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SAN FRANCISCO — CBS may just be beginning to unbundle its TV service but, in the UK, dominant pay TV service BSkyB has been offering over-the-top interview device viewing for some time to both its existing subscribers and a new wave of non-subscribers. The company’s separate NowTV brand offers Sky movie, sport and entertainment subscription channels on […]

TouchCast, the interactive video platform co-founded by former TechCrunch editor Erick Schonfeld, wants advertisers to start using its new video format as an engaging new ad format. The startup counts broadcasters and newspapers amongst early adopters on the editorial side. “Their people on the advertising side want access to TouchCast as well because they see […]

When Vivek Shah took over at the helm of PCMag.com publisher Ziff Davis, the company was still recovering after emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, continuing to sell off properties. If he says so himself, Ziff Davis under Shah may has turned a corner. “Ziff is probably one of the more remarkable turnaround stories in […]

They are two of the best-known names in online video service provision – and now they are coming together as one. Video streaming service Ooyala, itself now owned by Australian telco Telstra, is acquiring its video advertising peer Videoplaza. The buying company says the deal “allows Ooyala to tap into the fast-growing video ad market”, “the […]

Videology has established a strong profile for itself by helping TV ad buyers make intelligent decisions to buy online video ads. Now it wants to help them buy good old fashioned TV ads in the same way. The New York-based company is opening a dedicated TV practice. As CEO Scott Ferber tells The Wall Street Journal, […]

Video viewing by a new generation, who see their phones and tablets as their “TV,” is driving a transformation of video consumption.   Advertising will be more integrated into mobile video as measurement tools become more sophisticated next year, says Bruce Falck, a former senior Google executive who recently joined video ad tech provider BrightRoll […]

Branded video has emerged as the hottest marketing approach for advertisers. At the  Cannes Festival, the “branded entertainment” track was the fastest growing with submissions. Media agencies, creative shops and new boutiques are lining up to produce digital-specific video content. But in the midst of this expansion, there are questions and challenges: how and where […]

A Nielsen study of mobile video advertising effectiveness, commissioned by video adtech provider Brightroll, finds that cross-screen TV ad buying which includes video substantially drives the impact of a TV buy.   The study was presented this week at the Brightroll Video Summit in Manhattan.  For overview on the report, the and other developments around […]

With its recent investment and technology exchange with AppNexus, WPP will  have the technology platform to compete against companies like Google’s DoubleClick and Facebook’s Atlas, says Sir Martin Sorrell, WPP chief executive, in this interview with Beet.TV  He says that Google and Facebook are “media owners” much as Disney or Viacom, and as such should […]

Twitch, the live video platform that allows gamers to interact over  the Internet, will be acquired by Amazon for over $1 billion, the Wall Street Journal reports.   the site was formerly known as Justin.tv, a pioneering platform for personal live streaming. Last year, we spoke with chief revenue officer Jonathan Simpson-Bint about the company’s fast […]

BuzzFeed’s announcement today of a $50m new funding from Andreesen Horowitz comes with a new strategy for the wildly popular publisher’s video ambitions. The release puts it best, in its own words: “BuzzFeed will expand its video division and become BuzzFeed Motion Pictures. Ze Frank will lead the division as President of BuzzFeed Motion Pictures and […]

Hearst has just launched “CosmoBody,” a daily fitness show which is advertiser-free and is  being offered on a subscription basis.  This is the first of what will be a number of Hearst titles and Hearst partners who will be part of a new “Netflix model,” explains Chris Grosso, SVP and GM of Hearst Digital Studios, […]

LONDON –  He told us he would buy companies – and today that guidance came to pass. Charlie Muirhead’s Rightster is taking a big step to consolidate the video ecosystem by buying two of its biggest protagonists. Eight months after going public to raise £22.4m, the firm is acquiring viral video management firm Viral Spiral for up […]

In a big move to expand its video advertising capabilities, Facebook has acquired video ad services company LiveRail, both companies announced today.   Earlier this year, LiveRail CEO Mark Trefgarne explained the company’s business model and plans in the video session with Ashley J. Swartz at this year’s Beet  Retreat.   We are republishing that […]

CANNES, France – While there has been considerable conversation in programmatic media circles about a movement away from open exchanges to private exchanges, it’s not a matter of choosing one solution,  but of both, says Stephan Beringer, President of Audience on Demand at VivaKi, the digital unit of the Publicis Groupe. We spoke with during […]

Mondelez,the giant consumer packaged good company, know for its Oreo brands and other popular  products,  is in an ambitious program with TubeMogul to buy video media programmatically, according to this report in Adweek.   The program is being implemented in collaboration with Mondelez’ global agency MediaVest. Recently, we spoke with TubeMogul CEO Brett Wilson about […]

While low-quality inventory has plagued online advertising for some time, fraudulent advertising is relatively new but is growing, says Scott Knoll, CEO of  brand safety technology firm Integral Ad Science, during an interview with Beet.TV. “Video is a big area because it has higher CPMS, but you’re not always getting what you pay for. Fraud […]

PubMatic, a fast-growing adtech company which provides automated services to digital publishers, has expanded its mobile offering  this week of the $15 .5 million acquisition of mobile ad server Mocean.  Yesterday, we spoke with Kirk McDonald, president of PubMatic, about the acquisition and the expansion of the company to video as well as mobile. Earlier […]

Google is in discussions to buy Twitch – formerly known as Justin.tv, the pioneering life streaming platform.  As Twitch, it is primarily a platform for gamers to interact via a live video platform.  The early talks have been reported by The Wall Street Journal. Variety puts a potential sale number at $1 billion. Last year, […]

With its acquisition earlier this year of Unicorn Media, Brightcove has expanded its video services offering to the advertising space with its cloud-based ad insertion tool. With the recent introduction, customers are finding increased monetization rates of 30 percent, says David Mendels, CEO, in this interview with Beet.TV He also talks about the launch of […]