Are Paid Internet Video Downloads Doomed?

Forrester Research recently came out with a bold claim that paid internet video downloads have no future. The report claims that paid downloads will give way to ad-supported models.This claim waivers on one major issue: will quality internet video only be a mainly ad-supported business? And the answer is most definitely no.

The reason is mainly tied in with DVD sales and the fact that content owners will not want to switch to a questionable ad supported business when they have a lucrative DVD sales. However, they will be prepared to offer paid video downloads in addition to selling DVDs. Mike Wolf of ABIResearch is also thinking along the same lines.

This is something we can clearly see happening today with a variety of paid movie download sites such as Amazon Unbox, and a lack of legitimate free streaming TV episodes and movies.

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Digital Media Bytes

A periodic roundup of relevant news… from our other blogs. The “Upfrontâ€? DVR Battle And Other Advertising Skirmishes: Connected Home 2 Go Web TV Tourist Guide Takes You Around Philadelphia: Web TV Hub Motorola’s New Phones: Connected Home 2 Go GuideWorks, Your Regularly Scheduled Programming: Connected Home 2 Go

Cox On-Demand: No Ad Skipping

The good news for Cox customers: Disney’s ABC and ESPN programming will be available on-demand. The bad news: You won’t be permitted to fast forward through any advertisements. That’s one heck of a trade off and a good argument to record shows yourself using the DVR of your choice. The advertising model, of course, is … Read more

TiVo’s Marketing Blitz: $$$

Wondering how much the new My TiVo Gets Me television, print, and web advertising “blitz” costs? According to the NY Times: more than $15 million. Yowza! The Times also reports the ad agency behind this campaign (in which everyone gets TiVo antennae) as Kaplan Thaler, who we probably know from the Aflac duck and women … Read more

My TiVo Gets Me: Web 2.0?

TiVo has just launched My TiVo Gets Me, a marketing website with social networking features (create a searchable profile, link a YouTube video). In conjunction with the new site, they’re giving away a Series3 and 42″ plasma to the person who submits the best video detailing how TiVo delivers their “deepest passion.” Speaking of deep … Read more

More on Mochila

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Earlier in the month I sat down with Mochila CEO Keith McAllister and got the 1-hour version of what it is Mochila does. As best as I can sum it up, the company offers a-la-carte, multiplatform syndication. Together those words make it sound thoroughly uninteresting, but actually Mochila brings an intriguing approach to the new media market… at least once you get your brain wrapped around the concept.

Here’s how it works. Anyone can become a buyer or seller of content by joining Mochila’s network. (Sellers are vetted to make sure they’re selling legit material and no naughty stuff.) If you’re buying, you can choose text, photos, audio or video, and either pay money to redistribute the content – online or offline – or syndicate it with advertising. If you’re selling, you can make your content available on whatever terms you like. Mochila has a handy licensing system that lets you customize everything from price to embargo times to the specific publishers you’re willing to do business with.

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Nielsen Unveils DVR Stats – Time To Rethink The 30 Second Ad

For avid TV watchers, May is one of the best times of the years. The networks strut out their best quality stuff, there are plenty of cliff hangers, NBA finals (Go Lakers) and don’t even get me started on the season/series finales. It’d be nicer if we could just have fresh content all year round, but for whatever reason the networks want to make consumers gorge on television, just to take it all in for one month. At least there will be time for sunlight during summer reruns. ;)

For advertisers and the studios though, May marks the start of a vicious frenzy of negotiations, where fortunes can be won and lost in a bizzarre game of chicken, that I’m not sure I’ll ever understand. Every year, we see the same dance, the studios unveil their A list stuff and the marketing agencies come drooling with their blank checkbooks.

Last year though, things didn’t go as smoothly as planned. Issues like DVR usage and streaming internet video started to creep into the negotiations. The marketing agencies demanded that they only pay for live viewers and the studios tried to convince them that DVRs were somehow actually good for them.

The truth was though, that the studios had lost control and eventually the ad agencies were able to negotiate rates on their terms, instead of having to cave to last minute pressure. With May sweeps about to start up all over again, you can bet that both sides are positioning themselves for how they plan on dealing with these irritating DVR owners.

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Comcast Pays TiVo 16 Million (And Counting)

TiVo’s annual 10-k has revealed that Comcast paid $16 million (fiscal year ending 1/31/07) for continued development of the upcoming Motorola TiVo build. TiVo presumably received funding the prior year, and will receive a recurring subscriber bounty once the platform is deployed. I wonder if Cox sent Comcast a thank you card for footing the … Read more