Tech Effect: How Video Makes Money on the Internet
Tech Effect: Linking Technology with Creativity
by David Haneke, Opening Moments Media, LLC MCA-I Member, Arizona
Tech Effect explores how the production of creative content and technology are converging to create revenue streams and convenience for creative messaging. This column features interviews with experienced production team leaders and content distributors in the industry. The interviews will touch on both the creative content as well as innovative ways of increasing revenue using technology.
Internet TV has moved into the mainstream. According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 57 percent of Internet users watch video online, and among users age 18-29, that number jumps to 74 percent.
A common question asked by professional content creators is, “How do I make money with video content on the Internet?” Aside from marketing downloadable sitcoms or a major motion picture through iTunes, how do corporate and independent video producers make money from the Internet?
Monetization is possible, but probably not in the way that you might think.
For the purpose of this article, here is terminology clarification: a content Producer is referred to here as a Publisher. Programmers provide Publishers with products and services to monetize their video assets. Programmers also provide advertisers with advertising opportunities with top tier Publisher sites.
I went to one of the largest Internet television providers, Brightcove, and talked with Adam Berrey, Director of Corporate Communications.
Berrey explained that very few Publishers are selling to consumers. “That’s not a big market”, Berrey states. “For 75 years, free TV has taught people that content should be free. They expect it to be ad-supported.” He continues, “Consumers are willing to pay for first run Hollywood movies and prime time TV programs, as well as top tier cable content.”
Berrey explains that profits are realized when a Programmer sells the audience to advertisers. It’s very similar to how television works with syndication, only this is through Internet TV instead of traditional TV.
Berrey continues, “Most of the Brightcove users don’t depend on pay media, but instead they utilize advertising, or they sell to their clients the Brightcove service, and make a profit in the process.”
“Technology in the marketplace is important today for marketers and Publishers. People producing content for the web should understand how to approach this type of media once they’ve built the content.” Berrey notes that it’s important to think like a media person, not necessarily selling content only, but getting Programmers to sell an audience to advertisers.
Brightcove is an Internet TV service that empowers Publishers to build broadband businesses while giving viewers more choices and control over their use of video and television. Brightcove employs 120 people, half of whom are engineering systems operations, the rest sales and marketing. Brightcove serves 120 million unique users a month. According to comScore, a company that provides continuous real time measurements of how the Internet is used, the average length of an Internet video stream is 2.6 minutes.
Berrey continues, “The Publisher puts a snippet of code on the website and the media player appears on a website” -- and this video is most effective when it’s integrated with text and other articles.
“When evaluating video to make money through this type of publishing”, Berrey continues, “The first question we ask is, “How much audience do they have and who are the uniques (unique visitors).’”
Berrey gives an example. “Let’s say you’re working in the corporate market. A company hires you to shoot case studies for $10,000 each. You as the content provider can add to that sale by building a web site around those case studies and charge $50,000 and use Brightcove’s services in providing the solution beyond the content.”
Berrey adds, “The question a Programmer should ask is, ‘What amount can I sell my clients ad for CPM? (The abbreviation CPM represents “Cost per Thousand Impressions” – M represents the Roman numeral for 1,000). “If there is a larger audience, you can then sell that to advertisers for $20/CPM.” For example, 100,000 unique visitors could yield $2,000 in revenue per month from advertisers.
One of the ways Brightcove distinguishes itself from other services is how they give 100% control over encoding to the user, resulting in good looking video, with better quality compression. Other video sites transcode the content, resulting in fuzzy looking video productions.
Back to our original question: Is it possible to make money with video content on the Internet? The answer: Absolutely -- through integrating content with articles and selling advertisers on the amount of traffic you can attract. Or through selling and building a website for a client and using a service like Brightcove to integrate the video content.
Brightcove is the market-leading Internet video partner for international news and entertainment businesses, including CBS Corporation, Discovery Communications Inc., Dow Jones & Company, Inc., Fox Entertainment Group, MTV Networks, National Geographic, Sony BMG Music Entertainment and many others. www.brightcove.tv is a search engine guide to Publishers.
David Haneke is Creative Director of Opening Moments Media, LLC, a production company that specializes in empowering companies to increase performance through creative video and media development. Haneke is past President of MCA-I Arizona. Haneke’s production team includes a talented award winning team of creative writers, producers, camera operators, editors and sound designers.
Very timely topic! I found out about similar business models before last year's ProTracks through a Indy film client. That it's the traffic to our sites, not necessarily the content that creates the revenue. Through blogging and podcasting we draw poeple to our site. Yes, some content sales of DVDs, CDs, etc., hopefully result. But the ads, click-thru ads, and commissions from affiliate programs are bringing in the steady revenue. So our content becomes the draw, not the revenue generator
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Very timely topic! I found out about similar business models before last year's ProTracks through a Indy film client. That it's the traffic to our sites, not necessarily the content that creates the revenue. Through blogging and podcasting we draw poeple to our site. Yes, some content sales of DVDs, CDs, etc., hopefully result. But the ads, click-thru ads, and commissions from affiliate programs are bringing in the steady revenue. So our content becomes the draw, not the revenue generator