IDTV

BBC on user-generated media

Link: Independent Online Edition > Media.

Very interesting interview with head of new media and technology at the BBC where he discusses user generated content and the BBC's plans to upload archive footage to the BBC website.

Google deal with MySpace

Link: ATV's News Archive August 7th - August 11th.

Google has won the bidding to provide search services and advertising to News Corporation’s MySpace.com, and the company’s other sites. The deal promises News at least $900 million over three and half years. “In one fell swoop, we have paid for two-thirds of our Internet acquisitions,” Peter Chernin, News president, said.

WPP invests in social networking

Link: eMarketer.com - Hooking Up With Social Networks.

Lots of interesting stats, particularly about the number of users on different social networking sites.

Nokia challenges iPod

Link: FT.com / Home UK / UK - Nokia to take on Apple in iPod war.

Can mobile phones really challenge MP3 players? Watch this space...

Finally - some premium content for the Google Video Store

Link: FT.com / Companies / Media & internet - Google, MTV in video content deal.

MTV has struck a partnership with Google in which the internet company will distribute the music video broadcaster’s video programming to a series of niche websites and blogs. Some of the content the company will make available includes video clips from MTV’s Laguna Beach reality programme and its popular video music awards show as well as the Nickelodeon cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants.

As part of the deal, MTV Networks will also sell episodes of its programmes through Google’s video store. It has similar agreements with AOL and Apple’s iTunes.

McKinsey weighs in on network premium

Link: Advertising Age - McKinsey Study Predicts Continuing Decline in TV Selling Power.

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- A study is about to give Madison Avenue a fresh pummeling: McKinsey & Co. is telling a host of major marketers that by 2010, traditional TV advertising will be one-third as effective as it was in 1990.

That shocking statistic, delivered to the company's Fortune 100 clients in a report on media proliferation, assumes a 15% decrease in buying power driving by cost-per-thousand rate increases; a 23% decline in ads viewed due to switching off; a 9% loss of attention to ads due to increased multitasking and a 37% decrease in message impact due to saturation.

ITV and 3 in mobile TV deal

Link: Bloomberg.com: U.K..

Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) -- ITV Plc, Britain's largest commercial television broadcaster, will offer its flagship channel live to customers of Hutchison Whampoa Ltd.'s U.K. mobile-phone unit 3. The agreement means 3.5 million 3 subscribers will be able to watch ITV1, and the participation channel ITV Play, on their cellular phones starting this autumn, ITV and 3 said in an e- mailed statement. ITV has granted 3 an exclusive 3G mobile license for six months, the statement said.

Apple rejects iTunes anti-competition claims

Link: FT.com / Companies / IT - Apple denies iTunes contravenes consumer legislation.

Apple Computer has rejected claims it is acting illegally by only allowing music downloaded from its iTunes online music store to be played on its own digital music players. The decision sets the stage for a long battle between consumer protection agencies across the Nordic region and the US computer giant.

The 'Flynn Switch': closer than you think

Link: HiddenWires - PDA-Control using Windows Mobile.

"Imagine this: you get home from work, pick up your PDA and within seconds you are connected to your home entertainment system. You have full control of your system controller and other sources connected to it. These sources include a DVD player, tuner and hard disk audio server. You can browse your collection of CDs, or search alphabetically by artist. You can iterate over a list of 3000 artists and find any disc within seconds!"

(The 'Flynn Switch': the point at which the consumer's perception switches from synching the handheld with the home, to synching the home with the handheld.)

Ovum view on AOL video portal

Useful discussion on AOL's video portal

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AOL jumps on the broadband video bandwagon

AOL has announced plans to introduce an ambitious new video portal that aspires to become the leading web destination for online videos.

Josette Bonte, VP of Content and IPTV, comments on the effect of this in North America:

"We think that AOL video comes at a time when AOL is in much need of reinventing itself from a me-too Internet access to a glamorous service open-access broadband content company, but the service may be too ambitious to get traction across all the demographics that it aspires to serve."

"If it executes on its plan as stated in the announcement, then AOLvideo will become the richest video destination on the Web. The content should find enthusiasts among a variety of demographic segments, with its wide range of mainstream and niche content. By allowing users to post their own personal video content on the Web, AOL is also trying to capitalise on the craze that has young users flocking to sites like YouTube.com and MySpace in droves."

"The only real caveat may become one of true identity: by trying to appeal to such broad demographics, AOL may in fact have trouble formulating its market-entry awareness strategy and leave a lot of users eager to return to their speciality sites."

Should you wish to contact Josette regarding this news or to speak to an analyst regarding how this will work in Europe please don't hesitate to contact us at prteam@ovum.com

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See full commentary below:

AOL jumps on the broadband video bandwagon

First out the gate came Google, then Yahoo! and now AOL: the battle for broadband video programming is heating up. On 1 August 2006, AOL announced that it plans to introduce an ambitious new video portal that aspires to become the leading web destination for online videos. The service, accessible at www.aolvideo.com in Beta test mode later this week, will let users watch videos on demand from a great variety of content providers, search the Web for clips on particular subjects and upload their own personal content to the site. We think that AOL video comes at a time when AOL is in much need of reinventing itself from a me-too Internet access to a glamorous service open-access broadband content company, but the service may be too ambitious to get traction across all the demographics that it aspires to serve.

Ovum view

We find AOL' s new broadband video service impressive because of the large inventory of content that it plans to show from a variety of popular brands. If it executes on its plan as stated in the announcement, then AOLvideo will become the richest video destination on the Web. The content should find enthusiasts among a variety of demographic segments, with its wide range of mainstream and niche content. That strategy may be dictated by its need to attract a larger number of tier one advertisers to support the site. In spite of protestations to the contrary, Madison Avenue is still looking to duplicate on the Web the mass appeal it still enjoys on TV. By allowing users to post their own personal video content on the Web, AOL is also trying to capitalise on the craze that has young users flocking to sites like YouTube.com and MySpace in droves. The only real caveat may become one of true identity: by trying to appeal to such broad demographics, AOL may in fact have trouble formulating its market-entry awareness strategy and leave a lot of users eager to return to their speciality sites.

The background

AOL had been losing a lot of customers to 'plain wrap' broadband ISPs over the past two years. With the value of its stock in a steady decline, the company is very much in need of re-engineering. Since its inception, AOL has been deriving the bulk of its revenues from subscriptions, but that has been slowly changing in favour of more contemporary business models such as advertiser-support. By launching a new video portal, AOL is also trying to capitalise on the resources and clout of its parent company, Warner Bros. Earlier this year, AOL staged a 'dress rehearsal' for the new aolvideo.com, by launching In2TV, an advertiser-supported broadband TV service deployed in concert with Warner Bros TV. This move enabled AOL to test its new 'Hi-Q' video technology that claims to deliver broadband video with DVD quality. Additionally, AOL had quietly acquired two companies specialising in video search: Singingfish in 2003 and Truveo in December 2005. On the business development front, AOL also signed ground breaking deals with large advertisers such as Hershey, Intel, Kia and Kraft Foods earlier this year, thus paving the way for its current transformation; it also acquired Lightningcast, a technology company specialising in broadband advertising.

The AOL video service

Ovum has learned that the new AOL TV portal will comprise three principal offerings. The first will be 45 cable-like video on-demand channels programmed by AOL's affiliated content partners: A&E Television Networks, including The Biography Channel and The History Channel; Comedy Time; Endemol USA; Expo TV; Lime; MTV Networks, including MTV, MTV2, The N, Nick at Nite, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, Spike TV, TV Land and VH1; National Lampoon; Procter & Gamble Productions; Sopresa; TNT and Warner Bros Entertainment. In addition, AOL has also made deals with video on-demand aggregators, TotalVideo and Wild America and with the WNBA, for the retransmission of their archived games. The channels will feature some advertiser-supported content that can be streamed to users for free, whereas 'downloads to own' of individual shows will be available on-demand for a fee. The downloaded videos will be viewable on other portable devices, such as mobile phones, that support Microsoft's MSFT.O copy protection system.

The second feature will be a powerful video search engine that will direct users toward the video content they are looking for, even if that content is located outside of the AOL domain.

Finally, the portal will boast a service called 'UnCut Video' where users will be encouraged to upload their own personal videos and photos directly from their own video camcorders or digital cameras, their PC or their video-enabled phones.