• Building Respect Into Ad-supported T/V Through Quid Pro Quo Model
    Traditional television outlets have built tremendous profits over the years by adding more and more minutes of advertising per program in a marketplace where even excessive supply is still exceeded by demand. The idea that television audiences in the age of the DVR and Netflix are willingly sitting through 20 minutes of ads in order to watch 40 minutes of a program is beyond ludicrous. Meanwhile, no one on the advertising side of the TV business has ever gotten fired for spending money on traditional outlets. Advertisers still want to believe that their message is actually reaching ever-declining audiences in …
  • Becoming The (Video Part Of) Huffington Post In Three Steps
    The video world is getting crazier by the minute. Publishers that sell their own video traffic generate $20 - $60 CPM and climbing, compared to sinking display advertising. Not only that, rich media is a much nicer form of advertising than "clean my teeth" banners that users are getting blind to over time. More banners on page do not mean necessarily higher RPM.
  • Reminder: Online Video Is The Afghanistan Of Media Industry
    Last week Machinima confirmed that it had raised a $35 million round of financing, making it the most heavily funded online video content company, ever. Of course, there are online video companies in technology, advertising and distribution with bigger funding -- some of which have gone on to successful liquidity events while others have crashed and burned. I always say that online video is the Afghanistan of the media world, where its strategic importance and possible upside lures confident backers thinking that they can overcome its inherent challenges. But more often than not, those backers leave with shattered egos, bloodied …
  • The Shortfalls Of Sporadic Digital Investment in Sports
    When tent-pole sports events such as the Super Bowl, Masters and NCAA Tournament live-stream online, they earn headlines and spark discussion among enthusiastic sports fans as well as members of the digital media and advertising communities. Subsequently, advertisers relish the opportunity to buy and associate their brands with this engaging, high-profile content. However, while buying around major online broadcasts might earn scalable, engaged eyeballs for a finite period of time, disregarding ongoing sports advertising opportunities for the majority of the year can be a detrimental strategy. Those who want their message to resonate with dedicated sports fans need to look …
  • Get Out Of The Office! (Your Creativity Depends On It)
    Summer is nigh. And, no doubt, too many creative types have been stuck indoors letting their inspiration be sucked away by fluorescent lights. This Video Insider is a call to arms. A call to get outside and seek inspiration from your community.
  • The Producer/Publisher Roadblock Is Leaving Billions of Dollars of Video Ad Revenue On the Table
    At last week's OMMA Video in New York City, I sat and watched a handful of panels before mine, with the common denominator being: "Online video's doing great, but, well, not as great we all expected." If I were to go to the root of the symptoms and distill the cause, I'd summarize it as such: There's a major disconnect between publishers that have the audience, brands, sales force, ad relationships and trust, and those that have the kind of video views that advertisers seek.
  • Building A Story Online That Translates Across Platforms
    As more and more content becomes available on-demand and "everywhere" through TV, online and mobile platforms, content extensions that work like a "bridge" are becoming more important than ever. Digital content has always been looked to, but not always effectively utilized, for incubating new stories for more traditional platforms -- from TV tie-ins to Web original series and social extensions that introduce a story, hoping to drive the audience to either a TV series or upcoming feature release.
  • Why You Should Invite The Digital Guys To Your Upfront
    Many of the conversations about the digital content newfronts and the television upfronts have been framed as a zero-sum game: You're either focused on TV or you're focused on digital. Too little dialogue acknowledges the symbiotic relationship between the two. Even for TV's own digital properties, the upfront deals focus first on locking in broadcast assets, with digital assets designated to "player to be named later" status, often handled without thoughtful input from experts in that field. Brands wind up buying ad space on TV without locking in the valuable, complementary assets at the time, thus diminishing the future negotiating …
  • Content's Never Been a Profit Center, So Why Should It Be Any Different Online?
    Yes, viewers are moving online, but despite billions of connected devices out there, it's unreasonable to think that in the slugfest between TV and the Internet, TV will lose. But the fact remains that with falling rates, the pre-roll isn't enough to fund online content. For content to survive -- let alone thrive -- it needs to make economic sense.
  • No Wonder We're Stressed: Everyone in Hollywood Has the Same Job!
    What better time, than while we're checking network scorecards in this year's upfront season, to scan through our Archive of American Television collection to see what makes great content tick? There are thousands of "formulas" for producing bombs (most concerning networks meddling with a creator's vision or bad casting) and there will never be a bonafide formula for producing, selling, and buying a hit. If there were, there'd be an app for that. In the meantime, here are some life lessons that buyers and sellers can all take to heart:
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