Andy Plesser

SAN FRANCISCO –  CNN is expanding its new ‘CNN X’ product – a hybrid offering of live TV and personalized  digital content to cable and satellite subscribers with new distribution platforms.   CNN X, which is available on iPad, has just launched on the Web and will soon be available on DiretTV set-top boxes, explains […]

SAN FRANCISCO –  The X1 cable box from Comcast  will be become increasingly “immersive” with a number of new features including more  Apps, Web videos, data and social media over the next few months, explains Matthew Strauss, SVP and GM for Video Services, in this interview with Beet.TV More on developments with X1 in this […]

In combatting the growing issue of non-human video views, the industry needs to align around open source tools, not proprietary technologies which don’t fully solve the problem, says Brett Wilson, CEO of TubeMogul and the founder of Open Video Viewability, an industry association. The state of  video ad fraud and viewabilty standards will be explored […]

With bot-generating activity  comprising as much as 25 percent of views of some campaigns, the industry has to clean up fast.  The world’s largest media agency has laid down the gauntlet by declaring it will only pay for “human” views, says David Moore President of WPP Digital and Chairman of Xaxis, in this interview with […]

While the move to automated, or programmatic advertising, decisioning is bringing greater efficiency and pricing to the marketplace, it will enable a greater creativity by freeing up the resources of agencies, says Wenda Harris Millard, President and COO of MediaLink, the influential media industry consultancy, in this video interview with Beet.TV She also speaks about […]

Piksel, the New York-based global provider of digital video services, sees a growing opportunity for publishers of various sizes to connect with consumers directly, via various IPTV scenarios including Roku, smart TV’s, and cable set-top boxes. No longer limited by YouTube or other video portals, direct distribution to consumers is becoming viable, albeit with proper […]

While the vast majority of decisions and purchases around television ad buying is made in big block sales, there is an increasing amount  inventory from smaller broadcasters and cable operators who are selling ads using a data-driven programmatic scenario, explains Seth Haberman, CEO of Visible World, in this interview with Beet.TV His company’s AudienceXpress tool is allowing broadcasters […]

With a staff of 15 in its Montreal headquarters and a network of freelances , WatchMojo, an information and entertainment channel on YouTube, known for its “ten best” lists, is generating 130 million monthly views with 3 million subscribers.  This scale puts it in the top 10 ranking of most viewed YouTube channelS worldwide, according […]

LONDON — A number of factors have given rise to the position of France as a leader in programmatic ad buying across digital video and linear television, explains Anne de Kerckhove, managing director for EMEA for Videology, in this interview with Beet.TV She says that many big publishers and broadcasters in France have embraced programmatic […]

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 […]

The recent flurry of media M&A activities, including the AT&T DirectTV deal, means that the big players are “lining up their assets” in advance of the inevitable convergence of TV and digital  video, says Terence Kawaja, head of LUMA  Partners, a boutique New York investment bank specializing in digital media, in this interview with Beet.TV […]

LONDON –  With some 35% of all advertising going to digital media, or about $10 billion last year, the U.K. may have the  greatest percentage of digital ad spend in the world, says Guy Phillipson, CEO of the IAB UK, in this interview with Beet.TV In the interview, he shares the state of digital in […]

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, […]

LONDON – Mirroring the rapid growth of content created for and by brands, there has been a  surge in award submissions in the category of  “branded entertainment.” It is “exploding out of all proportion,” says Philip Thomas, CEO of Cannes Lions in this interview with Beet.TV Another fast growing sector  among the Festival’s seventeen categories is […]

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 […]

The scope of Cannes Lions will grow this year with a wave of new participants from  Silicon Valley, Hollywood  and other sectors, says Philip Thomas, CEO of the Festival in this video interview with Beet.TV taped earlier this year in Las Vegas. Beyond its origins as a celebration of advertising creativity, it is now a […]

Maker Studios, the giant LA-based MCN  that is driving some 7 billion monthly  video views on YouTube, is building its own, proprietary video platform.  The initiative is being undertaken to meet the demands of brand advertisers explains Erin McPherson, Chief Content Officer in this interview with Beet.TV While Maker is building its own platform, it […]

With some 70 percent of its 7 billion monthly views (primarily on YouTube)  coming from outside of the United States, Maker Studio is becoming a a big global player.  To build out its global footprint, the Los Angeles-based company is launching native language operations in several countries and is growing its international operations with offices […]

Perhaps one of the most unlikely players in this year’s Digital Content NewFronts was PBS, the non-profit coalition of the nation’s 300 plus public TV stations.   The Washington-based organization has built a a sizable following on YouTube with original programming commissioned by the network and with digital shows created by member stations. For an […]

While the Digital Content NewFronts, which concludes today, provides good visibility and marketing for the digital advertising industry and video producers, “it’s not a futures market” nor an “upfront.”   TV dominates video with advertising sales expected rise as much as $5 billion this year, says Dave Morgan, CEO of Simulmedia. Morgan’s company provides digital […]