Video content industry is undergoing massive transformation: TV.NXT

The transformation can be attributed to the growth of the internet and changes in technology and consumer behaviour

Day Two of TV.NXT, that addressed all business issues in the TV arena under one roof, was held was at Taj Lands End, Mumbai, on September 29. The day was kick-started by Gautam Anand, director, content partnerships, Asia-Pacific, Google.

Anand pointed out that the video content industry is undergoing a massive transformation; this transformation can be attributed to the growth of the internet and changes in technology and consumer behaviour.

"The internet has grown much faster than other mediums. In the US, the internet took three years to reach 50 million people; while TV took about 15 years to reach the same number of people," Anand revealed. He stated that about 1.7 billion people connect to the internet via PC; and 4.6 billion connect via mobile devices.

The technology that facilitates video content production and consumption is also changing rapidly. For instance, several users have access to broadband internet connections. Various tools that empower users to create and upload videos are available. The cost of storing content has also come down.

Consumer behaviour has changed too. Video content consumption is now more personal and on-demand; and it is possible to consume the same video content through various devices, such as Tablet PCs and mobile phones, apart from traditional TV sets.

All these factors have created a conducive environment for the video content industry. "Web is now a compelling platform for the entertainment industry. It has global reach, provides interactivity and content can be accessed anytime," Anand remarked.

Also, the consumption of entertainment-based content has increased in the last few years. In 2003, the average amount of time spent by a user on entertainment-based content on the Web was 11 hours per month. It increased to 16 hours in 2007. By 2012, the average internet user would spend about 32 hours per month of Web time on entertainment.

Is there any opportunity? "There is a gap between internet media consumption and amount of ad spend on the internet," says Anand. In the US, a consumer spends about 14 hours every week on internet; while advertisers spend nearly 6 per cent of their ad budget online.

Has this scenario affected Youtube.com? Anand reveals that the video sharing site has more than 450 million users worldwide. Moreover, Google monetises about 1 billion videos every week; more than 2 billion videos are watched on YouTube everyday; and every minute, users upload video content equal to 24 hours of duration.

"We have tied up with more than 10,000 content partners, such as Zee TV, Sony Entertainment Television and BBC Worldwide in the world. YouTube offers global reach, provides power to content owners to control content access across geographies, analytics (research) about consumption patterns and revenue options to advertisers," Anand said.

On the revenue opportunities, Anand pointed out that content owners or partners can use various advertising options (in-video, pre and post-roll, mid-roll video ads and sponsorships) to monetise their content. For instance, YouTube earned a major portion of its revenue from sponsorships, when it streamed IPL matches this year. The ad revenue is shared between content owners and Google.

On the online video content strategy, Anand says, "Content owners should experiment with both short and long format content on YouTube. They can try and create content exclusively for the Web medium and listen to consumers, who demand specific types of content."

Anand also talked briefly about Google TV, which the internet giant will launch in association with Sony Electronics.

(TV.NXT was organised by afaqs!, in association with Big CBS (main sponsor) and Star News (associate sponsor). The other sponsors include UTV Action, Bloomberg UTV, Sony PIX, Sahara Samay and Mastii TV.)