An Internet Advertising Blog

Online Video Solutions

by Robert Derow
ContextWeb Advertiser Advisor

I am by no means an expert in online video but I have been digging around quite a bit over the last month. It is evident that there are a number of ways publishers, content providers, and advertisers can work with video technologies today.

For publishers that do not have video content they can partner with a company like
Roo Media (RGRP.OB) who has publisher, advertiser and content provider video solutions (the only pure play video company that is publicly traded). Basically they will run their vertical content and use their custom player on your site.

Incremental Revenue For The Web Publisher

You can generate incremental revenue through a revenue share or a stream-based revenue structure. Bright Cove and Broadband Enterprises (BE) also offer services similar to Roo Media. There are also a number of smaller vertical video content syndication groups but I would be concerned with them booking the media.

For advertisers the space is a bit more fragmented as many sites are building their own players and selling their own ad space. Many TV networks - that can syndicate their own content online - are selling through their TV sellers. There are aggregators popping up all the time. Roo, Bright Cove, and Broadband Enterprises all offer advertising solutions along with ValueClick and Advertising.com.

For content providers, you can dust off those archived videos and turn them into incremental revenue. Not to keep mentioning the same three players that I know in the video space but… Roo, Bright Cove and BE all offer content syndication on a revenue share or pay per stream model.

Maturation Of Online Video

As the video space matures I think it will be interesting to see if the momentum in buying online video shifts from the TV buyers to the interactive shops. It feels like most of the TV buying is coming out of the TV shops - and the deals are largely with the networks’ online counterpart and not with the video networks.

As a direct marketer I am concerned with the impact of online video in its current state. A simple non-clickable pre-roll without a companion ad detracts from the interactivity the web is known for. In any case, video will be huge and the convergence of TV and online is on its way!

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