MUMBAI: Scripps Networks Interactive, owner of the Food Network and the Travel Channel, can rest easy as advertising spending plateaus on television and explodes on the Web. The Knoxville, Tennessee-based, lifestyle media company announced on 3 October that it was launching ulive.com, a destination site for short-form videos and for clips and full-length episodes from its half-dozen cable networks.
A highlight of Ulive – rhymes with you give – will be its more than 70 original Web series, some with Scripps stars, like the Travel Channel’s Bert Kreischer, and some featuring newcomers. In a demonstration of digital video’s appeal to advertisers, Ford Motor will have a starring role in nine custom episodes featuring ulive talent.
Though video advertising on the Web is still a fraction of what’s spent on television, digital is growing fast. Advertisers will shell out $5.8 billion on Web video in 2014, a 39 per cent spike over 2013, according to eMarketer. Television advertising will grow 3% next year to $68.5 billion.
“There really aren’t enough quality video advertising opportunities,” said ulive COO Lisa Choi Owens. “Given that our content is incredibly high quality in categories that are really relevant to advertisers, they’re excited to have this.”
