Week of July 6, 2009

Joost Gives Up

Friday, July 10, 2009

Yesterday we discussed a report from Screen Digest <http://www.screendigest.com/press/releases/pr_28_06_2009/view.html> that predicted impressive increases in web TV ad revenue over the next 4 years, bucking the overall decline in TV ad revenue. Another part of the report was a prediction that the producer-owned outlets were the ones that would thrive, while 3rd party distributors like YouTube and Joost would lag.

Within days of that report, the other shoe dropped, as Joost, a much hyped service to distribute TV programming online has announced a major shift in its business strategy. It will change from being an entertainment portal into a white label video technology solution. The company, founded in 2007, found it too difficult to generate revenue without a major media partners.

TV on the Web Growing, But...

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Screen Digest issued a report entitled US Networks claim half of free online TV market <http://www.screendigest.com/press/releases/pr_28_06_2009/view.html> , which quantifies the explosive growth of TV on the web (TV shows, not just videos). However, while the consumption of TV on the web and its ad revenue will grow, it will still be just a fraction (less than 1%!) of total TV revenue. Some of the key insights and predictions of the report are:

* Online TV ad revenue in 2009 = $.6 billion

* Online TV ad revenue in 2013 = $1.5 billion

* Paid TV show revenue in 2013 = $.8 billion

* Total TV advertising in 2013 = $70 billion

* Apple's iTunes now controls 60% of the market for paid TV shows; iTunes share will drop to a 43% share

Analyst Aresh Amel, the author of the report, gained notoriety last year with his prediction that the network-backed Hulu would quickly surpass YouTube in ad revenue.

The Intimate Screen

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

2009 may go down as the year that mobile redefined itself. Smartphones, which have been on the market for several years, finally reached the tipping point. The iPhone 3GS, the Nokia N97, Palm Pre, and various Blackberry and Android phones have given mobile users more choices than ever. The ability to surfing the net and access social network sites directly from mobile devices makes them much more than just phones. Also, new devices such as Kindle are expanding the reach of mobile into other media.

With this in mind, it's no wonder that various market research firms are predicting growth in mobile marketing. These devices are surpassing the big screen, the small screen and the computer screen to become the intimate screen, fully capable media devices...and every savvy marketer wants to be there.

Supreme Court Won't Hear DVR Case

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

In a big victory for cable companies, the Supreme Court declined last week to review a suit over Cablevision's controversial remote-storage DVR that we discussed here weeks ago. The concept is simple and revolutionary, instead of storing your recorded programs on a set-top box, the programs you elect to record will be stored on the Cablevision servers. This will enable users to access their recorded shows from multiple locations, not just a single wet-top box.

Down the road, for consumers, it opens the door to accessing programming through multiple platforms. It also means effectively expanding the pool of on-demand programming. Currently, cable companies offer a limited number of on-demand programs, each negotiated with the program producer. Soon, anything that a subscriber pays for can be recorded and accessed more easily.

Hulu Outdoing YouTube on YouTube

Monday, July 6, 2009

Google's goal for YouTube is to get more full-length TV shows, putting it into competition with Hulu, and giving it a way to pay for itself. So far, YouTube is running far behind its network-backed rival. In fact, according to video analytics company TubeMogul <http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-youtube-vs-hulu-2009-6> , the promo clips for Hulu that are currently available on YouTube, get more views than the full-length TV episodes currently available on YouTube.