Yahoo! Studios produces the most-watched online videos---and offers advertisers proven ways to reach the audiences they want
Last spring, a new 5,000-square-foot studio opened in New York City, with two sets, seven edit rooms and a state-of-the-art control room that would do any TV network proud. Only it didn't belong to a TV network---it was Yahoo! Studios' third video production facility, joining studios in Sunnyvale and Santa Monica, Calif., each one capable of producing top-quality programming that rivals TV networks.
The timing's great, because online video viewership is blowing up. The latest comScore data reports a record 188 million U.S. consumers watched an estimated 38 billion online videos in August, spending an average of 6.7 minutes per video.1
This is good news for advertisers, because the video boom paves a fast-growing online route to reach engaged consumers amenable to online advertising — 90% of video consumers say advertising and sponsorship are acceptable when the content is free.2 And Yahoo! Studios produces content consumers love to watch---reaching 36.5 million viewers and taking 22 of the top 25 spots in comScore's latest viewership ratings.3
Michael Manas, Anna Robertson and Geoff Nelson (l-r) of Yahoo! Studios in the NYC facility's control room
Seeing is believing
Yahoo! produces more than 50 programs a year, ranging from short daily news programs to major live events like The Clinton Foundation Concert. Each week more than 50 advertisers and agencies visit the New York studio to "kick the tires and see the quality products we put out on a daily basis," says Michael Manas, Head of Production Supervision, Yahoo! Studios New York (where "The Thread," "Financially Fit," "Trending Now" and more than a dozen other news and lifestyle shows are filmed). Marketers also tour the studios in Sunnyvale, where most sports programming is produced, and Santa Monica, home to music and entertainment shows.
Yahoo! Ad Blog toured the New York studio last week, and here's what we found out:
Yahoo! has top talent on both sides of the camera
Yahoo! Studios has top-flight production facilities and high-caliber professionals both behind and in front of the camera that are as good as any network television studio, says Geoff Nelson, Production Operations Manager, Yahoo! Studios. Many are TV and film industry veterans.
Yahoo! reaches 700 million unique users a month---and Yahoo! Studios knows them well
Yahoo! Studios takes advantage of the extensive, ongoing measurements of Yahoo!'s global online audience to create and fine-tune programs. Those metrics go beyond what videos they watch to include the content they read, sites they visit, pictures they view---anything that will help give Yahoo! Studios a more complete picture of what content grabs which audiences.
Yahoo! Studios constantly creates new shows to connect advertisers with audiences
"We're always looking at how to create video content in response to what we learn about our audiences," says Anna Robertson, Head of Yahoo! Studios, and brands can partner with those programs in two main ways:
- Sponsor a show that Yahoo! Studios has created to target a specific audience
- Work with Yahoo! Studios to create a custom show aimed at your marketing goals
Manas says there's no shortage of ways that Yahoo! Studios and brands can work together to produce videos that reach the right audience: "When you think about all we produce, from "Sports Minute" and "omg! NOW!" to live events like the Clinton Concert, it's an incredible spectrum of content and opportunity."
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comScore Video Metrix, Sept. 2012
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comScore Media Metrix and Nielsen NPower, Dec. 2011
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comScore Media Metrix custom report, U.S., Aug. 2012
