AT&T Fuels Its Direct-to-Consumer Video Dreams; Pubs Pivot Away From Viral Vids

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An Otter Acquisition

Most people are still busy digesting news of AT&T’s $1.6 billion acquisition of AppNexus – but the telco already has another little deal up its sleeve. AT&T is in the process of securing full ownership of Otter Media, the streaming media company it started as a $500 million joint venture with The Chernin Group in 2014, reports Digiday. AT&T is also in discussions with TV programmers to bring their cable content onto Vrv, a subscription streaming video distribution platform owned by Otter. Vrv mostly focuses on video content in the sci-fi, gaming and anime categories, but it has the infrastructure and direct-to-consumer ties AT&T needs to build out a channel store like Apple and Roku. “They already have full bundles and skinny bundles, so what’s next?” said Peter Csathy, founder of digital consulting firm Creatv Media. “[To] offer individual subscriptions all conveniently accessed through one app and on one bill.” Digiday has more.

Viral Video Antidote?

Publishers are pivoting to a different kind of video. Outlets including Vox, BuzzFeed and The New York Times are putting more resources behind long-form and episodic content rather than short viral videos, Axios reports. Viral clips, ubiquitous on Facebook just a few years ago – remember the watermelon? – proved an unstable source of ad revenue because their popularity was beholden to Facebook’s ever-changing feed algorithms. It may not make sense to ditch short-form video altogether, but long-form content may be a more effective way to grow a dedicated audience and licensing fees. Just look at Netflix’s recent deal with Vox to develop a news and explainer series. Selling ads against a series or show is also easier “in part because potential partners really understand what a premium show or episode is as opposed to a viral video – there’s transparency around it,” Shani Hilton, BuzzFeed’s VP of news programming, tells Axios. More.