Comcast, Monster to offer TV channel for job ads

Comcast Corp., the largest US cable operator, and Internet recruiter Monster Worldwide Inc. is introducing a television channel devoted to help-wanted advertising. The channel, which will reach 16.5 million homes, is expected to start by mid-November.

The alliance helps New York-based Monster, the largest owner of help-wanted Internet sites, fight the softening US economy by finding another way to reach job seekers. Comcast aims to attract help-wanted advertisers who rarely use TV now.

October, 2008 | Permalink
Categories: Video On Demand TV

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Video vs. Static

There are two interesting articles from e-Marketer to cite for this topic:
Video More Effective Than Rich Media, 9/10/07.
http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?id=1005349
TV Consumes Half of All Leisure Time, 7/9/07.
http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?id=1005118&src=article1_newsltr

The cumulative message from both articles certainly puts yet another fork in the long-term viability of newspaper media. But, it also implies that any content that requires any work of any kind (reading or interpreting) is simply not as desirable as video.

One of the most telling stats from the former article: “Individuals ages 15 to 19 read for an average of 0.1 hours (seven minutes) per weekend day and spent one hour playing games or using a computer for leisure.” US Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics' "American Time Use Survey." Somewhat amazing that this group spends one-tenth as much time a weekend reading anything as playing video games. And, 50% of leisure time is spent watching the tube.

The other (September 10) article implies that online video ads generate better recall among viewers than other forms of Rich Media. This means even full motion ads with words and graphics can’t hang with video. This is consistent with some Liquidus’ observations related to automotive advertisers who claim their online vehicle listings with video get three to four times the click rate of static vehicle listings (just words and photos). Both articles are selling points for products like Liquidus VideoLink (for online) and the Liquidus Video On Demand platform for digital cable television.

September, 2007 | Permalink
Categories: Internet New Technology

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TV vs. Online Video Viewing

Despite the legitimate hype of the power of online video, a study earlier this year puts consumer viewing habits in perspective. Reference http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?id=1004976&src=article1_newsltr.

The two key summary points of the May 27, 2007 e-Marketer article:

• • "Among adults who stream and download video, only 11% of their video is viewed on a PC, while three-quarters is viewed on a TV, according to Ipsos Insight's "MOTION" study conducted in December 2006 and January 2007."
• • Brian Cruikshank of Ipsos said,"It's clear that consumers are inclined to experiencing video, particularly longer-form content, within their living rooms… ”

In short, most of the people downloading videos of any reasonable length are more likely to watch them on their TV.

No surprise here. And, there's a common-sense inference one can make in the context of the ancient discussion of "convergence." That is, while burgeoning new media for the delivery of video (computer and mobile devices) continue to be interesting, they are unlikely to ever conquer "the couch"…that means the TV set…or, whatever it is we're going to call that big-screen thing that sits in our living rooms in the future.

This has strong implications for Video On Demand (VOD) and eventually ipTV. As long As digital cable & satellite interactive technology, functionality and usability continue to evolve at any reasonable rate (which is sometimes questionable) they will have a high probability of remaining the majority owners of video-watching eyeballs over the long run.

While we all can tout the active experience of sitting bolt upright at our desktop computers surfing Web content after a long work week, or the fun of squinting at our mobile phone screens from semi-fetal positions, the "passive" experience of browsing the same type of content in video format on our hi-def screens from the comfort of our couches (albeit somewhat less interactively over the short term) is unlikely to be displaced significantly anytime soon.

September, 2007 | Permalink
Categories: Internet New Technology

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