According to the WSJ Youtube is looking into breaking the streaming video space. It will compete directly with serivces like Netflix, Amazon prime video and Hulu.
Personally I feel like there is not much difference between these type of service. Most of the series and movies are old, and there is a lack of new material. The only place that I see these streaming services differentiting is on the originl content they produce.
So that raises a question, will Youtube just be another streaming service?
The answer is no. While the other providers license older tv series and movies, youtube will focus on new material. This may definetly give Youtube an edge and grab an important size of the pie in its first motnhs.
We should expect to see this new service by 2016, and I am personally looking forward to it.
Showing posts with label netflix. Show all posts
Showing posts with label netflix. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 02, 2015
Friday, February 27, 2015
Children are the future (of advertising)
YouTube Kids launched this week to a decent amount of fanfare, representing a safer, family-friendly alternative for allowing kids to interact with media on the internet.
The service touts features including: a timer (to limit the amount of time kids can spend watching clips); elimination of the search bar, which limits the content available for viewing to a preset menu; and obvious filtering of any content that could be deemed offensive or inappropriate for children. After all, you don't want your kid searching for "Power Rangers" and stumbling upon the awesomely violent unofficial Power Rangers reboot featuring James Van Der Beek.
Google is not the first to release a video service focused on children. Last year Todd Yellin, Netflix's Vice President of Product Innovation, came to talk with Columbia's Media Management Association. When asked about the biggest growth area for Netflix, Mr. Yellin spoke at length about the potential of Netflix Kids (which was already released to the public).
It is clear that the big digital media companies see children as a critical demographic for their business models. I chalk this up to three key themes. In order of increasing importance:
1. Stickiness- where the childrens' eyeballs go, so will the parents' (along with their subscription dollars)
2. Competitive advantage- these companies are chasing sustainable competitive advantage in the form of customer captivity- specifically, habit formation. Kids that grow up with YouTube or Netflix as their primary media vehicle will be much more likely to be heavy consumers as adults.
3. Advertising- this new, kids-only offering allows Google to provide advertisers (toymakers, cereal brands, etc.) highly targeted ad inventory that is guaranteed to be viewed by a captive audience of children. This should therefore command higher CPMs/CPCs with specific advertisers and represent a new revenue stream that Google hasn't been focused on before.
On the downside, parents have a right to be concerned about the frequency and other possible ill affects of all this targeted advertising. "What could possibly happen?", you may ask. Here's an anecdote: I had a manager who shared an iPad with his kid. About a month into letting his son download a game on the iPad, he received a bill from Apple well into the hundreds of dollars for in-game purchases that his kid was making to level up in a game. His kid had no idea of the consequences of clicking the button- he just thought it was part of the game!
Increased advertising to unsophisticated audiences will inevitably cause an increase in similar types of incidents across the board. It's ok to let your kid watch streaming content on kid-friendly providers... you just want to make sure that your credit card isn't connected to that service!
Sources:
http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/youtube-kids-app-launch/
http://www.geekwire.com/2015/parenting-youtube-kids-kid-curated-video-apps-wont-solve/
Thursday, February 26, 2015
FCC Votes for Net Neutrality!
GUYS! GUYS!
The FCC voted for net neutrality!!!
Net neutrality is the principle that all websites on the internet should be treated equally, and big time sites like Netflix and Hulu shouldn't be able to pay for better bandwidth from ISPs. Essentially, this decision means that the FCC is treating the internet like a public utility.
This is a big deal. Although this definitely doesn't mean the battle for net neutrality is won (ISPs will likely bring suit against the FCC to try to finagle a deal that will allow for special treatment of certain sites.), this is a huge step forward for proponents of net neutrality.
Interestingly, this is an issue that has united both major internet companies like Google and Facebook and individual activists. I wonder if this has something to do with where these two giants get their money.... Internet companies would be in a stranglehold if they decided not to "play" in a non-net neutral environment. For example, if Bing chose to pay for speed, but Google did not... Bing could surpass Google in search over time because of speed discrepancies. Not to mention these large internet staple companies were once newbies, and in a non-net neutral environment, well they would have been in a very tough bind....
This is definitely a step in the right direction in my opinion, but it is also only a first step in this battle. It is also a step in the direct of more regulation of the internet in general, and that... well that's a little more ambiguous...
Check out Mashable's coverage of this decision here.
The FCC voted for net neutrality!!!
Net neutrality is the principle that all websites on the internet should be treated equally, and big time sites like Netflix and Hulu shouldn't be able to pay for better bandwidth from ISPs. Essentially, this decision means that the FCC is treating the internet like a public utility.
This is a big deal. Although this definitely doesn't mean the battle for net neutrality is won (ISPs will likely bring suit against the FCC to try to finagle a deal that will allow for special treatment of certain sites.), this is a huge step forward for proponents of net neutrality.
Interestingly, this is an issue that has united both major internet companies like Google and Facebook and individual activists. I wonder if this has something to do with where these two giants get their money.... Internet companies would be in a stranglehold if they decided not to "play" in a non-net neutral environment. For example, if Bing chose to pay for speed, but Google did not... Bing could surpass Google in search over time because of speed discrepancies. Not to mention these large internet staple companies were once newbies, and in a non-net neutral environment, well they would have been in a very tough bind....
This is definitely a step in the right direction in my opinion, but it is also only a first step in this battle. It is also a step in the direct of more regulation of the internet in general, and that... well that's a little more ambiguous...
Check out Mashable's coverage of this decision here.
Friday, February 20, 2015
Insights on the current Digital Boom
I had the good fortune of hearing Henry Blodget, CEO of Business Insider, speak at last Tuesday night's Digital Investing class. Mr. Blodget shared stories about founding and building the company, explained the trends that Business Insider is capitalizing upon, and his thoughts on where the news media business is heading. A few weeks before that, he presented at the Digital Life Design Conference in Munich, and shared some insights that should be eye-opening for anyone whose business is affected by digitization (in other words, all of us). The slide deck is available here.
Because you probably don't have time to read through the entire deck, I wanted to synthesize some of the key themes and highlight some of the most compelling points.
The first and most obvious point is the growth of all things digital, and especially mobile- growth in smartphone sales, connected devices, etc. There are some surprising datapoints here- for instance, tablets are growing at the slowest rate since introduction (perhaps due to cannibalization from "phablets", the fastest-growing mobile category). Also, contrary to popular belief, the market dynamic is not just Apple vs Samsung- Chinese smartphone manufacturers now represent ~25% of worldwide sales.
Secondly, it is sometimes easy to mindlessly praise at the growth of technology, and overlook the "creative destruction" and decline of traditional media delivery vehicles. Print revenues for newspapers are significantly less than half of what they were at peak in 2005-2006, and the growth in the online businesses for newspapers has only made up a very small fraction of this difference. Uber and other digital businesses promise to provide the same level of disruption to other traditional industries.
Perhaps the most mind-blowing fact in this presentation is the absolute growth and domination of Google- it is now bringing in significantly more ad revenue itself than ALL newspapers and magazines in the US combined, and is roughly half the size of the ENTIRE global TV ad market. Wow. Additionally, Google is crushing it in terms of Chrome, Android, and YouTube market share in each respective market as well.
Similarly, according to Nielsen, Facebook reaches more people 18-24 than the four major TV networks. Netflix now has more subscribers in the US than HBO (though the release of the standalone HBO Go app may change that). It is inevitable that money will follow the eyeballs, and this represents a big threat to any traditional media companies who don't get directly into the digital distribution game themselves. However, a growth opportunity exists with the lines blurring around "primetime" TV, as people time shift their viewing and watch more on mobile devices. This effectively creates an 18/7 split, meaning that media companies can potentially monetize ads 18 hours a day due to increased consumer engagement- representing an increase in the inventory that they can deliver for advertisers.
Despite all of the positive trends and optimism regarding digital revolution, Blodget points to historical booms/bubbles as well as the inevitable busts that followed. He articulates that, based on capital flows and fundraising, we are in a boom but not quite a bubble like the late '90s (though I would argue we are pretty damn close- 2014 numbers weren't fully reflected on his charts, and those valuations are creeping towards late '90s levels).
Based on these charts, the average period from beginning of boom to bust appears to be around seven years. If you categorize the beginning of the current boom as beginning in 2009, that posits a bust occurring sometime in 2016.
Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/blodget-boom-will-become-bust-2015-2?op=1
Because you probably don't have time to read through the entire deck, I wanted to synthesize some of the key themes and highlight some of the most compelling points.
The first and most obvious point is the growth of all things digital, and especially mobile- growth in smartphone sales, connected devices, etc. There are some surprising datapoints here- for instance, tablets are growing at the slowest rate since introduction (perhaps due to cannibalization from "phablets", the fastest-growing mobile category). Also, contrary to popular belief, the market dynamic is not just Apple vs Samsung- Chinese smartphone manufacturers now represent ~25% of worldwide sales.
Secondly, it is sometimes easy to mindlessly praise at the growth of technology, and overlook the "creative destruction" and decline of traditional media delivery vehicles. Print revenues for newspapers are significantly less than half of what they were at peak in 2005-2006, and the growth in the online businesses for newspapers has only made up a very small fraction of this difference. Uber and other digital businesses promise to provide the same level of disruption to other traditional industries.
Perhaps the most mind-blowing fact in this presentation is the absolute growth and domination of Google- it is now bringing in significantly more ad revenue itself than ALL newspapers and magazines in the US combined, and is roughly half the size of the ENTIRE global TV ad market. Wow. Additionally, Google is crushing it in terms of Chrome, Android, and YouTube market share in each respective market as well.
Similarly, according to Nielsen, Facebook reaches more people 18-24 than the four major TV networks. Netflix now has more subscribers in the US than HBO (though the release of the standalone HBO Go app may change that). It is inevitable that money will follow the eyeballs, and this represents a big threat to any traditional media companies who don't get directly into the digital distribution game themselves. However, a growth opportunity exists with the lines blurring around "primetime" TV, as people time shift their viewing and watch more on mobile devices. This effectively creates an 18/7 split, meaning that media companies can potentially monetize ads 18 hours a day due to increased consumer engagement- representing an increase in the inventory that they can deliver for advertisers.
Despite all of the positive trends and optimism regarding digital revolution, Blodget points to historical booms/bubbles as well as the inevitable busts that followed. He articulates that, based on capital flows and fundraising, we are in a boom but not quite a bubble like the late '90s (though I would argue we are pretty damn close- 2014 numbers weren't fully reflected on his charts, and those valuations are creeping towards late '90s levels).
Based on these charts, the average period from beginning of boom to bust appears to be around seven years. If you categorize the beginning of the current boom as beginning in 2009, that posits a bust occurring sometime in 2016.
Is the party over for these guys? I don't think so, but they might want to exercise those stock options before the end of the year...
Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/blodget-boom-will-become-bust-2015-2?op=1
Monday, October 06, 2014
So long, Redbox Instant
After only
18 months, Redbox Instant, the streaming video service jointly operated by
Outerwall (parent company of Redbox) and Verizon, is shutting down. The service
will officially call it quits tomorrow, Tuesday October 7, 2014. See below for
the official announcement on Redbox’s website.
Redbox
Instant officially launched in early 2013 with a Netflix-like hybrid model that
tried to tie subscription video streaming to physical disc rentals. For only
$9.99/month, subscribers got access to Redbox’s online streaming catalogue and
four free DVD rentals a month from Redbox physical kiosks. In theory, this gave
customers access to newer movies than streaming alone would allow, especially
since customers could go straight to the kiosk to rent the movie versus waiting
for it to arrive by mail.
Unfortunately,
Redbox Instant never really caught on. To begin with, its catalog of
subscription titles mostly focused on movies, as opposed to the TV-heavy
catalogues that have been a big factor in both Netflix’s and Hulu’s success.
Furthermore, Redbox Instant’s catalog was also significantly smaller than
Netflix’s or even Amazon Prime’s streaming video catalog, and the service never
really gained traction.
Earlier this
year, Outerwall CEO J. Scott Di Valerio publicly discussed subscription numbers,
stating, “We’re not pleased where the subscribers are to date.” Di Valerio also
confirmed that if Redbox Instant continues to stagnate, the company will be
forced to reevaluate whether they will continue to sink capital into the
venture. The final straw was the fact that the service had to disable sign-ups
for the past three months due to a credit card fraud issue. This not only
prevented Redbox Instant from acquiring new customers, but also resulted in
existing customers with expiring or revoked credit cards being booted from the
service because they weren’t able to add any new payment information.
The
bottom line is that Redbox Instant just couldn’t keep up with Netflix (and
Amazon and Hulu to a lesser extent). Good on Redbox for recognizing this; now
they are free to focus on growing and expanding their kiosk business.
Sources:
GigaOm, Redbox, Reuters, TechCrunch
Friday, October 03, 2014
Calling all Adam Sandler Fans!
Are you an Adam Sandler fan? If you answered "yes" to that question - you're in major luck. Netflix, the world's largest subscription video service, recently announced that they would be producing four (that's right: FOUR) movies with comic actor Adam Sandler, in an effort to further expand into exclusive feature films. Happy Madison Productions, Adam's production company, will join forces with Netflix to develop the movies. Currently, Netflix operates in close to 50 countries, and the movies will premiere only to their customers.
According to AdAge and Bloomberg News, Netflix endeavors to add motion pictures to its lineup, which includes "first-run series, newer and vintage movies and TV programs, as well as documentaries and shows for kids." Netflix also recently announced a collaboration with Weinstein and Co. to produce a sequel to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." Theater owners nationwide are protesting Netflix's plan to release the feature film on IMAX screens on the same day that the film becomes available for online streaming. This, however, won't be a problem for the Adam Sandler movies, which will not be released in movie theaters.
This move by Netflix to partner with Happy Madison Productions is most likely a very, very smart move. Sandler's movies do extremely well at the box office, and Netflix has said that his movies are among the most viewed by subscribers--not only in the United States but also worldwide.
Netflix has found tremendous success in original content, including Orange is the New Black and House of Cards, so this move to feature films is perhaps not so surprising. Netflix is slow to release data on how many people watch their original content, so this takes some of the pressure off of Sandler. It will be exciting to see how this partnership will affect Netflix, Adam Sandler, and the entire streaming landscape.
SOURCE: http://adage.com/article/media/netflix-making-movies-comic-adam-sandler/295260/
Saturday, July 09, 2011
Facebook’s answer to Google+ : Watch the video!!
One week after Google+ Facebook teams up with Skype to add video conferencing (allows upto 10 callers in on video conference) to its website…FB has now officially hit 750 million users while Skype now has more than 300 million video calls users.
According to Forrester analyst Sean Corcoran “While integrating video calling will have little impact on marketers now, in the long term, it will mean Facebook, already the No. 1 place for online word-of-mouth, will be a crucial platform for marketers to engage customers, whether it's through video chat with fans or through new partnerships they form with Facebook on their own." With 4 billion things being shared on FB every single day, marketers certainly have enough eyes, ears and mouths to attract. But it also means that they have to work harder and harder to stand out and exploit the emerging social media sharing economy.
You can certainly envision a form of link up emerging from FB between video marketing, entertainment and consumer information. Social apps will be created to deliver personalised marketing content in video format directly to the consumer. As paid features are added to the FB ecosystem a lucrative money flow can be created. One idea proposed by Diane Mermigas, an editor at Media Post, “Facebook could use its super-powered distribution platform to create a new dynamic for charging, discounting and providing credits for friends who are sharing marketing and entertainment videos.” If FB is able to create such a monetary system it will change the dynamics of the online video industry – even Youtube, its major rival in video terms, doesn’t have a user paid revenue stream. Interestingly, Amazon is the only on demand video provider that has successfully used its social infrastructure to earn hefty revenues from its online video business (and that is one company that has the knowhow on how to capture consumer habits and exploit them to generate money.)
Add Netflix to the mix and the story gets even more interesting. Its aim is to develop social apps to increase its sales through use of social video sharing where people share and suggest movies to watch. And they are pretty serious about getting in first - The CEO of the Netflix was recently appointed to the FB board!!
With Skype in the process of being purchased by Microsoft for $8.5billion one thing we can be sure of is a Microsoft+FB vs. Google battle galore!!!
Source: Facebook Adds Video Calling, Group Chat
According to Forrester analyst Sean Corcoran “While integrating video calling will have little impact on marketers now, in the long term, it will mean Facebook, already the No. 1 place for online word-of-mouth, will be a crucial platform for marketers to engage customers, whether it's through video chat with fans or through new partnerships they form with Facebook on their own." With 4 billion things being shared on FB every single day, marketers certainly have enough eyes, ears and mouths to attract. But it also means that they have to work harder and harder to stand out and exploit the emerging social media sharing economy.
You can certainly envision a form of link up emerging from FB between video marketing, entertainment and consumer information. Social apps will be created to deliver personalised marketing content in video format directly to the consumer. As paid features are added to the FB ecosystem a lucrative money flow can be created. One idea proposed by Diane Mermigas, an editor at Media Post, “Facebook could use its super-powered distribution platform to create a new dynamic for charging, discounting and providing credits for friends who are sharing marketing and entertainment videos.” If FB is able to create such a monetary system it will change the dynamics of the online video industry – even Youtube, its major rival in video terms, doesn’t have a user paid revenue stream. Interestingly, Amazon is the only on demand video provider that has successfully used its social infrastructure to earn hefty revenues from its online video business (and that is one company that has the knowhow on how to capture consumer habits and exploit them to generate money.)
Add Netflix to the mix and the story gets even more interesting. Its aim is to develop social apps to increase its sales through use of social video sharing where people share and suggest movies to watch. And they are pretty serious about getting in first - The CEO of the Netflix was recently appointed to the FB board!!
With Skype in the process of being purchased by Microsoft for $8.5billion one thing we can be sure of is a Microsoft+FB vs. Google battle galore!!!
Source: Facebook Adds Video Calling, Group Chat
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Netflix 1 : Cable 0
Even since I have started Graduate school I hardly have time to watch TV let alone watch the 3 Netflix DVDs I have sitting on the shelf for the past 3-months. I know, I am not a smart customer, but between a full-time job and classes I don't even find the time to cancel my cable or reduce the number of DVDs I get from Netflix.
I am sure you will all agree with me that Netflix is a wonderful service. When I first came to the U.S. from Israel and heard about it, I thought to myself "this could never work in Israel" - people would just 'forget' to return the DVD, copy it or the mail service would lose it. I was amazed every time how perfectly the system works. Ever since I got an iPad I find myself using the Netflix app almost every time I travel, or sometimes even when I am sitting in a coffee shop.
What only occurred to my now about this service and why I like it so much is the fact that it doesn't have any of the annoying commercials that usually pop-up every time I am watching a stream online or of course on T.V.. Due to the success of Netflix I recently wondered if Netflix would become even more successful would they compromise and start allowing advertising on their site.
In an article published yesterday in NYTimes Bits Blog "Netflix Helps People Cut Cable Cord, Report Says" by Nick Bilton, turns out many people (as one would expect) have been canceling their cable service favoring watching video or streaming on their home television.
"The report found that people who use Netflix to stream Internet video to their televisions are twice as likely to cancel, or slim down, their cable television options."
With this in mind, I couldn't help but think what is happening to all this audience, especially for advertisers who mainly advertise on T.V. Will this shift in audience mean even more online advertising? Although the majority of the people surveyed reported economic reasons as their main reason for canceling cable, 34% said that the growing use of online video was their rationale with Netflix being the main content provider.
As Netflix continues to grow, offering its content on a variety of platforms like smartphones, Apple TV and Boxee it is not unlikely that eventually Netflix will open up for advertisers. I would be interested to hear if you agree with me, do you think online advertising would eventually 'hit' Netflix as well?
I am sure you will all agree with me that Netflix is a wonderful service. When I first came to the U.S. from Israel and heard about it, I thought to myself "this could never work in Israel" - people would just 'forget' to return the DVD, copy it or the mail service would lose it. I was amazed every time how perfectly the system works. Ever since I got an iPad I find myself using the Netflix app almost every time I travel, or sometimes even when I am sitting in a coffee shop.
What only occurred to my now about this service and why I like it so much is the fact that it doesn't have any of the annoying commercials that usually pop-up every time I am watching a stream online or of course on T.V.. Due to the success of Netflix I recently wondered if Netflix would become even more successful would they compromise and start allowing advertising on their site.
In an article published yesterday in NYTimes Bits Blog "Netflix Helps People Cut Cable Cord, Report Says" by Nick Bilton, turns out many people (as one would expect) have been canceling their cable service favoring watching video or streaming on their home television."The report found that people who use Netflix to stream Internet video to their televisions are twice as likely to cancel, or slim down, their cable television options."
With this in mind, I couldn't help but think what is happening to all this audience, especially for advertisers who mainly advertise on T.V. Will this shift in audience mean even more online advertising? Although the majority of the people surveyed reported economic reasons as their main reason for canceling cable, 34% said that the growing use of online video was their rationale with Netflix being the main content provider.
As Netflix continues to grow, offering its content on a variety of platforms like smartphones, Apple TV and Boxee it is not unlikely that eventually Netflix will open up for advertisers. I would be interested to hear if you agree with me, do you think online advertising would eventually 'hit' Netflix as well?
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Netflix & the Value of Consumer Information
This is a little bit old but it's still going on and really shows the value of consumer data. Netflix has agreed to give $1 million to anyone who can improve their DVD recommendation system. They have a particular algorithm to evaluate how good the improvements are and have a target score that gets someone the million dollar prize. It's pretty clear that Netflix must believe that even incremental improvements to its recommendations will continue to drive customers to its service.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)