Archive for February, 2009
Video, Video, Get Your Video
I guess a recession can’t stop us from watching TV. Of course, it might just be because we’re jobless and have nothing better to do. But being an optimist, I think it’s a trend that is independent of the macro-economic disaster that we find ourselves in. Take a look at the Nielson report released yesterday, interestingly enough titled 3 Screen, measuring video viewership across TV, the Internet and Mobile.
I’ve recently wrote about history lessons on the iMedia Connection blog backing my assertion that as video is syndicated onto many formats and distribution channels and platforms, the resulting total audience grows because there are more people who have access to the video. And, content owners should stop fretting over lost revenue and rake in the accretive revenue.
When I find facts (or even theories) that support my own hare-brained theories, I feel compelled to drive the point home. The Nielson report shows TV viewership up, DVR viewership up and Internet and mobile video viewership up and to the right. Video consumption being up and to the right is a great trend for all of us in this business.
Jayant Kadambi
Yes, Really. Video Spending is Up.
Well, it’s officially ugly out there. Public (and private) company valuations are down, advertising spending is down, people are questioning every dollar being spent, … I’m sure we all have our sob stories. From a corporate standpoint, the first thing to get questioned (we did it here at YuMe) was marketing spend. What did we get for our money, why did it cost that much, i.e., what was the return on my investment? Should we continue?
And in many cases, ad spending is being slashed, … , anecdotal and some real evidence points to TV spending being down, print spending being down, search sorta hanging in there and display is getting hit hard. What about the little bit of spending going into online video? As far as we can tell, it looks as if it’s going up. Yes, really. Up.
I guess being able to provide solid metrics, solid targeting and premium reach does help prove the usefuleness of marketing spend. And truth be told, we’re starting from a relatively small base of spending compared to TV and the others, but it’s nice to see the continued interest in online video spending.
We’ll let you know how it’s going and if it’s still consistent in a few more months.
Jayant Kadambi
Saving money drives online video viewership?
Hmm. A few days ago CNN.com had an article titled “More turning to Web to watch TV, movies“. The article starts with a sure winner for the times, “If saving money is … “. The punch line is that in order to save money people are watching video on broadband-enabled TVs, on websites using $99 set-top devices and with video handhelds. It goes on to state that this is partly because everything online is free.
I think they give the recession way too much credit. High-end broadband enabled TVs are expensive, and only the tech-friendly masses (there are quite a few, I must admit), will delve into the mass of wires connected to their DVR, TV and satellite or cable receiver to install another cool box. The growth of online video is strong, and pretty inexorable. Given we’re all growing up in the me generation, and we’re spoiled for choice, we want the ability to watch stuff anywhere and technology is helping us achieve that. As I’ve said on these pages before, the catch is going to be whether the video distributors, producers and syndicators can make advertising money on their content that is being viewed, because pay-per-view isn’t working. And as the content (as the article describes) is pushed over multiple formats, and ad buyers want all the distribution points, it gets a tad bit harder to monetize. But if you have those troubles, call YuMe 
Jayant Kadambi
YuMe Gets Cookin’
We all got together to bond while cooking (and wine tasting) at La Honda Winery in Redwood City this past Friday. We had a great time and it was a nice break from the world of video rfp’s, player integrations, campaign optimizations and video advertising!
The event was put on by Parties that Cook, which did an amazing job! And, best of all, they did all the dishes!
Molly Glover Gallatin
