FamilyFun TV, the latest in a series of Web video products to unspool under the Disney Internet Group banner, went live on Tuesday with family-oriented video content supplied by ABC News.
FamilyFun TV follows the launches of similar online video products in the Disney stable, including Disney Motion, ABC Motion, Movies.com Motion, and ESPN Motion. The group's "Motion" approach involves
a caching technology that enables the entertainment giant to push video to consumers for an experience similar to watching TV. The technology automatically launches full-motion video clips ranging
from one to three minutes long. The Motion application must be downloaded by consumers.
Since FamilyFun.com is starting out with an installed base of zero, content on FamilyFun TV will run
essentially commercial-free in June, except for promotional ads. Video content supplied by ABC News will focus on family-oriented topics, and will be updated each week. However, starting in July, the
product will feature original content--and there are at least four advertising deals in the pipeline, according to Ken Goldstein, EVP and managing director of Disney Online, the business unit of the
Walt Disney Internet Group. Goldstein declined to specify the advertisers, other than to say that they fall into the automotive, home technology, and packaged goods categories. He said video was in
the process of being shot in the offices of Family Fun Magazine in Northampton, Mass.
Original video content in segments ranging from 60 to 120 seconds will focus on family craft projects,
recipes, travel, and weekend activities. Goldstein expects the segments to open with 15-second ads, but advertisers could run 30s, 15s, 60s, or even 90s. FamilyFun TV inventory will be packaged with
other rich media ad opportunities and sponsorships.
"People are still trying to figure out the correct ad-to-content ratio," said Jeff Marshall, SVP-director, Starcom IP, the digital business unit
of Publicis Groupe's Starcom MediaVest Group. "No one has figured out the ideal ad-to-content ratio--it's all too nascent." Marshall said the de facto advertising standard for Web video content is 30
seconds, but it's modeled after a TV viewing experience. As far as ratios go, there needs to be a minimum of 1 ad to 2 video clips, but "the ideal is probably 1 to 4," Marshall said.
"Some people
are looking at 10 seconds, and my guess is that others will look at 5 seconds of pre-roll, depending on the environment," Marshall said, adding that "15s and 30s might be ideal." With regard to
FamilyFun TV, Marshall wondered how quickly it can scale, noting that ESPN.com's ESPN Motion is a different story since it's a completely different category--sports--and draws an audience of loyal
enthusiasts.