Category: Television

Hulu Rewards Binge Watching

On By grosso611In Streaming, Television1 Comment
Makers Hulu

Hulu announced recently that they will be introducing a new system of advertising that will reward people for binge watching episodes in one sitting. They packaged it as a reward by offering a special deal through Hulu or allowing the episode to be ad free because of a specific sponsor. Because the Hulu revenue model relies on ads, Hulu is giving an incentive to make the ads more palatable while maintaining support from the advertisers. Hulu announced they will be partnering with advertisers like Kellogg’s, Maker’s March, and Georgia-Specific for this new system.

Hulu will use data on viewers to predict which shows are about to be binge watched and will serve, “contextually relevant messaging from our brand partners that acknowledges a binge-watching session has begun.” For example, Cheez-It Snap’d will show an ad that corresponds with the binge watch session by saying, “Another episode? Snack it to me!”

In 2007, all the major media companies owned a share of Hulu, but now Disney owns a majority of the company. Comcast handed over operational control to Disney and plans to sell 33% of their stock to Disney by 2024.

I find this interesting because I totally agree with this method of advertising. The biggest annoyance when binge watching shows is the constant interruption from advertisements. Personally, I like the idea of getting the longer ad out of the way and experiencing the whole episode uninterrupted instead of short periods that occur every 15 minutes. I think this is a really smart thing and will be very beneficial to the platform. I wonder how the platform will change now that Disney will own Hulu in the future as networks pull the shows, but the new advertisement system is interesting nonetheless.  

Article: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/12/hulu-new-ad-type-will-reward-binge-watchers.html

Game of Streams – ViacomCBS

On By Chris ColeIn Distribution, Movie, Political, Sports, Streaming, Technology, TelevisionLeave a comment

Viacom and CBS Corp. are officially joining forces after 14 years since their split. Viacom and CBS first merged in 1999 and split in 2005. Since the two merged, ViacomCBS is now a massive media empire with a collection of cable channels, broadcast networks, and film and publishing divisions. The company celebrated its partnership with a ceremonial ringing of the opening bell at the Nasdaq Market Site in New York’s Times Square. The company’s Nasdaq ticker symbol is VIAC.

The two companies bring a lot of content to each other. Viacom has the right to BET, Comedy Central, MTV, and Paramount movie studios. CBS properties include the CBS Television Network, CBS News and 15 CBS-owned TV stations, as well as the cable network Showtime and the publisher Simon & Schuster. ViacomCBS is valued at an estimate of $30 billion when the merger was announced in August. The company has a lot of competition. Between recent streaming platforms like AppleTV, Disney+ and Netflix, there is a lot of pressure to not only come with good content but how will ViacomCBS make streaming distinct for them.

 

factsheet.jpg

 

According to CBSNews, Both CBS Corp. and Viacom have long been controlled by Sumner Redstone and his daughter, Shari through their family’s privately owned company, National Amusements. This company operates in movie theaters in the U.S., U.K. and Latin America. Shari Redstone is the president of National Amusements and has served as vice-chairwoman of CBS and Viacom before their merger. Shari has recently become chair of the combined ViacomCBS board.

The two companies have a history of trying to merge; they have tried several times in recent years but their management teams could never see eye to eye. Last year, CBS’s board went through a lot go change following the departure of longtime CEO Leslie Moonves over misconduct allegations. This helped make room for the merger. Hopefully, Viacom’s content can help create a bigger name within the streaming platform. It will be interesting to see what content they will make specifically for their platform.

Top Ten November TV Advertisers Spend 10% More In 2019

On By Alexa SouthardIn Marketing, TelevisionLeave a comment

https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/344095/top-ten-november-tv-advertisers-spend-10-more-in.html

With the holiday retail season quickly approaching and now among us, television marketers are spending peak bucks to adversities. The biggest names are among the same every year, however this year, spending is up 10%. This increase in expense can be accredited to a broader audience, the amount of airings and creatives, or unrelated reasons.

The biggest national spenders include Geico, followed by Verizon, then Walmart, Progressive, and T-Mobile. State Farm, Target, Amazon, AT&T, and finally Allstate pulling in at number ten. These are the main contenders of top TV marketers every year, however the spending is up 10% from previous years.