website focused on bringing Asian television and video content to U.S. viewers, has raised $4.5 million in a Series B round of funding led by MK Capital, with additional investment from the likes of YouTube co-founder Steve Chen. The New York-based start-up, which offers video content via both ad-supported and ad-free subscription models, says it has 1.5 million monthly viewers.
Second-screen experiences will be a major element of brands’ marketing strategies around this year’s March Madness, according to Mobile Marketer. In fact, “Much like we observed during the last Super Bowl, we will likely see marketers leveraging traditional TV advertising during March madness to drive users to their mobile apps and websites,” said Martin Hayward of global content delivery network Mirror Image Internet to Mobile Marketer. It’s a way to further engage consumers who are already active on mobile and social media while watching television, especially during big events like March Madness. The Internet Innovation Alliance said the entire tournament could generate as much as 18 million hours of streaming video consumption through March Madness Live online and mobile apps, which would mark a 29.8% increase over 2011. The March Madness Live digital experience, priced at $3.99 and developed by CBS Sports, Turner Sports and the NCAA, lets users stream every game live, watch game highlights and share the content on Twitter and Facebook.
The AOL/Microsoft/Yahoo! ad partnership has officially launched. Each company is offering unsold premium display inventory that can be served across all three of their ad networks, in this way hoping to become a coveted online advertising option for media buyers. The three partners will still operate their own ad networks independently. Yahoo! and AOL’s ads will be served on the Right Media Exchange, while Microsoft will use the Microsoft Advertising Exchange, which is built on the AppNexus platform.
Facebook will begin offering brands real-time Page Insights, allowing the companies to have a quicker, and therefore better, understanding of how their pages and posts are performing on the social network, reports AdAge Digital. Other features of Insights include the ability to download “1,000 additional columns of data,” for metrics such as number of video views in the past week, or number of clicks on photos over the past month and more. Additionally, down the road, Facebook’s Product Manager David Baser tells AdAge Digital that the company is testing out a tool that would help brands understand how effective paid ad campaigns are in driving user engagement on their Facebook pages.
In other IP&TV World Forum demonstrations, ruwido, a provider of input devices, such as remote controls and keyboards, for digital devices, will discuss what is required to deliver premium TV services that go beyond simple content availability and toward “user experience excellence.” Specifically, the company will elaborate on how voice control could complement the functionality of remote controls, such as search, as well as other ways to make the navigational experience on connected TVs and devices more intuitive.
A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE
Gift Certificate winners will be contacted on Friday, March 23!
Here is something for those of you who enjoy Apple products, the wonderful insanity that is March Madness (even if your alma mater gets bounced in the second round by Wisconsin), money and sweepstakes, and also happen to be Comcast Xfinity TV subscribers: The March to Glory Sweepstakes. Presented by Xfinity, the promotion lets you enter to win a daily prize of a $1000 Apple gift card, and/or the grand prize of $10,000 (which I presume will be accepted at any store that likes money). For those unlucky many who end up not winning some scratch, the site also directs you to a log-in that lets you stream every game from the tournament that is being aired on TBS, TNT, truTV and CBS, as well as a bounty of available videos from ESPN, Fox Sports, Reuters and more. Have at it as we await some more Madness.
Later – Sahil
Sahil Patel, Associate Reporter for Cynopsis Digital
03.19.12
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