Advertising

FiOS runs out of televisions

Tom Burton — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 07:59:20 -0400

Verizon's high-profile campaign to sign up FiOS subs by offering a free 19-inch Sharp HD television has become an embarrassment after Verizon had to admit the televisions would take up to 15 weeks to arrive. The nearly four-month delay prompted Verizon to write to FiOS subscribers offering them an alternative Magnates TV or a $200 Best Buy gift card. It has also withdrawn the offer.

Verizon said the delay was because Sharp has not been able to meet the demand. Verizon added 226,000 new IPTV subscribers in the final quarter in 2007 and expected to maintain that rate into 2008. Verizon also faced a delay in HDTV set-top boxes, which it said was also a supply problem with its vendor Motorola. The shortage came after a spike in orders during the holiday season saw subscriber numbers soar over a million, making the IPTV service the 10th biggest provider of television in the country.

For more:
- Still waiting for that TV Article

Related articles:
Verizon FiOS hits a million subs Article
Verizon promised FiOS would be profitable by 2010 Release

Advanced cable ad system coming soon

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 06:59:20 -0500

Signs are the secretive cable wide advanced advertising platform is about to get serious with the successful vendors being narrowed to a final list of 10, according to at least one firm that has been included. The canoe project is being run by Cable Labs and is a response to cable (and broadcast and newspapers) losing ad dollars to the Internet where marketers get superior targeting and campaign management data. Cable Labs issued a RFP last fall and has been considering more than 60 vendor submissions.

One of these is Concurrent whose CEO Gary Trimm admitted last week work was being done on some advanced applications for the multi-MSO advertising project know as Canoe. According to CDN he confirmed his companies were in the final 10 for the Canoe project.

Cable operators first coordinated advertising in Los Angeles 20 years ago when five different markets combined to create what was called Adlink, a one stop shop for inventory, purchasing and video distribution. How the modern architecture will be established is not known but to deliver HD streams to individual homes will require a unicast approach which will challenge today's delivery systems.

For More:
- Oar in the Water? Article
- MEMORY LANE: Advertising's missing link Article
- Plugging the ad drain Article

Related article:
30-second ads not good enough Report

30-second TV ads not good enough

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 06:59:30 -0500

Throwing your 30 second TV commercial onto the web is not enough, says interactive web advertiser Tom Walker. Walker has recently started at interactive video house, Firstborn, and told Advertising Age the days of simply taking 30 second advertisements designed for TV and slapping them up on the web are over.

"It's an enormous mistake when a marketer just takes a 30-second spot and throws it on the web," said Walker. "A 30-second spot has been crafted for TV, and a web experience is very different. Even if [consumers] are going on the web to watch "Lost," the experience is different. Video is an incredibly valuable tool on the web, it has to be created and produced in a manner relevant to what's happening on the web. [It has to be] edited in a way that feels natural and not interruptive, that helps boost the experience and add to it."

The online video ad industry is only just emerging as a key part of the Internet video industry and, while much of the content coming down IP pipes is traditional linear TV, the success of YouTube as a marketing channel suggests marketeers are going to increasingly dedicate much larger budgets to purpose-built interactive video advertising.

Advertising is set to be a critical component of the online video market with some analysts at the recent CES predicting the download market is going to move to a free ad supported model, rather than the paid download model now being experimented with.

For More:
- For Online Video, Think Beyond 30 Seconds Article

Related articles:
TV shows more popular than news online Report
Adap.tv ups the online advertising game Report

Advertising for the brave

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 06:59:55 -0500

Unilever is learning about the dangers of advertising on user generated sites with the giant consumer company suddenly finding itself under attack for peddling pro- and anti-beauty care campaigns at the same time. Unilever soap brand, Dove launched its anti-beauty care viral video "Onslaught" on YouTube on Oct. 1 and has enjoyed nearly a million views plus countless mentions in the traditional media and blog world.

But not all the mentions have been on message with many pointing to the hypocrisy of Unilever appealing to the anti-beauty brigade with its Dove YouTube video and at the same time promoting an endless stream of big breasted, scantily clad, sex-crazed women in ads supporting its male deodorant, Axe.

And of course it has not taken long before some bright spark mashed the AXE and Dove ads together with the tag line "Talk to your daughter before the beauty industry does" changed to " before Unilever does." All part of the new world of video media. -Tom

Vuse complains about Comcast throttling

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 06:59:30 -0500

Some believe that rather than peering being the evil that Hollywood claims, P2P will be the savior of the internet as video continues to block up bandwidth. Which is what is so significant about Vuse's complaint last week to the FCC alleging Comcast was limiting applications using the peer-to-peer bit torrent protocol. Vuse is a start up and offers near HD video based on peering technology.

The suit alleges Comcast's limits on peer-to-peer applications such as BitTorrent violates federal computer fraud laws and is in breach of contract well as anti-fraud advertising statutes.

Comcast says it was only managing its network -- one of the biggest domestic systems in the world. Maybe. But the Vuse action is a quick reminder that the argument about net neutrality is not about to go away.

More Reports:
- Vuse takes Comcast to FCC Report
- Wired Report

Related articles:
- Comcast delays P2P traffic Report
- Comcast draws throttling criticism Report

Viacom opens up Daily Show archive

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 14:45:14 -0400

By Tom Burton

Viacom has put online the entire eight year archive of its top rating comedy series, Daily Show with Jon Stewart, in a move which will be closely watched by all the major networks, advertisers, telcos and the burgeoning new media video industry.

The LA Times reports producers have being preparing since June 13,000 clips -- together with ads -- to be placed on the Daily Show's own site. The archive is searchable and free for all to use.

Non obtrusive advertisements have been placed around the content as well as a short seven second introduction, with car manufacturer, Hyundai grabbing some of the early advertising slots.

Selected excerpts had been available, but the move to totally open the popular TV series archive is the most ambitious move by a traditional media company to cash in on the burgeoning popularity of video on the internet. It follows a recent move by the New York Times to abandon its online premium subscriber service and open its entire archive, arguing advertising offered better growth prospects than subscription.

With broadband now widely available, video has emerged as a highly popular format. Entertainment TV recently surpassed news as the most popular on line video format.

Viacom is suing Google's video juggernaut YouTube for alleged copyright breaches and its move to promote its own content direct from its own branded websites represents a major strategic change for the broadcasters. Traditional media players have been reluctant to post their content fearing massive reproduction thru peer to peer networks.

Most of the major broadcasters and content producers have posted limited online inventory as they tentatively test demand, distribution and commercial models.

Viacom's decision to post its entire archive--while fighting YouTube in the courts--sets the scene for a battle between the established media players and their high profile entertainment brands against the user generated content sites, most notable YouTube.

Also watching closely the Viacom experiment will be the telco IPTV industry which has seen the market place change rapidly as the quality of online video continues to improve, with at least one platform/site, Vimeo, already offering 1280X720 HD quality direct from the browser.

Adobe is shortly to release its latest Flash Player software (beta now available), which promises MPEG 4 broadcast like quality and which will significantly improve the quality of online video for all distributors and platforms.

This threatens the attractiveness of the proprietary systems many telcos are now rolling out as part of their triple play IPTV strategies. The telcos increasingly find themselves jammed between the media companies pushing their own content brands on their own sites and the online distributors who can offer soon to be broadcast quality content across the internet.

For advertisers, the Viacom move also opens a powerful new channel to promote from and comes as Google last week launched new ad sense video units for use by online publishers and San Francisco based Blinkx released a non proprietary video ad platform for publishers.

See also discussion of this story at BoingBoing and at Slashdot

TV shows more popular than news

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 06:59:40 -0400

Watching TV shows online has surged past watching newscasts as the most popular video format for U.S. Internet consumers, according to a survey commissioned by the Conference Board and market research group, TNS.

More than 15 percent of households now watch some TV online, while the number of Internet users watching whole episodes has double in the past year, says the Consumer Internet Barometer completed in Q3 2007.

Personal convenience and avoiding advertisements were cited as the top drivers for the growth in video entertainment, said Conference Board Consumer Research Center director, Lynn Franco. "One reason . . . is that much of the same content available for television viewers is also available online," Franco said. She said online users catching up on missed content have increased to 42 percent from 30 percent a year ago.

And, the dramatic growth is likely to impact the advertising market, said Shari Morwood, EVP of Technology, Telecommunications and Media at TNS. "(It's) going to have a huge impact on the way brands and advertisers communicate with viewers. If advertisers can effectively leverage the online video platform, we should see much more interactivity and emotional connection between brands and the online TV viewing audience," Morwood said.

For more:
- Summary of Report
- P&G, the Pioneer of Mixing Soap and Drama, Adds a Web Installment

Related Article:
Online video advertising to double

Adap.tv ups the online advertising game

Tue, 15 May 2007 06:59:10 -0400

Shopping.com founder Amir Ashkenazi's new startup, Adap.tv is looking to disrupt the online video ad world with its latest online video portal partner: Metacafe. Adap.tv also counts Amazon and Shopping.com as its clients. As its name suggests, Adap.tv's advertising "adapts" in real-time to consumers' interests and viewing behaviors.

For more on Adap.tv:
- check out this post on CNET

Joost goes live with advertisers

Tue, 08 May 2007 06:59:30 -0400

Joost, the online video site developed by the makers of Skype and Kazaa, went live last week with 31 advertisers and programming from Viacom, CBS and others. Joost has been in beta for months, which meant existing users could invite a limited number of people to join. Now that the site is out of beta, existing users have unlimited invites. Joost claims to have 100 employees across Europe and the U.S., and says it's working with 20 media and brand advertising companies to develop marketing campaigns for its clients. Some of its advertisers include IBM, GM, L'Oreal, Warner Bros., Nokia and Vodafone.

For more on Joost:
- see this article from IT Pro

AT&T gives away 1 year of HD

Mon, 09 Apr 2007 20:01:30 -0400

AT&T is giving "qualified" new U-Verse subscribers 12 months of free high definition programming at no extra cost. The promotion is available to new U-Verse subscribers, DIRECTV subscribers or AT&T|DISH Network service subscribers who mail in the requisite redemption forms. The operator currently offers 25 HD channels through U-Verse and up to 31 HD channels through its satellite broadcast services. AT&T pegs the 12 months of HD programming at a $240 value. The promotion lasts from now until May 31, 2007 for AT&T|DISH subscribers, through June 26, 2007 for DIRECTV subscribers and through June 30 for U-Verse subscribers.

For more on the HD giveaway:
- see this write-up over at TVover.net

Brightcove: Contextual ads, IPTV's moneymaker

Wed, 21 Mar 2007 20:01:10 -0400

Brightcove CEO Jeremy Allaire gave a presentation at VON last week that demonstrated the use of contextual ads for its online television network of on demand content. Allaire used the example of its Jewish Television Network that includes an on demand clip about Passover, a holiday coming up soon. Within the clip, apparently, is a "contextual ad" for a site that offers Passover-related products for sale. Russell Shaw over at ZDnet.com opines that this is a workable revenue model for "IPTV," but I think he means online television. It doesn't seem like IPTV operators are considering such advertising options at this point, however. The focus, of course, is on subscriber growth and service deployments. No use in advertising when you only have 7,000 viewers.

For more on Brightcove's VON talk:
- see this article from ZDnet

Local online video advertising to double

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 19:01:00 -0500

According to a report from Borrell Associates, the local online video advertising sector had a $161 million market segment in 2006 and will more than double this year to $371 million. Borrell claims "long-form infomercials" instead of traditional 15-second and 30-second spots are driving most of the growth. The market should reach $5 billion by 2012, according to the report. At that time, online video advertising will make up more than one-third of all local online advertising.

For more on the Borrell report:
- see this write-up over at TVover.net

Time to consider targeted advertising via IPTV?

Wed, 07 Feb 2007 19:01:20 -0500

A full 46.5 percent of IPTV executives worldwide believe that targeted advertising via IPTV will bring in "major" revenues within the next year, according to the quarterly survey from Accenture and the Economist Intelligence Unit. That finding stands in marked contrast to the industry buzz I've been hearing--that it's too early to even consider advertising because the subscriber base is still so small and the focus should remain on subscriber acquisition. What's more, another 37.4 percent of the IPTV executives surveyed believed such advertising would bring in "moderate" revenues. Telcos in the U.S. are keeping their eye on the France IPTV market, which is leading the pack in targeted advertising trials.

For more on the Accenture report:
- see this article from eMarketer

Verizon markets FiOS TV with in-store demos

Wed, 03 Jan 2007 19:01:10 -0500

Verizon seems to be taking a cue from Apple's playbook by opening two mall-front stores to demonstrate its FiOS TV service. So far the service provider has opened two locations: Fairfax, VA and Southlake, Texas. According to the original AP article: "Verizon would not discuss whether it has sold any FiOS subscriptions since the store opened...but...the stores serve their purpose even if customers don't sign up on the spot, because they expose new customers to products and services in a favorable way." Fairfax is just outside of D.C. so I'll take a look soon and report back. Stay tuned.

For more on the Verizon FiOS stores:
- see this post over at NewTeeVee

Cisco unveils VOD with nPVR and ad insertion

Wed, 06 Dec 2006 19:01:10 -0500

Cisco has substantially built on its acquisition of Scientific Atlanta last year with this week's announcement of a VOD software platform that includes networked personal video recording (nPVR) functionality and ad insertion capabilities. The platform is a repackaged version of the technology it obtained through its $92 million acquisition of server company Arroyo in August. According to the company, the platform sits atop a network of video servers, each of which can ingest up to 400 channels of video at a time, and can store up to 12,000 hours of content. Nine of these servers can pump out 5,000 simultaneous streams, Cisco says.

For more on Cisco's new VOD platform:
- take a look at this article from Light Reading

RELEASE: MRG report discloses IPTV advertising opportunities

Wed, 22 Nov 2006 09:50:16 -0500

MRG Report Discloses IPTV Advertising and Where the Money Is Monday November 20, 7:00 am ET IPTV Industry Poised to Exploit Advanced Advertising Technology SUNNYVALE, Calif., Nov. 20 -- With US cable TV ad sales exceeding $22 billion and growing at 12% per year, and Internet advertising at an estimated $12 billion and growing 20% per year, IPTV operators cannot ignore the unique advantage that IPTV technologies bring to their markets. "Timeshifting with DVRs and the rise of Internet Advertising has forever changed advertising," states MRG IPTV Director Bob Larribeau. "IPTV operators are at the point where they have to exploit their unique technical advantages." The new report, Advanced Advertising for IPTV Services -- November 2006, provides in-depth analyses of advanced advertising practices already in use by cable companies, including Long-Form, Telescoping, DVR Showcase, and Product- Placement Advertising. The report also describes a recommended step-by-step strategy for IPTV service providers to follow in adapting advanced advertising; and shows how basic local 30-second ads can be exploited due to the unmet demand by local advertisers. One of the most successful Advanced Advertising services used today by the cable industry is an imitation of Internet Advertising. It uses a zip-code based search approach that allows consumers to find automobiles and/or homes for sale using their Set-top-Box remote control. Using an ample amount of video clips to demonstrate the auto or real estate for sale, the service is targeted directly at local newspaper classifieds, and is proving highly popular in East-Coast cities where it is deployed. Another successful service-model in use is the Long-Form ad, that uses the VOD (Video-On-Demand) server to show free movie trailers, health advice, and travel-log video clips tied into special-interest portals on the EPG. Like the search-driven "pull" ads, these (Long-Form) ads exploit the VOD servers already installed in many IPTV networks, and provide an added revenue stream. Questions answered by the report include: What are the technology choices? Does advertising offer real service differentiation for operators? What can be learned from Internet Advertising? The (56-page) Advanced Advertising for IPTV Services Quarterly Technology & Content Report -- November, 2006 is available in printed form for $1,995.00US; as a Departmental PDF license for $2,995.00US; and is free as part of MRG's IPTV Tracking Service. For more information or to order the report, contact Rob Smith at 408-524-9767 or rsmith@mrgco.com, or visit www.mrgco.com.

Google: $200M in escrow for YouTube suits

Wed, 15 Nov 2006 19:01:00 -0500

Techdirt is reporting that Google has squirreled away a little more than $200 million in an escrow account to handle "potential" legal costs associated with copyright lawsuits following its acquisition of YouTube. While many have noted that such an account is standard for any large acquisition, reports say that the money is for copyright suits specifically. More interesting, probably, is that amid all of these reports, the rumor that the company was--against all odds--profitable before the Google acquisition can be laid to rest: YouTube was burning so much cash that it needed to borrow $15 million to make ends meet between the time the deal was announced more than a month ago and its closing two days ago.

For more analysis of YouToogle:
- see this ever-contrarian post from Techdirt

Dell website mum on Viiv

Wed, 11 Oct 2006 20:01:20 -0400

Dell, which formerly promoted Intel's Viiv technology, no longer mentions the new cross-platform entertainment platform on its website. Instead, Dell is promoting Intel rival AMD's similar technology called Live (rhyme intended I'm guessing.) Viiv aims to promote PC-to-TV synching as well as porting video over to the mobile platform while at home. The lack of promotion is sure to hurt Viiv's holiday season uptake. An Intel representative said that the company is currently encouraging partners to focus on its new Core 2 Duo processors ahead of so-called "platform" brands like Viiv.

For more on the so-called Viiv snub:
- see this article from CNET

Packet Vision

Mon, 11 Sep 2006 13:52:14 -0400

Based: Reading, UK
Founded: 2004
www.packetvision.com

Why it's fierce: What's so compelling about IPTV vs. traditional cable pay TV? First and foremost: Its ability to deliver targeted advertising. I think it's a mistake that most of the deployments here in the U.S. will not reap the benefits of targeted advertising from day one, but this will change in the coming year. And Packet Vision will be at the top of the list when that day comes, here's why: The boot-strapping start-up launched two years ago and regardless of taking very little VC funding has combined all the functions necessary for highly targeted advertising—media server, splicer, playout router and management system--into a single, pizza-box style enclosure. Since the product has launched commercially, trials in Alaska have begun and other undisclosed trials in Europe are underway as well.

What to look for: PacketVision will sign numerous rural carriers in the U.S. and some smaller players in Europe during the course of the year, with at least one big deal by year-end.

Fierce15 main page

Google snags IPTV executive

Wed, 02 Aug 2006 20:01:30 -0400

Back in April the industry got a whiff of Google's future IPTV plans when the company sent out its feelers for IPTV talent: engineers, programmers and product managers. Now, OpenTV, an IPTV middleware company, has announced that its CTO, Vincent Dureau, has joined Google at a "senior engineering role." Dureau was responsible for developing OpenTV's key technologies, global business relationships and, in the early days, building its engineering team from scratch. Most interestingly, Dureau took the lead of OpenTV's advanced advertising technologies, even penning a white paper that reads: "We believe that addressable advertising, where specific video ads are targeted to specific audiences will become central to advertising on digital television within the next 5 years... advertisers will be ready to pay premium rates to cable operators who can demonstrate increased efficiency of their advertising network through targeting."

Just last month, two research scientists at Google developed a way for your computer to quickly identify which programs you're watching on TV and feed you personalized content based on that information. While the scientists harp on the increased personalization aspects of it, you can bet Google has its eye on an advanced advertising platform that repurposes its keyword advertising scheme for TV. Looks like Dureau could be the one spearheading this initiative.

For more on Google's IPTV plans:
- see this press release from OpenTV on Dureau's departure
- take a look at this blog entry about Google's personalized TV concept