Earlier this year Facebook announced that they are adjusting their algorithm that decides what videos are shown in users’ news feeds to put a larger emphasis on longer videos. According to a report by Wochit, videos that exceed 90 seconds attract almost twice as much engagement, which in turn has set in motion a trend where publishers release longer videos. Besides the increase in engagement, the introduction of midroll ads earlier this year has given publishers an increasing financial incentive to produce longer videos.

Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel appears to have had a change of mind regarding targeted ads, he has previously expressed that he finds retargeting and targeted ads creepy. However, Snapchat is taking their first step towards performance-based advertising. To this end, Snapchat is giving marketers the ability to employ a tool that makes ads targeted and trackable, called Snap Pixel. Thus, through the tool, Snapchat is hoping to up its appeal to advertisers in the harsh competition with Google and Facebook.

YouTube TV, Google’s streaming platform for traditional TV channels in the US, is launching as an app for Android TV devices and Xbox One devices. Youtube has stated that more than half of all time spent watching Youtube TV is done through a Chromecast on a TV-screen. In total, Youtube is clocking over 100 million hours of watch time on TVs on an average day.

The Olympics in Pyeongchang 2018 is set to be the first ‘fully digital’ Olympics according to Discovery owned broadcaster Eurosport who recently unveiled their all-screen strategy. An example of this, in order to reach a younger audience, Eurosport has set up a partnership with Snapchat to provide behind-the-scenes and user-generated content. Apart from the Snapchat deal, Eurosport will also collaborate with some of Europe’s biggest digital influencers.

In 2015 Spotify introduced video as a means of supporting their core business and drive additional revenue. The intention was never to take on Netflix and Amazon, but to make money in a way that doesn’t involve expensive royalties. The music streaming giant also announced several video partnerships including Disney, NBC and Turner. However, Spotify is now abandoning their investment in original video and have instead begun exploring new potential formats.

For more information contact Sixten Ekström, Communicator at Mediavision