Happy Friday!
This week we have been catching up on the new episodes of Star Trek: Discovery. We are excited to hear about the launch of a new companion show, After Trek , presented by Matt Mira! The show will feature in-depth discussions and recaps of the latest Star Trek: Discovery episode.
Right, let's get straight to it!
Top Pick
Pivoting-to-video publishers face a big monetization gap
This chart is very telling.
For all the efforts of these publishers pivoting to video, the overwhelming majority of viewing happens on 3rd party platforms like Facebook and YouTube. Publishers lose brand recognition, control over their experience, and also a lot of money.
[...] while video on the publisher’s own site can command a $70 CPM, on Facebook and YouTube, the effective ad rate drops to around $20.
While there's no questioning the advantages that platforms like Facebook and YouTube have, it's becoming much harder to differentiate yourself from the pack. Even if your content manages to snag a viewer from the feed, it is quickly scrolled away and forgotten.
“The inclination is that every video view needs to be monetized and also that video view is the North Star metric for success. I say, quality of user experience is key. You want an active, not passive, viewer that’s so excited about what you’re doing that they want to share it.” - Keith Hernandez, Bleacher Report’s SVP of strategy
Future of TV
Secrets of the TV writers’ room: inside Narcos, Transparent and Silicon Valley
The Guardian examines how streaming and binge-watching has changed script writing. A fascinating insight into the different storytelling processes at the writers' rooms of Narcos, Transparent, and Silicon Valley shows.
The creative pressures of producing multiple series of 10-hour dramas in short order have changed the dynamic of traditional scriptwriting practice. Rather than pairs of writers, or single auteurs, the collective and the collaborative is not only prized but essential.
Behind TV's quest to recapture its lost viewers on Snapchat
Traditional broadcasters such as NBC are now making format specific shows for Snapchat. At Rerun, we think the growing relationships between such traditional broadcasters and Snapchat are mutual beneficial to all parties.
Major US broadcasters have lost 17% of their total prime-time audience in the last five years with 18 to 49 year olds accounting for one third of the loss. Snapchat's core demographic is young with 75 % of its 173 million daily users being between the age of 13 and 24. Given such figures it makes sense that networks are turning to Snapchat to regain lost ground. While for Snapchat, joining forces with the likes of NBC means it can create creative and fun short form content to attract users. This may ease the tension amongst Wall Street investors, as they worry about slowing user growth and competition from competitors.
To help further improve engagement Snapchat has added 14 new firms to its Creative Partner list. These firms are validated as Snapchat ad-creation specialists, and whilst they will be responsible for creating better ad experiences on Snapchat they will develop technologies to create post swipe experiences such interactive games, 360-degree video, and shoppable micro-sites.
Amazon’s new Fire TV with 4k and HDR is only $70
Amazon has launched its newest Fire TV offering. The flat square dongle plugs in via HDMI cable, and features an Alexa voice remote, with 4K and HDR capabilities. Amazon has also slashed prices on its 4K content in response to Apple TV's recent 4K launch.
Given this, and that the new Fire TV device is $69.99, is Fire TV now the best deal for 4K streamers?
Interactive Media
Google pulls YouTube off the Amazon Echo Show
Goodbye, cooking lessons and music videos
The push and pull between Amazon and Google continues. Earlier this week Google stopped allowing access to YouTube videos on Amazon's Echo Show, citing violations of its terms of service and a broken user experience.
While the Echo Show never had the 'full' YouTube experience, the act of completely pulling YouTube from the platform is a much more broken user experience. Voice assistants like Alexa are very personal devices in your home, the only interaction being directly talking them, so to have one suddenly refuse to work for you feels a lot more serious than an icon disappearing from your phone.
For the sake of the future of the medium we hope Google and Amazon can work this one out, because at the end of the day it's the consumer that suffers.
Storytelling
Video: Lee Clow on '1984,' the PC and what transformation is
Where were you when Apple released its first TV ad, "1984"? Assuming you were born, chances are there wasn't a personal computer in sight. In fact, making this video and its print ads during that time were done with manual methods and tools that largely don't exist today.
In this video, Lee Clow of TBWA/Chiat/Day talks about how this ad began a transformation that would crumble the industries and companies that facilitated the making of the ad itself.
"Everything the we did to tell that story is now done totally differently because of the aspirations of the Macintosh being a creative tool"
It makes us ask, who are the Macintoshes of today that will lead that kind of transformation for the future?
Briefs
- Paramount Network sets January launch date
- Vimeo acquires Livestream, launches its own live video product
- 3 things you need to know about augmented reality in China
- Bauer Media tries to prove its ads work using shoppable videos
- J.J. Abrams to turn acclaimed sci-fi anime Your Name into a live-action film
- Netflix is producing its first Korean variety show 'Busted'
Planet Earth: Blue Planet II
In case you missed it, the good folks at the BBC have released a spectacular trailer for their upcoming Blue Planet II series.
Once again, the BBC's Natural History Unit has embraced the latest filming technology to capture and share the wonders of the sea. Complete with a Radiohead and Hans Zimmer soundtrack, and the comforting voice of David Attenborough.
If there's one thing you watch this week, watch this.