The latest research from the IAB, suggesting that the UK is the first major economy where advertisers are now spending more online than on TV, is certainly an intriguing development, though some interested parties have taken exception to the maths involved. While it says something about the sorry state of our commercial TV sector, the news does offer some hope for the online publishers waiting for the rapid growth in ad revenues that will save them from possible extinction.
Forrester’s latest consumer data – still warm and not yet published – confirms the continued rise in popularity of online content, especially video, across Europe. Good news? Not necessarily, if you are a publisher having to pay for serving all that content, with little yield (as yet) from current models. Monetizing online video is still a defining problem for publishers.
What are the answers, and how will the market evolve? Is ad-supported the only realistic model for monetizing online video? Are micropayments for video content, as mooted by execs from ITV and Fremantle Media, really an option? And how will Project Canvas change the landscape? Is it all about TV content? And what role should video play on sites from non-broadcasters?
We’ll be addressing these big questions in our upcoming research, and with our clients. But in the meantime I’ll be moderating a panel at the upcoming AOP Digital Summit on October 7th, where we’ll try and tackle at least some of these hot topics. If you’re attending the event, do seek me out. It should be fun.
