It’s not in my nature to be a follower. I’m just not built that way. Years ago, when the online video space started to heat up and hundreds of new companies were launched to help consumers post videos of dancing babies and waterskiing dogs on the Internet, I thought to myself, “cute, but how are they going to make money at that?”
I like dancing babies as much as anyone, but wouldn’t it be better to find a way to help premium content owners – Hollywood Studios, broadcasters and programmers – to distribute their TV and film assets on multiple platforms, monetize those assets and harness the Internet to build bigger audiences that will in turn want to watch more videos? The answer is a resounding YES! That’s why we built Digitalsmiths as a studio-grade, digital media analysis, operations and publishing solution provider sharply focused on premium content.
When Comcast and Time Warner announced in June that they were partnering for a TV Everywhere initiative, I thought to myself, “interesting, but will they garner interest from other cable operators and programmers, and can they overcome the technical challenges in a TV Everywhere environment?” Once again, the answer is a resounding YES! In fact, everyone I know is jumping on the TV Everywhere bandwagon… and they should.
Today, we released the results of a survey conducted by The Diffusion Group of 1300 digital video content viewers that clearly demonstrate TV Everywhere is not only viable, but presents one of the greatest monetization opportunities in the digital media industry. The research reveals that:
- Consumers want TV Everywhere-style content access and are willing to pay an additional monthly fee for seamless access to a TV Everywhere-type service that can be viewed on multiple platforms and devices.
- Consumers are already viewing online video “everywhere” – on non-traditional video platforms at multiple locations. Within the last month, these consumers report having watched online video on several devices other than a computer or laptop, including mobile phones, portable video players, televisions and portable gaming players.
- Consumers are willing to pay to rent premium content on-demand from studio-branded rental sites, eliminating the middlemen found in the traditional Electronic Sell-Through and Video On Demand models.
For these reasons and many more, we’re fully onboard the TV Everywhere bandwagon. Digitalsmiths is uniquely positioned to help organizations deliver on the promise of TV Everywhere, solve the technical challenges and tap into new TV Everywhere revenue streams. In the coming weeks, you will hear more from us on how we can help. Stay tuned.
In the meantime, I look forward to reading your comments on TV Everywhere – the challenges, the opportunities and the future.
Sincerely,
Ben Weinberger
