Over half of the top 100 publishers in the comScore Video Metrix are available for real-time media buying, representing over 29% of biddable pre-roll volume.

David Poltrack, Chief Research Officer at CBS, has said over the years that Digital Video Recording (DVR) is a transitional technology. I believe he's right, and that video-on-demand (VOD) will render traditional, linear, scheduled television to a small proportion of total digital television/video (T/V) viewing. Since VOD is now accessible on all digital platforms connected by cable, satellite or broadband internet, it's worthwhile to start imagining what this new world will look like, and what role advertising will play.

There was an absolutely brilliant story line on "30 Rock" last season, when, in an attempt to scoop other networks in the event of a pressworthy tragedy, Alec Baldwin's TV executive character comes up with a plot to pretape a benefit telethon to be aired minutes after the next fill-in-the-blank event. Naturally, hilarity ensues as Jane Krakowski's "Jenna" hosts the disaster within a disaster.  It's definitely worth a watch (Season 5, Episode 12 "Operation Righteous Cowboy Lightning"). With or without scripted comedic elements, the theme of using television as a tool for the "greater good" increasingly resonates in real …

In the online video advertising industry, the term "premium inventory" typically means guaranteed inventory on premium brand-name sites such as ESPN, Hulu, and The New York Times. In fact, with so much emphasis on advertising on these sites, all other inventory has been lumped into an unflattering group of "remnant," "mid- to long tail," or the sometimes slightly more appealing "non-guaranteed." Kind of like in high school when you were either in the cool group -- or you weren't. What that black-and-white classification does is overlook all of the other great inventory for your brand (or all the smart and …

The conventional wisdom has been that the top three to five properties will conquer the online advertising world and all others will fade away. Having witnessed that winner-takes-all reality in the portal, search, social network, video and platform wars, it's hard to dispute the argument. However, the problem is, after 15 years of online media, the numbers suggest that scale for scale's sake is actually somewhat worthless.

In August, comScore and YouTube released the first ever YouTube partner report - something that finally provided a transparent look into the dedicated audiences attributed to YouTube content partners. Immediately everyone involved in the web video industry took notice. Why? Because this third-party validation of audience size is a great step forward in helping YouTube partners attract big media dollars.

Let's put one thing behind us right away -- the integration of Internet features with the conventional television set and set-top boxes (often referred to as Connected TV and Smart TV) speaks to the technological marriage between computers and these devices. Real "convergence," however, speaks to the seamless combination of multiple services, such as interactive media, Internet TV, over-the-top-content and on-demand streaming media, which enable viewers to conveniently access both broadcast and web-based multimedia content on a television set using a single remote control and a single on-screen interface. Convergence is well under way and accelerating at fiber optic transmission …

Each May, the television Upfront rolls around -- the cue for the online video industry to confidently proclaim that this is the year savvy advertisers finally see the light of day, break the shackles of tradition, push back on the dictatorial terms of the TV networks and liberate themselves by moving monies into online video. Yet every September, just like Bill Murray's character in "Groundhog Day," we in the video biz wake to the realization that nothing has changed for the rank and file.

Irene came and went over a week ago -- and, despite the widespread flooding and power outages, it could have been a whole lot worse. Conversely, despite the nonstop coverage, local television reporting could have been a whole lot better. Broadcast television remains a vital source of news and information, especially in times of crisis. However, when the nonstop "media storm" rivals the haphazard nature of the storm itself, it's time to rethink how video content is locally packaged and disseminated.

As YouTube marches towards greater market share of viewers and video streams, "It's YouTube's world, we just stream it." But can you build an audience on or outside YouTube?