• by Steve Smith , Staff Writer @popeyesm, June 15, 2008

OMMA Video opens Monday morning, and in just the year since we started this series so much has changed in this space. A year ago the major networks still played coy online, teasing users with an episode here and there. Today, prime time gushes online, sometimes moments after shows finish airing. YouTube still dominates the space, but scores of brands are learning how to leverage this hub as a distribution and promotion mechanism. After years promoting the free, ad-supported model, ironically, one of the breakout hits in episodic Web programming, “The Guild, is supported by user donations. Now there's a model ABC never considered.

Perhaps the most striking change is the shift in user habits. The latest research from IPSOS shows that 19% of all video viewed in the U.S. is on a PC screen. That is up from 11% of all video just a year ago.

For all these changes, most of the questions about business and ad models around video persist. In this iteration of OMMA Video we engage some familiar topics but now we have more experience with which to address them. The novel ad formats we speculated about a year ago have been in the wild for months. So how are they doing? Big media has had over a year to face off against the independent Web video producers who have been online for years. Is prime time draining eyeballs and mindshare from the indies? And when and where will the money come from to underwrite this costly video adventure online. So far, about 1% of online ad spend goes to this platform. Something still is wrong with this picture.

It's a good thing we are starting with former AOL chief Jon Miller and his keynote argument that “Web Video Is Worth the Investment.” The eyeballs are here. Clearly the investment is here. I suspect that for most of the attendees today, monetization will be the nagging, persistent question they would like to see answered.

Jon?