ITV's Grade - me thinks he doth protest too much!

Jonathan Bowers, September 22nd 2008, 4:49PM

Beleaguered ITV boss Michael Grade has referred to online video sites, such as YouTube, as ‘parasites’ to commercial broadcasters. See Brand Republic article .

In an interview at the IBC technology conference, the former Channel 4 and BBC man reportedly said operators such as YouTube, Google and Joost are "parasites” living off the TV shows and content created by the commercial broadcaster. However, he also added that he did not feel threatened by such entities.

The attack and then immediate brush-off smacks of desperation to me. Particularly as it comes from a man who finds himself steering a ship in increasingly troubled waters.

If ITV is not worried about Google then the organisation has its head in the sand. For a start, online advertising is already a bigger market than broadcast advertising. Brands are increasingly finding the internet to be a better shop window than TV and the reduction in ad revenue is at the core of the troubles commercial TV companies like ITV are facing.

As Google seems to be successfully siphoning off much of ITV’s ad revenue, I think Grade should not only be concerned about them but also prepared to learn a few lessons. Furthermore, Grade should actually embrace the positive opportunities that outfits like YouTube represent.

No one is going to watch whole pirated ITV shows on YouTube, however the broadcaster could have enticing two minute ‘taster’ clips available that will actually drive viewers to ITV’s portfolio of broadcast mediums.

With the right attitude, parasitical relationships can become symbiotic ones. In my view, Grade and ITV should be actively seeking YouTube exposure.

Tags: internet, marketing, tv, video, youtube
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Is video grinding the internet to a halt?

Jonathan Bowers, July 14th 2008, 2:04PM

It is a familiar scenario: we need more space, so we will add more space, then we expand our habits to fill it and once again we need more space. This is a problematic circle that can be attributed to a number of different areas of life, consider home buying or motorway construction, but for our purposes we are referring to the capacity of the internet super highway.

There was a time when telephone purpose cables and dial-up internet connections were all that were needed to get us speeding along the super highway. But then, when the internet’s popularity took off and its massive potential started to be fully realised, we needed more capacity.

Along came broadband (the cyberspace equivalent to expanding the M6 from 6 lanes to 66 lanes). We could once again speed along the highway but this time in huge trucks full of wonderful cargo such as music and film downloads, online games and other capacity greedy items. Now, however it seems as though our vast broadband super highways are once again clogging up, this time with juggernaut traffic jams.

The doomsday advocates say that our insatiable appetite for online video watching will break the internet by about 2010. However, don’t start panicking just yet. In reality the worst case scenario is that online video streaming use will just slow the internet down to snail speeds, so essentially taking us back to the dial-up era, the metaphorical stone-age of the internet epoch.

It seems that we cannot add capacity quickly enough to deal with increasing usage demand. According to Larry Irving, co-chairman of the Internet Innovation Alliance, (from The Observer April 6, 2008) “estimates show US internet traffic increasing at more than 50% a year, with capacity expanding at only about 40% a year.”

While online video surfing has been identified as the catalyst for increased internet capacity demand, experts seem to be divided into two groups with regard to the reason for the new capacity congestion problems.

Some feel that a lack of foresight is to blame. That is to say that the rapid increase in online video usage was not anticipated. The other camp blames market forces, arguing that infrastructure providers are not willing to make the necessary investments to keep up with demand.

If the first is true then the benefit of hindsight will ensure that capacity is geared up to cope with the internet video era soon. As for the second, well it seems to always take the industry time to realise the commercial potential of internet developments. But they will eventually and when they do, the necessary investment in infrastructure will follow.

So it might look as though video is grinding the internet to a halt, but in reality the internet will adapt as it has always done – until the next big thing that is!

Tags: accessibility, broadband, internet, video, websites
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Viacom/YouTube battle threatens to trample web user's privacy

Jonathan Bowers, July 4th 2008, 2:05PM

This week a US court delivered a landmark ruling that raises questions about internet users’ rights to privacy. The ruling comes from the high-profile and very bitter legal dispute between YouTube and Viacom.

In case you are not familiar with the case here is the background.

US broadcasting company Viacom alleges that YouTube infringes its copyright law by allowing parts of its programmes (such as the Late Show with Jon Stewart) to be shown on the YouTube website.

To prove its case Viacom had asked the US courts to grant it access to YouTube’s data. In response YouTube’s owner Google argued that granting this request would compromise end-user’s privacy.

So which got its way? Both and neither it seems!

This week Judge Louis Stanton from the New York district court ruled that Viacom can have “full access” to the YouTube logs. However he rejected Viacom’s request to see the YouTube source code.

So limited access has been granted. Does this represent a well balanced decision? Google, not surprisingly, is not happy and to be fair I think it has a point. Although the US courts have denied access to certain data it is not clear what end user information will be exposed.

The logs to be divulged include information on when each video gets played. However, attached to each entry is each viewer's unique login ID and the Internet Protocol address for that viewer's computer.

Viacom says it will not see this information but as Google is still petitioning to mask the personal data, this aspect of the situation is clearly not yet fully resolved.

The key point is not whether Viacom wants to see this data or not. It is that it may be afforded access to it anyway by the US courts and that sets a troubling precedent.

Upholding user privacy is vital for the continued viability of the internet. If users think that their personal data may be accessed either directly or as a by-product of lawsuits and alike then confidence in the internet will take a hit and that would be a hugely detrimental development.

Tags: viacom, google, internet, video, youtube
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Capturing the millennial vote with video

Jonathan Bowers, February 8th 2008, 3:28PM

In the film Wag The Dog, Robert De Niro is a spin-doctor drafted in by the US Government in a time of crisis. The President has been accused of sexual misdemeanours with a firefly girl and it's about to hit the news just weeks before Election Day. De Niro needs a diversion and he turns to Dustin Hoffman's Hollywood producer to create him a war - something that will unite the American people behind their leader. The information is delivered to the people via TV and newspaper. In the end, the President is re-elected and the manufactured war actually turns into a real concern.

It is a clever film and a great watch - but ten years later, it would never work. Why? Because the internet would easily have exploded the myth Hoffman created. And millions and millions of people today are influenced by the information they access online. The television is still of course a massively important conduit but the internet like never before has the capability to create a majority. Few understand this better than the US Presidential candidates who are well aware that there is an online battle to be won.

In this battle Barack Obama appears to have the upper hand - as well as a little help from his friends. The Viral Video Chart reveals that a new video posted just 6 days ago has already been viewed by over 5 million visitors. It has been linked to by more than 2000 sources and commented on across all social media platforms by many more. The video is the 'Yes We Can' Obama Song by Will.I.Am.

As The Campaign Spot (National Review Online's blog) points out and as De Niro knew a decade before, Hollywood can provide a very powerful message. It is no wonder that 18-30 year olds (the millennial voters) are turning out in record numbers. It is also no surprise that Barack Obama is winning the majority of this vote on nearly every occasion.

Tags: pr, video
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Empower business with online video

Jonathan Bowers, January 4th 2008, 11:03AM

As ever there are many blogs about what the big trends of the next year will be. Some say widgets will guide growth online, others believe personalisation of online services will be the focus. In the business community I believe we are going to see media empowerment. Written content will continue to be the main format for business commmunication but online video is going to prove to be a very potent force allowing a stronger voice in ways that we haven't seen before.

As a hosting provider, UKFast is able to look at thousands of businesses and draw conclusions about excellent business practice from those who are competing at the top of their chosen fields online. What we can see is that the companies growing at the fastest rate are those who are truly engaging with their audiences and communicating with them through multimedia formats.

Imagine how much more Northern Rock could have done to bolster customer confidence in the aftermath of the crisis if they had taken a more personal approach to informing their customers. The website included a list of FAQ's regarding the situation but they could have posted video from senior management talking direct to each customer. This would have been much more effective.

Crisis management is just one area where video is priceless. I think we are going to see a boom over the coming months in video being employed directly on company websites as a new element in the drive to build trust with the target community.

Tags: communication, video
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