'Net Features : streaming video

Online Video Advertising Entering a Golden Age

Mike Phillips — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 19:00:00 GMT

It appears that online video advertising is no longer in the realm of "experimental media buys" but has fully entered the mainstream. And major profits are to be had.

According to media research firm Borrell Associates, streaming video advertising is set to grow more than 60 percent -- reaching $5.6 billion next year. And this growth is not limited to big agencies or businesses with massive budgets. According to Borrell, two of every five video ad dollars spent will come from local advertisers.

A separate report earlier this year from eMarketer predicted $1.5 billion in online video ad spend for 2010, and $5 billion by 2014 -- behind Borrell's predictions but still showing tremendous growth. While the numbers might not match up, one thing is clear -- online video advertising is hitting its stride.

Another strong indication? Hulu's CEO, Jason Kilar, told Bloomberg that ad revenue had already topped $100 million this year for the streaming video site. That's ahead of a rumored IPO for Hulu, which is hearing estimates of $2 billion or more. The last video site to garner over $1 billion was YouTube when it was purchased by Google in 2006. And we all know how that has turned out.

This is good news for every Web business. As online video consumption has risen, so has the prominence of streaming advertisements. As such, consumers have become quite accustomed to (and accepting of) these ads and more than willing to sit through 15 or 30 seconds to get the content they want. What's more, the explosion of smartphones, launch of the iPad and the pending influx of more tablet devices set to hit the market in mere months gives users even more opportunity to watch online video away from the confinements of a desktop computer. In fact, in a recent survey of 31,000 consumers conducted by Texterity and audited by BPA, of those who own iPads, a full 72 percent said they watch video on the iPad.

The takeaway here is that video is not a luxury for online businesses -- it has quickly become an integral part of the publishing and advertising landscape. Video is easy to create and distribute, and there is real opportunity to monetize on these videos. Consumers are watching video at a record pace, too -- a real opportunity to advertise your business to an active, engaged and captive audience.

Want to get involved in online video advertising? Check out BrightRoll, SpotXchange, VideoEgg and, of course, advertising on YouTube.

Mirror Image Provides a Look into Content's Changing Face

Linc Wonham — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:42:00 GMT

One illustration of the recent shift in Web content strategy comes from content delivery solutions provider Mirror Image Internet, which has increased mobile streaming traffic over its network by 100 percent since the beginning of 2010. Mirror Image now supports a total of 70 percent streaming traffic overall — both fixed and mobile — on its global network.

The network now supports video delivery to many of the popular video-enabled mobile devices such as the iPhone and iPad. Mirror Image’s multi-protocol streaming service supports HTML5 streaming that plays directly in the Safari browser on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, as well as on Snow Leopard using the HTML5 video tag for both video-on-demand and live-streaming services. The company also provides streaming services that support Microsoft Silverlight, Adobe Flash, H.264 and MPEG-TS.

As its customers and content producers everywhere are running more complex and multifaceted campaigns in which streaming can be a vital component, Mirror Image continues to closely watch the development of HTML5 and plans to introduce broader support as the adoption and definition of the platform matures.

LiveStream API's Make Video Streaming More Accessible

Pete Prestipino — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:54:00 GMT

Livestream has opened up its live video streaming platform by releasing several APIs, enabling Livestream’s free and premium service to be integrated into in-house or third party online video platforms and players.

What this means is that users (customers, programmers, and web) can build their own Livestream powered video players and clip libraries using HTML, Adobe Flash or Adobe Flex development environments. Other Platform API’s released today include the Live Publishing API, Guide API, Account API and Chat API.

The most notable implimentation of the Livestream API is a plug-in LiveStream jointly developed with video platform Brightcove. Brightcove customers can stream live and linear video via Livestream into their existing Brightcove player.

“Livestream is an important partner for us as we look to meet the increased demand for high quality live streaming among our global customer base,” said Chris Johnston, director of technology partnerships at Brightcove. “In partnering with organizations like Livestream, we’re able to provide customers with seamless access to a broad feature set for live publishing, distribution and analytics.”

Monetize Mogulus With Adap.tv Plugin

Pete Prestipino — Tue, 12 May 2009 14:30:00 GMT

Live-broadcast platform Mogulus announced the addition of a plug-in from Adap.tv, expanding the range of options customers have in monetizing their streaming video webcasts.

By expanding its already robust Internet video ecosystem to include Adap.tv’s capabilities as an integrator of advertising, Mogulus gives its PRO services customers a richer choice of features and functions to use in deriving advertising-based revenue from their streaming video programs. Mogulus is the only online video platform that combines live, 24/7 linear and on-demand broadcast video.

Mogulus is participating in Adap.TV’s Player Partner Program to add to the set of media-management services and video-publishing tools available to help customers monetize their video feeds.

"Integrating Adap.tv's One Source 2.0 platform as a plug-in to our Mogulus Pro service is a key milestone in enabling Mogulus Pro customers to monetize their live streaming content with pre-roll and overlay inventory from their own internal servers and third-party networks," said Mogulus co-founder and CEO Max Haot. “Since monetization is such a key part of the value we deliver to our customers, we’re very pleased to partner with Adap.tv.”