AOL is continuing its video push with long-expected download sales, expanded ad-supported video including movies from Time Warner sibling TNT and shows from other major programmers; and an enhanced video search engine.
Last year, when AOL launched its revamped AOL.com, the video hub and search were integral. (That’s one reason the site’s well-regarded Live 8 performance was so important.) In its most important video programming move since then, AOL launched in2TV, a broadband network JV with TW sibling Warner Bros. that delivers ad-supported full-length shows from the vault on demand. Other video additions include celebrity gossip site TMZ.com and UnCut Video, a user-gen channel. On the search side, late last year AOL pumped up its video by acquiring Truveo and its “visual crawling” technology.
But AOL has been a beat or two behind, leaving it vulnerable to suggestions of copy-catting or “me, too” even when its plans already were in the works. That might explain why the WSJ article (sub. req.) leads with the idea that this is AOL’s “latest attempt to resurrect its online fortunes” when it’s actually a continuation of the ongoing portal strategy. The expansion coming this week has been expected for months, particularly the downloads-for-sale aspect. Some details:
Reuters: “The new service, AOL Video, aims to be the one-stop shop for online videos and will let users search for videos across the Web, upload their own, or buy or watch for free thousands of TV shows from any one of 45 video-on-demand channels on nearly any device. … AOL also plans to let other Web sites incorporate its search technologies directly onto their own sites, which text search engine companies like Google have allowed for quite some time.”
NYT: “For now, AOL does not have agreements to sell programs from the major broadcast networks. But it will sell downloads from other large programmers, including MTV Networks, A&E Networks and Warner Brothers.” MTV will offer “Pimp My Ride,” “South Park” and “SpongeBob SquarePants” … “Two other popular Viacom programs, “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report,” will not be offered until the fall, when AOL expects to introduce software that will allow it to sell subscriptions to video programming.”
— New ad-supported programming (or new to AOL) includes movies from TNT, stand-up routines from Comedy Time and classic soap “Another World.” In the small-world category, some programming will come from Steve Case-backed Lime (health/spiritualism) .
— AOL’s Kevin Conroy frames it as a customer service to offer free (ad-supported) VOD and pay downloads in one place.
AOL Sub Shift Coming? AOL’s expanded video area won’t be public until Friday but the press splash is starting well ahead of Wednesday’s Time Warner earnings call — and anticipated announcement of that AOL will stop the subscriber bleeding by cutting out the sub category. Instead of waiting for income to dissipate, some inside AOL and corporate TW contend that the company is better off suffering the loss of billions now in exchange for the increased ad power from tearing down the wall between the garden and the portal and making most of the services available to anyone.
Related:
– Mixed Messages: Time Warner’s Bewkes Calls iTunes Video Model “Relatively Ineffective;” Prefers Ad-Supported Video; AOL To Add Pay Downloads
— AOL Acquires Video Search Firm Truveo; Valued Higher Than Weblogs Inc Deal
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