Broadcasters are jumping on board the online bandwagon as bandwidth makes video a reality for users.
Television networks have spent much of their 60-plus-year media reign continually adapting their revenue models for new delivery platforms such as cable and satellite. After many years of hoping that interest in multimedia Internet content would fade as quickly as sitcoms featuring former Seinfeld stars, the networks are now fully embracing online video distribution.
Now that online consumers spend just as much time at the keyboard as with the remote control (14 hours per week, according to JupiterResearch), the TV networks are joining the party. The top networks are creating custom content and partnering with online media moguls to develop streaming and download services.
Making even a fraction of the vast reserves of current and archived television programming available through streams or downloads to portable media players and mobile phones will greatly increase the partnership and revenue opportunities for online advertisers, search marketers, publishers and affiliates.
Video Takes Action
The networks’ initial forays into distributing content online primarily featured clips of programs that were distributed for free and without advertising.
News dominated the early offerings from CNN, MSNBC, Fox and the big three broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC). NBC was the first network to stream an entire regular newscast, when it launched its webcast of the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams.
Late last year that trickle of content became a steady stream, thanks in large part to Apple Computer. Apple sold more than 1 million video downloads within the first three weeks of its iTunes video store opening in October 2005. Over the next few months Apple signed deals to sell downloads of TV programming from NBC, USA Network, ABC, Disney, Showtime and others through its iTunes service for $1.99 per program.
The global market for pay-per-content broadband was $360 million in 2005, and it is expected to skyrocket to $7.5 billion in 2010, according to ABI Research principal analyst Michael Wolf.
He says that previously the networks were wary of putting premium content online, afraid it would cannibalize their broadcast efforts, but Apple’s successful introduction of a new version of its iPod that plays video files convinced the networks of the feasibility of selling television content online.
According to Wolf, the most dedicated followers of popular TV shows such as Desperate Housewives or The Office are likely to also be active online media consumers.
CBS’ website had the most unique visitors among video publishers, followed by MSN Video, AOL Television and Yahoo TV according to December 2005 data from Nielsen//NetRatings.
In order to broaden the reach of video content beyond their own websites, the TV networks are turning to search engines and portals to distribute content. CBS partnered with Google to sell downloads of some of its top-rated shows including CSI and Survivor as well as “classic” shows such as The Brady Bunch and I Love Lucy through the Google Video Store. Disney is developing a broadband channel that could make up to one-quarter of its prime-time offerings available on demand.
America Online is offering old TV shows from parent company Time Warner including Alice, Chico and the Man and Wonder Woman. AOL also purchased video search engine Truveo in December 2005. Yahoo is teaming up with actors/producers Matt Damon and Ben Affleck and reality show guru Mark Burnett to develop an online reality show called The Runner.
However, the online video market still has some things to learn about alerting consumers to its offerings. Unlike television viewers who have several options to find programs of interest, online consumers are currently dependent on search to find programs.
To find what’s on broadcast and cable TV, viewers can look to TV Guide, newspaper listings, online programming guides and advertisements on the networks themselves. Currently, it’s the early days of television distribution on the Internet, and video search engines from Google, MSN, Yahoo and AOL do not offer TV directories or guides. Instead users are primarily using search boxes. Users plug in terms and hopefully find what they are seeking.
The next 12 to 18 months will be the prime time for the expansion of television programming online as the networks and search engines reach out to large and niche publishers to aid in content distribution. But the portals are not alone – specialty video search engines including TVEyes.com and blinkx.com are challenging the biggest players for a share of the advertising revenue from online television programs.
San Francisco-based blinkx has signed up E Entertainment, BBC, ABC, NBC, HBO and British news broadcaster ITN to deliver TV programming through its video search engine. blinkx CEO Suranga Chandratillake says, “2006 will be about telling other people to put our search on their sites.” The company is also partnering with performance marketing network Miva to expand the distribution of its video search.
Publishers can “splice and dice” the blinkx television feeds to create custom channels that match their individual audiences and will be paid via a revenue share, according to Chandratillake. For example, publishers could choose to limit searches to celebrity news, or make available only content from the A&E network.
Chandratillake says that to simplify the indexing of content, the TV networks provide metadata describing each program. blinkx enhances the quality of the search results through speech-recognition technology that identifies the subject matter being discussed.
Arise Ye Networks
Although most of the current revenue from full-length TV programming is derived from subscription services or downloads, income from advertising-supported content is expected to rival payfor- content. Advertising revenue will come from banner and contextual ads displayed on search results pages, as well as video ads that appear within the program.
Since the beginning, advertising has largely financed consumers’ almost-endless appetite for television, and online it is likely to be the same. The advertising market for online video will reach $8.6 billion by 2010, according to ABI Research.
“Broadcast TV shows are filler between the ads,” Peter Carlin, a TV critic for The Oregonian newspaper, says. He recently attended the Television Critics Press Tour where the Internet rated “above ratings” as a leading topic of discussion. Figuring out how to capitalize on online video distribution is top of mind for many TV executives, Carlin says, as they are anxious to exploit the lucrative online audience that tends to be younger and slanted toward males.
Carlin says broadcasters are learning how to maximize their revenue from digital content by exploring relationships with search engines and portals, and by testing new advertising models. “Nobody wants to be like the Betamax of new media age” and be left behind, he says.
To fully exploit the possibilities, TV broadcasters must learn about search engine optimization, developing affiliate networks and performance marketing revenue models. Carlin expects that the networks won’t have a problem with taking lessons from the online experts. “Being entirely reactive is not something they are uncomfortable with,” he says.
Video Ad Specialists
Demand for video ads will also create a new industry of production companies and interactive agencies that specialize in developing and distributing video ads. Companies such as ROO, PointRoll and Eyeblaster will work with online publishers to place ads within their online and downloadable content.
Repurposing TV programming for online distribution could also ignite interest in interactive technologies that link from videos or advertisements to landing pages. The networks have turned to escalating the use of product placement within programming to offset some of the revenue lost to online advertising, according to Carlin.
American Idol has blatantly pitched Nextel’s wireless service and placed large cups with the logo of Coca-Cola prominently in front of the judges, Carlin says, and The Office has an executive producer whose job is to determine how to incorporate products into the storylines “without prostituting the show.”
Microsoft is developing technology for its AdCenter platform that will enable video ads or broadcasts to link directly to other websites and with new technologies. This could open the door for the interactive TV market that has been much ballyhooed for a decade.
Dollars Drive Creativity
The revenue generated from online video distribution is likely to affect the creative process by increasing the demand for content and opening up the market for short forms of content. Television networks will likely use feedback from their websites to assess the viability of existing shows as they debut new programs online first to gauge audience response.
Carlin believes online distribution “increases appetite for shows that are less obviously mainstream.” The TV networks are quicker than ever to cancel shows, and online metrics could give the networks valuable input in determining a show’s fate. For example, fringe shows like The Office may get more consideration by the networks because of their popularity online.
Cable channel Comedy Central is aggressively pursuing an online audience and will develop 24 new online-only programs this year, according to Lou Wallach, senior vice president of original programming and development at Comedy Central.
Comedy Central has developed a media player called the “MotherLoad” to showcase its repurposed and original content. Wallach says that comedy is well-suited for short-form videos (five minutes or less) that have become popular online. Comedy Central’s online lineup includes sketch comedy and parody shows, such as All Access: Middle Ages, which pokes fun at the black plague and the crusades. The short-form video will also give increased exposure to digital and stop-motion animation, according to Wallach.
Wallach says one video ad will be shown in between every four to five segments. In addition to banner and video ads, Comedy Central is also considering sponsorships and product placement as revenue options.
Artists are embracing the new format, Wallach says. “The talent community recognizes that this form is here to stay.”
During the next year, television broadcasters will shift from experimentation in online distribution to expecting positive returns on investment. There is a strong incentive for publishers and advertisers to work with them to successfully exploit the medium. If online video distribution fizzles, the networks will likely cancel their online programs and invest more in competing video-on-demand services delivered to televisions.
JOHN GARTNER is a freelance writer in Portland, Ore. He is a former editor at Wired News and CMP. His articles regularly appear on Wired.com, AlterNet.org and in MIT’s TechnologyReview.com.