Online TV & Video Poised for Huge Growth

A new report says global online TV and video revenues will reach $21.52B in 2016, a massive increase from 2010's $3.48B. The study says OTT services are primed for an explosion as companies like Netflix, Hulu and others look to expand internationally.

According to Digital TV Research, online TV and video advertising has been the key driver in the OTT sector, recording revenues of $2.18B last year. The firm's latest "Online Video and TV" report says rapid ad spending growth will continue, reaching a global total of $9.98B in 2016.

However, author Simon Murray says, advertising's share of total OTT revenues will fall from 63% in 2010 to 46% in 2016 as paid-for revenues will absolutely skyrocket.

"The OTT television and video sector is on the brink of a huge take-off as the key players expand internationally, companies consolidate (with Hulu about to be sold to one of existing major players) and as new partnerships are announced on a daily basis," the analyst wrote. •

Network Subscribers: Finding Yours ... Finding Theirs ...

Finding out what package a network is in ... by provider, by geography, in relationship to competitors AND with the actual number of subscribers ... has long been the stuff of long intern hours, website migraines and throw-the-dart guesstimates.

No more. MediaBiz has officially released its MediaCensus Network Subscribers suite, a detailed look at more than 300 leading networks ... which providers offer them, in what package, in which geographies with how many subscribers.

As anyone who's attempted this market view knows, there's no one-size-fits-all answer. For example, if you look at Tennis Channel, you'll find that most major providers include it in their sports packages. But for at least one operator, Tennis Channel subscribers will be found almost exclusively in a top-tier general package ... while another major provider offers the Tennis video partly on a mid-level general package.

"Packaging cross-provider and cross-market can be surprisingly dynamic for many networks – TVOne is a great example. But even for sports networks which traditionally have fairly stable packaging you see deviations such as ... Tennis," notes MediaBiz SVP Pinna Gallant, "Digging into the sports networks you’ll start to see changes in packaging such as Bright House earlier this year, and your package placement is critical both in terms of total subscribers and your competitive position in the market.”
 
"This is the first time anyone has offered subscribers by network by provider by geography and packaging in anywhere near this kind of detail," she adds. "We can tell you where each provider places anyone of our networks in any of their markets and how many homes subscribe to the network."
 
That information, she notes, allows networks to benchmark themselves against their competitors.  Plus it provides media buyers with the number of homes subscribing to the network within specific geographies for specific providers.  
 
"This has been a very complex puzzle to put together on a nationwide basis for this many networks," notes MediaBiz president Robert Lehmann. "We'd like to thank our clients for their support in the product's development. We've received tremendous response from the industry."  
 
For more information on the MediaCensus Network Package suite, contact Robert Lehmann at lehmannr@mediabiz.com.•

Etc: Public/Private Hybrid "Connect" Plan - Belo v. DIRECTV - Massive Sony Recall

Rules & Regs: Microsoft and Best Buy are among a group of companies teaming with the FCC to launch the "Connect to Compete" initiative, a public/private hybrid program designed to assist low-income and underserved Americans with better access to broadband and the opportunities that high-tech services afford. NYT has the story. --- The ACA wants the industry to create voluntary network outage reporting rules in stead of regulatory mandates imposed by the FCC. The group said because the FCC lacks authority to force such requirements on broadband providers, companies should be able to work through their own complicated networks as technical difficulties arise. --- Intel's Peter Cleveland says regulators and lawmakers can help constituents and drive innovation by addressing "the huge shortfall in available spectrum" including reassigning it to "higher-valued services." Read his opinion piece at Politico.

Battlegrounds: The Belo v. DIRECTV battles continue with Belo's Dallas/Fort Worth ABC affiliate warning that DIRECTV customers could lose their access at midnight Nov. 1. Writing to MB correspondent Brad Giles, the station manager complains, "DirecTV is undervaluing WFAA and ABC network programming ... paying more to some cable channels with far fewer viewers." Hmmmm. Wonder if they'd give us a "for example"?

Strategy: Verizon launched its Home Monitoring and Control service today utilizing Motorola Mobility's 4Home software platform. The service provides real-time support for home monitoring, energy systems management and remote security tools. --- Reuters is reporting that Verizon Wireless CEO Dan Mead said  the company has not been speaking with Clearwire about spectrum sales even though executives from the WiMAX provider said they were... Mead reiterated that the carrier would have sufficient spectrum to support its 4G-LTE services.

Tech: It's pretty early in the battle, but with Intel shuttering its Digital Home Group, GigaOm says there's already a winner in the smart-TV chipset war. Read more. --- Level 3 unveiled an expanded set of media and broadcast services at SATCON this week that combines its Vyvx platform for broadcast backhaul with Global Crossing's Genesis Solutions managed video contribution and distribution services.

Programming: NBA Commissioner David Stern announced this week that the first two weeks of the upcoming basketball season would be lost due to the owners' lock-out. Company Town says the loss will not only hurt ESPN and TNT but dozens of RSN's that rely on hoops to fill a huge part of their fall/winter programming. Read more.

Ratings: The NYP says ratings for several top-tier cable networks "fell off a cliff over the summer" while smaller channels are "eating big cable's lunch." Nielsen data shows that from June to September, ESPN was down 15%, TNT sagged 11% and Lifetime dropped 15%, while niche nets like Style, HLN and The Weather Channel all enjoyed major gains of 68%, 48% and 36%, respectively.

Deals: LightSquared signed a new wholesale agreement with Aircado for high-speed mobile data services to small towns dubbed "micropolitan" areas across the country.

Retail: Sony recalled 1.6M Bravia flat-screen TVs this week for a faulty component that may catch fire and cause the sets to melt.

SkyREPORT: RRsat CFO David Aber announced he is leaving the company at the end of the year.

Up, Down & Over There: Virgin Media inked a deal to add Sky Anytime content to its VOD service giving the UK cable op the largest collection of on demand programming. BroadbandTV News has details.

Not Again!: Sony said Wednesday it had found a "large amount" of unauthorized sign-in attempts on its PlayStation Network and other online entertainment services. The company said it has temporarily suspended about 93K user accounts and that credit card details associated with those users are "not at risk."

Obits: Longtime Motorola CEO Robert Galvin died Tuesday in Chicago. He was 89 years old.

--- Catch today's media market news from The Evening BRIDGE. •