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Tag: YouTube

  • Content creators unfazed by YouTube Originals

    Content creators unfazed by YouTube Originals

    MUMBAI: YouTube’s ambitious announcement of launching India Originals is being seen as a bid by the Google-owned video platform to occupy a prominent place in the world of online streaming and earn more ad dollars. However, content creators believe this move will not affect their opportunities and existing model of functioning.

    At 245 million monthly active users in India, the undeniable king of the video business is aiming to expand its user base with originals. For now, they will be on the company’s ad supported model.

    YouTube has partnered with music maestro AR Rahman for its first show called ARRived which is a search for the best music talent in India. The platform’s norm in other countries is to put original content behind a paywall. Hence, its celebrity-led content can be a way to woo marketers till the subscription-based model is introduced.

    “YouTube is improving the content portfolio to bring more dedicated viewers to its table otherwise the viewers might get fragmented into multiple other digital options. YouTube, with this act, is trying to become more relevant by adding higher quality offerings to its feed. Given the continual rise in digital content consumption, players are trying to create more quality content that will be more engaging for the audience. This trend will push for more integrated messaging that will enable some of the brands to join the bandwagon and the ones who don’t will continue to advertise on the platform. Hence, this is a win-win situation for content creators, advertisers and the audience,” Big FM CFO Asheesh Chatterjee said. The radio network is currently expanding its digital footprint.

    For some time now, Worldwide Media (WWM) has been churning out video content. WWM Content Studio vice president Vidyut Patra thinks that YouTube needs to be considered as a larger pipe with multiple inlet and outlet funnels that advertisers can use based on their strategic or tactical objectives. According to him, any new development will not bring a drastic change to the existing models between YouTube and brands or content creators.

    “In fact, this will add a new dimension to the existing ecosystem that can be leveraged by brands and creators on either side of the paywall. Brands would have more options to choose from in terms of inventing their marketing spends and creators would have newer avenues to create content for,” he added.

    Creators have been the backbone of the video platform for years. Even YouTube Originals will feature content from the most successful creators and partners. While it will fund and commission these shows based on insights from user data, the IP will remain with the creator.

    “You can be sure that one of YouTube’s objectives is to draw more ad dollars their way. It is hard to say how much will be diverted from other platforms versus what will come from new ad spends – as we know, digital is the fastest growing category in advertising. But it’s also a mistake to view all digital advertising as a single monolith. Where an advertiser chooses to spend his money depends on the campaign objectives and every platform gives you different parameters to work with,” Miss Malini Entertainment CEO Nowshad Rizwanullah commented.

    Chatterjee says people need to have a focused content strategy in place. “As we provide content that is ad-friendly, we have clearly defined our strategy that we follow in terms of deciding how we play the content piece basis the ‘hero – hub – hygiene’ model. Having a focused hub approach will gravitate the audience to that zone and accordingly it will be available for integration and the utilities will be across the medium,” he said.

    Rizwanullah mentions a highly-discussed but very important point. He thinks the real, sustainable value in content businesses is not in raking up the most views or impressions but about creating a deeper connection with audiences that trust the creator and return regularly.

    While big players are trying to scale up their own content play, there are chances that comparatively smaller ones may have to go down the consolidation route. Patra thinks there will be a certain level of consolidation in the industry moving forward, but smaller players will continue to exist given the size of the Indian market. Chatterjee thinks that the ones which are more idea-led will continue to be more large scale. On the other hand, the ones which are more production, budget and celebrity-led, will be consolidated.

    “Don’t forget that YouTube is YouTube because of the millions of people that tune in to see their favourite digital creators, generating billions of ad revenue for the company. That’s not something they will sacrifice so easily,” Rizwanullah says and gives a sort of reality check on the market status after the announcement of Originals.

  • Facebook Watch has its work cut out in video content creation

    Facebook Watch has its work cut out in video content creation

    MUMBAI: Tech giant Facebook, with over 2.2 billion monthly active users, is quickly reshaping the world’s digital ecosystem. Despite Wall Street’s disappointment with its Q2 results, the company generated $13 billion in ad revenue during the period. Now, Facebook has opened up another avenue to increase its advertising revenue by gaining a stronger foothold in the crowded online video space. It is very evident that the Mark Zuckerberg-led organisation is investing in video more seriously than ever before, rolling out Facebook Watch globally. This, at a time when video viewing has become a core digital activity among internet users. A recent Zenith report forecast that global consumers are bound to spend 84 minutes a day watching videos online by 2020.

    While Facebook remains the unquestioned king of social media, Facebook Watch has had its work cut out with the likes of Amazon, Netflix and YouTube dominating the online video space. Despite the challenge, the sizable user base of the platform is a worthy asset to enhance its new product. Moreover, Facebook’s latest offering is likely to delight digital marketers and advertisers.

    Last year, Facebook launched this video viewing hub in the US. Initially, it tested with a limited group of publishers and creators. The early aim was to offer longer form episodic content many of which were created by traditional media and production companies and social media stars. Later, it expanded the range of content as well as options for content creators.

    After experimenting with the service for one long year, the social media giant finally made it available everywhere. As the Indian market holds a very important position in the company’s business, its foray into India’s streaming market is a good move at a time when digital advertisement revenues are growing rapidly. According to KPMG 2018 report, digital advertising saw a 35 per cent growth in FY18 over FY17.

    As YouTube is the largest digital video platform in the country with 225 million monthly active users (MAUs), it is undoubtedly the main rival for Facebook Watch. While YouTube is the go-to place for video, users log on to the social networking platform to connect to peers and family rather than to watch video. On the other hand, users log on to Facebook several times every day but YouTube is not a habit of users. In addition to that, Facebook knows users emotions far more than the Alphabet-owned video hub, making it easier for targeted marketing. Hence, it is certain that the new video service of the platform is going to throw a potential challenge to YouTube.

    “Obvious advantages aside, Facebook will have to up the ante pretty quickly to seriously compete with YouTube. Competition is good for the industry. And this development bodes well for both, advertisers and audiences,” The 120 Media Collective founder and CEO Roopak Saluja commented on the upcoming war.

    Several people are speculating about the future market share of Watch in online video space but what matters more is user engagement. To increase overall profitability, higher user attention is highly co-relatable as it signals they are finding value in the service.

    “Indian digital consumption market is growing at breakneck speed. While market share remains to be one of the top tracked parameters for a brand’s success, one must understand, if the market has grown by 10x in the past two years, adaptation, acceptance and stickiness to the app matters more than the market share,” said White Rivers Media chief executive officer and co-founder Shrenik Gandhi.

    However, Facebook wants to differentiate its new video service with altered formula. It wants to connect people through videos rather than focusing on passive consumption. The aim is to turn Facebook Watch into a service where people can watch videos together, discuss about content, even if they are accessing it from different corners of the world through separate devices. For example, it has features like Watch Party which lets people watch alongside friends.

    “Facebook Watch is a big move which shall lead to more aggressive video viewing habits of Indians. As Mark Zuckerberg had predicted, 90 per cent content on social media shall become video content in a few years, it makes sense to have a separate section dedicated to curated and fan videos. It’s high time brands make video content creation as a part of not only hero strategy, but also hub and hygiene.  Time will come, when brands will have to adapt to videos or perish on social media,” Gandhi commented on Facebook Watch’s impact on digital advertisers and marketers.

    Vidooly co-founder and CEO Subrat Kar also thinks that from a marketing angle, it will be a great medium for advertisers to run a mid roll ad for the right audience, just like on YouTube. Facebook only allowed running ads in the newsfeed. He also adds after global rollout of Watch now the platform is actually taking the option to original content producers.

    “Facebook uses a lot of AI and algorithm to figure out what is the most interesting point of content. While watching a video on Facebook, the ad comes on exactly at the most interesting point. This is one interesting thing you can experience on Facebook, not on YouTube. Facebook knows well what the emotion of an audience is.  Going forward, it will open new avenues for marketers and lot of traction because metric on Facebook is 3-second viewing,” Kar added.

    While established content creators or media houses with a good number of followers can leverage the new service well, it remains to be seen how it will help small-scale content creators to create a fan base from scratch. User-generated content attracts a large number of users to Facebook, even more than YouTube. But since the monetisation model of Watch is not clear yet, it would take time to pick up the interest of content creators.

    “For content creators, the monetisation model for YouTube is very clear. You could be a massive media company or you could be a creator in a room with a fan following, YouTube will take 45 per cent tax on whatever the revenue. I believe Facebook’s rev share split is along the same lines. At the moment, Facebook Watch is more geared towards monetisation for organised content creators and media companies or established content creators who command a sizable audience, whereas YouTube has advantages in terms of building a following from scratch. Will Facebook be able to do the same thing? That is the question. They have everything aligned to be able to, that is for sure,” Saluja said.

    Saluja said that five years ago YouTube had the largest bouquet of content from broadcasters like Star, Sony, Viacom and Zee. They aren’t present on the platform any longer because they did not want to share a good amount of earnings with Google. “So what remains to be seen is whether Facebook will open up easy monetisation for amateur content creators looking to build a fan base. Because, much like they’ve done over the past few years, there are latent possibilities waiting to be leveraged. Facebook needs to open up the tap another notch every now and then,” he added.

    This move also could be Facebook’s secret weapon to drive into live sports streaming more actively. In theUS,  Watch already streams popular sporting events including some baseball and basketball games. The platform even got an exclusive WWE show. Already, the social media giant acquired the right of the streaming premier football tournament La Liga in India. Last year also, the social network made a $600 million bid to acquire digital rights to show Indian Premier League cricket games in the country, but failed. There’s a possibility that the company could get more aggressive about acquisitions now.

    Facebook Watch, the new asset of the tech leader definitely has promising opportunities to emerge as a service to watch videos. With a user-friendly interface, it can attract more consumers also. But the very first thing Facebook needs to do is proper marketing to create more awareness about the video service, especially when users from its domestic market are also not totally aware of it. It can be said YouTube’s new rival has a long way to go.

  • YouTube to release first Indian original content soon

    YouTube to release first Indian original content soon

    MUMBAI: Streamers in India are about to get new delight. YouTube is bringing its first Indian original in the coming weeks called ARRived under an ad-supported model. The streaming giant has joined hands with music maestro AR Rahman for the show. Earlier also, YouTube global head original programming Susanne Daniels said that it is planning scripted series and original programming for international markets including India.

    “Affordable data costs are driving video consumption in India, data usage is about 8 GB a month per subscriber. This has pushed online video consumption as well, which is now about 75 per cent of all mobile traffic as per industry reports,” YouTube India entertainment head Satya Raghavan said.

    While in many countries YouTube offers its originals under the subscription model, in India it doesn’t have any premium model currently. According to some media reports, it will eventually come up with the premium service in India. YouTube’s international rivals Netflix and Amazon Prime have already released original shows in the country, some of which has been critically acclaimed too along with getting high popularity. The local OTT players are also eyeing the same pie in the growing video market. Players like ZEE5, Voot, ALTBalaji, Viu, Eros Now also have a pipeline of original shows to woo the audience. On the other hand, Hotstar has taken the top position among OTT players according to several reports.

    “Our DNA is built around partnerships, so a lot of competitors are our partners we work closely with, some of them are large advertisers of ours, some of them are large content partners. So for us, it is about growing the video pie not just for our own creators but for the entire online video industry for sure,” Raghavan commented.

    The company said it had run two sponsored shows as pilots, working closely with advertisers to test the market. It also claimed to have received a good response. Globally, YouTube Originals has released over 60 projects to date and plans to release more than 50 new shows next year.

  • Madras HC issues notices to social media networks

    Madras HC issues notices to social media networks

    NEW DELHI: India’s bumpy regulatory ride with online media continues. Now, the Madras High Court has issued notices to social media networks like Twitter and Facebook taking serious note of the claim that they were not responding to questions of law enforcement agencies on cybercrime complaints.

    A bench of justices S Manikumar and Subramonium Prasad passed the interim order yesterday based on the submission made by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) police that social media networks like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and WhatsApp seldom reply to their queries or provide information, according to a Press Trust of India (PTI) report from Chennai yesterday.

    The court issued notices to the social media giants headquarters in San Francisco and California.

    A public interest litigation was filed by Antony Clement Rubin seeking a direction to the Centre to declare linking of Aadhaar (India’s biometric identification initiative for its citizens)  mandatory for social media accounts to effectively check cybercrime.

    When the plea came up last week, the court asked why these companies were not cooperating with the law enforcement agencies as mandated by the Information Technology Act. It directed the networks to explain as to why they should not be impleaded in the plea as party respondents by 18 September 2018.

    Similar notices have also been issued to the offices of Facebook and YouTube at Hyderabad.

    The court said the Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules makes it clear that when required by a lawful order, the intermediary (social media firm) shall provide information or any such assistance to government agencies which are lawfully authorised to investigative.

    But, according to the submission made by the CCB, it could be seen that though request has been made to furnish details, social media companies have not furnished it in many cases and also rejected the requests, the court said.

    "Having regard to the fact that some information, disseminated is an offence, punishable under Indian law, the law enforcing agencies request the intermediaries to furnish details, for investigation/detection and as per rules, the intermediary shall observe due diligence in the discharge of his duties," the PTI report quoted the court having observed while passing an interim order.

    Meanwhile, concerns in India are increasing relating to content on social media platforms as they are used to spread rumours, fake news and even threats, sometimes resulting in actual crimes taking place. Moreover, some of them like Facebook have also trained their guns on streaming content like soccer tournaments that were earlier on traditional television.

  • YouTube announces new suit of features for fundraising

    YouTube announces new suit of features for fundraising

    MUMBAI: YouTube has announced a new suite of features designed to offer creators and their fans new ways to contribute charitable causes, named as YouTube Giving. The new features include Fundraisers (beta), Community fundraisers (beta), Campaign matching (beta), and Super Chat for Good. The tech giant has been constantly expanding the types of things creators can do with their videos.

    The new Fundraisers feature allows YouTube to create and embed a fundraising campaign right next to their videos and live streams. Fans will be able to donate to creator-led campaigns directly on YouTube via a “Donate” button on the back of this feature. However, this first beta period will be available to a limited group of creators in the US and Canada.

    It will enable multiple creators to co-host the same fundraiser. With this feature, campaign will appear in multiple videos simultaneously and reflecting the total amount raised across the platform.

    “In the coming weeks, we’ll also roll out Campaign Matching, allowing creators who organie Fundraisers and Community Fundraisers to receive matching pledges to help amplify their efforts. This beta feature will display matching pledges from other creators or brands directly within the Fundraiser to help inspire more fans to get involved and maximize impact,” read the company blog.

    Online fundraising has now become a popular activity across different sites. Another FAANG company Facebook also entered the market a couple of years ago. But the social media platform charges platform fees on some of these fundraisers.

    Super Chat for Good is yet to be launched which will allow creators to raise funds on live streams and Premiere videos.

  • Tetra Pak gives Mumbai a new recycling anthem

    Tetra Pak gives Mumbai a new recycling anthem

    MUMBAI: Tetra Pak recently launched a quirkly new ad to inspire Mumbaikars to recycle their Tetra Pak cartons. A part of Tetra Pak’s on-going consumer awareness campaign  ‘Carton Le Aao, Classroom Banao’ this rap is composed by popular rapper, Emiway Bantai, who enjoys a fan base of over 1.5 lakh Mumbaikars across social media platforms. 

    The rap is all about how Mumbaikars can simply deposit their used Tetra Pak cartons at any of the deposit centres set up by Tetra Pak across Mumbai. These cartons are then recycled to create classroom desks and other useful things for schools for the lesser-privileged.

    South and South East Asia communications director Jaideep Gokhale said, “Sustainability and recycling are an intrinsic part of our organisational ethos. We have been working ahead of the curve for over 15 years to set up a viable recycling ecosystem for our paper-based cartons. Today, Mumbai has more than 175 deposit centres for used cartons, and we urge Mumbaikars to make the most of these and bring back their used cartons for recycling. We hope that this quirky, yet inspiring, rap video will take our message to millions of Mumbaikars, and inspire them. Our message is simple – bring us your used cartons, and we will recycle them to create something useful.”

    Today, Mumbaikars can deposit their used cartons at 45 Reliance Retail and Sahakari Bhandar outlets and over 130 other deposit points across the city of Mumbai. This initiative is designed to mobilise consumers to make a behavioural change and create a positive environmental impact.

  • YouTube joins the race of making original localised content

    YouTube joins the race of making original localised content

    MUMBAI: Till now in several markets including India, YouTube’s ad based model is more popular than the premium ad-free service. Now, in order to draw new customers to its paid subscription service, YouTube is creating scripted series and other original programing for international markets including India, France, Germany, Japan and Mexico. However, in India, YouTube Premium is still not available.

    YouTube global head original programming Susanne Daniels said in an interview that the programming will include music documentaries, reality series, talk shows and scripted series as reported by Reuters. Moreover, it will be produced in local languages which will make the platform more relevant in local markets. The localised content will be subtitled or dubbed for other markets too.

    “We are targeting markets where we believe we have a tremendous upside in potential subscribers,” Daniels said. She also mentioned the talk show on cricket in Hindi, UnCricket, has performed “beyond expectations”. A reality show starring South Korean pop band Big Bang had boosted subscriptions.

    Some of the content will be available on YouTube Premium, the monthly subscription service formerly called YouTube Red while other content will be available on YouTube’s free service.

    The emphasis on localised content from Alphabet Inc’s YouTube will increase the challenge for Netflix and Amazon which are already heavily investing in localised content. Both the platforms are trying to expand their footprint in India too.

    However, YouTube does not hold any plan for more original children’s programming as the company does not believe children’s content will drive subscriptions to YouTube Premium at this time.

  • Nutralite launches digital campaign for mayonnaise range

    Nutralite launches digital campaign for mayonnaise range

    MUMBAI: Nutralite’s latest campaign is an interactive YouTube video by India’s favourite master chef Sanjeev Kapoor inviting users to choose their ingredients and guide him on making the recipe. The video will have multiple ingredient options and different users could choose their own favourite ingredients and make a different version of their recipe in this interactive recipe video.

    The campaign is conceptualised and executed by Tonic Worldwide.

    Tonic Worldwide CEO and co-founder Chetan Asher said, “The spreads category is extremely challenging with brands that have deeper pockets and are well established. The need of the hour in this campaign was to ensure not just awareness of the new range but also encourage usage by showcasing recipes which are actually chosen and made by them.”

    Zydus Wellness Ltd Marketing Head Sachin Dingankar, “Many mothers love to cook, but doing that along with one of the best chefs in the country is surely a valuable experience. Using YouTube as the prime medium, the very idea of moving forward with a recipe according to the user’s preferences is unique. Along with this, the campaign has also provided a real-time picture of Nutralite Mayo’s functionality, which further drives through the impact of this campaign.”

    Sanjeev Kapoor gives the audience different choices for ingredients and the Nutralite Mayo variant that they would like him to use in the recipe seeds the product usage.

  • YouTube to experiment new feature ‘Explore’

    YouTube to experiment new feature ‘Explore’

    MUMBAI: The world’s largest video streaming platform ‘YouTube’ is now experimenting with new feature known as Explore that will help the users to find the new channels and videos while browsing on mobile.

    The Explore feature will pop up as a “tab” at the bottom of the app’s home screen for a select one per cent of iOS users, according to YouTube’s director of product Tom Leung, and host of the platform’s Creator Insider channel.

    Commenting on this development, Leung said “Explore is designed to help you to be exposed to different kinds of topics, videos, or channels that you might not otherwise encounter. But they are still personalised, but they’re still personalized, so they are still based on your viewing activity”.

    Twitter provides a similar service which lets users scroll through different types of feeds that aren’t necessarily full of people that they follow.