Commentary

Define Premium Video To Consumers? First, Find The Value In Fixing A Leaky Roof

Premium video: Can you define it?

Traditional TV networks would like you to believe there is a big distinction between professionally produced video and an instructional video on YouTube.

For example, take some TV drama of a criminal running down an alley, and a wise-cracking detective says “Stop! I have a dinner reservation with my wife in half an hour.” Compare that to a two-minute YouTube video where a contractor tries to explain why safety glasses are important when redoing a roof.

What’s the premium? It depends -- especially if you have a leaky roof.

Before the Internet age, there was only one kind of video -- pretty much what anyone saw on the TV screen. (We will leave out homemade VHS tapes out of it for the moment).

But now we have explosion of video content, a variety of forms and lengths and production value -- and comparisons are made.

Traditional TV networks, and media buying and selling executives have talked up “premium video” now that professionally produced video is increasingly finding audiences  on digital platforms, especially where big-time advertisers can spend big-time dollars.

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Premium video, then, means just what it says: video that’s pricey to produce and to place advertising on.

Ad technology company Freewheel, a company owned by Comcast, wants to push this agenda further, by clearly distinguishing between “premium video” and other stuff, by starting up a Council for Premium Video.

A trade organization? Nope. But just enough to -- we are guessing -- promote this moniker for interested parties who want to buy in.

Consider future digital ad revenues: MoffettNathanson Research says by the 2019-2020 TV season, TV networks’ digital advertising share will be 21% ($2.54 billion) of their total national TV broadcast advertising pie; 19% for cable ($3.38 billion). Both broadcast and cable are each at 9% digitally for this season.

And where will that leave those seemingly unable to affix the “premium” label? Maybe they’ll have to create the Council for Viable Video -- to stay dry

1 comment about "Define Premium Video To Consumers? First, Find The Value In Fixing A Leaky Roof".
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  1. Ed Papazian from Media Dynamics Inc, September 16, 2015 at 11:53 a.m.

    I'm afraid that "non-premium" video content ad sellers will have a pretty tough time trying to garner branding ad dollars in general,and high CPMs, in particular---even if they set up a trade organization to promote such low quality content. Their only hope will be programmatic buying---if it ever gains any traction---as the computers won't know the difference between a one-hour drama episode of a primetime TV series and a five minute video about puppies learning how to swim as shot and narrated by some YouTube poster. If the "data" tells the computers that the puppy video "reached" more prime prospects at a lower cost than the network series, it---the puppy video---will probably get "bought". And, just as probably, once the client sees what the computers are doing and gives the matter a few seconds thought, the puppy videl buy will get cancelled.

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About the Author

Wayne Friedman is West Coast Editor of MediaPost. You can reach Wayne at wayne@mediapost.com.