In this Week in Review: Google pulls YouTube inventory back into its walled garden, and bad results signal power shifts. For your weekly summary of industry news and other VAN interviews and videos, sign up to the weekly Video Round-Up.
Google to Prevent Non-Google DSPs from Buying YouTube
Google has announced that the company is going to pull all YouTube inventory from AdX, the company’s ad exchange, early next year. From that point on, it will only be possible to buy YouTube inventory via Google’s own buy-side tools, Adwords and Doubleclick Bid Manager (DBM). This means that other non-Google DSPs will no longer have programmatic access to YouTube inventory.
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Vivaki’s Danny Hopwood: Google isn’t the Only Walled Garden, But Size Matters>
ProSieben Invests in Video Platform
German TV provider ProSieben has acquired programmatic video platform Smartstream.tv. ProSiebenSat.1 Digital has acquired a majority stake in Smartstream.tv, an ‘automated trading platform’ for video advertising, which currently sees over 300 million video views per month. The broadcast group has held a 25 percent share in the company since the end of 2013, and that stake will now increase to 80 percent. The agreement is subject to approval by the relevant antitrust authorities.
Facebook Mimics Snapchat and Twitter With Live Feature
Facebook debuted a test new live events feature over the weekend at the Lollapalooza music festival. Users in the U.S. saw an enhanced Place Tips feature with friends’ photos, status updates, check-ins, videos and set times.
Microsoft and AOL to Take on Google and Facebook
Following the recent deal between AOL and Microsoft for AOL to take on Microsoft’s advertising sales, the two companies are now training one another on their respective strengths: content and programmatic, reports Clickz.
Instagram Set to Outperform Twitter?
Instagram’s revenue could soon outpace Twitter, reports eMarketer. The prediction is strengthened after news of Twitter’s disappointing Q2 reports.
Scotland Embraces Video Subscription
Scotland’s uptake of video subscription services has more than doubled since last year, bringing it above the UK average, reports Ofcom. Twenty one percent of people in Scotland watch TV and films online via a standalone video subscription service, up from 9 percent in 2014.
Online Video Viewing Time and Ad Spend to Rise
By 2016, people around the world will spend nearly an hour a day watching online videos, according to ZenithOptimedia. By 2017, online video is expected to make up 12.8 percent – or one eighth – of global digital ad spend.
YouTube Eliminates ‘301+’ View Count
YouTube has announced in a tweet that they will be eliminating the ‘301+’ viewing number from their site. The site said it had managed to find a way to verify video views were from people, not spam bots, so view counts will continue to refresh automatically.
Federal Communications Commission to Vote on Streaming Regulation Proposal
Amazon, Apple and Microsoft are concerned after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced it is considering regulating online video services in a similar way to cable companies. The FCC is expected to vote on the proposal in October, which would not apply to on-demand streaming services.
Cable Networks Squeezing More Adverts Into Shows
In the wake of falling ratings, media companies are squeezing more commercials into their cable networks in order to keep ad revenues from falling further, reports Broadcasting & Cable.
Liberty Increases ITV Stake and Announces Four Million Users
Virgin Media owners, Liberty, upped its ITV stake to 9.9 percent, having last September bought BSkyB’s 6.4 per cent stake in ITV for £481m. Liberty Global has also released their Q2 results, which show they converted more than 230,000 video customers to next-generation TV subscribers in the second quarter, with its combined Horizon and TiVo base now at nearly 4 million.
OTT Video Services Have ‘High Churn Rate’
A high churn rate for many OTT video services has been found by Parks Associates’ OTT Video Market Tracker. In the past 12 months, 4% of U.S. broadband households have cancelled their Netflix service, representing nearly 9% of Netflix’s current subscriber base.
Charter Communications Announces Decrease in Q2 Results
Charter Communications has reported results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015. Residential video customers decreased by 33,000 in Q2 of 2015, versus a loss of 29,000 in the year-ago period.
AudienceScience and SpotXchange Partner on Programmatic
A new partnership announced AudienceScience and SpotXchange aims to accelerate video advertising on the mobile web and in mobile apps.
YouTube Announces New Video Player
YouTube has announced via Twitter that it has a new video player for users to enjoy. Google’s online video site has launched an updated look to its video player, complete with a simple transparent overlay.
New player above, old below
NYT Focuses on Video Output
The New York Times will increasingly focus on its digital video output in an effort to drive revenues, according to the titles editorial director for video partnerships.
InPlayer Allows Apple Payments
InPlayer has announced the integration of Apple Pay into its video monetisation technology, enabling users to pay for video content directly from their Apple account.
CMOs Value Visual Content
Whilst marketers see the value of visual content, especially video, there are few systems in place to organise and distribute that content, says a study by the CMO Council.
Pay-TV in 21 Percent of East African TV Households
The five countries of the East African Community (EAC) had a TV household penetration rate of 23 per cent at the end of 2014, according to research firm Dataxis.
Chime Communications Buyout Approved For £374m
Chime Communications, has reached an agreement that will see Providence and WPP acquire the company for £374m.
Integral Ad Science Raises $67m
Integral Ad Science has raised $67m, which it says it will invest in new technology for the digital advertising industry.
Netflix Announces Japan Launch
Netflix stock has soared to a new all-time high with a further 8 percent jump following the of its Asian launch date.
YouTube Star Accuses Facebook of Cheating
Hank Green, entrepreneur and leading YouTube video blogger with more than 2.5m viewers, has claimed that Facebook is “lying, cheating and stealing” in its claim to be the world’s biggest video website.
Ad of the Week: Lexus, Hoverboard
Car manufacturer, Lexus, makes our Back to the Future Dreams come true with the announcement of their new Hoverboard. Watch globally renowned pro-skateboarder Ross McGouran take the Hoverboard on with increasingly challenging stunts.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=ZwSwZ2Y0Ops
