Where is Video’s Tipping Point?: A Conversation With BIA/Kelsey’s Rick Ducey
Video is quickly becoming one of the most transformative areas in digital tech & media. It’s right up there with mobile and social media. In fact, its quickly colliding with both of those areas as underlying mobile technology and social behavior compel new formats like Vine and Instagram Video.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg. How are video business models forming? How are the traditional owners of video production and distribution evolving in such a quickly changing environment? And what does it mean for local video and other important areas like video ad sales?
BIA/Kelsey analyst and Managing Director Rick Ducey is tracking these areas pretty closely and I recently got the chance to pick his brain on a few topics. One theme that seemed to thread throughout these sub-topics is video’s tipping point: Where and when will it happen? The Q&A with Ducey is below.
Q: How is the macro environment changing for video consumption patterns, and what does that mean for those in the business of delivering and monetizing video?
A: The TV Everywhere authentication model used by cable operators is a bit clunky in terms of the user experience but it has value. Netflix is teaching us the “binge viewing” paradigm of releasing an original series all at once. Letting viewers connect to “their” content on various devices and networks is huge. But we need better content discovery across platforms like linear television, VOD, DVR, Internet, and OTT services like Netflix and Hulu. A seamless and powerful interface with a solid business model can drive a lot of change fast. Everybody from Intel, Google, Apple, Tivo, cable MSOs to Amazon and others have their toes in this water.
Q: Mobile technology and behavior is also creating a multi-screen world. What challenges does mobile present for video delivery and monetization?
A: As consumers adopt multi-screen behaviors, programmers and advertisers will follow. For example, ESPN research shows viewers consume ESPN content across an average of four screens. The tipping point will come with the ability to plan, execute and attribute ROI across screens. This involves the transactional platforms that brands and video publishers use; measurement and reporting systems; optimized creative for different screens; and the complementary effect of cross-screen campaigns (we know that broadcast plus mobile video campaigns drive more lift). And it’s not just screens, mobile is such a killer in this category in terms of growth potential, it gets to measuring and attributing user targeting and behavior inside mobile apps since that’s where a lot of traction and engagement occurs.
Q: Drilling down to local, What are some of the ways that Local Television is adapting to today’s changing video environment?
A: Most video advertising is on broadcast television. National spot advertising is sold on Cost Per Point compared to the rest of the video world that is sold on a CPM basis. It’s sort of geeky, but it will be a potential large tipping point if spot TV converts to selling on CPM basis as it reduces a lot of friction in the buying process. We’re doing research on this point for the Television Bureau of Advertising. Of course local television is quite well monetized but another tipping point will come through driving more video monetization in other channels including desktop, tablet and mobile. Most video consumption is still plain old fashioned linear television.
Q: So how does all of this impact the entrenched ways that video ads are bought and sold?
A: Yes, interrelated to all of this is the way video is bought and sold. Often at agencies there are separate video and digital planning and buying teams. Same on the video side. When buying and selling is oriented to video — as a content type with different affinities and values on different screens — and that’s all plugged into pricing and attribution big data algorithms, we’re off and running.
