Nielsen has scheduled a pilot program for its previously announced Digital Program Ratings, intended to measure online TV audiences. Broadcast and cable entities including ABC, AOL, A+E, CBS, Discovery, Fox, NBC and Univision are scheduled to participate in the ratings system testing May through July. The pilot program is the next step toward a broader commercial rollout, anticipated to launch later this year. Continue reading Pilot: Nielsen Digital Program Ratings to Measure Online TV

Online video has yet to match television in terms of viewership numbers, but it is gaining momentum. According to the Interactive Advertising Bureau, which released its findings at this week’s Digital Content NewFronts in New York, professionally produced online video reaches approximately 45 million U.S. viewers each month (roughly 19 percent of adults). Nielsen indicates that more than 95 percent of the U.S. population watches TV. Continue reading Digital NewFronts: IAB Report Says Online Video on the Rise

Twitter is reportedly close to reaching partnerships with TV networks that would bring video content and advertising to the social site. Talks are underway with Viacom, Comcast and NBCUniversal, say sources, who note that the deal with Viacom would allow the micro-blogger to host TV clips on its site and sell ads alongside them. The push for TV coincides with Twitter’s expansion into music discovery and sharing with its new mobile app. Continue reading Twitter Pursuing Deals to Host Television Content and Ads

Among those who do not subscribe to cable, or may not own own television sets or have their own accounts for the variety of streaming services available online, sharing password information for sites like HBO Go, Netflix, Hulu and others is increasingly common. Although data on this trend has yet to be quantified by the likes of Nielsen or comScore — conversations, articles, posts and social media chatter seem to all indicate it is on the rise. Continue reading Are Streaming Sites Missing a Social Viewing Opportunity?

Chris Kemp, once the chief technology officer of NASA, spearheaded the creation of a software platform that completely changed NASA’s approach to computing power. Called Nebula, his platform helped steer the agency into the age of Google and Amazon. Now Kemp is touting hardware that makes the most of open source project OpenStack, which is perhaps best described as a Linux for cloud computing. Continue reading Nebula One: Former NASA CTO Develops Cloud Computer

It seems a number of major media companies are looking to get into streaming video as it continues to grow more popular. On-demand music service Spotify is the latest company rumored to be in the planning stages of such a service, perhaps a surprise to many since its focus has thus far strictly involved music. But two sources say Spotify intends to grow into an on-demand music and video service, including original content. Continue reading Will Spotify Be Next to Develop Video Streaming Service?

A federal court in New York has sided with the Associated Press and The New York Times in a case involving a company that “scraped” news content from the Internet without paying for it. This case was closely watched because of its possible implications for what counts as “fair use” under copyright law in the online media world and how it may impact the future of content producers and free speech. Continue reading Fair Use Case: Court Rules in Favor of Associated Press

According to a new study from Coca-Cola, online buzz has no measurable impact on short-term product sales. However, online display ads are about effective as TV ads, noted company exec Eric Schmidt during this week’s Advertising Research Foundation Re:think conference in New York. As a point of clarification, a top marketing exec for the company, Wendy Clark, was quick to note that social media still plays a crucial role. Continue reading Online Buzz Has No Measurable Impact on Short-Term Sales

YouTube competitor Vimeo launched its Vimeo on Demand service this week at South by Southwest. Vimeo on Demand is an open self-distribution service allowing members to charge those who view their posted videos. The company plans to let members choose their own prices for their videos. The creators will get 90 percent of the profits while Vimeo takes in the other 10 percent. Continue reading Vimeo On Demand Allows Creators to Charge and Set Rules

Machinima is one of the largest online video producers. Content on its online channels were viewed more than 20 billion times in 2012. In December alone, Machinima-related properties had 2.6 billion views from 262 million unique viewers. And during the 2012 E3 videogame convention, it earned 14.4 million unique views on just one day; 455 million views during the week. Continue reading Is Machinima Approach to Online Video the Future of TV?

Computer-driven targeted TV advertising could allow advertisements to reach 18 percent more consumers than traditional television advertising, according to researchers at AT&T Labs. The study used viewing information from cable boxes to determine what demographics watch what shows, and at what times of day. The study then analyzed different advertising patterns for a car manufacturer and a retirement planning/investing firm. Continue reading Targeted TV Ad Model: Road to More Effective Advertising?