In this week’s Week in Review: Twitter does autoplay, AOL does programmatic TV and Apple faces News backlash. For a weekly summary of industry news and other VAN interviews and videos, sign up to the weekly Video Round-Up.
Twitter Introduces Autoplay Videos
Twitter has announced an update that will introduce auto-playing video and animated GIFs to users’ timelines. The update will initially be on iOS and web and will mean all native videos, GIFs and Vines will automatically play with the sound muted by default, like on Facebook and Instagram.
AOL Officially Opens Programmatic TV Marketplace for Trading
Advertisers will be able to buy TV space for their ads programmatically on AOL. The media owner has partnered with Australia media business Multi Channel Network (MCN) to form a programmatic private marketplace for television inventory. The media owner is also reported to be in talks with UK broadcasters.
Apple News App Terms and Conditions Cause Outrage
The terms and conditions for Apple’s News app have come under fire after it emerged that bloggers’ consent for the company to use their content was automatically assumed unless they explicitly opt out. The terms also include consent for Apple to place adverts next to their content without paying them and agreeing to cover Apple’s costs if legal issues arise from their content. In the same week, Apple announced it is looking for journalists, rather than analytics to curate the app.
Former AdMeld CEO Launches Sourcepoint
Ben Barokas, whose company AdMeld was purchased by Google in 2011, has unveiled Sourcepoint. The company allows publishers to ask their audience to support the content either through general advertising, interest-based advertising or subscription.
Google Launches a ‘YouTube Built for Gamers’ to Take on Twitch
YouTube Gaming, an app and dedicated website is designed to be a home for all Google’s gaming video both live-streamed and on demand. The platform will launch this summer starting in the US and UK. The platform also this week released support for watching 8K videos that reportedly crash users’ computers.
New Guidelines for Media Buyers to Combat Ad Fraud
UK industry web standards body JICWEBS has ramped up plans to target online ad fraud by unveiling a set of standardised guidelines for media buyers. The guidelines include questions marketers should ask publishers and third party inventory sources to to counter and reduce the risk of fraudulent activity.
Google Adds Cross-Device Metrics To DoubleClick
Doubleclick has announced that cross-device measurement of media exposures and conversions will be available in all DoubleClick ad products. The move is being touted by industry insiders as one to counter Facebook’s people-based marketing approach
Guardian US Receives $2.6m Funding for Mobile Innovation Research Lab
The Guardian US is to launch an innovation lab for developing new ways to generate news using upcoming mobile technologies. The project is being backed by a $2.6m grant from the Knight Foundation.
AT&T face $100 Million Fine For Slowing Data On ‘Unlimited’ Plan
AT&T Mobility faces a fine of $100 million, reports the New York Times, accused by the US Federal Communications Commission of misleading millions of wireless customers with unlimited data plans by slowing down their service without adequately informing them.
Adblock Plus to Help SMEs Block Ads
Adblock Plus has announced its intentions to be adopted by SMEs and public organisations to help protect them from malware and ease up bandwidth.
Mashable Gives Advertisers Self-Serve Access to Lift Platform
Mashable has released a new version of its Lift platform, which will allow brand advertisers to self-serve when purchasing Lift Units which appear on the Mashable news feed. Lift allows advertisers to share their social assets from a variety of platforms – Vines, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and others – on the site’s homepage.
Google Tests Mobile Slow Load Warning Signs
Google has begun testing a new system of ‘slow to load’ yellow warning signs for its Android mobile search results, alerting browsers to tardy content before they try to load.
AOL Launches Branded Content Studio
AOL has launched ‘Partner Studio,’ a content division that will allow the publisher to work with brands to create native ads. The publisher is the latest to roll out an in-house creative team, earlier this month, CNN unveiled a similar studio called ‘Courageous.’
Huffington Post Creates New Reader Insight Group
The Huffington Post UK has created a new audience group of media literate and positive minded readers who have a complex relationship with brands as part of wider efforts to offer deeper insights to advertisers. The publisher named the segment ‘Thrivers’ after research it conducted in partnership with YouGov revealed they were more susceptible to brands.
CBS Study Finds TV More Effective than Digital in Spending and Reach
CBS joined in the fight for advertising dollars by presenting the findings of its study of cross-platform campaigns. According to the TV network, TV solidly beats digital in both spending and reach.
UK: Younger Viewers Watch Less Video But Want More Control
Younger viewers are consuming less video on average each day compared to the rest of the UK but are more likely to spread their viewing over more platforms that also gives them more control, according to Thinkbox’s The ‘Truth about Youth’ report.
Confidence In Online Ads Rises, Agencies Focus On Streaming Sites A survey of advertising agency executives from Strata suggests 44 percent of agencies in the second quarter say they are getting a ‘good value’ for recent online video ad purchases; up 43 percent from the previous quarter.
Better Off Paid
A report released from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism documents the rise of video and social media as a force in modern journalism. The report also suggests a surprisingly high percentage of consumers say they felt ‘disappointed or deceived’ by sites that produce sponsored content. However, BuzzFeed has indicated it gets better views and engagement on sponsored posts.
IPTV Ads Most Completed
IPTV ads have over a 90 percent completion rate according to the latest quarterly infographic by StickyADS.tv. The research also found that ads relating to hobbies such as video games had the highest completion rate.
A La Carte Pay TV of Interest to Consumers
According to Digitalsmiths, Q1 2015 Video Trends Report, 81.6 per cent of respondents are interested in an à la carte pay-TV service where they can select, and pay for only the channels they want to watch. On average, respondents’ ideal á la carte package would consist of 17 channels and cost around $38 a month.
Britain Warned Social Media Scepticism Putting Economy at Risk
Britons are falling behind their counterparts in the US when it comes to recognising the potential of social media, potentially harming the country’s position as a creative hub according to findings from education technology provider Scredible.
Virool and Rubicon Project Champion Autoplay
Ad tech companies Virool and Rubicon Project are taking their mobile video advertising partnership into the programmatic arena. Virool’s InLine video promos, which automatically play between paragraphs of copy as readers scroll through articles, can now be purchased via Rubicon’s real-time bidding platform.
Alibaba Goes for Video Streaming Market in China
Chinese web giant Alibaba has announced it plans to launch its own video streaming service called Tmall Box Office, or TBO. The Huffington Post quoted experts who thought the move could be a “substantial hurdle” for Netflix as it develops its own international strategy.
Ooyala Unveils New Ad Serving Platform With Anti Ad Blocking Software
Ooyala has integrated its video and ad tech platforms. A new plugin includes anti-ad blocking technology, sequencing for storytelling, audience targeting for ad personalisation and rich customisation capabilities.
smartclip Launches Real-Time Addressable TV Platform
smartclip has launched an addressable TV platform, which enables advertisers and agencies to buy and distribute real-time linear TV advertising.
Samba TV Acquires Filmaster
Samba TV has completed its acquisition of Warsaw-based startup Filmaster, placing Samba TV in the European Market.
Vimeo Partners with Samsung for Video Shorts Series
Vimeo has teamed up with Samsung to produce an original short film series, ‘Connected’, whilst maintaining its ad-free status.
AppNexus To Buy RealMedia to Step-Up LatAm Growth
AppNexus is to purchase Brazil-based RealMedia Latin America (RMLA) for an undisclosed fee in a bid to further its share of the regional market, which is forecast to undergo triple-digit growth in the coming years.
PwC: “Australian Media Industry Needs to Innovate”
A PWC report has called on the Australian media and entertainment industry to innovate and ‘have a go’, with the headwinds facing traditional media players set to continue through to 2019, according to a PwC report.
OTT Revenues to Top $50bn
Global OTT TV and video revenues will reach $51.1 billion (€45.5bn) in 2020; a massive increase from the $26 billion expected in 2015 according to the Global OTT TV & Video Forecasts report from Digital TV Research.
Sky Subs Growth Comes from NOW TV
According to research by IHS Technology, pay-TV subscribers grew by over 1 million in the past year. However, in the case of Sky, this growth in subscribers came from NOW TV sign ups.
Discovery Italia launches OTT service DPlay
Discovery Italia has launched its free OTT service DPlay that enables users to watch, at any time, on all devices and in on-demand mode, programmes aired by its free-to-air TV channels.
Reddit Gets Virtual Reality Makeover
SceneVR, a Web app that culls websites’ HTML and javascript and converts them into VR experiences, has recreated Reddit as a 3D gallery that users roam around in.
Ted Baker Experiments with Virtual Reality in Digital Concept Store
Ted Baker has opened its first ‘virtual’ store amid wider experiments with digital technology in a new concept store in London’s Shoreditch.
Now TV Introduces Sky Sports Month Pass
Now TV is set to launch a Sky Sports Month pass which will enable consumers to access to Sky’s exclusive sport offering without being roped into long-term contracts.
BrightRoll Expands Technology Infrastructure to Asia Pacific
BrightRoll has announced a new data center in Hong Kong via Platform Equinix to deliver programmatic solutions to buyers and sellers of digital video advertising in the region
This Week’s New Hires:
StickyADS.tv Promotes Greg Carroll
StickyADS.tv has promoted Greg Carroll to UK Country Manager. Carroll first joined in 2014 as Head of Publisher Development UK.
Viewbix Appoints Rob Tariche as VP, Eastern Sales
Viewbix has appointed Rob Tariche to lead Eastern Sales in the US. Tariche previously worked at Adgent Digital (AdTouch).
Ad of the Week: Google, City Gym, Venables Bell & Partners
Google’s ad documents how a Kansas gym has helped a transgender man acquire the body he always wanted.
