The hamsters are back. Kia has been hinting that the mascots for its Soul vehicle would make a new appearance in ads -- and indeed, they are here. The company introduced the anthropomorphic Cricetinae in the Soul launch campaign "New Way to Roll" in 2009 and brought them back some months later in a wildly popular ad set to "This or That" by the Black Sheep that established the animals as droll hipsters. The new TV, in-cinema, digital and social media campaign uses LMFAO's hit "Party Rock Anthem." And instead of rolling through a world where un-hip hamsters attempt to travel about on appliances, the three rotund rodents now roll through an interstellar video game world. The new effort, "Share Some Soul," by longtime AOR David & Goliath, launches with a 60-second spot that opens on a futuristic video game world where robots and humanoids are battling to the death with various weapons of mass destruction. Into this landscape the Hamsters arrive in a bright green Soul with "Party Rock Anthem" blasting out the back. The various robots and soldiers stop what they're doing and watch as the Hamsters exit the car and break into the "shuffle" dance. Then the machines and humanoids drop their weapons and break into the dance as well. The Hamsters are also wearing the "Hamstar" clothing line that started as something of an ersatz pursuit at David & Goliath, but has gained a following. The spot is on YouTube now, but is set to hit the air during MTV's Video Music Awards on Aug. 28. Kia also has an in-cinema buy for the spot starting in theaters Sept. 2 -- with 30-second versions on network and cable television beginning Sept. 5, per the company. Facebook, Kia.com and YouTube will be central to a "shuffle" dance video submission contest mid-month for a chance to win cash and other prizes. The new version of Soul comes in three variations (Soul, Soul+ and Soul!) and has cosmetic upgrades to the front and rear fascias. IN addition to new technology and interior accoutrements, it has new headlamps, taillights, side mirrors and wheels.
Branded entertainment media deals have been in a lull recently. But big booster Jordan Levin and his Generate company believe they shouldn't be -- especially in this rapidly changing media marketplace. "Twelve to 18 months ago, these deals seemed to be gaining momentum," says Levin, CEO of the 5-year-old Generate, part management/talent agency, part straight-ahead TV producer, and part branded entertainment shop. "But largely in the last three to six months, it has begun to pull back." Coming out of the recession, TV marketers believed they needed to take chances in order to succeed, such as doing big branded entertainment deals. That focus has lessened, according to many observers, including Levin. TV marketers have seemingly gone back to what they believe works best: traditional TV and media marketing. "In 2010, you might get fired for not trying new things," he says. Now things have returned to somewhat older ways: "No one gets fired for buying 'American Idol.'" But Levin believes this is a mistake -- that in an age of fractionalization of media and tremendous shifts from baby boomers to younger consumers, many marketers -- especially with legacy, older brands -- need to invent new ways to get viewers engaged. "Advertisers are seeking a return and to have greater control of their content," he says. "But they are not taking advantage." All this is something branded entertainment can do for them. Still, Levin says a number of companies are forward-thinking when it comes to branded entertainment, for traditional media and new digital platforms. This includes Procter & Gamble, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Pepsi, Clorox, Coke, and some of the spirits brands like Grey Goose, to name a few. Moving to engage consumers -- especially young consumers -- was a major part of The WB network, where Levin was CEO, as well as its programming chief. The young-skewing mini-network eventually became the CW. His network experience was the impetus to form Generate. Over the past three years, Generate has produced 30 multiplatform branded entertainment campaigns, plus entertainment projects for cable. One of the most visible was its TV production work for the advertising /programming vignettes it worked on for Group M's Mindshare Entertainment clients -- specifically Unilever, in connection with AMC's "Mad Men." These vignettes were set in a 1960s-like advertising agency -- similar to "Mad Men" -- where creatives pondered campaigns for six brands: Dove, Breyers, Hellman's Klondike, Suave and Vaseline. They ran in commercial breaks during "Mad Men." Among Generate's recent efforts are an overall TV production deal with CBS Paramount Studios; production on a cable TV series, two series in pre-production, and a four-comedy TV special deal through a joint venture with Warner Bros. Records; as well as continuing to build on its 175-client management business, which includes nine talent agents. Branded entertainment projects are a key and profitable business for Generate. But because of its diversified businesses, it believes it can weather downturns in the market -- through recession or otherwise -- that put other companies in trouble. Levin says branded entertainment is a massive juggling effort -- delivering to marketers' needs, as well as talent and distribution partners. "We recognize there are a lot of different masters to serve," he says. But it has been a tough road of late in putting these deals together -- for all producers. Many brand marketers have backed off from integrated branded entertainment deals -- pacts that can take months to put together. One reason is the lack of consistent metrics when it comes to looking at specific brand ROI for that media investment. "It's a fair criticism," he says. "Brands can be spooked with bad experiences. But it just requires more work. If brands don't demand innovation in media they are going to lose the next generation of consumers."
DVR maker TiVo Inc. posted a 19% revenue gain to just over $61 million, while reporting a nearly $20 million loss for the company's second quarter, ended July 31. But the quarter was a lot sweeter than results from ongoing business operations would indicate. It also received a $300 million payment from Dish Network, the first installment on a $600 million plus award stemming from TiVo's successful patent infringement suit against the TV satellite operator. And there's more litigation to come: Two trials are set to begin in the fall, pitting the company against AT&T and Verizon in separate patent infringement cases. TiVo said that with the Dish payment, it now had $628 million in cash and short-term investments on hand. For the first six months of the company's fiscal year, revenues were down 5% to $107 million, while net income totaled $119.4 million versus a $29.5 million loss for the same period in 2010. "In just a short period of time, we have repositioned our company to be a full provider of hardware and software solutions," said TiVo CEO Tom Rogers on a conference call with analysts, according to a transcript provided by Seeking Alpha. In addition to DVRs, the company now provides a suite of services that enable VOD, interactive TV and audience measurement, among other offerings. TiVo also had some success growing its subscriber base through agreements with cable and satellite operators, both in the U.S. and abroad. This week, it announced a new agreement with Grande Communications, a cable operator in the Southwest, with 150,000 subscribers. And a deal with Virgin Media in the UK was recently activated. The details of the launch of a DVR service for DirecTV are expected to be announced soon, the company said. "The international market, in particular, is a great opportunity for TiVo because there are hundreds of millions of TV subscribers, whose pay TV providers are going to need to transition to advanced television over the next few years," said Rogers, adding that TiVo is having "meaningful dialogue" with a number of other overseas cable TV operators. With the recent focus on the value of technology patents, Rogers told analysts that TiVo is now taking steps to maximize the valuation of its entire portfolio of intellectual property. The company has roughly 600 issued and pending patents across the spectrum of consumer electronics, said Rogers. The company believes it has "one of the more advanced patent portfolios in these fields. We'll continue to evaluate how to get the most," out of them, he promised.
Twentieth Television -- the News Corp. syndication arm, which distributes shows such as "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader," "Burn Notice" and "Glee" -- has named Joe Oulvey to head ad sales. He has been leading national spot sales for the Fox stations group. Oulvey takes over for Judy Kenny and will report to Twentieth president Greg Meidel starting next month. Kenny replaced industry veteran Bob Cesa. Twentieth also handles sales for Debmar-Mercury and Carsey-Warner. The Fox stations group covers 27 stations carrying Fox and MyNetworkTV, affecting 37% of the country. Oulvey had held various positions there over the past decade after joining from the CBS stations group. Oulvey stated that his efforts at Twentieth will include brand integrations and digital extensions. Twentieth has been working with SeamBI, a company that can virtually insert timely brand integrations and logos into off-net drama and comedy episodes that ran years ago. Twentieth should benefit from "Glee" episodes launching in broadcast syndication and on Oxygen in 2013. Also that year, "Modern Family" goes into broadcast syndication and on cable on USA. With corporate synergy, both shows will air on Fox-owned stations in top markets. Twentieth is also developing a first-run daytime show with Ricki Lake that could launch in 2012.
A year ago, as Jeannie Scalzo spoke with Taco Bell executives at the pre-show for the "MTV Video Music Awards," the seeds of a partnership were planted. The Taco Bell team wanted to hatch something involving its meal boxes. Last month, that goal came to fruition. Leading up to Sunday's event, the chain has been running a "Big Box Remixed" promotion, where a QR code on the boxes (and cups) allows customers to access exclusive content via smartphones. There are clips of artists performing, updates hosted by MTV News' Sway and other video related to the awards show. From MTV's perspective, it doesn't hurt that the clips also look to drive tune-in to the VMAs and Friday's lead-up concert, where Taco Bell is a top-line sponsor. During the VMA broadcast itself, the chain is sponsoring "house artist" moments, where four times the cameras will capture R&B artist Jessie J performing. Taco Bell is just one of the VMA sponsors using some form of in-show integration, which has helped MTV increase revenue for the event by a double-digit percentage. Apple, State Farm and Kia are among the marketers looking to do more than run traditional spots for the first time. So are Bing, Dove, Red Bull and Sharpie. Looking ahead, Scalzo, senior vice president, integrated marketing at MTV, said multiplatform deals for the 2012 VMAs were inked during the recently completed upfront, even as the particulars need to be developed. Among MTV's core 12-to-34 demo, VMA ratings last year surged 33% with an average of 7.9 million, equaling the network's highest-rated broadcast in the demo since 2002. After a year off, Beyoncé returns as a performer this year, which might drive ratings up again. On Sunday, Apple takes over a coveted position held by Rhapsody as the digital download sponsor. During performances by Adele and Lil Wayne, it will run 10-second graphics pointing viewers to iTunes for a download. Apple has run ads in the VMAs before, but Rhapsody's deal prevented it from using creative with any music link. For his part, Lil Wayne will look to capitalize on the exposure by releasing his latest album digitally at midnight after the show wraps. State Farm, which has been involved with the "MTV Movie Awards," will sponsor a performance by band Cobra Starship during Sunday's pre-show. It's also allowing two fans in attendance to move up to premium seats. Kia is sponsoring an interstitial with shots from a rooftop pool party featuring "party band" LMFAO. It is also debuting new creative during the show with LMFAO music. Also during the pre-show, the set designer, Scott Story, will be seen using a Sharpie. Bing search bar will appear onscreen during a segment with artist Swizz Beatz. Verizon is returning as the sponsor of the Twitter Tracker, which appears on "All Access Live," the MTV.com offering complementing the show. The Tracker aggregates conversations taking place during the show. A new feature this year allows MTV.com visitors to follow a map showing where particular artists are sitting in the auditorium, adding another element when following their tweets. Will Kanye West have a different reaction to Lady Gaga's performance than Pitbull depending on where each is seated? "You'll get to see how celebs in the room are reacting to the moment," said Colin Helms, vice president of MTV's digital operations. "All Access Live" is available on iPhones and iPads, on Android devices and via MTV's new WatchWith app, which augments online viewing through aggregation of Facebook and Twitter activity during a show. Mindful of the tendency of millennials to use a laptop or mobile device while watching, Helms said MTV has taken steps to avoid competition between the on-air and online experiences. "We're very sensitive to that," he said. "We don't want that to happen. We're trying to make the stuff simple enough to use that you don't have to be very head-down to do it." For example, "All Access Live" offers behind-the-scenes streams from dressing rooms and other backstage areas. In the past, MTV has produced the feeds; this year, its seven cameras will run live and uncut. Viewers can toggle between them with the likes of Bing, Taco Bell, Dove and State Farm extending their sponsorships there.
Hardly anyone was watching the Longhorn Network when it debuted Friday and not only because of little interest. ESPN was able to secure deals making it available in just 20,000 homes when the switch was flipped. LHN was available in a greater Houston region and north of the city in Lufkin, Texas. Although it focuses on University of Texas sports, LHN was not available near the campus in Austin. "We're in it for the long haul, and we feel confident about where we're headed," an ESPN representative said. "We're less concerned with the number at launch." Indeed, ESPN has a 20-year deal to run the network with involvement from the University of Texas and IMG College. While ESPN would have liked wide viewership of Friday's Texas-Pepperdine women's volleyball game, it will have some leverage in carriage negotiations over the next week. Operators may be pressured to offer LHN before Texas kicks off the football season Sept. 3 on the network. Distributors that signed on by Friday are Consolidated Communications and three others owned by the same company operating along the Gulf Coast. Distribution will increase Sept. 1 as Verizon FiOS will carry LHN in part of the Dallas region, while two smaller operators will offer it in east Texas. Verizon customers nationwide with a top-tier package will also receive it. Verizon does not comment on how many homes it serves in the Dallas area. It has 3.9 million customers in all markets. LHN went on the air with a studio show, followed by the Texas-Pepperdine women's volleyball game. Bringing the network widely to Austin would involve deals with Times Warner Cable and Grande Communications.
This summer, TV ratings results seem like a repeat of a year ago -- but with one change for NBC. Fox is leading among key 18-49 prime-time viewers with an average Nielsen 2.29 million number -- but it's down 12% from a year ago. Close on its heels, ABC is next at 2.27 million, down 9% versus a year ago. NBC, getting a little end-of-the-season draft of "The Voice" episodes spilling into the summer period, has been very competitive with 2.19 million 18-49 viewers, up 2%. It is the only English-language network to rise versus a year ago. CBS lands last with 1.7 million 18-49 viewers. Overall, the four English-language networks are down 6% among 18-49 viewers to a collective 7.79 million 18-49 viewers, while advertising-supported cable is 3% higher at an overall 23.6 million. Looking at the top 10 cable networks bears the same result -- up 3%. This comes to a collective 8.25 million -- about one-third of all 18-49 rating points for cable. Turner Research says all these results come from Nielsen data on live-plus-seven-day results May 30 through August 7, blended with live-plus-same-day data August 8-21. Looking at all TV viewers, CBS is still on top at 4.75 million. NBC is at 4.11 million; followed by ABC at 4.02 million and Fox at 3.23 million. USA Network, the top cable network in all viewer categories, actually beats Fox in overall average prime-time viewers, with 3.61 million, coming in at fourth place for any TV network. USA Network earned 1.36 million 18-49 viewers -- the top cable network in this category -- with second place going to the surging History, now at 1.0 million. MTV's "Jersey Shore" gets the honors for the top cable show in key categories. It is averaging 8.6 million overall viewers during the period and 5.8 million 18-49 viewers. In total viewers, TNT's "Rizzoli & Isles" is in second place with 8.1 million; TNT's "The Closer" is at 7.9 million; History's "Pawn Stars" is at 7.3 million; and USA "Burn Notice" and "Royal Pains" are each at 6.7 million. Among 18-49 viewers, History's "Pawn Stars" is at 3.6 million; Comedy Central's "Tosh.O" is sat 3.3 million; A&E's "Storage Wars" at 3.0 million; and MTV's "Teen Mom" at 2.9 million. Turner notes that DVR penetration among all U.S. TV viewers is now at 44.2% in July 2011, and among U.S. TV homes, it totals 41.6%.
ABC has refused to air a commercial for The Weinstein Company's new theatrical film "Our Idiot Brother," reportedly for its suggestions of drug usage and urination. The film is an ensemble comedy about three sisters and an incurably optimistic "slacker" sibling. The spot -- which can be seen on YouTube -- shows Paul Rudd's character selling some illegal drugs to a cop, admitting to his parole officer that he just got high, and seemingly urinating off a trampoline. In a press release, Weinstein didn't say exactly why the movie commercial for the comedy was rejected, but noted the spot had already aired on other broadcast and cable networks. The timing is key for the movie: A week before a film's opening -- and including crucial Thursdays -- are important marketing periods for films. "Brother" opens on Friday, August 26. ABC stated: "The ABC Television Network approved and accepted multiple spots for "Our Idiot Brother" and has aired spots for this film. The network did not accept spots that violated our long-established Ad Guidelines." The network did not go into detail, however, according to Deadline.com, Weinstein Co. received these instructions from ABC: "Please remove the visual of the exchange of what is assumed to be drugs. Please remove the visual of the character using a juice box to depict urination. Please remove the references to getting high and smoking." In response, The Weinstein Company said it had cut a new "red" band trailer for the film -- supposedly an even raunchier effort. Weinstein co-chairman Harvey Weinstein said: "We'd like to dedicate our new red band trailer for 'Our Idiot Brother' to censorship everywhere. Enjoy!!"
This is the time of year when I find myself contemplating many of the new series that will soon begin rolling out on the broadcast networks and wondering, "What the hell were they thinking? Who do they think is going to watch these things? Why were they made in the first place?" I don't ask these questions lightly. As always, I have done my homework. In May, I listened to fevered pitches intended to ignite advertiser interest during upfront week. In June, I watched every new pilot that was made available. Early this month, I attended dozens of press conferences with the producers, writers and executives responsible for all of these new series at the annual Summer Television Critics Association tour. I even checked out panels for the few new shows, out of this fall's 24 fragile freshmen, that were previewed in July at the San Diego Comic-Con. I now know them as well as possible without seeing the absolute final, network-approved versions of each one. Overall, I am so not impressed. In fairness, as unremarkable as this season's freshmen starters are, collectively they are better than last fall's unforgivable crop of losers, which yielded only one show that any network executive can honestly point to with pride: Fox's smart, skillfully silly comedy "Raising Hope," and one that at least has potential to develop into something interesting, CBS' "Blue Bloods." There are other survivors from last year, but they aren't worth mentioning in any discussion of television's best, or near-best, or slightly above average. Look back two seasons, however, and you'll be reminded of what broadcast television can actually do. The freshmen class of 2009 included CBS' "The Good Wife," Fox's "Glee," ABC's "Modern Family" and "The Middle," NBC's "Community" and The CW's "The Vampire Diaries." All are still with us, happily making noise, earning critical acclaim, finding extended life across multiple platforms and in some cases, winning industry awards. It's hard to imagine any of this fall's freshmen enjoying similar success, with two exceptions: Fox's delightful comedy "New Girl," widely and rightfully praised by critics as the season's best new-scripted broadcast series, and CBS' "2 Broke Girls," which seems to have impressed other critics more than it has me, but I'm willing to give it some time. The only other certain success coming in the weeks ahead is Fox's "The X-Factor," unless it proves to be one big-budget talent show too many in an already overcrowded genre. I'm also going to add The CW's "The Secret Circle" to this very short list, but only because this supernatural drama about pretty witches and warlocks seems a perfect companion to its lead-in: "The Vampire Diaries." But it's going to have to amp up the scares, sex and skin if it's going to hold the "VD" audience. I can actually imagine people watching the four shows mentioned above when they are first on, or very shortly thereafter, by way of DVR, and that brings me back to my opening paragraph. There is simply nothing else among the networks' freshmen offerings that I can see people committing to on a weekly basis. This reflects a key component missing from the development process. When choosing projects, studio and network executives need to ask themselves: Why should anyone watch this show? (Then they should ask who would want to watch said show. But first things first; I think the "why" is the primary concern.) I would love to hear their answers for most of this fall's negligible newcomers. Of course, execution counts as much as intent, so in the interest of cutting the development community some slack, I will note that there are several new shows on the networks' runways that probably sounded quite interesting in the initial pitch, only to become decidedly uninteresting somewhere during production. I will also allow that many are built on concepts tantalizing enough to potentially attract an opening-night crowd, though I think viewers will bail by their second episodes. They include NBC's "Grimm" and ABC's "Once Upon a Time," two dark fantasies that were probably intended to attract fans of The CW's egregiously underrated "Supernatural," but won't. Add to the list: Fox's "Terra Nova," a big-budget action-adventure about people from the future who travel back to the days of the dinosaurs, which seems to have been clumsily assembled by committee, with lifeless results; ABC's "Revenge," a half-baked serial set in the Hamptons that hopelessly hopes to be the new "Dynasty"; ABC's "Apartment 23" and "Suburgatory," two funky comedies that might, at first blush, have seemed endlessly fertile but turned out too one-note to take seriously; and those two much-talked about exercises in nostalgia-tinged adult entertainment: NBC's "The Playboy Club" and ABC's "Pan Am." "Playboy" doesn't get anything right, from casting to storytelling to atmosphere. "Pan Am," on the other hand, is a show I would like to see move from the probable loser to surprise-winner category. The stories in the pilot are instantly forgettable, but the look of the show and the attention to detail make a swell first impression. It's a beautiful looking piece of prime-time drama, and one of the few new shows I hope I am wrong about.
More individual colleges want their own TV deals -- not associated wit a conference or other college groups. They want it all to themselves. Extra cash makes sense for colleges, considering some institutions financial concerns, given tuition and costs constraints. But what about players? Financials constraints haven't changed as amateur status and strict rules apply from the NCAA. Top-rated college football prospects are training grounds for the NFL -- pure and simple. It's a minor league of sorts for the NFL. Major League Baseball has that. But those minor leaguers players get paid something for their efforts. With big colleges looking for more money -- and its players out of money -- it seems like financial equations are going in different directions. You can say that college football players -- as NFL players -- will reap their big dollar awards soon enough. A small minority just say its promoting a facade. Here's the issue, says Neal Pilson, who runs a sports TV consultancy and the former president of CBS Sports, in speaking to The Wall Street Journal. "More schools are reasonably wealthy. Instead of the top 10 schools chasing some player, you have 20 or 30." And that means some big issues -- or infractions -- just waiting to happen. He says potential violations "now must be policed more vigorously." For TV networks perspective, all this is no brainer. College football, and many sports in general, have been a consistent TV ratings performer -- in good times and bad -- for TV advertisers. Many TV sports outlets are always looking for new sports content, new revenue for growth. If you are ESPN, NBC Sports, or Fox Sports, you can't go wrong. NBC Sports started all this in 1991, with its groundbreaking exclusive TV deal to air Notre Dame home games. This weekend, the University of Texas launches its own TV network with Walt Disney Co.'s ESPN, which will pull in $15 million a year for the next 20 years. College football players? Continued headlines have been made about them taking money -- from agents, boosters, or a variety of sources that they shouldn't. All that will continue when big TV and booster money continues to float around. Right or wrong, college football players continue to be our fall weekend reality stars. But they don't get paid. You want to make college football really "pure"? Whatever money colleges get from TV networks should go right to charities or organizations -- possibly those that help fund good education for those who can't afford it. Not good enough? Go for more "purity." Don't televised the games.
One of the things that attracted me to television advertising is TV's dominant leadership position among media for delivering massive reach and frequency against consumer audiences in a short period of time. No other medium compares. Thus, imagine my surprise to learn that most TV ad campaigns for mass awareness-focused brand advertisers in the U.S. rarely reach more than 75% of their target audience and typically deliver more than two-thirds of their ad impressions to only one-third of their target audience. Before starting Simulmedia, and spending a lot of time analyzing anonymous set-top box data - including directly-measured data on all of the ads viewed by more than 30 million viewers in the U.S. - I never understood or appreciated how hard it is for TV advertisers and their agencies to efficiently optimize the reach and frequency of their campaigns. Audience fragmentation on TV is bad and getting worse. Thirty years ago, the vast majority of Americans had 13 or fewer channels to choose from, and only three major TV networks to watch. Ten years ago, few had more than 30 channels and only four major networks to watch. Today, most Americans have hundreds of channels to watch and the top network in most of the top markets in the U.S. - Univision - wasn't even considered a major TV network ten years ago. Twenty years ago, cable networks captured less than 10% of TV audiences. Today cable nets capture two-thirds of viewer time. For advertisers seeking big reach, buying broadcast network prime-time is still essential, but it's no longer enough; not even close. Critical tools have not been able to keep up. While TV's media and measurement tools have evolved considerably over the past several decades, they have not been able to evolve at the pace that audience fragmentation occurred across networks, programs, dayparts and devices. When less than 10% of the total TV audience was on cable networks, the fact that most cable nets were either unmeasured or poorly measured mattered little. Today, the majority of viewing goes to cable networks, including about 20% of viewing that goes to cable networks that are either unmeasured or inadequately measured. So it's no surprise that capturing that elusive "last 20%" of campaign reach is so hard. Conventional measurement approaches are largely blind to a lot of TV's audience. Expensive - and hard to radically evolve - planning and buying. One of the big advantages of TV advertising is that its "trading" processes and operations are so efficient. The processes for planning, buying, selling, trafficking and verifying TV ad campaigns have developed over decades and are probably ten times more efficient than they are for online advertising. Changing processes that have been set in stone for so long is a very expensive proposition, and not an attractive one when most of the marketplace is pushing to reduce fees and costs, not increase cost and complexity. Wasn't broke enough to fix. In spite of its issues with declining campaign reach and increasing frequency imbalance which have been creeping up on it over the years, TV advertising has always been demonstrably better in this area than any alternatives, and the problems had not yet become acute. Now, with the Internet, and its massive scale, interactivity, dynamic ad delivery, census-level measurements and web video, connected TV's beginning to threaten conventional linear TV, the long-held notion that TV advertising wasn't broke enough to fix probably doesn't hold up any more. What do you think? Does TV really have a reach and frequency problem?
CIMM is taking a pro-active role in advancing new media nomenclature and processes with both its Lexicon(terms and definitions associated with Set-Top-Box data measurement) and Asset Identification Primer (glossary of asset terms). These documents form the basis of the Word-A-Week column which offers a common language for Set-Top-Box nomenclature that can expedite the rollout of the data for its many industry applications. It's not just the targetability of addressable advertising, advanced advertising, customizable advertising and the range of other advertising platforms available via the Set-Top Box. It is also the flexibility of feeding and editing content, monitoring ad loads and ascertaining measurement in real-time. The dynamic nature of Set-Top Box data makes for a dynamic series of terms to describe them, so "dynamic" in fact that there has been recent expansion in dynamic advertising capabilities for VOD. Improved technology enables more relevant ads to be served in real time rather than in hours or days. Dynamic AdvertisingSee also: Advanced Advertising CIMM DEFINITION : The ability to update which ad or version of a commercial is displayed in real-time or near-real-time basis using automated data feeds (e.g. changes in local TV ads based on local weather conditions or inventory data). (Source: Visible World). Dynamic Editing CIMM DEFINITION : Opposite of pre-defined, set parameters for data editing rules. Dynamic editing allows the system to compensate for unanticipated, changeable content conditions. It can remove or recalculate certain elements as part of the editing process. An example is the special dynamic capping edit undertaken for football overruns. (Source: Kantar Media Audiences) Dynamic Frequency CappingSee also: Capping, Frequency Capping CIMM DEFINITION : A program that has the ability to dynamically, in real-time, monitor and cap the number of ad messages a viewer receives via addressable advertising. (Source: Visible World) Dynamic Insertion See also: Time Shifted Commercial Substitution CIMM DEFINITION : The ability to insert different content, usually different ads, within other content, often in realtime. Used to insert more relevant or targeted advertising for a specific zone, neighborhood, zipcode, etc. Dynamic VOD CIMM DEFINITION : The addition of interactive content into Video On-Demand such as addressable advertising capability. Dynamic VOD Ad Insertion CIMM DEFINITION: With the improved technology, it is the ability to insert household specific advertising messages within a real time VOD session pre-, mid- and post-roll. A more relevant advertising spot is served to the viewer based on the specific content, location, demographics and household preferences and across multiple platforms. Please refer to the CIMM Lexicon online at http://www.cimm-us.org/lexicon.htm for additional information on these and other terms.
Build a cool TV platform and viewers will come, especially if it's free. Also coming will be some tough-minded comments from associated business partners. But consumers rule in this new digital world -- don't they? Hulu was seemingly rushed to market a couple of years ago by News Corp., NBC and Universal. They were later joined by Walt Disney. All didn't want to miss the boat of what digital video might become, especially looking at the likes of YouTube. For all that TV had done wrong over the years, Hulu has worked so far. Shouldn't Hulu just keep going as it is -- giving consumers next-day access to network shows? Hulu has amassed some $500 million in revenue lately. While that sounds great, it still isn't near the $25 billion or so the networks still get from traditional advertising (and they get perhaps another $500 million to $750 million collectively from new and growing annual retransmission revenues). That's the rub. The $25 billion is the established part of the business. Cable operators, satellite services, telcos and TV stations are big partners, which creates massive conflicts with Hulu. Some believe a large part of this problem can be easily handled -- by making sure those who watch shows on Hulu are also paying customers of cable, satellite and telco companies. The networks would like to grow the business --- especially to keep high-quality product coming its way. Although Hulu makes $500 million, content owners and developers like "Modern Family" producer Steven Levitan get very little -- or none -- of it. Media analyst Richard Greenfield believes it would be better for the networks to keep Hulu because it is established, popular -- and here's the key -- a still growing asset. One big issue, he says, comes from those recently aired TV episodes. This can be resolved for TV video retailers -- the cable, satellite and telco companies -- by making sure Hulu viewers are also their subscribers. The long-term worry has been that if viewers can get this stuff free the next day, they wouldn't need need cable, satellite, and telco companies. Library programming? Those TV video retailers aren't much concerned about it. But TV stations might be, since they still depend on syndication TV dollars. So do producers like Levitan who get the bulk of their dollars from syndication. Hulu could be sold for as much as $2 billion. Potentials buyers like Google, Apple, Microsoft, cable operators or others might consider that a steal. But all this is a gamble for sure. Something better may come along The choice for Hulu's owners: Keep it, and hope it will accrue real meaningful national advertising and consumer fees -- or give it up in the hope that network TV distributors, including TV stations, will somehow result in an even stronger TV market in future years.