A Brief History Lesson

Viacom Vs Google can be traced right back to May 2005 before YouTube was under the protective wing of Google. A clip from Paramount Pictures’ Twin Towers was uploaded to the site, and Viacom demanded to know who the uploader was.

In October 2006 YouTube made a deal with Viacom to syndicate content. Then Google bought YouTube for $1.65 billion. February 2007 saw Viacom retract the previous deal and pull everything off the site.

March 2007 saw Viacom sue Google for 63,000 counts of copyright infringement, for which it was seeking $1 billion in damages. Google argues that YouTube is protected under the Safe Harbor provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

BetaNews has the full timeline with many more twists and turns. But it all builds to this point when Google and Viacom’s documents pertaining to the court case have been released. And they make for interesting reading, to say the least.

Google’s Claims

Google claims that Viacom wanted it both ways, continuously uploading its content to YouTube while publicly rallying against it. Google claims Viacom uploaded roughed up versions of videos so they looked stolen, hiring marketing agencies to do the dirty work.

Google claims that Viacom even uploaded many of the clips which it is now suing over. And maintains that it is protected by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act as it removes videos suspected of infringing copyrights.

Google also makes the claim that Viacom was interested in acquiring YouTube at one point.

Viacom’s Claims

Viacom dismisses the DMCA defense as it insists YouTube is more than just a passive content host and is therefore responsible for what videos were being uploaded to the site.

What’s more, Viacom also accuses YouTube’s founders of at the very least turning a blind eye to copyright infringing clips, suggesting that traffic was sought by any means necessary in order to ensure a quick sale. Viacom also claims Jawed Karim (YouTube co-founder) himself uploaded infringing videos, using email correspondence between the founders as evidence.

In essence, Viacom argues that YouTube was “intentionally built on infringement,” and deserves no leniency in court despite the measures put in place to clean up the site since the lawsuit was issued.

Conclusions

The documents feel very much like each side is attempting to score points from the other. And it’s almost inevitable that the case will now end up in court.

The sides have until April 30 to file opposing arguments to each other’s motions, with a trial then set to take place later this year. And it’ll be a trial whose verdict could set a landmark in terms of copyright owners vs. online video sites.

TubeMogul

TubeMogul was the first dedicated online video analytics firm, enabling content creators to track the performance of their videos over a number of online video services.

But that clearly wasn’t enough for the company, which has now launched Play Time, its video advertising platform. And the firm is already seeing results from the year-long beta.

Play Time

According to MediaWeek, TubeMogul is using its experience in video analytics to its advantage with Play Time. The company is aiming to be “far more open and effective than other video networks” and “the largest video ad network in the world.”

Which are big ambitions indeed, but TubeMogul is confident that by using the data from its analytics platform it can target video ads at exactly the right people.

Beta Testing Results

TubeMogul has been testing Play Time over the past year, running campaigns for the likes of 20th Century Fox, Coca Cola, Nestlé, and Kmart. Which are very big names with some very big advertising bucks to play with.

According to NewTeeVee, the company is already reporting higher revenues from this new part of its business than the analytics service it has been specializing in for the last few years. So expect this to become a larger part of the company’s business than it is currently is.

Indeed, Tubemogul has reportedly already started buying “inventory from the top 250 comScore sites.”

Conclusions

Rivals are seeing TubeMogul’s move into video advertising as a conflict of interests, but i really don’t see why. The company is merely attempting to use its experience and the data it has gained from one part of its business to its advantage in another field. And if the results from the beta period are anything to go by, it’s proving a successful strategy.

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SeeSaw

SeeSaw is the one-stop shop for online television that Arqiva built from the ashes of Project Kangaroo. SeeSaw entered an invite-only beta last month, but has now launched fully, with any British resident now able to use the service as they wish.

SeeSaw is a free, advertising-based site which draws video offerings from a number of different sources. It then serves them up in a very user-friendly environment with good quality video playback and a minimum of adverts.

From Beta To Public

Having used SeeSaw during the beta period, I reviewed how the site was progressing a few weeks ago. I really like the design and layout, but the content and how the site is going to offer anything above and beyond the sources its using remain sticking points to a wholehearted recommendation.

The good thing is that the site is now open for all to use and make their own minds up. The beta was very short and nothing has changed as far as I can see. Unfortunately that also means there are no new sources, with the BBC, 4oD, and Five still the only content providers listed.

Arqiva launched the site fully on Wednesday, with SeeSaw controller John Keeling telling the Daily Mail:

“It’s like having an enormous buffet… you can either just snack on it and catch up on what you’ve missed or gorge yourself with an entire season – it’s absolutely at your fingertips and your control.”

This is the tip of the iceberg, it feels to me like it did 20 years ago when I was at Sky and multi-channel TV was just beginning and you saw satellite dishes sprouting on people’s homes like mushrooms.”

Future Options

While SeeSaw is currently free to watch, with revenue being gained from 2 minutes of adverts for each video, this will change later in the year. Arqiva hopes to double its content over the next few months, including premium U.S. content.

At this point, planned for around June, Arqiva will begin to explore pay options. Users will then be able to rent shows and possibly TV movies as well. These will be streams rather than downloads, with a 48-hour window to watch the bought content without ads.

SeeSaw is also thought to be investigating the possibilities of a subscription package for the premium service. Which isn’t surprising as it’s a route also being explored by Hulu, YouTube, and Apple for iTunes.

Conclusions

The SeeSaw story is only just beginning, and it’s started well. Arqiva’s willingness to forge deals with content providers, that Hulu hasn’t been able to do in its race to go international, means more content is sure to arrive. And that will be key in persuading people that SeeSaw is an essential service.

Clicker has just raised $11 in funding, and must be hoping that traffic will now follow.

But Where Is It?

There are so many ways of watching television online now. YouTube, Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, iTunes, and the TV networks own Web sites are just a smattering. But with so many sources it’s sometimes hard to know where to start.

Each site usually has its own search options, but what happens if you want to search further afield? There are a number of search engines dedicated to online video, and search engines such as Google and Bing also provide options.

However, these search the whole Web and can often get bogged down with videos that don’t fit your needs.

Clicker – What’s On Online

Clicker does things slightly differently. For starters, it only indexes professional content, be it TV shows or Web originals. And it searches 1,200 sources to find 600,000 episodes from 10,000 shows.

It’s a fast, free, and easy way to search for online video across the Web. And according to Media Memo, Clicker has recently secured $11 million in venture capital funding from JAFCO Ventures, Benchmark Capital, and Redpoint Ventures, the latter of which contributed in an earlier round.

Clicker began life last January but went live last November. It plans to invest the money in engineering and building partnerships.

Funding = Traffic

Clicker must now be hoping this leads to more traffic. ComScore reports the site only received 226,000 uniques in January, although company CEO Jim Lanzone claims internal numbers are closer to 750,000. Either way, Clicker must be hoping the site starts building momentum to warrant the funding.

Hulu U.S.

In the U.S., Hulu is doing phenomenally well. It hit the one billion video views in a month milestone in December 2009, bringing a great year to an even better close. And 2010 is likely to see traffic increase even more.

This year will also see Hulu likely experiment with a paid subscription model alongside its free model. However, Hulu is currently limited to the States, with those of use who reside outside America blocked from watching content.

What Hulu needs to do is move abroad and go international.

Hulu U.K.

Hulu has actually been trying to do exactly that for a while now. With the U.K. chosen as the testbed for a larger international roll-out.

In March 2009 it hired someone to oversee its international operations. And in May Hulu began negotiations with several British broadcasters and content providers. A September 2009 launch was envisioned, though that date came and went without anything happening.

An ITV deal was considered close in August yet Hulu was already extending its launch plan into 2010.

Talks Stall

According to The Telegraph, Hulu has now set its sights on June 2010 to launch in the U.K. But even that seems optimistic considering the state of negotiations with the main channels.

ITV is undergoing a “10 week strategic assessment” and will not be moving talks forward in that time. While Channel 4 and Five are balking at Hulu’s demand that it controls the sale of advertising around the broadcasters’ content.

Both want to be able to sell the advertising around their own content so that they control what advertising appears attached to their programs and retain the majority of the revenues generated. Hulu doesn’t think this will make a U.K. site a viable business for itself.

Competing With YouTube, SeeSaw

The problem Hulu has is one of timing. Channel 4 and Five have signed deals with YouTube and SeeSaw in the meantime, both of which allow them control of their own advertising inventory. Neither will want to give that control up to the new kid on the block.

The bigger problem is, of course, that Hulu has lost the chance to get Channel 4 and Five on an exclusive basis. And if the same content is going to be on the broadcasters own sites, YouTube, SeeSaw, and Hulu, it makes me wonder whether Hulu should even bother trying to get a foothold in the U.K.

Veoh’s Bright Beginning

Veoh began life in 2005 before entering beta in 2006. Founded by Dmityr Shapiro, the company made the headlines when Michael Eisner, former Disney chairman, joined the board. And he was one of the big-name investors alongside Time Warner and Goldman Sachs.

Veoh was talked about in the same vein as YouTube, offering a mix of user-generated content and premium content. Veoh’s goal was simple: to aid the viewing of video content and the uploading of video from ordinary people.

But things soon turned sour.

UMG DMCA Lawsuit

In September 2004, Universal Music Group filed a lawsuit against Veoh alleging that copyright infringing videos were present on the site. However, Veoh was playing by the rules, removing videos found to be infringing copyright.

UMG’s reasoning for why Veoh wasn’t protected under the DMCA Safe Harbor provision was that in converting the files into the Flash format they were republishing the content and therefore wholly responsible for it.

The judge disagreed with UMG’s arguments at every turn, last year issuing a summary judgment in Veoh’s favor.

Veoh’s Dismal Ending

Unfortunately the case took a lot out of Veoh, costing it a lot of money, hitting the confidence of management and staff alike, and dissuading investors from working with the company.

Veoh limped on, changing strategy and laying off staff in an attempt to right the ship. But traffic slumped and Veoh let go of its remaining workforce on Wednesday. It is now preparing to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Shapiro confirmed the already-rumored news in a heartfelt but ultimately positive blog post yesterday.

Conclusions

It’s a real shame to see Veoh go out this way, but the writing has been on the wall for a while now. What the company has left the industry with is an important legal precedent derived from its victory over Universal.

SeeSaw

SeeSaw is the service which has risen from the ashes of Project Kangaroo, an attempt to build a one-stop shop for all British TV catch-up services. And SeeSaw fulfills that original remit, drawing its content from the likes of the BBC, Channel 4, and Five.

Arqiva spent an estimated $8 million on the infrastructure for SeeSaw, and the company intends to turn a profit. That’s why although it’s currently a free, advertising-backed endeavor, the future will likely see paid-for options as well, possibly with international programming at its heart.

User Experience

Arqiva has taken the minimalist approach to online video. The colors are basic, the interface easy to navigate, the menu and program options simple enough for even a child to understand. Which is a good thing, and owes much to both the style of the iPlayer and Hulu.

The homepage currently displays a rolling carousel of content at the top, with ‘Catch Up TV’, ‘What’s New’, and ‘All-Star Casts’ sub-menus completing the line up. The latter is part of the offering that will change according to current events. So, SeeSaw’s editors will offer playlists of content that may appeal for a particular reason at a given time.

You can choose one of the shows on the homepage or navigate via a topbar listing categories (such as Comedy and Sport) and Channels (currently only BBC, 4oD, and Five).

Video Playback

Clicking on a show brings up the video, details of the chosen program, and further episodes if applicable. Navigating the site is quick, although that could change when more people begin using it after the full launch.

Starting the video means the pre-roll ads begin. There are typically two or three on each show. The quality of the video is brilliant, much better than seen on the MSN Video Player, and the option to choose from ‘Low’, ‘Medium’, and ‘High’ bandwidth settings is welcome.

Nothing Original

Watching content on the SeeSaw beta is a fine experience, but the problem is the content itself. The current offerings are a fraction of what you can get from the sources themselves, and there’s little reason (beyond the changing playlists) to choose SeeSaw over the source it’s drawing its content from.

SeeSaw has the ambition and the core components necessary to make it a great service. But as always content is key. Arqiva is no doubt busy behind the scenes forging new content deals to add to what is there already. But until they’re in place, SeeSaw is unnecessary in the big scheme of things.

Give it six months and a host of new content and then it may well be the service it promises to be.

Kangaroo – SeeSaw

SeeSaw has risen out of the ashes of Project Kangaroo, the joint project between BBC, ITV, and Channel 4 that would have seen all strands of British TV brought together in one Web video portal. That was until the Competition Commission killed Kangaroo off after BSkyB and Virgin Media pledged complaints.

The BBC and its partners have gone on to create Project Canvas, a much more ambitious effort that seeks to create a new standard and platform for IPTV in the U.K. Set-top boxes are even part of the plan.

Arqiva bought the Kangaroo infrastructure last July for an estimated £8 million ($14 million).

SeeSaw Starts

SeeSaw entered its beta testing period on Tuesday (Jan. 26). Anyone resident in the U.K. can sign up for the beta, with invites sent out on a first-come, first-served basis. I applied on Wednesday and received mine on Friday.

Up to 10,000 invites will be sent out during the beta period, and I’d assume most people who apply will receive one. While Arqiva hasn’t announced its final launch date, the beta is expected to last around a month, with feedback welcomed during that period.

Content Deals

SeeSaw currently has content from the BBC, some old, some new, Channel 4’s 4oD, and Five. But there is more content on the way, with Arqiva thought to be keen to do deals with a number of other content providers.

According to PaidContent, independent U.K. producers Shed Media and talkbackTHAMES are on board, as are U.S. producer RHI Entertainment, Distributor Digital Rights Group, and Perform, which specializes in sports content.

Conclusions

I’ve only used SeeSaw briefly so far, but hope to have a full, first-impressions review up in a day or two.

As with every online video service, content is key, and that is what Arqiva needs to focus on if it’s to succeed as a service that not only wants to offer content for free and paid for by advertising, but also content it can charge for.

Whether it can do this will not become clear until well after the beta period has ended and the full service is up and running.

Vevo

Vevo launched on Dec. 8, 2009 almost a year after first being conceived of. It arrived on time, with a last-minute deal with EMI meaning Warners is the only major record label currently missing from the service.

That didn’t stop the launch faltering or many complaining of a distinct lack of content. However, even with these issues, Vevo has jumped straight to the top of the charts, becoming the number one music service on the Web in December.

Straight To Number One

As reported by TechCrunch, comScore’s figures for the closing month of the noughties show that Vevo managed to immediately overtake MySpace Music to become the most-popular Internet music service.

Top U.S. Music Services On The Web (December 2009)

1. Vevo: 35.4 million
2. MySpace Music: 33.1 million
3. AOL Music: 29.0 million
4. Warner Music: 23.3 million
5. MTV Networks Music: 17.6 million
6. Yahoo! Music: 16.4 million
7. Jango Music Network: 9.6 million
8. ToneFuse Music Network: 8.3 million
9. MSN Music: 6.6 million
10. Rhapsody: 6.5 million

The numbers are obviously only for the U.S., as Vevo isn’t actually available outside of America thanks to the outdated copyright restrictions which seem unable to cope with the fact the Web is a worldwide network.

Thanks To YouTube

The figures are impressive, no doubt about that. However, a closer look reveals to debt Vevo owes to YouTube. 32.6 million of the 35.4 million visitors are attributed to the Google-owned site. That’s 92 percent of Vevo’s users who watched videos on the Vevo channel on YouTube rather than the site itself.

Music videos were already very popular on YouTube, and they still are. The only difference now seems to be Vevo branding and the record labels taking a bigger share of the advertising revenue.

Conclusions

Vevo CEO Rio Caraeff bragged:

“The interest and enthusiasm our users have shown has been both gratifying and inspiring. We are also proud to deliver such strong traffic results straight out of the gate to our content and marketing partners, which solidify their early belief in the VEVO vision. We listen very closely to all of our partners and fans, and have been incorporating their feedback to continue to improve upon the VEVO experience.”

So, I guess Vevo has to be classed as a success, even at this early stage. But there’s clearly still much work to be done, with the most obvious next step being an international roll out. Until then, I and millions of other non-U.S. citizens will be watching from the sidelines.

Canvas Emerges

Project Canvas emerged in the aftermath of Project Kangaroo, which the Competition Commission shuttered after complaints from Rupert Murdoch’s BSkyB and Virgin Media about the possibility of it creating a monopoly.

The BBC moved on to Project Canvas, a more ambitious undertaking, and one that has also been the subject of criticism from BSkyB and Virgin Media, the largest satellite and cable operators in the U.K.

But no matter, as Project Canvas has now cleared the first hurdle on its path to becoming reality.

BBC Trust Approval

The BBC Trust is the body which governs the BBC and everything it does. This is needed because the BBC is a publicly-funded corporation rather than a private, commercial company.

At the end of November it emerged that Project Canvas could be delayed until 2011 due to the notoriously laborious red tape at the BBC. But that now looks like being a pessimistic timescale as the BBC Trust has approved Canvas after nine months of consultation and review.

Proposed Conditions

The BBC Trust’s approval is merely a preliminary one at this stage. It is now holding a second round of consultation until February, and has set some conditions on the BBC’s participation in the venture.

BBC News reports the following conditions as having been proposed:

• The core technical specification must be published well in advance to allow manufacturers to adapt to the Canvas standard.

• Other content providers must have access to the platform.

• Any quality standards for internet service providers must be applied on a fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory basis.

• A Trust review, 12 months after its launch, will assess the effects Canvas has on the partner’s incentives to syndicate their content to other platforms.

• The platform must remain accessible without a subscription.

• The BBC must return for further approval if costs exceed those projected by more than 20% in any one year.

• The BBC must report on whether the proposed accessibility features, such as audio description, have been incorporated. The Trust will review the signposting of content and parental controls.

Conclusions

While this doesn’t mean Project Canvas will definitely see the light of day, it makes it much more likely. And that could mean Canvas set-top boxes on sales by this time next year.

The proposed cost is £200 and for that price it would seem to be a bargain, enabling a whole range of online TV offerings to be watched in the living room.