I-COM worldmeasurementnews

In US, ABC News Selects VoloMedia to Measure and Monetize Podcasts

MARCH 26, 2009 -- SUNNYVALE, Calif. & NEW YORK -- ABC News announced today that ad insertion and audience measurement for its audio and video podcasts will be provided through VoloMedia Inc, and that the two companies will partner on advertising sales. More...

ABOUT VOLOMEDIA, INC.
VoloMedia provides a unique combination of products with a nationwide ad sales team to deliver advertising and reporting solutions for downloadable media, extending the reach and monetization of podcasts. The company's products and services are utilized by some of the largest and most well known media companies, including ABC News, FOX News, MSNBC, Washington Post/Newsweek, and Public Radio International in its Business, News, and Politics podcast verticals. Other VoloMedia content verticals include Entertainment, Health, Music, Sports, Technology, Travel, Video Games, and Women.

Calling all broadcasters: Let's share ideas on how to measure internet video

I am Ivor Millman and I look after television audience measurement issues for ITV which is the largest commercial television broadcaster within the UK.

Measuring viewing that takes place via the internet is now one of the major issues for audience measurement here and possibly the biggest one where future developments are concerned. That may take a number of forms-

-viewing live broadcasts on a television set via the internet (IPTV)
-viewing live broadcasts on a PC (or some other device) via the internet
-viewing 7 day archive video-on-demand/VOD playback identical to the original broadcast including the commercial break via the internet irrespective of the device, accessed from broadcasters' sites
-viewing any other broadcaster originated audio visual VOD material via the internet whether older archive or never broadcast, accessed from broadcasters' sites
-viewing any VOD material of broadcaster origination but not accessed from broadcasters' sites
-accessing non audio visual material on broadcasters' websites

The 7 day cut-off for playback matters in the UK because since 1991 the airtime trading currency has been live viewing plus 7 day playback.

The first three of these when they take place at home may be regarded as displacement viewing in that they amount to part of viewing live or 7 day playback and are/should be thus part of the current audience measurement and airtime trading currency. The last of these is ‘traditional’ usage of websites as currently measured and is separate from television audience measurement.

The fourth of these is the grey area in terms of what it may grow to, how it will be priced and traded. A measurement that does number three should be able to do this too. UK broadcasters have ambitious plans for further developments of this aspect.

The fifth one may matter too.

Both within and outside our audience measurement JIC BARB we together with other broadcasters and advertising agencies are investigating what is currently measurable and what can/may be done both in terms of return path data as well as measurements coming from the user end such as via software meters and panels. Since the measurement is not an end in itself we also need to consider how the new versions of viewing are priced and traded within the airtime market.

The issues that we face in the UK must be being faced by broadcasters in other countries. Similarly we are all probably dealing with the same measurement organisations, the likes of Nielsen, Comscore and Nedstat for example. So can we exchange experiences and learning.

Do please leave your comments and experiences here or contact me at ivor.millman@itv.com

In US, Podcast downloading continues to increase

The Pew Internet & American Life Project released a new study in the US writing: As gadgets with digital audio capability proliferate, podcast downloading continues to increase. Currently, 19% of all internet users say they have downloaded a podcast so they could listen to it or view it later. This most recent percentage is up from 12% of internet users who reported downloading podcasts in our August 2006 survey and 7% in our February-April 2006 survey.

Still, podcasting has yet to become a fixture in the everyday lives of internet users, as very few internet users download podcasts on a typical day. Even of those who say they download podcasts, just 17% do so on a typical day. More....

Measuring the "listens"

Los Altos, CA (PRWEB) August 14, 2008 -- Personal Life Media™, Inc. a publisher of lifestyle podcasts and blogs for people on the leading edge of culture, made available today a patent-pending audio player widget that distributes multiple podcast RSS feeds.

Susan Bratton, CEO and co-founder, tells I-COM worldmeasurementnews: "Marketers are using RSS, in this case for audio podcasts, to syndicate content on their websites to delight their visitors. The widget can measure the number of ads played by advertiser when their campaign is running in the show(s) they promote on their site.

Whenever a new episode goes live, the ads are inserted every time a site visitor clicks to play an episode.
For these paid sponsors with their ad campaigns running in the show, we measure "listens" (through Volomedia -- which is the Doubleclick of audio/video ad serving). Because audio only plays when a person clicks on the widget to listen, this is a much more valuable metric than simply an impression. Measuring the "listens" is essentially a “click event” since no audio plays until a user clicks on the widget. Multiple audio ads can be delivered within each episode and those are measured too."

German usage of Video Podcasts rising rapidly due to catch-up functionality

Die Deutschen nutzen immer mehr Video-Podcasts. Der zeit- und ortsunabhängige Konsum multimedialer Inhalte ist aus dem Alltag der Deutschen nicht mehr wegzudenken. Comedy-, Film- und TV-Inhalte werden am meisten genutzt, gefolgt von Technologie und Nachrichten und Politik. So lautet das zentrale Ergebnis einer umfassenden Untersuchung von Liquid Air Lab und SevenOne Intermedia, dem Multimedia-Unternehmen der ProSiebenSat.1 Group. Die Erhebung basiert auf der Befragung von 2680 Personen, die im Mai 2008 das Podcast-Angebot der Senderfamilie genutzt haben. More...

Association for Downloadable Media releases new Measurement Guidelines and Advertising Unit Standards

The Association for Downloadable Media (ADM) is announcing the release of its latest work - The Measurement Guidelines and Advertising Unit Standards. The Measurement Guidelines and Advertising Unit Standards are the first in a series of formats set to come from the ADM. Now content producers can offer ways to monetize their shows so buyers can run the same creative across many individual shows and various networks. Having ad standards in downloadable media allows media campaigns to scale across hundreds of thousands of offerings.

ADM research shows significant gains in both audio & video podcast consumption

The ADM (Association for Downloadable Media) writes: This year, our third annual Podcast Consumer Revealed report (derived from the 2008 Arbitron/Edison Media Research Internet and Multimedia study) details significant gains in both audio and video podcast consumption. The audience for downloadable media is not only growing, but also represents a very attractive target for advertising. Our national data shows that more than one in five Americans have ever downloaded and watched/listened to a podcast, which breaks down further to 18% of Americans having ever listened to an audio podcast, and 16% having ever watched a video podcast. Those numbers are up sharply from last year’s figures, which were 13% and 11%, respectively. Nine percent of Americans 12+ have listened to an audio podcast in the past month, and those 23 million Americans are affluent, spend lots of time (and money!) online, and are increasingly more difficult to target with interruption advertising.

ADM releases Ad Unit Standards & Audience Measurement Guidelines for public review

The Association for Downloadable Media writes: On April 16th, ADM released two documents for public review. We encourage public comments in order to refine and enhance the documentation. The public comment period will end on May 16, 2008.

Advertisement Unit Standards
The purpose of the Advertisement Unit Standards is to provide baseline recommendations for advertisement units in order to better facilitate advertising transactions relating to downloadable media

Download Measurement Guidelines
The purpose of the Download Measurement Guidelines are to establish baseline recommendations for how individual publishers, companies and organizations can measure how downloads are delivered to consumer audiences.

ADM to unveil new Ad Unit Standards & Audience Measurement Guidelines

The Association for Downloadable Media (ADM) writes: San Francisco, CA (PRWeb) - March 31, 2008 - The Association for Downloadable Media (ADM), http://www.downloadablemedia.org, formed to focus on best practices for monetizing consumer-downloaded content, hosts the new Get the Download initiative to be held at the upcoming ad:tech San Francisco show April 16 and 17, 2008. ADM puts the call out to all downloadable media creators, media companies, agencies, publishers and distributors to Get the Download from the ADM. Get the Download focus areas will appear in several formats at ad:tech including:

Four ADM Forum sessions designed to provide the downloadable media audience with ad standards & guidelines and market insight; An ADM Get The Download booth for added accessibility to the association and its members; and A slick urban roof-top party set to bring out some of the industry’s best creative talents.
Leveraging the association’s charter, the ADM has devised four motivating forum sessions taking place in rooms 130/131 of the Moscone Convention Center. These forum sessions are comprised of information created to better educate on the industry role the association is taking to help advertisers realize more impact for their advertising dollar. Forum topics include:

Downloadable Media: The State of the Industry featuring exclusive findings based upon previously unreleased data from Arbitron/Edison Media Research Internet and Multimedia 2008 - The Podcast Consumer Revealed III study. April 16, 9:15 - 9:55 a.m. Rooms 130/131.
Downloadable Media Advertising Standards - New Units Debut for Public Comment - witness the unveiling of the industry’s first set of ad formats and have the opportunity to comment in this open forum. April 16, 10:00 - 10:45 a.m. Rooms 130/131.
Downloadable Media Audience Measurement Guidelines - New Best Practices Debut for Public Comment - hear first hand the recommendations for measuring podcast listener/viewer numbers to be applied and replicated by any creator or aggregator of downloadable media. April 16, 11:00 - 11:45 a.m. Rooms 130/131.
Marketing with Downloadable Media: Podcasts & Vidcasts - Buy Ads in Existing Content or Make Your Own Show - an overview of various forms of advertising and sponsorship through a showcase of some of the most impressive campaigns in the market. April 17, 10:45 - 11:30 a.m. Rooms 130/131.
Read the complete forum summaries.

About ad:tech
For more than ten years, ad:tech has provided media, marketing and technology professionals with the tools and techniques they need to succeed in a changing digital world. With 11 shows in 7 countries, ad:tech’s globally respected roster of speakers, workshops and exhibitors continues to make it the preferred resource and destination for digital marketers everywhere. ad:tech, is the largest tradeshow and conference in the world for digital marketing and advertising professionals.

About Association for Downloadable Media
The Association for Downloadable Media is a non-profit organization focused on providing standards for advertising and audience measurement for episodic and downloadable media. Through our volunteer membership, we provide leadership in and organization of advertising and audience measurement standards, research, education and advocacy to all those involved in portable media (Podcasts/ATOM/RSS media enclosures) across the Internet, iPods, MP3 players, mobile devices, P2P and other upcoming platforms.

More sophisticated metrics needed for Podcasting

Businessweek writes Don't Quit Your Day Job, Podcasters. The next couple of years will reveal whether the hard-working indie podcasters are pioneering a nascent industry or destined to occupy a dedicated niche. It helps that more people are buying digital media players such as iPods and smartphones capable of playing podcasts, as does the inclusion of podcasting technology in the new Windows Vista operating system and Apple (AAPL ) TV. The ad networks are working on developing more sophisticated metrics. More....