Increased Ad Load on Horizon for Online Video?

Last week Daisy Whitney reported that '"TV Everywhere" Data Finds Consumers Watch Full Online Video Ad Load'. I appreciated her report and found it helpful albeit unsettling. I certainly am hoping that we will not be faced with double the amount of commercials just because networks think they can. I don't think this is the best route. Not for viewers, not for brands, and not for networks.



In her opening paragraph (for the discussion of this point) Daisy writes,

"Consumers will tolerate more ads and stay tuned into online TV when networks up the ad load, according to data I came across during my reporting on Comcast's TV Everywhere initiative."

After reading the post and thinking about it, I found this sentence to be a pertinent one. My interest was caught up by one word in the sentence, "tolerate" and its contrast to another word not in the sentence, "excitement." One seems to connote more of a negative or a neutral experience, the other indicates a positive one. One word could easily go along with the word "apathy", the other is side by side with "engagement."

I think this is key.

• Brand engagement versus brand apathy.
  
  
• Excitement versus toleration.

Daisy mentioned (in her New Media Minute video above) a doubling of ads at The CW. Again, I found this to be interesting as I had noticed the crazy amount of ads at The CW while watching the latest Smallville episode a few days ago. Not only were there a ton of ads, a lot of the ads seemed to all be for shows on The CW (a double negative that might end up canceling out CW for me down the road).

I did finish the episode but I now have less interest to come back (both to The CW and to Smallville). If there are other alternatives (and there are) for other interesting shows through Hulu and Netflix, I will be watching those first and foremost. The CW in my opinion is taking a wrong route, a route leading away from brand engagement. As a result I have become more apathetic to their brand.

On a positive note, not all companies are taking the same path. For instance, consider Hulu whose minimal and targeted ad structure allows them to charge a premium as is the case for The Simpsons. I appreciate the minimal and creative ad experience that I have encountered at Hulu.

• Minimal amount of commercials... Check.
  
  
• Option to occasionally take a quiz to skip commercials... Cool.
  
  
• Option to occasionally watch a longer commercial to skip other commercials... Cool.
  
  
• Sometimes an ad at the beginning that washes away the other commercials.. Very cool.
  

Some of the best ad experiences I have had have been at Hulu. Ad minimalism and ad creativity drives positive impressions for the brands that advertise using those methods and increases the effectiveness and thus the value of those ads.

In this case more isn't better, less is more. In the case above of Hulu versus The CW it was the difference for me between a positive brand and network experience versus a negative one. Sure I may still watch show X if it is good enough, but I will be less interested in the content, the brands, and the networks who overload me with ads that interrupt. This drives the effectiveness and thus the value of those ads down (I think significantly).

The data Daisy used was partly based off this Comscore report. One of the main points from the report was that "Missed episodes and convenience - not ad avoidance - were the main reasons for watching TV online among Cross Platform viewers (those who watch online and on TV)."

But this point seems obvious and it doesn't answer the question of whether online watchers are ad avoiders. If ad avoidance were the ultimate goal, then watching traditional TV with a DVR is a better choice than watching online through Hulu, ABC, CBS, etc. Yes there are less ads, but you can't skip them (Daisy mentioned this at the end of her video). Netflix is one place where you can legally go to watch TV and movies online without ads, but Netflix didn't seem to be considered in the report.

What are the three main reasons I watch online?

• Convenience, price, and selection. I.e. it is cheaper, I don't pay for a bunch of channels and programs I am not going to watch, and I can watch what I want, when I want.

Is ad avoidance the primary reason I watch online?

• No. I could avoid commercials as easily (or perhaps even more effectively) with a DVR device. I actually choose to watch ads (to a limited extent) by watching online. To me the convenience, price, selection of watching online, and minimal ad inclusion are worth the trade-off to forgo skipping ads with a DVR.

If I wasn't watching online would I watch ads?

• No. I would definitely be skipping them all through a DVR. As a sidenote, it is ironic that I watch more ads than my father who watches TV traditionally (a lot more than I watch content online) but with a DVR.
  

Do the amount of ads included with an episode online affect what and where I will watch (while I watch online)?

• Definitely. Not only that, it also has the potential to affect my connection and engagement with brands, networks, and other companies. Either positively (as in the case of Hulu) or negatively (as in the case of The CW).
  

Tolerate or excite.

Apathy or engagement.

Hoping we take the latter paths.

I think this would be a win for networks, brands, and viewers.