monetization

GridNetworks to stream online video directly to TVs

Pete Wylie — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 12:10:57 -0500

GridNetworks, the Seattle-based video platform provider, announced direct-to-TV streaming of online video content through a new service called GridCast. The service is already usable by 35 million homes, because it leverages universal plug-to-play technology present in the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and Internet-enabled TVs, according to GridNetworks.

GridCast does not require an additional set-top box or hardware purchase. The service allows content owner to remain in control of branding, revenue model and content, according to the company's release. Revision3, IndieFlix and havocTV were announced as lead customers for the service, which they claimed was already providing an avenue for monetization of online video content.

"GridCast TV has made it easy for us to dramatically expand our reach, connecting us with a great demographic," said Ryan Kresser, CEO and Executive Producer at havocTV, in a prepared statement. "And because the end-user process is simple and seamless, our viewers have been able to start watching our video on their TVs with just a couple clicks."

"Our goal is to help video distributors capture more viewers, differentiate themselves from their competitors and, above all, make more money," GridNetworks CEO Tony Naughtin said in a prepared statement. "What makes this new service different is that it combines the reach of TV with the high CPM rates associated with targeted Internet audiences, and it gets our content customers into tens of millions of living rooms right now."

For more:
- see the press release here

Digitalsmiths, Transpera close Series B funding

Pete Wylie — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 14:02:23 -0500

Digitalsmiths and Transpera defied recent economic trends in the online video space and larger venture capital world by securing Series B funding Thursday. Digitalsmiths will receive $12 million from 406 Ventures, Chrysalis Ventures and Aurora Funds, while Transpera will receive $8.25 million from Labrador Ventures and Flybridge Capital Partners.

Digitalsmiths, the Durham-based online video search and publishing specialist, will use the Series B round to establish an office in Los Angeles and to continue technology advancement. Digitalsmiths recently announced its big win of the video assets on TMZ.com, which defected from rival Brightcove. Digitalsmiths was also named to the Dow Jones's 45 companies to watch in 2008.

"If you do take into account what is going on in the larger environment, the kind of stuff we focus on is monetizing video and we paid on performance-based metrics," Digitalsmith's CEO Ben Weinberger said. "So we're not making money if clients don't make money."

Transpera, which focuses on mobile video advertising, planned to use the funding to expand its product line and add service customers. The Santa Monica-based company powers the mobile monetization of video assets for Fox Interactive, break.com, MTV Networks and the Travel Channel.

"We're proud to have earned the respect of so many valued brands and the trust of those who have invested in our company," said Frank Barbieri, founder and CEO of Transpera, in a prepared statement. "All indicators are that trying economic times lie ahead, and partners should rest assured that Transpera has the momentum, experience and now the capital to help them succeed for the long run."

Venture capital could be increasingly hard to come by as 2009 approaches, so kudos to both Digitalsmiths and Transpera for their big wins. The funding will help drive expansion and innovation in the space, and could even reinvigorate capital investment in online video if the firms do well with the infusion of cash.

For more:
- see the article about Digitalsmiths
- see the Transpera release here

Fierce 15 Online Video Movers and Shakers: Move Networks

Pete Wylie — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:30:30 -0400

Move Networks
Founded: 2006
Location: American Fork, Utah
Investors: Steamboat Ventures, Microsoft, Comcast, Benchmark Capital
www.movenetworks.com

Move Networks offers clients end-to-end delivery of streaming and on-demand video content, complete with encoding, packaging and monitoring of video files. Move's solutions have drawn considerable praise from partners, and Microsoft continues to deepen its strategic relationship with Move as it rolls out its Silverlight player. Move and Microsoft partnered to stream the Democratic National Convention, and handled millions of streams over the four-day event.

A big selling point for Move's solution is a scalable pay structure and delivery architecture for large events, bringing cost per viewer down as total audience increases. Its metrics deliver in-depth information about how a video is being consumed, giving clients many clues into successful monetization of their content.

Move has received more than $67 million in funding to date. It has major deals with ABC, Fox, Discovery, ESPN 360 and Televisia, streaming content from these publishers and many others through its media player.

Next: YuMe

Fierce 15 Online Video Movers and Shakers: Brightcove

Pete Wylie — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:29:11 -0400

Brightcove
Founded: March 2005
Investors include Accel, AOL/Time Warner, Brookside Capital, General Catalyst Partner, GE, InterActiveCorp/IAC, The Hearst Corporation and the New York Times Company
Location: Cambridge, MA
www.brightcove.com

Basically, Brightcove does all the heavy lifting to build a video component into your site if you've got the content. It also partners with many top-notch online video tech companies and distribution networks to round out its offering.

The company's Internet TV platform allows users to syndicate content for distribution and monetization, providing a system to manage video content, create and administrate communities around video, syndicate video content through video search networks and share sites, and advertise around all of these distribution models.

Brightcove founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire thinks just about everyone can benefit from video in today's marketplace. The company has primarily gone after the top tier name brand video content sites, focusing on major media players such as Buena Vista, National Geographic, 20^th Century Fox, Sky Networks and many others.

There has been some rumbling that Brightcove has come close to saturation in the top-tier market. Catering to the big guys results in high price points that discourage bootstrapping of start-ups and leaves little room for growth in the "longer tail."

Next: KickApps

Recent News:
Brightcove Announces Beta of New Online Video Platform
Gruner + Jahr Chooses Brightcove for Online Video Initiatives

SMW: Video monetization a good news/bad news story

Doug Mohney — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 04:17:11 -0400

San Jose, CA - Monetizing online video in today's environment is a "good news, bad news" story, said YouTube's Larry Hoffner at Streaming Media West.

Hoffner, director of content partnerships at YouTube, noted that online video viewing is now a mainstreaming practice, with 75 percent of U.S. internet users streaming 11.4 billion videos monthly. Broadband access - the enabling technology for online video - is expected to increase 50 percent over the next five years. And user behavior is converging, with 15 hours per week spent online.

The bad news is spending on online advertising is "incongruent" to the proliferation of online products. Out of a total U.S. advertising spend of $303 billion, only 6 percent is spent online while 22 percent is spent on TV. People spend more time online than they do in front of the tube, but advertisers have not migrated there at the same rate.

In other words, nobody is getting paid.

Advertisers and content people want monetization, but nobody wants to "exchange analog dollars for digital pennies," said Hoffner. There are too many "Show me the money" phone calls taking place across the industry.

Hoffner posits that a combination of standardization and innovation will lead to successful monetization. Advertisers are looking for "what is the same" in measurement standards and those standards need to scale. "There's no agreement on what a click is, when a view is a view," he said. "How do you get to a [gross rating point] online?"

Even though TV spending and ratings are going down, TV still has ratings. "You can't do that necessarily online," Hoffner said. Online video advertising is a pitch, not a measurable equation of metrics for ad agencies to understand. "Once there is a standard, then the budget starts flowing. That's not happening yet, that's what we need to work on."

Online video content distributors have to use and stick with a universal standard. YouTube, Hulu, Joost and other video players have adapted a video display standard, but more mainstream players such as CNN.com, Time Warner and smaller ones such as local TV stations all need to agree on the same standards or, "We're all just leaving money on the table."

Content distributors need to innovate collectively to keep the flow of people coming online. Media companies large and small need to create an environment where they can best distribute, display and monetize content. Finally, advertisers need to provide a "superior service" to deliver messages, along with a clear cut measure of the results that demonstrates to ad buyers how people are engaging with video, where they are watching the video, and other pertinent demographic information about consumers.

"Streaming is a part of our social fabric," said Hoffner. "The economy around streaming is immature. We need to work together to standardize and continue to innovate."

The Olympics, Car Porn, and Online Syndication

Doug Mohney — Tue, 20 May 2008 19:06:11 -0400

Streaming Media East, New York - George Kliavkoff, NBC Universal Chief Digital Officer, said the broadcast giant plans to stream 2,200 live hours of Olympic events via the Internet and mobile phones. NBC's future for making money with online video is by generating and syndicating vertical content. And oh yes, Hulu is great too.

The Olympic effort will be delivered with Microsoft's Silverlight. "We think the video will be really compelling and Silverlight provide interactivity, Microsoft has great history of doing video on line. We're not worried about their development cycle." George wouldn't say how much Microsoft might have coughed up to NBC for use and support of the new software.

Using its successful cable companies as models, NBC is building specifically focused content building and marketing efforts around top vertical markets, "digital cable networks if you will." NBC will syndicate content it and its affiliates create, cutting deals with vertical market websites and selling ads against it. The company has found early success with the auto industry, with one of its properties creating an extensive library of short videos that record "every nook and cranny on every model of car ... it's really like car porn," Kliavkoff stated.

Health care is another opportunity to tap into existing content being generated by NBC affiliates. "They produce in excess of 120 health videos a week, play them once, and then put them off the shelf ... think about all the great health sites that are text based. You can syndicate video to them."

Kliavkoff was an interim CEO at Hulu and still sits on their board, so his feeling for the online video site might be taken with a grain of salt. "If [Hulu] does its job really well, it will have much broader content. I happen to think it is the best experience on the Internet," he said. "You'll see more content, better content, and I think a priority you'll see is to move that to other platforms, get it to TV and mobile platforms." Delivery to connected Internet devices is a priority Hulu will focus on in the future.

Surprisingly, making first-run TV shows free online has actually proved to be helpful for cable operators. Studies indicate a viewer that plays catch up with shows online is more likely to watch the next episode on broadcast television, with serialized dramas gaining significant benefit. "You can catch up on the story and rejoin it next week," Kliavkoff said. Cable operators like driving television viewing and watching back episodes adds value to their broadband offerings.

"The part that is still up in the air, we won't know for four to five years, what effect [online will have] on syndication, our second-run business," he said. "I don't think we know what effect all that content will have on long-term syndication values and we won't know for a while."

Related articles:
Hulu-abaloo
Old TV Hot Online
NBC CEO: Mobile content 'not that important'