ENDAVO BLOG

OTTCon East: Observations and Opportunities

By Ryan Busing

OTTCon East may be over, but let me tell you -- after a busy couple of days of our team presenting and demonstrating at the show, everything OTT is just getting underway.

The industry’s top performers and innovators filled the Atlanta Capitol Conference Center this week, sharing their views of multiple screens, content discovery and hybrid IPTV/OTT TV. The fact is, television is changing quickly, including how people view it, all thanks to OTT.

Channel Surfing. As OTT video begins to work its way into the screens of consumers, content discovery will need to evolve as TV lineups go from hundreds of channels to potentially thousands. Just as we’ve seen the old TV Guide evolve first into electronic and now interactive program guides, future “OTT Program Guides” will need to develop new features.

Soon, users will be able to view seamlessly between broadcast and broadband content, as well as discover broadband content and advance metadata search capabilities—all while watching TV. Consumers, when faced with this unlimited programming, will expect (and rely) on discovery and recommendation processes—providing ease-of-use in building personalized viewing options.

Hybrid IPTV/OTT TV. While many of the technical aspects of the hybrid IPTV/OTT TV model are being addressed, delivering content to three screens (outside of traditional managed TV networks) raises issues for content producers and service providers beyond just the platform integration.

The advent of OTT presents multiple opportunities for content providers to consider as part of their business strategy. Should they deliver their content directly to consumers? Strike deals with service providers with their own OTT solution? Integrate content with one or a number of consumer electronics companies with OTT devices? Most likely, the answer is all or some combination of these or even others still yet to be defined.  And of course, there are many related issues such as how to preserve brand quality, control the experience of the audience, protect content from being pirated and determine the best combination of monetization services across multiple devices.

To this end, many vendors are concentrating on one aspect of the value chain and expecting the service providers to pull all the pieces together for delivery to the consumers. Finding an end-to-end technology that has a complete solution, including content management, monetization, multi-screen distribution, all wrapped with the capability to deliver a quality user experience, is a must for any successful OTT video services solution for anyone delivering OTT Video services to their customers. And if OTTCon East is any indication, the level of interest in the emerging OTT opportunity is growing fast. 

Savvy Content Providers Generating New Cash with Over-the-Top Offerings

By Jason Anderson

My recent trips to industry trade shows and events have revealed a trend. Looks like most content distributors and broadcasters are still reluctant to start syndicating their content beyond the TV. In entertainment biz lingo, producers are afraid they’re stepping over broadcast dollars to grab digital dimes. However, a few content providers aren’t just dipping their toes in the cross-platform waters. These smart folks are diving head-over-heels into a sea of new revenue by pushing content “over the top” to paying viewers on any screen. The Weather Channel and Dori Media are two examples that come to mind.

This week, The Weather Channel settled its long-running dispute with Dish Network over carriage fees and revealed plans to deliver a bevy of new offerings for subscribers online and though mobile devices.  Dish Network Programming VP Dave Shull stated, “This agreement recognizes the importance of cross-platform video delivery, ensuring that our subscribers will have the most detailed local weather information available at their fingertips anytime, anywhere.”

On the distributor front, Dori Media is well on its way to bringing in digital cash to supplement its broadcast success.  On the heels of digital telenovela Amanda O, Dori will soon launch a subscription-based video on demand platform aimed at U.S. Hispanic audiences and viewers throughout Latin America. By branching out and distributing their content to more screens, Dori is able to generate new revenue and build distributor brand identity. Ah, the joys of multi-screen syndication!

I understand how difficult it can be to step out of a comfort zone, but TV-only syndication is quickly becoming a thing of the past. And, as more viewers start turning off their TVs and turning on their mobile devices and PCs, they expect the content to follow. It’s time to embrace change and offer cross-platform, over-the-top syndication directly to viewers, on all screens.

What Content Windows Teach About Monetizing Media

By Jason Anderson

Last week, cable industry leaders gathered in Los Angeles for Cable Show 2010.  During the show, I overheard several discussions about an interesting topic -- content windows (when content is only available during a certain time period).  In a recent deal between RedBox and three major Hollywood studios, the studios agreed to allow distribution through RedBox's $1-per-day DVD rental kiosks, but RedBox must wait 28 days after official release date. This content window protects the rental revenue that the studios would derive from other, more expensive, video stores and DVD sales.

The key takeaway here is that whether you’re a major broadcaster or an indie producer, it is critically important to understand where and when your audience wants to watch your content, and the corresponding revenue (and/or information) that you can generate that brings value to your business.

For example, it would be tough to pay your bills solely from ad revenue from YouTube or Hulu.  But you can use the big funnel websites to connect with fans and promote content that you plan to offer first to your core audience in exchange for member information or subscription revenue. Choose when and where to release your content so that you reserve your “best stuff” for the site where you get the biggest piece of the data/revenue pie.  

Windowing is vitally important to your long-term success and is certainly not one size fits all.  You must know your fan base and your potential revenue streams, and then deploy strategies and technologies to build a loyal (and profitable) following.

It’s your content.  Make it do more for you.

Content Shopping – Making the Digital Leap

By Jason Anderson

With MIPTV in Cannes (and a cloud of Icelandic volcanic ash) behind me, I’ve become fully aware of the need for savvy distributors and broadcasters to do more with their content sales and delivery strategy. 

The fact is -- online video viewing continues to rise. Google alone saw 13 billion video views in March, according to comScore, but it’s up to the content producers, broadcasters and distributors to make the most of this growing popularity.

While many distributors and networks offer easy online access to their shows, most are still mailing content screeners on DVD . That method makes it difficult to obtain the most basic feedback from the potential audience. Did the recipients watch the content? How many times? How long did they watch?

There is a much better way.

Consider the cost-savings and strategic value of managing and tracking all of your digital media, including trailers and full episodes through a single media management system.  No reason to overnight 30 DVDs to a prospects, or to waste any more time uploading trailers for not-so-easy access via FTP and otherwise. 

Just upload your content once into a secure library. Next, let buyers watch content online or download it for later viewing. Then, track what they view or download, how long they watch it and much more. 

Not only will you save money, but you will gather real-time data to help increase sales and fine-tune production budgets.

Consumers are clamoring for a seamless, cross-platform viewing experience, and content buyers are increasingly demanding access to your programming anywhere and on any screen.  Be sure to meet buyers’ needs in a way that fuels immediate sales and provides invaluable data for the future. It’s your content. Why not simultaneously maximize the return on your investment and minimize the effort required, by using a media management system?

Day 1: Exhibiting at the 2010 NAB Show

Wow. What a difference a year makes. Last year, we spent some time educating those who stopped by our booth, but this year’s 2010 National Association of Broadcasters Show is all business. Content producers, aggregators, and broadcasters talking with us have certainly embraced OTT video and are now in “solution” mode. “How does your platform support my business model? How scalable is your service? How can I leverage your global telco tv partners?” Clearly, they have done their homework and we are excited about the opportunity to help them take their business to the next level by offering enhanced video services to their customers.

And to further help promote our OTT video services capabilities, we’ve taken our website to the next level. So if you don’t get a chance to stop by our Broadband Innovations Booth SU9506U, (check out the photo below), you can always catch up on the latest from Endavo at our newly renovated site: http://endavomedia.com/. And stay tuned for more; we have a feeling this is going to be an exciting show for the industry.

Will You Watch Me Now? Where Content Producers Can Find Their Audience

These days, being a content producer certainly has its opportunities and challenges. On the up side, viewers are now able to access hours and hours of video content, whenever and wherever they want. But, with all that content out there, it's tough work getting your audience to notice you. Video consumption is way, way up, and the competition is fierce. Cisco forecasts that U.S. bandwidth consumption is headed for 15 Terabytes per user each month. That’s around 3,750 DVDs-worth of data associated with video viewing (for one user, for just one month). As consumption soars, content producers must try harder to reach target viewers.

One way to gain an advantage is to stay ahead of audience demands. According to a recent Pew Internet study, an overwhelming majority of Americans (92%) use multiple formats for getting news. Here are the key findings:

• Multiple Formats: 46% of Americans say they get news information from four to six media platforms on a typical day. Just 7% get their news from a single media platform.
• Mobile: A third of cell phone owners now access news via their phone
• Interactive: More than a third (37%) of Internet users have contributed to the creation of news, commented about it or disseminated it through postings on social media sites. And about 75% of online news consumers say they get news forwarded through email or posts on social networking sites.
• Personalized: 28% of Internet users have customized their home page

And it’s moving in the same direction for video. Viewers want to watch content whenever they want and delivery to multiple screens is expected. So, you need to be thinking not just about producing great content, but also about putting it in the form and format that your audience wants. This is how you can rise above the noise and find (and connect) with your audience.