NBC Exec: “Video Has Been Liberated.”
TV viewers are headed to the Web more often than before. And as video segments being offered over the Internet start to resemble TV programming more often – in the form of webisodes – some are asking whether viewers will actually go back to the traditional set, especially now that the writers are striking and popular shows will likely turn to reruns to fill their time slots.
On a panel at the Ad:Tech conference in New York earlier this month, Beth Comstock, president for integrated media at NBC Universal, said that “Video has been liberated” from the TV set.
In an article this week, the New York Times notes that emerging online video clips are becoming more regular and more frequent – but aren’t nearly as long as a traditional 30-minute or 60-minute show on TV, a conscious effort driven by the theory that viewers aren’t willing to sit at the computer monitors for such a long time.
The article also notes a handful of shows that are growing in popularity and are getting advertising built in. A MySpace series called “Roommates,” for example, features the Ford Focus while an online show called “Mr. Robinson’s Driving School” on MSN features the Volvo C30.
Jayant Kadambi
Tags: Ad:Tech, Advertising, Google, MySpace, New York Times, YuMe