[VIDEO] Media Leaders on Timely Content and Other Opportunities in Video for 2014

Recently, we brought together several of our media customers and partners for an excellent networking breakfast in New York City that included a panel discussion on how to maximize the performance of video content, as well as a session of case study-driven best practices shared by Brightcove's CTO for Media, Albert Lai.

On the panel, CBS, Twitter, The Weather Channel and FreeWheel weighed in on opportunities for broadcasters in the year ahead, as well as how to measure the performance of video initiatives as it relates to advertising, user experience, reach and engagement across devices. Their thoughts seemed to resonate with many Brightcove customers in the room, some of whom contributed their own 2014 areas of focus in the video below after the sessions.

One theme of the panel that garnered significant attention was "timely content" and how spikes in viewership can be earned and monetized. Domenico DiMeglio, VP of Distribution and Operations at CBSi and Jeremy Hlavacek, VP, Programmatic, at The Weather Channel each represented publishers with this type of content -- sports and breaking weather/storms respectively. They shared how they look to their technology, platform and monetization partners to capitalize on what Mike Park, Sr. Manager at Twitter Amplify, described as "immensely popular assets" at a given moment in time.

Park spoke to the networks in the room about Twitter’s growing role as a distribution partner in the TV ecosystem, noting that "the rights that you have while a program is airing, particularly on TV, are some of the most valuable rights you have when it comes to Twitter and the conversation that explodes there." He explained the Amplify program to the room of video publishers as simply "timely content - put into the conversation - subsidized by a sponsor."

DiMeglio said that CBS was embracing Amplify, where it could "take an existing piece of content and extend that and add incremental value for advertisers." He cited the 60 second summary videos that CBS produced for 60 Minutes, “60 in 60,” as an example of execution of this concept on Twitter that delivered revenue, marketing for the show, and a channel to recruit a younger demographic. In recognition of the importance of this opportunity, Brightcove has developed robust integrations with Twitter to support this use case and other similar initiatives from our customer base.

The morning also addressed the increasing efforts of publishers to deliver live and simulcast experiences that meet the bar of traditional television from a user perspective. Frans Vermulen, SVP of Global Solutions for Freewheel, spoke about how linear television broadcasts with dynamically inserted ads are evolving to avoid the pitfalls of repetitive ad pods. Hlavacek echoed his perspective, emphasizing the balance required by publishers. With stream volume increases, he said, whether live or VOD, there is a focus on "making sure that the customer experience stays high during those huge spike periods," while still being monetized effectively.  "It’s really about having the right technology partners in place to execute on our business strategy."