By Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg
When Condé Nast launched its video hub, the Scene, in July 2014,
it envisioned a sophisticated website that would showcase content
from such titles as Vogue, Vanity Fair and the New Yorker, with
media partners that included ABC News.
But the site offered so much choice that users found it more
overwhelming than entertaining, and traffic eventually sank. Condé
Nast didn't shut down the Scene; instead, it reoriented the
platform as a vehicle to distribute videos on Facebook aimed at an
18- to 34-year-old audience, with the tagline "videos for women who
get it."
"We learned you can't be all things to all people and expect
people to come to you," says Dawn Ostroff, president of Condé Nast
Entertainment, which like Condé Nast is owned by closely held
Advance Publications Inc.
Condé Nast and other legacy magazine publishers are redoubling
their efforts in online video after learning from their stumbles
over the past few years. Those who tried unsuccessfully to build
centralized, destination-websites for their brands are now more
concerned with distributing their work on platforms like Facebook,
YouTube, Snapchat and MSN. Publishers are also plowing cash into
in-house studios to increase production volume and quality, and
they are getting more aggressive about developing TV series around
their brands.
As magazine print advertising revenue continues to weaken, video
has become more critical. Advertisers are expected to spend $15.4
billion on video ads next year, according to eMarketer, up nearly
threefold compared with 2014.
"If they miss the video market, what's left?" asks Jon Hammond,
chief strategy officer for Galvanized LLC, a digital publisher and
consultancy.
At Condé Nast, traffic at the Scene and its related
branded-video channels declined from a peak of 13.5 million unique
visitors in October 2014 to 4.9 million unique visitors in June
2016, according to comScore Inc.
But the switch to publish and distribute stories on Facebook,
mainly for young women, has worked. In May, the Scene attracted
98.3 million video views across Facebook, according to video
analytics firm Tubular Labs -- nearly triple the 36.4 million
online video views the Scene generated in October 2016.
Condé Nast is also building up its long-form video. Its digital
unit sold a behind-the-scenes sports series, "Last Chance U," to
Netflix Inc. in 2015 and is producing two major movies based on
stories that appeared in Condé Nast magazines.
Since late 2011, Condé Nast has invested between $50 million and
$70 million in its video arm. Ms. Ostroff says the unit turned an
operating profit in 2016.
Relying on Facebook for distribution can be a double-edged
sword, however, presenting risks when the social network tweaks its
news feed algorithm. And tech giants are big competitors for video
ad dollars in their own right, with Google's YouTube far and away
the biggest player and Facebook ramping up its offerings.
Time Inc., like Condé Nast, created a centralized video
destination called Daily Cut several years ago, but it never caught
fire and is now in the process of being closed.
The company is experimenting with different models to distribute
its biggest brands on streaming-media platforms. The
People/Entertainment Weekly Network -- a free streaming service
that the company says has more than 1.6 million downloads as an app
-- is advertiser-supported. Ian Orefice, Time Inc.'s head of
programming, said a free service was the best strategy in a crowded
entertainment media space.
Time Inc. will try to lure paying subscribers for the upcoming
Sports Illustrated video service it expects to launch in the fourth
quarter. Mr. Orefice believes passionate sports fans will be
willing to pay for the service, even though it won't have live
sports programming at launch. Instead, subscribers will get a blend
of expert commentary, documentaries and swimsuit features. Time
Inc. is still working on price points and distribution partners, he
said.
The publisher is learning how to program for a digital audience.
Traditionally, Time Inc. would have treated its search for a new
model for the next Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue as a closely
guarded secret. Instead, this year the publisher live-streamed a
three-day open casting call on Instagram, Mr. Orefice says. The
company came up with the concept too late to sell advertising
against the event.
Time Inc. is also tapping its vault of intellectual property for
long-form video projects. This August, ABC Entertainment will air a
four-hour documentary about the life of Princess Diana, produced by
Time Inc. At least three Time Inc. magazines will publish related
stories about Princess Diana's legacy, Mr. Orefice says.
"Princess Diana has been on the cover of People magazine more
than anybody in the history of the magazine," he says.
Spurred by the growing appetite for video, Hearst later this
year will open a 26,000-square-foot video studio around the corner
from Manhattan's Hearst Tower. It's also building a video-first
health-and-wellness brand, expected to launch later this year, and
developing a TV series with the FYI television lifestyle network
around Delish, its video-first food brand.
More so than rivals, Hearst has placed bets on other digital
ventures. Its Entertainment & Syndication unit is a minority
investor in youth-focused AwesomenessTV and, together with Verizon
Communications Inc., owns Complex Networks. Complex operates its
own digital channels as well as creating short-form videos,
distributed primarily on YouTube, and premium videos, mostly
distributed on go90, Verizon's mobile-first video platform.
Learning how to produce content tailored for each digital and
social platform is essential, media executives say.
"The lessons are: Start to move the organization towards a very
different type of content creation; get very close to the places
and rules where you distribute; and measure yourself ruthlessly
around what people are watching," says Troy Young, president of
Hearst Magazines Digital Media.
Write to Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg at
jeffrey.trachtenberg@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 16, 2017 08:56 ET (12:56 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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