Tag: NBC

Hulu Launches Live TV Service In Beta, Adds NBC Programming

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
On Monday, Hulu announced it has reached an agreement with NBCUniversal to add programming from NBC and Telemundo-owned networks to its upcoming live TV subscription.  This rounds out all four major broadcasters for Hulu’s live service, which is set to launch in the coming months. Moreover, this deal also gives Hulu a nice boost in terms of sports programming, as it gains access to a range of NBC-owned sports content, including Sunday Night Football and the Olympics. The comprehensive lineup should give Hulu an edge as it sets to compete in a crowded market against other OTT live TV services including DirecTV Now, Sling TV, PlayStation Vue, and YouTube TV.

Update May 3: Hulu Live service is now available (in “beta”) for $39.95 a month. Per Ad Age, this live TV service will include “dynamic ad insertion capabilities, meaning advertisers can serve messages to specific targeted audiences. The navigation screen will also allow for additional advertising opportunities beyond the 15 and 30-second spots.”

What Brands Need To Do
Hulu currently has over 12 million subscribers in the U.S., making it the third biggest OTT streaming service after Netflix and Amazon Prime. Unlike the other OTT streaming services, Hulu is an ad-supported service, and the upcoming live TV service should continue to make the case for Hulu as a brand-friendly platform. With U.S. cord-cutting households hitting over 25%, it is important that brands look for new ways to reach those viewers and take advantage of the addressable viewer data that those OTT streaming platform offers to explore better targeting options.

 

Source: TechCrunch

NBC To Air Live Ads For Oreo And Toyota During “Hairspray” Broadcast

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
NBC is set to shake things up a bit for the upcoming broadcast of its live production of Hairspray by experimenting with native, in-program advertising. Instead of cutting to a commercial break, Oreo and Toyota will promote their products with live commercials performed in character by the cast of the musical in a retro style that harkens back to the early days of television commercials.

Moreover, the show will also feature a song-and-dance number inspired by Reddi-wip’s milk delivery history. In addition, NBC will also run two segments of sponsored content during two breaks with brand sponsors’ messages showing alongside behind-the-scene looks via split-screen.

What Brands Should Do
This is not the first time that NBC has tried out this type of native ads to appeal to an increasingly ad-avoidant TV audience, as the broadcaster substituted some regular ad spots during its primetime shows in February with AmEx-sponsored native content from the respective shows. This upcoming initiative seems to be a natural continuation of this trend. At a time when ad blockers and subscription-based streaming services are helping millions of viewers actively avoid ads, it is important for brands and media owners to take measures in response and come up with new ways, such as sponsored content and native ads, to engage with their audience.

For more information on how brands should leverage interesting branded content to earn consumer eyeballs, check out the Ad Avoidance section of our Outlook 2016.

 

Source: AdAge

Citibank Promotes Credit Card With VR Concert Initiative

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Citibank is working with NBC’s The Today Show to create a virtual reality concert experience to promote the Private Pass live event tickets program for Citi cardholders. As part of the ongoing Citi Concert Series on Today, this Friday’s show featuring pop group DNCE will be available via 360-degree livestreaming. Fans that showed up at the show will receive Citi-branded Google Cardboard headsets so that everyone can get a “front row view.” The branded VR headsets have also been distributed in advance to fans who cannot be there in person but requested a headset so they can watch the show live in virtual reality.

What Brands Need To Do
Virtual reality and live video enable brands to engage their audiences with immersive and intimate experiences, but the technical difficulties and relatively high cost they present at the moment have stopped some brands from exploring them. Yet with both formats gaining support on mainstream platforms such as Facebook and YouTube, consumers are getting increasingly familiar with and intrigued by VR and live video content. For brands that wish to stay ahead of the curve, now is the time to start working with content creators to develop interesting branded VR experiences.

The Lab currently has four VR headsets — an Oculus Rift, an HTC Vive, and two Samsung Gear VRs — ready for demos. Virtual reality is something that has to be experienced to be understood, so come by the Lab and ask for a VR demo to get a hands-on experience and figure out how your brand can use it to excite and engage with consumers.

 

Source: GeoMarketing

 

Facebook To Live Stream Olympics Content From NBC

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Facebook has scored an exclusive content deal with NBC for the upcoming Summer Olympics. NBC will share highlight clips and recaps of the Games each day via its Facebook Page and Instagram account. NBC will also be using Facebook Live to stream some interviews with athletes and commentators, but it won’t be broadcasting any live footage of the Games on Facebook.

This is not the first time NBC has turned to Facebook for amplifying its Olympics content – the two companies also teamed up for the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014. And despite getting some exclusive content from NBC, Facebook is not the only social channel the peacock network will be using this year as NBC struck a partnership with Snapchat in April to distribute Olympics-related content via a pop-up Discovery channel and custom Live Stories.

Why Brands Should Care
This is a major score for Facebook as it continues to build out its video products in a bid to attract more ad dollars. Although Facebook has yet to introduce any ad product for its Live video or announce any sponsorship opportunity surrounding the Olympics content, this content initiative adds to Facebook’s growing video content. As Facebook continues its efforts to attract more video viewers, early-adopting brands such as Popeyes and Birchbox have been hosting live events on Facebook to engage with fans. Brands should consider trying their hands at live streaming so as to connect with an online audience in real time.

 

Source: Mashable

NBC Teams Up With Samsung For VR Programming During The Olympics

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Ever wanted a more immersive way to watch the Olympics? Well, you’re in luck. On Thursday, NBC announced that it will broadcast 85 hours of virtual reality video during the upcoming Rio Olympics. The VR content will include the opening and closing ceremonies as well as a variety of games, such as gymnastics, track and field, and fencing. Partnering with Samsung, NBC’s VR coverage will be available to owners of compatible Samsung smartphones and Gear VR headsets. No support for other VR headsets or video platforms were announced at the moment.

What Brands Need To Do
This VR initiative from NBC marks the first large-scale VR content at a global event of this magnitude, albeit with limited availability. Sports are a natural match for VR viewing, and this coverage can entice more mainstream consumers to seek out VR experiences. As more and more media companies start exploring VR and 360-degree video content to attract and engage with the audience, brands should follow the lead and start developing branded VR content.

The Lab currently has four VR headsets — an Oculus Rift, an HTC Vive, and two Samsung Gear VRs — all ready for demo. Virtual reality is something that has to be experienced to be understood, so come by the Lab and ask for a VR demo to get a hands-on experience and find out why consumers would be excited by this technology.

 

Source: TechCrunch

NBC Develops An Alexa Skill To Catch Up Viewers On Its Shows

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
NBC has become the first broadcast network to develop a skill for Amazon’s virtual assistant service Alexa. According to an exclusive report by GeekWire, NBC’s Alexa skill aims to provide an alternative way for people to catch up on some popular NBC programs, such as Saturday Night Live, The Voice, and Jimmy Fallon’s late night show. There is not much detail on exactly what types of content Alexa will dispense or how this skill works, but the network does share that a pre-recorded “flash briefing” segment was recorded during live episodes of The Voice for this Alexa skill. Previously, NBC News also created an Alexa skill to enable Echo users to ask Alexa for poll results and other news related to the election.

What Brands Need To Do
At first glance, Alexa may seem to be a mismatch for visual media content given its voice-based conversational interface. But NBC’s example, along with the audio adventure game that Warner Bros. created for Alexa in March to promote Batman vs. Superman, shows that it is possible for entertainment brands to insert their content into Alexa and turn it into a voice-enabled promotional channel. For other brands looking for new channels to distribute branded content, developing an Alexa skill is certainly an option worth exploring.

For more information on how brands can develop authentic brand voices and navigate the new interface, check out the Conversational Interfaces section in our Outlook 2016.

 

Source: GeekWire

Snapchat Struck Deal With NBC For Rio Olympics Content

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
On Friday, Snapchat scored a non-exclusive deal with NBC to show highlights from the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, marking the first time the U.S. network has agreed to publish video content of the Olympics off its own digital properties. Snapchat will set up a dedicated Live Stories channel in its app to showcase content created by NBC as well as the athletes and fans on the scene. It will also work with BuzzFeed to curate short clips and behind-the-scenes content from the games in Rio for the publisher’s Snapchat Discover channel.

Why Brands Should Care
With this deal, Snapchat takes another firm step toward establishing itself as a mobile video platform. Earlier this week, the company said that its app now has 10 billion video views each day, up from 8 billion per day in February. On the other hand, NBC no doubt wants to leverage Snapchat’s popularity among teens and young adults to expand the reach of its Olympics content. Given that both Live Stories and Discover channels feature ads, brands now have another reason to advertise on Snapchat to reach the app’s young users.

 

Source: Bloomberg

Live TV Channels Swapping Ads For Sponsored Content To Fight Ad Avoidance

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
As an increasing number of viewers become accustomed to the ad-free experience offered by OTT streaming services such as Netflix, some traditional media owners have started to deal with the growing intolerance of ads by trying out new forms of advertising. NBC is set to swap out some ad spots airing during its primetime shows this week with AmEx-sponsored content, which includes extra scenes and interviews with the shows’ stars, all with American Express mentioned before and after each segment.

Similarly, Viceland, the new TV channel from Vice Media in partnership with A+E Networks, officially launched on Monday. The channel plans to carry only half of the normal 18 minutes of ads per hour, while also pledging to make around half of the remainder native ads designed to look like Vice’s editorial content. A number of brands, including Unilever, Mailchimp, Toyota, and Bank of America, have signed on as advertisers on Viceland.

What Brands Need To Do
Both NBC and Vice are commendable for their attempts to deal with consumers’ growing aversion to ads and experiments with new types of ads. At a time when ad blockers and subscription-based streaming services are helping millions of viewers actively avoid ads, it is important for brands and media owners to take measures in response and come up with new ways, such as sponsored content and native ads, to engage with their audience.

For more information on how brands should leverage interesting branded content to earn consumer eyeballs, check out the Ad Avoidance section of our Outlook 2016.

 

Sources: Bloomberg Business & Wall Street Journal

HBO And NBC Dive Deeper Into OTT Market

Posted on by Lab Team

New information on HBO’s much-anticipated standalone service surfaced last week. The new subscription service, reportedly titled “HBO Now”, will cost $15 per month and be available on Apple TV through an early partnership between the two companies.

Meanwhile, NBC is confirmed to be developing a comedy-focused OTT service to court cord-cutters. Staple shows like Saturday Night Live and The Tonight Show will be included and the subscription fee is reported to be around $3 per month.

Breaking News App Uses Proximity Tech Right

Posted on by Lab Team

After launching its iOS app back in June, NBC’s Breaking News app is now bringing its proximity-based news alerts to the Android platform. It clearly asks for the user’s consent to use location information to enable this feature, and provides them with an easy opt-out as well. The news could be as local as a specific neighborhood or broadened to cover cities in the wake of major stories. The app stands out for offering a highly personalized news experience coupled with well-defined privacy measures.