GENERATION 247 - Web TV, Internet Streaming and Online Entertainment by Kevin Foong

Youtube myths busted

Myth 1: YouTube is limited to short-form user-generated content.

YouTube was built on short-form user-generated content. This much is true. Otherwise we’d have never seen those cute pets doing crazy things, or people falling over in ever more obtuse ways. But Google has moved the site on from that somewhat, and although UGC is still the main thrust of YouTube, there is also a range of long-form, professionally made, or premium content available.

Myth 2: YouTube videos are grainy and of poor quality.

Again, this a myth that’s built on the early days of the site when, let’s face it, the quality of the videos on the site was quite poor. Video quality has been improving as the quality of the products used to shoot the video has improved. Then at the back end of 2008, YouTube unveiled its HD video offerings, and the quality hasn’t looked back since.

Myth 3: Traffic, growth, uploads are bad for YouTube’s bottom line.

This is one of the trickiest YouTube myths to prove or disprove because YouTube doesn’t reveal its balance sheets. There has been intense speculation over how much money the site will lose this year, but until YouTube decides to reveal all then no one knows for sure. YouTube is claiming that, at the very least, growth is good for the company rather than bad. Which means it’s still welcoming more uploaded video.

Myth 4: Advertisers are afraid of YouTube.

It’s long been assumed that advertisers are somewhat cautious about advertising on YouTube due to the random nature of which clips their ads could end up appearing on. But YouTube is quick to point out that 70 percent of Ad Age Top 100 marketers ran campaigns on the site during 2008. What’s more, YouTube is now actively developing tools designed to help advertisers have better control over where their ads appear on the site.

Myth 5: YouTube is only monetizing 3-5% of the site.

This is another huge myth that YouTube is keen to debunk. A figure of 4 percent has long been bandied about when describing how many of the videos on the site can actually be monetized due to copyright concerns etc. YouTube doesn’t refute the percentage claim, and doesn’t either discuss the true figure, but it claims to have tripled the number of monetized views in the past year, and to be generating revenue from more views than any other video site has total views. Which is impressive.

Source: Youtube biz blog

Welcome back Mania TV

When it launched in 2004, ManiaTV became the world’s first Internet television network. Which seems insane as it’s only five years ago but it really just shows how much has happened in the world of online television since then.

ManiaTV produced programming purely for the Internet, with shows being sold and distributed across the Web without ever going near a network executive. The primary ManiaTV audience was 18 to 34-year-olds, with the shows focused on subjects close to that age range’s heart, such as video games, music videos, and cutting-edge comedy. Dave Navarro, Tom Green, and Chuck Norris all had shows on the network.

Gone. For Good?

All was seemingly going well until founder Drew Massey sold three-quarters of the company in three rounds of venture capital raising. The company eventually hit financial troubles right in the middle of the current recession, and ceased operations in March 2009.

Now, according to The New York Times, Massey wants to give the venture another go. He has successfully bought back the brand name and much of its old programming for what he claims is a small fraction of the $26 million invested by the venture capitalists. The ManiaTV Web site will soon be back online, initially airing reruns of old shows.

Onwards and Upwards

Once everything is back up and running, Massey then plans on making new shows by the end of this year, again looking to appeal to the youth market. Massey is looking to run a lean company which will turn a profit by concentrating on sponsorships and product placements in shows rather than other forms of Web advertising.

Massey maintains there is room for small, Web-only programme-makers such as ManiaTV out there, even with the likes of Hulu and YouTube leading the charge for professional content. He claims, “This will be a billion-dollar business, it will just take longer than some people would like.”

Chances For Success

Massey seems to be going about this task the right way this time, keeping everything small and manageable and appealing to sponsors and product placement advertisers. However, the brand has a severely tarnished reputation at this point and will require a lot of rebuilding.

Then there is the biggest problem of all, that we live in a post-Hulu world where both viewers and advertisers seem to be less interested in original Web shows than they once were. Can ManiaTV buck the trend which has seen rivals such as 60Frames and Ripe Digital also go out of business?

Source: WebTVWire