So - the rumours were true after all. NBC Universal and News Corp. have joined forces to create a venture focused on distributing premium online video content over a network of sites estimated to reach 96% of all U.S. Internet users. How much did Google pay for Youtube again?
The goal is to create a one-stop source for consumers and advertisers seeking premium video content. Both full-length TV shows, movies and clips will be offered. In addition, consumers will be invited to manipulate the premium content to create mashups and parodies. Non-program-related user-generated content will also be accepted, but is not the focus of the enterprise said Jeff Zucker, president and CEO of NBCU.
The smartest thing about this is that they'll sell the ads and they can determine what cut to give to the partners," said David Hallerman, senior analyst with eMarketer. He said that how well they can break out of the pre-roll video model may determine the ventures ultimate success.
eMarketer predicts spending on video advertising will grow from $775 million this year to $2 billion by 2009, and $2.9 billion by 2010. And while video ad spending growth peaked this year at 89%, according to eMarketer, growth will remain above 50% through 2009, falling to 45% by 2010.
It's note worthy that - with this move, News Corp. and NBC are better positioned than YouTube to forge deals because of their existing relationships with advertisers and general interest portals alike. Whatever the case may be - the video space just got a lot more interesting...........
No comments:
Post a Comment