That's the question Advertising Age's Tim Peterson asks in his recent article about Yahoo's plans to roll out a competing video network sometime in the next few months. The online video viewing audience has exploded in the past 24 months. According to comScore Video Metrix, the monthly U.S. audience now hovers between 185 and 190 million unique viewers. And those viewers span all age groups.
Answer: Yes, there's room
In December, total videos viewed in the U.S. surpassed 50 billion for the first time. Total video ads viewed surpassed 35 billion in the same month—up from 11 billion just 18 months earlier, a 200%+ increase.
Online video is mainstream now and YouTube has led the way. Despite its detractors, YouTube has simultaneously built the undisputed leading destination for online video viewing, the world's second-largest search engine and a robust social network. It has also revolutionized video advertising with its TrueView skippable ad unit and set industry standards for digital content rights protection.
The ability to create another online video network that rivals YouTube depends partly on how quickly any publisher can ramp up to a critical mass in viewers. Yahoo sees an opportunity in YouTube's much-maligned revenue share model to build a stable of top video creators that would draw viewers:
"…For video creators dissatisfied with YouTube, Yahoo has a compelling pitch: more generous revenue-sharing deals, or fixed ad rates that are significantly higher than YouTube is currently delivering to creators.
Like YouTube, creators will be allowed to establish their own channel pages and host their videos on Yahoo. Like YouTube's video player, Yahoo's video player will be embeddable on other sites." [From Yahoo Plots YouTube Rival for Summer Debut After Delay, Advertising Age, May 27, 2014]
Either/and vs. either/or
Smartly, Yahoo seems to be positioning itself as an additional channel for creators and producers versus trying to get them to move their content wholesale from YouTube. Their approach appears to then gain content placement preference with better rev share and ad terms:
"Yahoo isn't requiring exclusivity in its contracts so creators can simultaneously upload videos to YouTube and Yahoo. Instead, Yahoo is trying to present revenue terms that would persuade creators to upload a video to Yahoo first."
The promise is more video for viewers, more options for advertisers. But keep in mind YouTube has a nine-year head start and massive installed user and advertiser bases. And, as we've seen in the search world, offering an alternative doesn't necessarily guarantee traction or market share.
Fasten your seat belts
According to the Ad Age article, Yahoo has already encountered significant challenges around primary issues like content ownership and video promotion that have prompted producers and industry observers to question whether the company has a clear strategy for this business.
So, while there's room, we'll be watching closely as the Yahoo video service rolls out, evaluating it and incorporating it where it makes sense for our advertisers, agencies and resellers.
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