ENDAVO BLOG

Been There, Streamed That: 3 Lessons Learned

By Jason Anderson

Well, I'm back! I returned from the 2009 Lifelight Music Festival in Sioux Falls, S.D. a couple weeks ago, and I'm already looking forward to next year's event. To say the least, I had an amazing trip. The bands were great, the crowd was full of energy and the experience was unforgettable. But even more exciting than being out there with 300,000 fans was knowing that I was a part of something bigger.

For the first time in their 12-year history, LifeLight wanted to offer live streaming concert coverage to fans across the nation during the 3-day festival. So, you better believe that we were there to make it happen. So while live events are fresh on my mind, I wanted to share a few tips to help make your next online video live event a success. Sure, every live broadcast is going to be different in terms of venue, content, audience, production, budget, schedule, etc. But there are a few fundamental things that it’s always good to remind yourself of when preparing for your event.

1) Internet Connection is King

When planning a major online event, be sure to repeatedly test your live online connection strength prior to your event. This can easily be accomplished by connecting a DVD player or other video source to your streaming computer and to check out the quality of your broadcast. Don't take your internet provider's word on your upload speed -- inspect it personally.

2) Cameras, Computers and Coding, Oh My!

Prior to a live online event, be sure to test the quality of your input and output devices (cameras, encoders, etc.) to guarantee a flawless end-user experience.  Remember, the live stream can only ever be as good as your original source.  Also, try to dedicate a computer solely to the live online broadcast, and have a back-up. 

3) Ready, Set, Subscribe!

Be sure to set up an automatic subscription process through your live broadcast/video on-demand platform. This will streamline the user registration and log-in process, and simplify the way you manage registrations. By keep it simple, you’ll not only increase the number of people who subscribe but also increase the quality of the experience. Then, your audience can enjoy the event, without getting hung up during the registration process.

More live event tips to come. In the meantime, thanks to the incredible folks at Lifelight Festival. See you next year!

3 Reasons Now is the Time for Broadcasters to Become “Broadband-casters” – Part 3

By Paul D Hamm

By now you know that your targeted consumers are online and the infrastructure is there for you to reach them with your video content. However, where is the money? How do you monetize your online video, audience or an online community you have created?

Multiple monetization models are now proving out to make Internet TV a viable business alternative. Great article from Bloomberg – "The Simpsons" is getting $60 CPM; IGN‘s gaming site is getting $45 CPM. This is great news for quality niche content, because it proves that sponsors and advertisers are looking to reach targeted audiences. 

If you think the best way to build a business around professionally-produced online video is to “follow the eyeballs,” um, YouTube, I encourage you to reconsider your business plan. A viewer engages best with the content that relates to his or her interests. And when the environment around the video reflects these interests, engagement deepens. This represents a wonderful opportunity for the relevant advertiser.  Quick Challenge: Go to YouTube, spend a few minutes there and tell me what viewers there are actually interested in. Then go to Puppy Channel, American Powerboat TV or USA Rugby and tell me what people there are interested in.

However, one of the biggest mistakes a content producer or broadcaster can actually make is to get caught up in the debate over one video monetization model vs. another (especially ads vs. paid content). First of all, most of what you hear out there relates to “big media,” which is certainly a noteworthy data about the industry trends.  But this data doesn’t represent the majority of video content producers and distributors. So, the rest of us need to build our businesses on leveraging as many video monetization models as possible.

What does this mean? Well, first, you need to be regularly producing high-quality content relevant to specific audiences. This content has to be worthy of being paid for either by the audience (via subscription or pay-per-view) or by advertisers and sponsors looking to reach your audience… Or both, which is my second point here.

Why limit your business plan to a one-size-fits-all strategy? We’re seeing content owners – producers, broadcasters, organizations, etc – find multiple video monetization models that work for their services and communities. For best results, you can offer a combination of free ad-supported/sponsored videos, premium content (subscription or pay-per-view), live events and paid syndication. 

Take a chapter out of the book of cable TV broadcasting – offer free channels with ads, premium channels (think HBO) by subscription and PPV content, all through the same “network.” We’re seeing real-world examples of this approach working online. Call us and we’ll show you. Broadband supports a great number of distribution models. So, the possibilities to monetize are virtually endless. Do the math, and you may find that you are sitting on a cash cow just waiting to be turned loose. Let him run! Oh yeah, I can think of at least one platform to help you break the chains :).

Today Endavo Media Unleashes Producer Kelvin G. When It Comes to Monetizing Video, He’s Unreal.

By Pete Contardo

Yeah, okay, he’s a little offbeat. He’s obsessed with zombies, and addicted to his webcam. Basically, this guy’s unreal ... literally. He’s Kelvin G., a fast-talking, fake Hollywood producer we created to help online video content producers better understand Internet TV platforms, and how best to monetize their video.

Kelvin needed a home, and a reason for being, so we also created a campy, mock movie he’s supposedly shooting called Zombie Truckers 3, and a whacky microsite at ZombieTruckers3.com. The character interacts with Endavo clients, prospects and other “fellow producers” through his various Web videos, Twitter page, white papers and “personal” email, all supported by his own “Zombified” Endavo Media Internet TV Platform. 

Through his series of mock webcam videos playing on KelvinGTV, Kelvin provides practical examples (and some not so practical) on how to use online video, including social media features such as content sharing, commenting, chatting, and multiple ways to monetize online video to generate new revenue, such as advertising, sponsorships, subscriptions, syndication, branded entertainment and product placement. He even answers questions from fans, provides production insights and offers whatever else is on his mind from how to save ‘Jon and Kate Plus 8’ to the benefits of ‘Grunting in Tennis’ and more.

With Kelvin G.’s videos and the new site, we hope content producers will learn to embrace all the new opportunities to grow their businesses online, and have a little fun while they’re doing it.

Also, check out Kelvin's Hot Tips for "Making the Money" with Online Video and learn how smart producers and broadcasters monetize their content online:

Monetizing Online Video

View more documents from Kelvin G..

3 Reasons Now is the Time for Broadcasters to Become “Broadband-casters” – Part 1

By Paul D Hamm

Internet TV, mobile TV, IPTV – we’ve all been talking about delivering video content over the Internet for a long time…  But for the majority of content producers and broadcast networks, the pieces of the ‘Internet-delivered-TV’ puzzle haven’t quite fit together yet…. Until now.  Today, consumer adoption of online video, affordable technology and viable monetization models have fallen into place to make alternative strategies of delivering TV over broadband a very attainable reality. So, if you’re in the business of producing or distributing broadcast content, you can now also deliver and monetize your video over broadband. Let me help fit the pieces together into a realistic strategy over the next few posts...

Consumer adoption of Internet-delivered TV is finally coming to fruition. According to Media Post, 77% of Internet users are watching online video and 43% are watching weekly.  Even better, according to Metacafe, 37% of consumers who watch professionally produced content online find it as or more entertaining than TV.

So, the rising tide of video consumption and available content is raising all ships for both, traditional and broadband TV.  I strongly believe that these trends will continue. They will even accelerate as “communities” of relevant content, audiences and sponsors/advertisers emerge throughout the Web. These communities of people will provide the fertile ground on which new content-based businesses can emerge and grow.

The idea of “TV anywhere, anytime” is now a fact. The next step now is to bring passionate online audiences together to consume media, share it, talk about it and form social communities around it. And if you don’t think the Internet is becoming a large universe of “communities”, drill down into YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn and the myriad of other social networks. You will realize that they are places for groups of people with like interests who want to connect and share their experiences with each other. Providing both great content and a social forum to an engaged community of people is a huge business opportunity.

So, the first step in a viable online video strategy is to produce content that is relevant to a specific audience which can be reached and brought together online. And once you have reached your target audience and it has engaged, you now have the foundation on which to build your business. All you need to do now is to provide relevant, regular content, find the right video delivery platform and determine the best monetization models for your content and audience. 

In the next couple of posts I will write about how affordable Technology has made it easy to publish and deliver broadcast your video content over the Internet. I will also discuss Multiple Monetization Models and how to choose the ones that work best for your business.   See you soon!

Powerboat P1 Racing Available to Fans in the U.S. Via Online Video Streaming

Looking for a splash of speed, action and excitement? Well, now you can get it all right in front of your computer screen! Check out Malta Grand Prix Race online video channel at AmericanPowerboat.TV.  The Malta Race and coverage of the 2009 European Powerboat P1 season are now part of American Powerboat Television’s (APBTV’s) online video programming powered by Endavo Media’s Internet TV Platform. 

Within two weeks of each race, AmericanPowerboat.TV viewers can watch P1 race highlights produced by a number of international channels including Greenlight TV, which provides the Powerboat P1 World Championship coverage for EuroSports. In addition to AmericanPowerboat.TV, 2009 APBTV racing programming is also available to offshore enthusiasts all over the world through an affiliate online video player on Powerboat P1’s U.K.-based website.

The American Powerboat TV television series is produced by John Potts and broadcast on Fox Sports Network as well as on CBS Sports beginning fourth quarter 2009.

 Visit our website for a full press release

AMA Tampa Bay Serves Online Video to the Local Business Community

As an active member of the local business community, we love exploring the hottest trends in digital media, online video and social media marketing with Tampa Bay’s marketing professionals. And as a new media technology company, we love it when our Internet TV platform can help facilitate this exploration. That’s why we are so excited to announce the launch of the AMA Tampa Bay TV, an online video platform supported by the Tampa Bay Chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA Tampa Bay).  Using Endavo Media’s Internet TV Platform, AMA Tampa Bay TV will stream on-demand video content and serve as the source of professional and industry information and education to AMA members and marketers throughout the Tampa Bay area. A variety of interactive features will allow viewers to rate, comment and share videos, and even chat with each other during live events! Future plans for AMA Tampa Bay TV also include user-generated video uploads.

Here’s an example of how AMA Tampa Bay TV provided additional insights to its members with a videotaped interview from one of its guest speakers, Tod Taylor from Franklin Covey.

“It’s exciting to partner with an association that embraces online video and is using it to enhance the professional development of its members,” says Peter Contardo, our Chief Marketing Officer. “To see a non-profit marketing organization like AMA Tampa Bay showcase the power of new media as part of its own marketing and business strategy is truly unique.”   

By adding a custom branded video player to its website, AMA Tampa Bay can also generate additional revenue by monetizing its online video content with video and banner ads, sponsorships, subscriptions, pay-per-view and more.

On-location shooting and post-production services are being provided by Tampa Digital Studios. Video segments are being produced and hosted by Emmy Award winning reporter Heidi Kempf of Ren Scott Productions.

Visit our website for a full press release

Online video: short-form content is the winner

By Tatiana Tugbaeva
"While online video usage is growing, it is shortsighted to think of this primarily as an alternative venue for watching TV shows," says independent analyst Bruce Leichtman. "In fact, consumer use of video online remains much more about short-form video."

At Endavo Media, we support Leichtman’s outlook on web video. Online video is more than just watching regular TV programming on the web. In fact, in his recent survey of 250 broadband households, Leichtman found that only 8% of respondents watched repurposed TV shows on their PCs.

The greatest thing about online video is that has given equal opportunities to big and independent content owners to distribute their videos online. It has also allowed smaller and emerging brands to tell their stories and connect with the audiences without breaking the bank. You don’t need high-end equipment and a million-dollar budget to produce engaging content and reach your audience. All you need is a hand-held camera, compelling story to tell and broadband connection. 

Small Sports Teams/Leagues: Huge Opportunity to Use Online Video

By Shaun Pope

The great thing about sports is that people get so passionate about it. So, if you’re a sports marketer, team/league promoter or just a hardcore fan, building an online community around sports is a no-brainer.

The first step is to create a place where fans, players and supporters can meet online. You can always start with a blog. But sport is about action and nothing does this better than video. So, using online video is a great way to attract fans to your site. Not to mention the sponsors that want to reach them.

The good news is that you don’t even have to worry about production. Most fans, parents and coaches are already capturing video and pictures. What you need is a centralized place where community members can share their user-gen content and interact with one another. The most cost- and time-efficient way to get your video community up and running is to select a fully-hosted online video platform that lets you create a branded video community and gives you total control over your media, audience and monetization options. As your community expands, you may decide to stream live video from key athletic events or to invest into additional video production like interviews with players and weekly team reports.  Your Internet TV platform should have the capability to supports your community’s changing needs.

You can then monetize you online video community by attracting sponsors and advertisers who want to reach your audience.  Advertisers will be able to become active community members by supporting team segments, including their own videos, sponsoring live events or displaying ads on your website and within your online video player. Need an example? Take a look at what American Powerboat TV has done with its sponsors. You can also monetize your community through fee-based subscriptions or by selling access to live streaming events.

What’s great about online video is that it’s a great equalizer. It’s now possible for USA Water Ski to have the same powerful marketing and promotion tools as the National Football League. And if you’re wondering, yes, Endavo Media can help.