A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY OF WEB TV

Cynopsis: DIGITAL
12.18.12

Good morning. It’s Tuesday, December 18, 2012, and this is your first early morning digital briefing.

A blog post from Hulu CEO Jason Kilar reveals some end-of-the-year financial and consumer data about the digital video provider. Kilar says Hulu will finish 2012 with approximately $695 million in revenue, representing yearly growth of over 65%. In 2011, the company generated a little over $400 million in revenue. Other data/figures for 2012 include:

• The number of Hulu Plus subscribers has more than doubled over the past year, rising to over 3 million.
• Launching on Apple TV, Nintendo Wii and Wii U, Windows 8 tablets, and a number of new Android tablets and smartphones this year, Hulu Plus can now be accessed from over 320 million connected devices in the US.
• The company grew the number of available Hulu and Hulu Plus titles by over 40%. Hulu now has more than 430 content partners, offering over 60,000 TV episodes, 2,300 TV series, and 50,000 hours of total video.
• Kilar says Hulu invested more than $500 million in content this year, and since the company launched in October 2007, it has generated over $1 billion for its content partners.

• In 2012, Hulu served more than 1,000 advertisers, an increase of 28% versus last year.

Shine America and Jack Black’s Electric Dynamite Productions are teaming up to produce a new comedy web series called Ghost Ghirls, which is scheduled to debut exclusively on Yahoo Screen in spring 2013. The scripted “paranormal procedural” will follow the antics of two female ghostbusters, played by Amanda Lund and Maria Blasucci. It will feature cameos from Black, Jake Johnson, Molly Shannon, Jason Schwartzman, and numerous other comedians and celebrities. Created by Jeremy Konner (Funny or Die’s Drunk History), Lund, and Blasucci, who are also serving as Executive Producers, Ghost Ghirls is slated for an initial run of 12 episodes. Electric Dynamite’s Black and Priyanka Mattoo are also on board as Executive Producers, with Konner set to direct as well. The series began production earlier this month in LA. In advance of its spring 2013 premiere, a Facebook page for Ghost Ghirls has already been launched. The page will be used to introduce fans to the characters via photos, videos, and other series-related content.

AT&T and Starz have launched the Starz Play, Encore Play, and MoviePlex Play authenticated streaming services for U-verse TV subscribers. AT&T U-verse TV customers who subscribe to the Starz, Encore, and MoviePlex premium channels as part of their TV package can access the three services online and via their respective iOS apps, as well as through Uverse.com and the Uverse app for tablets and smartphones. While Starz Play and Encore Play have been available for some time to pay-TV subscribers, AT&T U-verse TV is the launch partner for the new MoviePlex Play offering. At the moment, Starz Play, Encore Play, and MoviePlex Play are only accessible through a Wi-Fi or broadband connection. Starz Play currently offers approximately 400 film and TV titles, including 300 movies and 100 episodes of Starz original series. Encore Play offers about 900 monthly selections, while MoviePlex provides access to 200 more movies every month.

Amazon has signed an exclusive licensing deal with Turner Broadcasting System and Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution to bring two TNT series, Falling Skies and The Closer, to Prime Instant Video. Thanks to the deal, Prime subscribers can access all seven seasons of The Closer as well as current and future seasons of Falling Skies for no additional cost. The Prime Instant Video library consists of over 30,000 movies and TV episodes, which can be watched via any device the streaming service is available on, including the Kindle Fire, iOS devices, Roku, Xbox 360, PS3, and the Wii U. “Subscription-on-demand services continue to grow in the consumer marketplace, and this deal represents a way to help expand our viewership from TV Everywhere and introduce a wider audience to [Falling Skies],” said Deborah K. Bradley, SVP/Program Acquisitions for Turner Broadcasting, when describing the agreement.

Video services provider Avail-TVN has launched a new subscription movie VOD service called ViewNow, which offers thousands of film titles that can be accessible on any device. The service’s first two customers are Verizon FiOS and Redbox Instant by Verizon. Verizon FiOS launched the service in October as part of its Flex View VOD offering. The agreement includes multiscreen rights in the future as well as distribution of ViewNow titles to the upcoming Redbox Instant by Verizon subscription service. ViewNow’s library of movie content includes titles from both major and independent studios, which can be delivered in MPEG-2 and MPEG-4, as well as a range of adaptive bitrate (ABR) formats, to traditional set-tops as well as internet-connected devices like PCs, smartphones, and tablets. In addition to multiplatform rights, Avail-TVN says ViewNow includes download rights on a large number of titles.

Dick Clark Productions and Tubefilter announced the nominations for the 3rd Annual Streamy Awards. The Fine Bros’ comedy MyMusic leads the way with nine Streamy nominations, including one for Best Comedy Series and another for Best Direction. Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn, an action-drama series based on the popular video game, garnered eight Streamy nominations, including one for Best Action or Sci-Fi Series. Yahoo, Red Hour, and Paramount’s reality show parody, Burning Love, received five nominations, including Best Comedy Series, Best Ensemble Cast, and Best Male Performance: Comedy for series star Ken Marino. The 3rd Annual Streamy Awards, which look to honor “excellence in original online video programming and those who create it,” will be streamed live from the Hollywood Palladium on February 17. For the full list of nominees, go here.

A new partnership between Twitter, ESPN, and Ford will bring college football bowl game highlights to the social networking site, according to several reports. Throughout the current college football bowl season, which began this past Saturday, the @ESPNCFB will embed videos from bowl games directly within tweets. Each tweet/video will feature a short pre-roll ad for the Ford Fusion. The videos will be selected by ESPN’s college football editors. ESPN and Ford will also enlist Twitter’s Promoted Tweets products to try and reach relevant audiences, even if they don’t follow any Ford or ESPN accounts on Twitter.

Cynopsis Digital (including yours truly) is headed to CES in January. Connect with me (via: [email protected]) — let me know what you’re looking forward to, where you’ll be, and what not to miss. We will be publishing a pre- and post-CES Special eReport, which will focus on all things digital video at the international trade show.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

Nielsen and Twitter have signed an exclusive multiyear deal to create Nielsen Twitter TV Ratings. The new social TV metric aims to become a standard for measuring the reach of conversations on Twitter surrounding TV programming. Nielsen says the new metric will serve as a complementary piece to its existing TV ratings. Using analytics and insights from SocialGuide, which was recently acquired by Nielsen and NM Incite, Nielsen Twitter TV Ratings will capture Twitter activity for all US programming across 232 TV channels in English and Spanish. It is slated for commercial availability at the start of the fall 2013 TV season. Results from recent study conducted by Nielsen and NM Incite showed that some 44% of US tablet owners and 38% of US smartphone owners engage with social networking sites or apps daily while they’re watching TV. Nielsen Twitter TV Ratings is meant to provide some insight into how much of that second screen use is related to what’s being watched on TV at that time.

Pac-12 Enterprises, the content and media division of the Pac-12 Conference, has selected SnappyTV, a live cloud-based social video publishing and distribution platform, to arm Pac-12 Digital platforms with content editing and sharing capabilities. To put it simply, this will allow the Pac-12 to edit and publish TV content across web, mobile, and social media channels, including Pac-12.com, each conference member’s athletic website, the Pac-12 Now mobile app, and the Pac-12 Network’s affiliate partners. Pac-12.com offers a mix of video features, game highlights, original reporting, and live-viewing access to all seven Pac-12 linear networks via Pac-12 Now. Working with online video management company Ooyala, SnappyTV’s solution not only allows Pac-12 Digital to edit and publish clips of its sports programming, but also allows it to enable editors from Pac-12 universities and even fans to clip and share highlights from live streams.

Video publishing company thePlatform, a subsidiary of Comcast, has unveiled a suite of new “smart workflow” features within its open mpx system to simplify video preparation and distribution across multiple formats and devices. With these new capabilities, thePlatform says customers can use the latest cloud, hardware, and software transcoding technologies to create multiple files from one source file in real-time. The new features also provide smart multi-file transcoding, which ensures that if one file fails, only that file is transcoded again. Other features include automatic analysis of the number of files that have been, or need to be, generated for all formats or devices in order to eliminate duplications, as well as the ability for customers to set up new publishing profiles by themselves. The new features within mpx also provide customers with access to the latest technologies in fast file transfer and video ingest. To enable this, the company has integrated its solutions with those from companies such as Elemental and Harmonic (for next-generation transcoding), Aspera (for fast file transfer), and Akamai (for its HTTP ingest technology).

Com Hem, the largest cable operator in Sweden, will use Tribune Media Service’s (TMS) On Entertainment metadata in its next-generation entertainment guides for TVs, computers, tablets, and smartphones. The TMS metadata includes linear TV schedules, VOD program services, TV showcards, celebrity profiles, and image galleries, all of which will enable Com Hem to offer its subscribers better search and discovery of linear and on-demand programming, as well as content recommendations and image-driven navigation. Additionally, these guides will feature standardizes user interfaces powered by TiVo.

eMarketer says mobile ad spending in the US is growing at a quicker rate than it previously expected, thanks in large part to “the success of so-called ‘native’ ad formats like Facebook’s mobile newsfeed and Twitter’s Promoted Products.” So much so that the researcher has changed its 2012 forecast for overall spending on mobile ads in the US, now projecting that it will rise 180% to top $4 billion. In eMarketer’s September 2012 forecast, it predicted that mobile ad spending in the US would grow 80% to $2.61 billion. Looking ahead, eMarketer now forecasts mobile ad spending to reach $7.19 billion in 2013 and nearly $21 billion by 2016.

Bounce TV, a TV network for African Americans, is launching a second screen component tied to the world premiere of A Forever Jones Holiday, which airs tonight at 9pm ET. A Forever Jones Holiday is the network’s first non-scripted original special, featuring the gospel group A Forever Jones getting ready for and performing their Grammy-nominated mix of pop, gospel, rock, and urban music. During the telecast, a special hashtag will appear on the screen, which will direct viewers to bonus footage and performances from the group. Bounce TV’s Facebook page will also provide access to this link and the bonus footage during the premiere.

Evolve Media Corp.’s male lifestyle publishing property, CraveOnline Media, has hired Jason Kobely to serve as its new Executive Editor. In the role, Kobely will oversee all facets of editorial content on Crave, and will work closely with Crave channel editors, video resources, and partner sites. Prior to this, Jason has served as News Director at KNSI Radio (St. Cloud, MN) and Supervising Web Producer at KXTV News 10 (Sacramento, CA). During his career, he’s received a number of critical recognition and accolades, including an Emmy nomination, the Radio Television Digital News Association’s Edward R. Murrow Award and 10 Associated Press awards.

Fandango has appointed Adam Rockmore to the position of VP/Marketing. He will lead the NBCUniversal unit’s marketing group and will report directly to Paul Yanover, President of Fandango. Most recently, Rockmore was SVP/Marketing for ABC Daytime and SOAPnet. He will be based in LA.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

Something a little bit different today as I haven’t actually watched the video series I’m about to recommend.

Maine-based shipwreck recovery company Sub Sea Research plans to premiere a new documentary series called The Port Nicholson Experience, which will chronicle the outfit’s trek to the eponymous wreck off the coast of Massachusetts. The Port Nicholson wreck is said to be carrying $3 billion (yes, billion) in gold and platinum, which would make this undertaking, if successful, Sub Sea Research’s most profitable wreck yet. The documentary series, produced by the company founder Greg Brooks, with cinematography from Charlie Widdis, will be available on Shiprex.net, a blog that currently serves as an archive for Sub Sea Research’s history and adventures.

The series will premiere next month, but until then, check out the trailer and the site to learn more about the wreckage and Sub Sea Research. It goes to show, you don’t necessarily have to be in the entertainment and/or video business to create something potentially compelling to watch online. (Also, as Justin Timberlake once said, “A million dollars isn’t cool. You know what’s cool? A billion dollars.” Well, here we’re talking about three.)

Later – Sahil
Sahil Patel, Associate Editor for Cynopsis Digital
12.18.12

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