Larry Kless' Weblog: Streaming Media East 2009 Comes to a Close With Record Attendance

Streaming Media East came to a close today and the success of the 12th annual Conference and Exhibition was evident as it reached a milestone with record attendance. This is great news for the online video and streaming media industry that we can continue to grow opportunity and innovate even in our economic downturn. Content owners, viral video creators, online marketers, enterprise corporations, broadcast professionals, ad agencies, educators and others all come to Streaming Media East to see and hear the latest online video technology but, more importantly, to discuss the business models that are coming of age. A number of the sessions and keynotes were streamed live from ScribeMedia.org and TV Worldwide and TV Worldwide has an extensive collection of video interviews, keynotes and sessions here. The video archives of all the keynotes and panel sessions will be available on Streamingmedia.com within the next few weeks. Here's another collection of news, information and analysis from Streaming Media East 2009.

Streamingmedia.com: Streaming Media East Closes with Record Attendance
New York - Streaming Media East 2009 (May 13, 2009) - The Streaming Media East conference and exhibition, held at the New York Hilton, closed today with an announcement of record attendance at the event. The total number of registered attendees was 3,733, which represents the largest number in the modern history of the event under the current ownership of Information Today, Inc.

“When we acquired this property in late 2002, we were aware of the potential of the Streaming Media events, but we started in the first year with only a few exhibitors, and around 100 attendees,” says Tom Hogan, Jr., V.P. of Marketing and Business Development. “The conference and exhibition has now grown, with the support of the industry, to be the leading online video event in the world. The fact that we set attendance records in such a challenging economy is nothing short of phenomenal, and a signal that online video has emerged as an essential communications tool, and a must-have for companies to succeed in today’s business environment.”

Akamai CEO: The Online-Video Tipping Point Is Here - Advertising Age - Video

Akamai CEO Paul Sagan sees more waves of media disruption ahead.

Paul Sagan Sees Larger Implications Than Many Imagine
Produced by Hoag Levins Published: May 14, 2009

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- How big of a game changer will online video watching ultimately be for the TV industry? And when will those changes really start to happen big time? According to Akamai CEO Paul Sagan, consumers are watching the tipping point occur right now and sweeping industry upheaval may come sooner and more dramatically than many imagine. Mr. Sagan was keynote speaker at this week's Streaming Media East Conference.

Streamingmedia.com: Streaming Media East: Verizon and boxee Want In To Your Living Room
By Tim Siglin -- May 13, 2009 -- Keynotes from Verizon and boxee pushed forward the concept of getting online video into the living room, though each company takes a radically different approach.
Day 2 of Streaming Media East opened with two keynotes, one from a representative of an established telecom and another from the founder of a software startup. The opening keynoter was Joe Ambeault, director, product development and management, video services for Verizon. He addressed the way Verizon handles a rapid development cycle, quipping "Yes, we're a telco and we do five 9's [99.999% uptime] but we also have an incubator approach for new technologies. Then we go to prototyping, and you'll notice I didn't say anything about positioning and business plans. We then move to 'do no harm' testing'...

Boxee, ESPN Discuss Cable-Cord Cutting and Online TV - Digits - WSJ
By Andrew LaVallee -- May 12, 2009 -- Online video has become much more available to consumers in recent years, but its providers disagree over how much it will complement or cannibalize traditional television.

At the Streaming Media East conference in New York, Damon Phillips, a vice president at ESPN360.com, said he knows what it’s like to lose the battle for the TV remote and often watches games on his PC while his daughter sits in front of “Hannah Montana” on the tube. “It fuels more consumption across all of our platforms,” he said.

But Avner Ronen, CEO of Boxee, which makes software for watching Web video on TV sets, said the increase in streamed TV will naturally lead more consumers to rethink whether they want to also pay $60 to $80 a month for cable. “If online provides to you a better experience, I think some people will choose to cut the cord,” he said. He estimated that tens of thousands of Boxee’s 500,000 users fall into that category. “I think cutting the cord is a hard decision to make,” he said, but it’s easier for younger consumers, such as recent college graduates who may have never seen a cable bill...

Web Content Is Like Sushi, and Other Tips - Digits - WSJ
By Andrew LaVallee -- May 13, 2009 -- When it comes to creating original material for the Web, Tim Shey, co-founder of Next New Networks, says it’s like sushi.

Next New Networks

From “Threadbanger,” Next New Networks’s online show for DIY clothes-makers

“The fresher the better,” he said during a Streaming Media East panel session on digital content production, “and don’t leave it sitting around for too long.”

For Mr. Shey’s company, which makes Web shows such as “Barely Political” and “Nite Fite,” videos made in advance or with block shooting don’t do as well, he said.

Makers of online content, if they consider themselves “conversational,” must plan and budget for revised material, response videos and other shifts that the audience’s reaction prompts, said Christine Beardsell, a creative director at Digitas’s branded-content arm, Third Act. “That stuff just has to be planned ahead...”

VUDU & Brightcove Partner to Deliver Ad-Supported Online Video to Set Top Box
Posted by: Kristin Cronin, May 12, 2009 -- At Streaming Media East this week, we're very pleased to announce a new partnership between Brightcove and VUDU, a leading provider of digital technologies and services that deliver Web entertainment content to HDTVs and home theater, which will enable Brightcove media customers to distribute high-quality, advertising-supported content directly to the set top box...

Next On FiOS: Web Videos On Your Flat-Panel TV - BroadcastNewsroom
Verizon Also Testing Facebook, Twitter on Television By Todd Spangler

New York -- May 13, 2009 -- Verizon Communications plans to make some 7 million Web video clips available to FiOS TV customers within the next few weeks, but for now the biggest whales in the Internet-video ocean -- YouTube and Hulu -- won't be part of the lineup. Meanwhile, the telco has launched an "alpha" test of on-screen widgets for Facebook and Twitter, which let users see their friends' posts and can send updates of what someone is watching on FiOS TV at the moment to the Web...

TV Predictions from Streaming Media East « Media Experiences 2 Go
Posted on May 13, 2009 by Mari Silbey -- It’s a sign that the TV industry has changed when conversations from the Streaming Media East (SME) conference start sounding an awful lot like they could be transplanted directly from The Cable Show. Yesterday I sat in on an SME session entitled “Online Video and Set-Top Boxes”. With execs from Verizon, Motorola, TiVo and Showtime, the panel talked about how to improve the user experience, and how to make money in the new convergent, interactive video world. Sound familiar? There were a few new insights worth sharing, however...

Break Room Live Invades Streaming Media Conference (Video) | Air America Media

By Brendan McDonald -- May 12, 2009 -- The Streaming Media East Convention kicked off in midtown Manhattan this morning and Sam Seder wasn't about to let it get started without Break Room Live in the house.
See how streaming media insiders reacted to having a streaming media superstar in their midst. Sam Seder gives an in-depth report from the Streaming Media East Conference in New York City, which is taking place on May 12 and 13, 2009. The conference, which draws all the big names in online streaming video, was of particular relevance to BRL, considering our spot atop the marketplace. Catch comedy sketches, interviews, political & cultural discussions, & interact with hosts & guests live: 3pm, M-F @ BreakRoomLive.com! BreakRoomLive w/ Marc Maron & Sam Seder is a production of http://airamerica.com

Streaming Learning Center - Streaming Media East Presentations
By Jan Ozer -- May 13, 2009 -- I just got back from a wonderful trip to Streaming Media East, where I gave two presentations. The first was a 3 hour session on producing H.264 video... The second is, a 76 slide, 45-minute look at common mistakes made by video producers...

Welcome to Wall Street Polycom HDX 9000:: Flexible :: SEXY::ROI « Nico McLane’s Splice of Life
By Nico McLane -- May 13, 2009 -- I just returned to my office after a whirlwind 3 days of all things streaming media at the 2009 Streaming Media East Conference here in New York – I spent a good deal of time with Polycom experimenting with the HDX 9000 (my new favorite VTC) – we will be bringing a unit in to our lab and will test with several clients dialing in direct and using a variety of architecture’s to navigate video across the globe. In essence, we will be a bridge for the Enterprise with streaming media, HD broadcast (up to satellite), a better rate card and friendlier staff than your old school bridge!

Contentinople - Ryan Lawler - Adap.tv Launches Player Partner Program
Written by Ryan Lawler -- Tuesday, May 12, 2009 -- Online video ad management firm Adap.tv is looking to increase sales through integration with some of the top video management platforms. With the launch of its new Player Partner Program, Adap.tv has integrated its OneSource ad management platform with video management tools from Brightcove Inc. , Kaltura Inc., Mogulus, thePlatform Inc. , Twistage Inc., and VMIX Media Inc. "One of the trends we've seen is that an increasing number of publishers are working with many of the Internet video player providers rather than building out their own players," says Dakota Sullivan, Adap.tv's vice president of sales and marketing.

Adobe beams up new Strobe video framework | Digital Media - CNET News
by Caroline McCarthy -- May 11, 2009 -- As part of the Streaming Media East conference in New York, Adobe has unveiled "Strobe," the "open framework" for its Flash video player that the company first announced last month. It's expected to be available in the third quarter of this year. Since you were probably wondering: No, Adobe is not tweaking the pronunciation of "Strobe" so that it rhymes. Thank goodness...

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Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Streaming Media East 2009 Comes to a Close With Record Attendance