For years, Facebook counted any video auto-play that lasted three seconds or longer as a view, which resulted in many publishers producing very short clips. Last year, the social media platform tweaked its News Feed algorithm to favor longer videos, and, with the debut of mid-roll ads, publishers had incentive to post clips longer than 90 seconds. Social video publishing specialist Wochit has collected data from over 200 publishers, including CBS, NBC News and USA Today that proves Facebook’s strategy is working. Continue reading Viewer Engagement Increasing for Longer Facebook Videos

Nielsen is introducing “smart TV viewership data from Gracenote,” reports TechCrunch, so that “advertisers using the Nielsen Marketing Cloud will be able to take advantage of detailed, real-time information about who was watching what.” Nielsen exec Kelly Abcarian said the goal is to deliver “person-level television data” to digital marketing and “bring the scale to a whole new level.” This will enable advertisers to target consumers who watched a TV spot by following up with a direct response mobile ad. Nielsen has expanded its ad targeting and digital ad business efforts with the purchase of eXelate in 2015 and Gracenote earlier this year. Gracenote’s Video Automatic Content Recognition tech can be found in 27 million smart TVs today. Continue reading Nielsen Expands Marketing Cloud With Gracenote’s TV Data

On Thanksgiving Day, sports fans watching football on FOX Sports will be treated to six-second commercials, which will take over the screen between plays, leaving the game in a small box on the side. Fox Networks Group first tested the six-second spot in August and, more recently, has aired them during the Major League Baseball World Series. The National Football League is embracing the six-second ad model as a way to cut down on time spent on commercials as well as make them less disruptive. Continue reading FOX to Air Six-Second Ads During Thanksgiving Day Football

Facebook is facing many challenges, none more pressing than the posts and memes covertly created by Russian government-led organizations whose goal was to influence the 2016 U.S. election. Inside Facebook, say a dozen current and former employees, the debate rages over how to deal with the issue. One side, supporting free speech, believes that nothing should be censored; the other side is worried about the problems created by this laissez-faire approach. Meanwhile, the company is reportedly in full-on defense mode. Continue reading Facebook Debates Self-Regulation to Combat Misinformation

Demand appears to be outstripping supply for Apple’s new iPhone X, since early order estimated shipment dates have been pushed to December. Online preorders began at 3:00 am ET on Friday in 50+ countries. The phone officially goes on sale on November 3, but the shipping estimate for the U.S., China and Japan is now at five-to-six weeks, at least twice the wait for new models a year ago. For example, when the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus went on sale last year, Apple estimated deliveries in one-to-three weeks. Continue reading Apple iPhone X Shipping Delays: A Supply or Demand Issue?

A new live mobile game called “HQ” is giving away real money and adding something new to the genre. The iOS game is the brainchild of Vine creators Rus Yusupov and Colin Kroll, and combines elements of current popular game shows, including “Jeopardy!” and “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” The game goes live daily at 3:00 pm and 9:00 pm ET, and lasts for 13 minutes as one of two hosts (either New York comedian Scott Rogowsky or British on-air personality Sharon Carpenter) shoots off 12 multiple choice questions that range in difficulty and topic. Continue reading Live Mobile Trivia Game ‘HQ’ Gives Away Money, Goes Viral

Alphabet, Amazon and Microsoft reported significant Q3 growth: Alphabet’s profits rose 33 percent, Amazon’s 34 percent, and Microsoft’s 12 percent. The higher earnings are a reflection of the dominance of a few big companies that continue to expand into new markets. For example, enjoying the fruits of its flourishing cloud computing sector, Alphabet posted a 40 percent increase in non-advertising revenue, to $3.41 billion. News that Amazon obtained licenses from several state pharmaceutical boards also rocked the market. Continue reading Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft Dominate With Major Q3 Growth

During Google’s Q3 earnings call yesterday, CEO Sundar Pichai revealed that YouTube is experiencing more than 100 million hours of watch time via living room devices daily, which represents a 70 percent jump in the last year and about 10 percent of total YouTube watch time. Earlier this year, Google announced more than 1 billion hours of watch time for YouTube across all devices, but this is the first time that smart TVs and living room devices were specified. More than half of YouTube’s viewing now takes place on mobile devices. Alphabet and Google CFO Ruth Porat noted that YouTube has an impressive 90 percent ad viewability rate. Continue reading YouTube Viewing via Connected TVs Up 70 Percent This Year

Roku has taken an important step in its long-time efforts to evolve from a hardware-based to a services-based model. Although the company will not comment, sources say that Roku is preparing to begin streaming videos on third-party devices from rivals Apple and Google. Those same sources say that the initial efforts will likely focus on mobile devices. Most consumers still think of Roku as a hardware company, but Roku recently began licensing its operating system to TV manufacturers and making money on advertising. Continue reading Roku May Be Prepping to Stream Video on Third-Party Devices

Digital Domain Holdings, head of the biggest global indie VFX facility, and Qualcomm have partnered to create what Digital Domain chair Peter Chou calls “a new ecosystem for virtual reality.” This deal follows on the heels of Digital Domain’s partnership with Deutsche Telekom on a virtual reality mobile app. According to Chou, who co-founded smartphone manufacturer HTC, these deals are in preparation for the rollout of 5G mobile services expected to take place in the next few years. HTC is also maker of the Vive VR headset. Continue reading Digital Domain Partnering With Qualcomm on VR Ecosystem

Streaming hub Reelgood, which offers viewers a guide for tracking content across more than 300 streaming video services, recently acquired Netflix Roulette, a service that randomly selects Netflix titles for its users. As part of Reelgood, the Netflix Roulette tech will be used as a feature to randomly select titles from a wide range of streaming services such as Amazon, HBO, Hulu, Showtime and Starz. This could appeal to viewers who are overwhelmed by choices or simply tired of switching between services looking for content. Continue reading Reelgood Buys Netflix Roulette for Picking Shows at Random

Nielsen has begun collecting Netflix viewership data via audio recognition software in 44,000 U.S. households, part of its planned initiative to measure TV audiences of subscription video on-demand services. So far, A&E Networks, Disney ABC Television Group, Lionsgate, NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. have subscribed to the service. Nielsen clients can opt to release the data publicly. By adding SVOD measurements, Nielsen continues efforts to capture viewing behaviors that have changed with the emergence of mobile and streaming video.  Continue reading Nielsen Begins to Measure Audience Data of SVOD Services

NBCUniversal and Snap plan to open a production studio to create original content for mobile devices. Mark and Jay Duplass, who formed creative agency Donut to produce programming for new platforms, will be the first creators for the studio. NBC News already produces “Stay Tuned,” a twice-daily newscast distributed on Snapchat, which drew 29 million unique viewers in its first month. Former NBC Entertainment executive Lauren Anderson will head the new NBCUniversal-Snap studio, to be based in Santa Monica. Continue reading NBCUniversal, Snap to Open New Studio for Mobile Content

In pursuit of a piece of the $72 billion U.S. TV advertising market, Google has its first big win in getting TV and video companies to embrace its video ad tech software. The company inked a partnership with CBS to provide the technology to deliver ads for its latest original “Star Trek: Discovery” series, the main attraction for CBS All Access, its new streaming subscription service. The new deal is a hoped-for win-win for both Google and CBS, and a challenge to other ad tech systems. Google also debuted an ad buying software tool last spring. Continue reading Google Takes a Major Step in TV Ad Delivery With CBS Deal

Snapchat debuted “context cards” this week, a new feature that helps its users easily make a restaurant reservation or book an Uber ride without having to exit the app. The new feature is designed to keep users engaged with the app and its contextual location-based search. By swiping up from geotagged images while viewing certain stories, users will get related data such as contact info, directions and reviews. Early partners include Bookatable, Foursquare, Michelin, OpenTable and TripAdvisor. Ultimately, more time on Snapchat could mean more advertising revenue for the popular messaging app. Continue reading Snapchat Introduces its New Location-Based Discovery Tool