Message From Michael -- July 23, 2007

THE VIDEO RACE IS ON

THE OTHER LEG OF THE VIDEO RACE

WHITHER THE WIDGET

NOTES FOR REPORTERS

STEPPING INTO THE WAYBACK MACHINE

KIDS SAY EMAIL IS, LIKE, SOOO DEAD

COCKTAIL CHATTER


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THE VIDEO RACE IS ON: And television is still the rabbit of the race, but the tortoise, otherwise known as online video, is going to make a run for it. And, according to research by The Nielsen Company, both may come out winners. The study commissioned by the Cable and Telecommunications Association for Marketing found that traditional home television ratings are minimally, if at all, affected by broadband video viewing over the Internet because broadband viewing was largely incremental NEW viewing rather than substitute viewing. A third of those surveyed (33%) said watching video over broadband Internet actually increased their television viewing time, compared to one out of seven (13%) who said it decreased their traditional television viewing. It may reach what the study authors called a “Tipping Point” when Internet video becomes more easily accessible on home television sets. Another study, this one by comScore, says watching video on the Internet has become “standard practice” for Web users. Its Video Metrix report found that three quarters (74%) of Web users (about 132 Million Americans) watched an average of more than two and a half hours of videos (158 minutes, to be exact) during the month of May.

Need More Proof? Niche online video company Next New Networks, launched by former Nickelodeon president Herb Scannell, says its independent film-themed site, Indy Mogul, generated more than a million video streams in June. Former United Talent Agency exec Brett Weinstein has left the firm to head a Web video startup. Video content site Veoh has expanded its user base to 14.3 Million as of June. Video content site Revver has upped the ante on videos produced and aired on its site by users. TV/ Internet combo Babelgum (the main competitor to Joost, mentioned in previous MfM’s) has struck a deal to offer more than 200 hours of documentary programming for its video service. And Joost continues to line up more sponsors and more video partnerships, it seems, every day.

THE OTHER LEG OF THE VIDEO RACE: Marketing research firm eMarketer says in 2011, the “floodgates” of online video advertising (note the addition of the word – advertising) will open up. In that year, it projects spending on online video advertising will reach $4.3 Billion. However, to put that in perspective, television advertising in 2011 is projected to be $46.3 Billion. (Also, as reported by BusinessWeek.com, the eMarketer report said that online video advertising in 2011 will account for only $1 for each $10 of total Internet advertising. So, does that mean Internet advertising will be $43 Billion in 2011?) To add another layer of perspective, many of you will remember from a previous MfM the unusual fact that newspapers are actually leading the way in online video advertising. Still, the folks at eMarketer insist that the line between television and web video will be “so blurred” that advertisers will begin directing more of their marketing budgets to the online version and that they will “converge.” Another caveat -- BusinessWeek.com cited a study by Burst Media that three quarters of the users (77%) found online ads intrusive. But then again, we’ve heard that about TV ads as well.

Need More Proof? Website NewTeeVee says car advertisers are leading the way in online video advertising, especially in high definition. And we all know how important car advertisers are to business. More than 30 car manufacturers have launched a website that provides test drivers and 360-degree virtual tours of their cars. The website, DriverTV, has been named one of the 50 best websites of 2007 by Time.com.

WHITHER THE WIDGET: Also from the pages of BusinessWeek, a story about widgets, and the prediction that they may be a “web revolution in the making.” Okay, folks, you heard it here first in the June 19th edition of MfM. To remind you, widgets are software modules that you drag and drop on your website, other websites, your personal page of your social network or your blog, and they will link to just about anything. Some people use them for selling products; storing their favorite song of the day, news snippets or video clips. The Business Week article cites, as an example, the NBA’s widgets which have generated more than 100 million views from 175,000 locations. The article claims that there are dozens of widget makers in Silicon Valley, commanding valuations north of $100 Million.

NOTES FOR REPORTERS: It’s almost standard advice from us consultants in broadcast news writing workshops that you have only have six to eight seconds to grab the viewers’ attention. The point was driven home in a writing workshop I attended this weekend (Yes, I not only give writing workshops, I attend them.) Ralph McInerney, author of the Father Dowling Mystery series, told of visiting a publishing house and watching a secretary go through the ‘slush pile’ of manuscripts. She would open up the manila envelope, read the first few lines, and then drop a standard rejection letter into the envelope, put it in the out-going mail box and go on to the next one. And the same thing happened again and again. So, that’s why we tell you to make your lead ‘grabby.’

KIDS SAY EMAIL IS, LIKE, SOOO DEAD: That was the too cute, but funny, headline on a CNet story that may mark a major trend development. Staff Writer Stefanie Olsen says a check of teen entrepreneurs found that many, if not most, of them are using social networks like Facebook or MySpace to communicate with friends and that e-mail is for “professional relationships or communicating with adults.”

TOO IMPORTANT NOT TO MENTION: Despite extensive coverage. The decision by Nielsen/ Net Ratings to change the way it ranks the most popular Websites. Instead of counting unique users, it rates the time an average user spends on a site. Based on the new system, AOL leaped to the front of the pack as the #1 Website, ahead of Google, Yahoo, MySpace, and MSN. Nielsen competitor comScore ranked AOL second, below Yahoo but above Google, based on unique visitors.

STEPPING INTO THE WAYBACK MACHINE: Returning to last year’s MfM’s, the news was minorities in the media with the annual RTNDA/ Ball State University survey showing the level of minority representation in television newsrooms (at 22.2%) was – well ahead of the 13.7% reported for newspapers but well behind the 33.6% minority population in the U.S. as a whole. A survey by public relations firm Manning Selvage and Lee in the summer of last year reported that nearly half of advertising executives said they had paid for broadcast or editorial placement of their products.

COCKTAIL CHATTER: A story carried by the Associated Press reports several people have been struck by lighting while listening to their iPod, or other personal electronic devices such as beepers, Walkman, and laptop computers outdoors during storms. A study released by The Media Audit of radio formats found that listeners to Christian Contemporary are more likely to be affiliated with the Republican Party while Urban Adult Contemporary listeners are more likely to identify themselves as Democrat. News/Talk/Sports was the second highest ranking format among Republicans while Rhythm and Blues/ Urban Jazz had the second highest following among Democrats. According to a Pew Research Center survey, helping with the household chores is almost as important to a happy marriage as good sex. The most important part of a happy marriage is faithfulness (cited by 93%) and that has stayed true every year of the survey. Sexual relations (70%) comes in second. But helping with the household chores moved up dramatically (from 47% in 1990 to 62%). What’s equally interesting is that EVERYBODY -- men and women, younger and older, singles and married -- said the same thing about household chores. The report also cited an earlier University of Maryland report that fathers spent 9.6 hours a week on household chores, double the hours (4.4) cited in 1965, but that is still only about half as much time as mothers (18.1 hours).

And in what may be an ironic twist and an appropriate way to end this Internet vs. TV edition of MfM, the Pew Research Center also reports that many Americans are aware of the Spoof Campaign Videos produced by the various Presidential candidates’ campaigns for the web. But most of them had heard about them or seen them on TV, not on the Internet.

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