• by Sara Guaglione , March 30, 2016

AOL launched two new video ad units for publishers on Tuesday, an expansion to its ONE by AOL: Publishers platform that launched in January. The new features — Out-Stream and SideView — target a growing challenge for publishers: viewability.

According to a blog post by Robert Leon, head of AOL publisher product commercialization and solutions, the two new video players “enhance viewing experiences and extend revenue opportunities for publishers.”

The Out-Stream player allows publishers to create new viewable video and content experiences, increasing engagement, boosting viewability and driving incremental revenue, according to Leon.

The player lives in the body of the article, but is hidden. It expands to reveal itself with playback as you scroll through. It starts playing only when over 50% of it is visible on screen.

At the end of playback, the player automatically collapses and hides from view, keeping the web page experience clean.

Some of the publishers adopting the Out-Stream player include Complex and USA Today Sports Media Group.

“We see it as a great opportunity to add even more video to our pages, which is hugely popular with our audience and an effective tool for our clients,” stated Scott Cherkin, EVP of product and business development at Complex.

Chris Pirrone, general manager of USA Today Sports Media Group, added that Out-Stream gives us "greater flexibility in creating ad experiences that generate meaningful, incremental revenue within video, which our audiences flock to every day.”

SideView is an in-line player that sticks with the reader as they scroll, resizing and pinning itself to the sidebar. The reader can freely explore the page, while continuing to experience the video content. According to a spokesperson, the average viewability rate is 90%.

SideView “maximizes viewability as video content remains on screen independent of audience behavior, ensuring delivery for campaigns billed on viewability,” Leon wrote.

Starting Tuesday, SideView is now the default across all video on AOL.com.

The in-line player with SideView is available for both advertising and editorial video content. It also offers customizations, including player location, player size, custom animations and mobile compatibility.