Now that Redbox has the hard-copy, DVD rental biz sewn up, it’s time to move on to the streaming biz. That means competing with Netflix. Even with all their recent troubles, the online DVD rental company has carved out a deep niche for themselves.

Redbox isn’t worried. They have a plan and a partner – Verizon.

According to the press release, the new venture will go live in the second half of 2012. Thanks to what each partner brings to the table, the service will combine a choice of streaming and hard-copy rental. It appears that both options will be available under the plan, but the press release doesn’t talk in specifics or dollars.

Splitting the DVD rental biz from the streaming biz, is one of the moves that got Netflix in trouble recently. It stemmed from a price increase that forced customers to take both services and some badly phrased apologies from the Netflix pres.

Redbox and Verizon will be coming in fresh, so they likely won’t have to deal with price backlash. They’re also coming in as the underdogs and who doesn’t love that.

The real kicker will be who gets which movies first. When Netflix was the only game in town, studios were licensing content for a fraction of the worth. In the past few months, things have changed with studios.

Just this past week, a new deal went into effect, pushing back the release date of all Warner Brothers films on Netflix. In order to increase DVD sales, Warner is holding on to their properties for 56 days before making them live. Even worse, they’ve put a 28 day hold on putting movies into the queue. Not good news for Netflix.

And neither is this Redbox deal. Redbox and Verizon are excellent partners as you can see from the graphic they prepared:

See all the happy people? Netflix better watch out.

Last year video went up 42.1% and it’s expected to keep in the double-digits for the next few years.

More spending, means claiming a larger share of the online ad pie. For video, it’s currently at 7.9%, just barely sneaking past Classifieds and Directories. The share is expected to rise to 15% by 2016, keeping it solidly in third place.

Add in search and banners and these three ads account for 80% of all ads sold. Search, accounting for almost half of all online ads by themselves.

The rise in video ad spending is certainly being spurred on by the rise in video consumption. Recent numbers from comScore show that 182 million U.S. Internet users watched an average of 23.2 hours of video content per viewer in December.

Video is the new TV but it’s cheaper and easier to put ads on a hit YouTube series than on a hit TV show.

If you need more proof that online video ads are on the rise, answer this. When was the last time you watched a video that didn’t have either a banner or a pre-roll ad? I can’t think of one.

This represents an increase of 25% in the past eight months and that’s quite an achievement. YouTube’s no newbie. We’re not talking about that initial surge of activity you get when a site first gets rolling. YouTube has been around since 2005 and it’s been a juggernaut ever since.

But has the quality of content improved over the years? I’d say yes. YouTube is now an excellent source for entertainment and educational short videos. It’s also become a wonderful archive for old TV shows, movies and commercials. (Copyright violations aside, it’s truly amazing what you can find.)

YouTube is doing all they can to up the quality of materials, investing in original content and partnerships with celebrity programmers. But one has to wonder if anyone cares about that.

YouTubers are still uploading a large number of shaky, cell phone videos of people falling down, breaking stuff and embarrassing themselves. America’s Funniest Home Videos has been surviving on this kind of material since 1989, so obviously it’s a category we all enjoy even if we swear we don’t.

The important question is, which videos are making money. Reuters reports that 3 billion YouTube videos a week are monetized. Of course, most of those people are seeing little to no return. But there are a number of avid YouTubbers who are making a living on the site.

Andrew Grantham quit his job to make videos full-time. Not only does he earn a living off YouTube, but he pulls in a large amount of money for charity with his popular series “The Ultimate Dog Tease.”

Money isn’t the only reward for dedicated YouTubers. Performers have turned their two minutes online into TV guest spots, record deals and other shots at stardom.

The point of all of this is to remind you that YouTube is a viable outlet for your marketing. Think beyond display ads. What could you present in a video format that would be helpful or entertaining for your customers?

These days, the tools to make a video are already in your hand. The hard part, is coming up with an idea.

Then again, with more than 60 hours of video getting uploaded every minute, ideas must be easy to come by, too.

The entire article is a great mix of basic marketing manners and innovations that use mobile and other digital options to enhance the in-store experience. But there are also ideas that the strictly online retailer can use as well.

Reward Loyalty

Home decor flash sales site One Kings Lane surprised 6,900 of its best customers with a special gift that shipped the first two weeks of November. Based on purchase history, shoppers received taper candles, a silver pitcher or an inlaid bone box.

If you’ve been reading my daily posts (you have been reading, them, haven’t you?), then you know this is one of my mantras. Reward, reward, reward. Getting customers is hard enough, keeping them is harder. Don’t let them get wooed away by coupon codes and deals from the competitor. Tell your best customers that you appreciate their business with a reward. Preferably one that doesn’t come with strings attached.

Using Mobile for More than a Laugh

UK retailer Kiddiecare adds QR codes to shelf tags that link customers to product videos. Says STORES:

“Customers can use their mobiles, select the QR code and watch the video on their mobile on the shop floor, rather than having to wait for staff during busy times,” Chris Wood, video production/project manager for Kiddicare, told Video-Commerce.org. “Sometimes the floor can be really crammed with people, and staff can’t keep up with demands.”

When done right, a video makes an excellent online sales person. It’s a fast way of presenting the features and benefits of a product. It’s especially helpful for mobile shoppers since a 2 minute video is easier to deal with than scrolling through pages of product details.

Video demos have influenced my decision to purchase phone apps, electronics and even a musical instrument. There’s no substitute for getting your hands on a product before buying. For online retailers, video is the next best thing.

Out of the Box Thinking

This last idea comes wrapped in caution tape. The example STORES uses is an invention designed to stop bad breath. After spending thousands on infomercials and getting no results. The creator turned the idea over to a class of young marketing students who created a viral video. The product was picked up by a few Walmart stores and then the creator took a big chance:

Orabrush purchased Facebook ads targeting users in Northwest Arkansas, home of the retail giant. The ad read: “Walmart employees have bad breath … Walmart needs to carry Orabrush! It will sell better than anything in your store.”

Within 48 hours, Walmart e-mailed; after a few more e-mails, Orabrush geared up production to meet the 735,000-unit order.

I’m amazed that such a juvenile tactic would work, but I suppose it’s possible. Certainly, out of the box thinking has launched more than one company. How far out of the box is the question.

Before going too far afield, think about your customer and what they might find amusing or offensive. We’ve seen cases where controversial campaigns succeed and we’ve seen others that brought big companies to their knees. This is dangerous territory but it could also be the kick your company needs to go from barely breaking even to major hit.

Want more inspiration? Read 20 Ideas Worth Stealing at STORES.org.

These are the kinds of things that keep me up at night. It’s like calculating how long it would take me to watch every minute of every DVD I own. I don’t know that either feat could be accomplished in the time we have on this earth.

According to Nielsen, 166.9 million unique US viewers watched nearly 22 billion videos in November 2011. In January of 2011, the unique viewer number was 143,930 watching almost 15 billion videos. That’s quite a jump in only ten months.

What hasn’t changed much is the average amount of time we spend watching online videos. We went from around 4 and a half hours per person per month to a little over 5 hours. Nielsen doesn’t break it down, but I imagine that a large portion of that time was devoted to watching cute animals and babies and people failing at everyday things. Sigh.

When it comes to unique viewers, YouTube has no competition. They took the top slot with 130,775. The next closest was VEVO with 42,729. They also take the top slot for most streams, with Hulu a nowhere near close second.

Where they can be beat is in time per viewer. The average YouTuber spends only 3:07 hours, but GorillaVid and Hulu both come in at 3:11. The top watcher? Netflix, with a whopping 10:43. Proof that people will indeed sit still for long-form, streaming videos as long as you have a star or something interesting to say.

What was the last video you watched online. Come on now, be honest.

Here’s what I watched: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msGymOBEu9o and I hang my head in shame.

The numbers come from Break Media’s “Digital Video Advertising Trends: 2012″ report and overall, it shows that video advertising is on the rise. Mobile shows the most growth going from use in 39% of video ads in 2011 to an anticipated 55% in 2012.

In order to pay for the increase in video spending, 45% of advertisers are taking the money out of the online display budget while 38% expect an increase in their overall ad budget to cover the difference.

So all this confidence must come with a big reward, right? Could be, say the video advertisers, if only we had a way of measuring our success!

39% of respondents said they measure click-throughs and 38% measured actual product sales. Visits to a brand website and brand recall were also noted but in general advertisers are frustrated with the current measurement options.

Nearly half of all respondents said ROI was hard to measure and 35% said they could measure it but there wasn’t a big enough return. Interesting. We can’t verify the results and we aren’t happy with the results we can verify but we’re going to spend more next year anyway because it’s the thing to do. Sounds kinda like social media spending, doesn’t it?

The reality is, it’s a whole new marketing world. We’ve gone way beyond Whack-a-Mole banners and that’s a good thing, even if we can’t measure individual results. What you can measure is your profit margin. If your company is making more money this year than it made last year, you’re doing something right. If that something is Facebook, mobile apps, or video advertising, keep doing it and do some more. You may not be able to tell exactly which ad influenced a sale, but if the accountants are happy then you’re doing a great job.

This redesign continues to bring the look and feel of Google into a more uniform approach. The new Google bar is doing the same thing.

Personally, I like it. What about you?

When sites like YouTube began offering up short-form entertainment, people weren’t willing to watch a commercial, before, during or after. So they slapped an Adsense banner ad across the bottom of the vid and called it the cost of doing business.

But online video has experienced explosive growth in the past year and video ads have grown right along with it. Look at these numbers from FreeWheel:

For the first time, video ad viewing growth is greater than video viewing growth. FreeWheel says that the growth is partly due to an increase in long-form video. It’s no longer about making a statement in under 3 minutes. Now, networks are running full episodes of current TV shows online. You can watch sporting events, concerts, educational videos and movies. Our tolerance for online video length has increased and with it, our tolerance for online video ads.

The average number of ads per long-form video rose from 3.1 in Q1 2011, to 5.02 in Q3. That’s a big jump, over a very short period of time. You might think that so many ads would scare off viewers, but it’s not true. Completion rates have stayed steady through the year. Long-form had the best completion rate with 82%. Mid-form had 70% and short-form came in at 56%.

What’s starting to happen, is long-form video is taking the place of traditional primetime TV viewing with numbers peaking between 9 pm and 11 pm. Short-form videos are more popular in the late afternoon, mostly between 1 pm and 4 pm. Sounds like post-lunch boredom, to me.

Now check out how mobile devices play into all of this:

The iPad really comes into play in the evening and you can bet they’re using it to watch TV shows and movies. Most of the major networks have apps that stream their shows and cable apps allow you to tap into anything you’d be watching on your TV – only now you can take it with you where ever you go.

Mobile devices have made it even easier to watch videos any time of the day or night, at home, work or at McDonalds. More video, means more places to put ads, more chances to reach a potential customer.  And right now, video advertising is a bargain compared to 15 seconds on a primetime TV show.

Those questions and much more will be answered when Google rolls out YouTube Analytics later today–replacing the more limited Insights.

Here’s what you’ll get, so long as you are using a “modern” browser:

• A Quick Overview: A new overview provides all of the information that you care about quickly, while also enabling you to easily access more detailed information.
• More Detailed Reports: Analytics now includes more detailed statistics so that you can have a more precise understanding of your content and audiences.
• Audience Builders: Discover which videos are driving the most views and subscriptions.
• Audience Retention: See how far viewers are watching through your video in the new audience retention report.

I have just one question. Why in the world is Google using an infographic to explain YouTube Analytics and not a video tutorial? That’s like Bill Gates giving a presentation about the new Windows 8 using a Mac!

In fact, before we look at growth numbers for video as predicted by eMarkter, let’s take a look at total ad spend numbers. As you can see, in the online space search will continue to be the king in overall spend.

Now taking a look at the growth numbers you see where video is predicted to outperform every other online option there is. Part of the reason that growth numbers are somewhat deceptive is that there needs to be room for more growth in order to put up the impressive numbers. More mature advertising options like search have experienced their hockey stick growth period. It’s just a caution to watch these numbers using the proper perspective.

All that being said, are you capitalizing on the growth in advertising in online video? Does your ad spend include reaching people who are mesmerized by online video? If they are going to be there shouldn’t you be as well?

Let us know where you see video in its current state and for the future as it relates to the way you spend your ad dollars for the maximum impact.

Last week, Google+ added a YouTube widget to the news stream making it even easier to share videos with your friends. Now, it looks like the reverse is about to happen, as YouTube prepares to add Google+ functionality to its site.

The Next Web broke the story thanks to a tip from someone who has seen the light. The biggest change is a navigation sidebar that will make it easier to find what you’re looking for. Like Google+, the sidebar will offer quick links to subscriptions, popular videos and other categories. You’ll also find videos recommended by people in your G+ circles.

Overall, it’s cleaner, more professional looking and a big step toward becoming an actual social network. All of which, should help you make more money on your videos.

Click here to see the screenshots on TNW.

Google+ Pages Take a Turn for the Worse

On November 8, a Bank of America page opened on Google+. Only, it wasn’t created by Bank of America. It was created for the purpose of mocking the bank as part of the Occupy Wall Street movement. There were posts about bank executives meeting for a party in a foreclosed home, and the seizure of bank accounts belonging to protestors. It was well thought out and well put together and it might have had a long life had reporters not latched on to the story.

Google’s initial response was that they don’t comment on individual pages and apparently they don’t close them at the drop of a hat. The offending page stayed online for a week before it was shut down.

So where do we go from here? Should Google require some kind of identification when setting up a company page? I set one up for a client and I didn’t even need a company email address. I simply picked a name and created the page.

As Google+ becomes more popular, more fake accounts are bound to pop up. Look at Twitter. Even with their verification system, fake celebrity accounts are rampant on the network.

While Google works the kinks out of the system, companies and brands need to be pro-active. If you haven’t claimed your name on Google+, do it now before someone else does.

That’s fine but advertisers need to know if people respond to ads. A new study shows that the younger the video watcher the less likely they are to be interested in ads.

The study done by Burst Media and reported by eMarketer shows just how people respond to online video ads by age group.

It is important to note that the audience for younger viewers of online video is a much larger percentage of the total number of people in that age group. eMarketer reports

The older web users who are more likely to respond to video ads are less likely overall to watch online video, however. eMarketer estimates that this year, for example, 49% of 55- to 64-year-olds and 30% of those ages 65 and older will watch online video at least monthly. That compares to 87% of 18- to 24-year-olds and 81% of those ages 25 to 34.

So what does this tell marketers? A few things of note.

Despite the larger numbers the younger the viewer the more blind they are to your ad – Everyone is anamored with the behavior of younger Internet users. They are online all the time blah, blah, blah. That’s interesting but as marketers we need to know how they respond to online messaging. Right now, if this study’s numbers have any truth to them it’s not real great. If they are already jaded to you think that will get any less so with age? Not likely.

There is room for growth in the online video area amongst older age groups – With more than 8 out of ten younger demographics already watching online video there is not as much room for growth. It is likely that larger percentages of older people will be viewing online video more since not even half of those 55-64 and about one third of those older are currently watching there is room for bringing new folks on board and maybe even helping mold their online video viewing habits as they do.

Older video viewers are more a marketer’s dream, maybe – If the numbers are truly growing for older folks and their online video viewing then those with products to target them should be chomping at the bit to get in front of them. The numbers especially favor those targeting older men.

Unfortunately, one has to wonder just how much of that response is to ads in the Viagra and Cialis etc category as there is the perception of anonymity amongst these online users (whether anonymity is real is another argument for another post). If they click on that but don’t give a rip about deodorant ads or whatever, then the groups may not be any more valuable than younger folks who ignore the ads completely.

If people are watching videos maybe marketers should be producing them and not just advertising in them – If people are going to be inconsistent in how they respond to advertising in videos then maybe marketers need to get wise and concentrate on making videos that are watchable thus REALLY having the attention of their target.

No matter how you look at online video it is becoming more and more critical to the online marketing mix. No longer is it a luxury or a bonus play. It really needs to be used to its utmost to make sure that there is something with your message out there for everyone. And it looks like nearly everyone wants more video.

Are you using video to its fullest? Are you making sure that you are in front of your audience the way that they want to see you?

The Guardian reports that there are in the neighborhood of 100 channels that are planned.

YouTube has unveiled its latest challenge to the TV industry with the launch of 100 online channels of original programming from partners including the Wall Street Journal, Madonna, Ashton Kutcher and online magazine Slate.

The launch marks Google-owned YouTube’s most significant push into high-quality content as it seeks to shift the emphasis of the world’s largest video sharing website from its roots in user-generated content.

YouTube’s venture, for which Google will fork out up to $100m to producers as an enticement to launch channels, will see about 25 hours of new, original programming a day.

I don’t know about you but my Ashton Kutcher threshold is about maxed out but it might be interesting to get some original programming in another environment. With 25 hours a day of new programming that is something that isn’t happening on other channels in other areas so at least the content will be fresh. As for quality? Well, that remains to be seen.

The article continued

Those channels include Antony Zuiker, the creator of criminal drama CSI, rapper Jay-Z, former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal, Rainn Wilson, one of the star’s of the US version of The Office, and skateboard legend Tony Hawk.

Media organisations launching channels include Thomson Reuters, Slate, satire site The Onion and Cosmopolitan owner Hearst.

TV production companies and film studios getting involved include Lionsgate, the US company behind Mad Men and Nurse Jackie, which is creating a fitness channel, and X Factor co-producer FremantleMedia, which is to launch a pets and animals channel.

Add in the other stealth announcement that Google TV is coming around again in a supposedly simpler form and you have another area for the government to worry about Google’s far reaching impact on all things.

Now that could be a channel of its own. Oh wait, they are already talking about a comedy channel. My bad.

Well, the folks at YouTube ain’t stupid and they have now opened up the opportunity for partners to sell merchandise, concert tickets, digital downloads and more along with these videos that are like musical crack for someone like myself. Makes sense to strike when the iron’s hot, right?

Here’s a look at what you will see sooner than later.

Of course I don’t see myself warming up to $10 bars of soap from a band any time soon but that’s another issue entirely.

From the YouTube blog

We’re launching a feature called the Merch Store that will allow YouTube partners to offer fans merchandise directly on your channel. Fans will be able to buy artists’ merchandise, digital downloads, concert tickets and even unique experiences like meetups. These features are made possible through affiliates like Topspin for merchandise, concert tickets and experiences; Songkick for concerts; and iTunes and Amazon for music downloads. We’ll be rolling out the Merch Store to music partners globally over the coming weeks.

This only makes sense. YouTube says it will only take a small percentage of the price to cover its costs. Awful magnanimous of them but as with any Google owned entity the advertising is where the money is so if more people come to the site for even more reasons the better it is for Google. At least they are pushing some responsibility for cost off on someone rather than the historical free to everyone on our dime model they have “pioneered”.

So do you see yourself getting excited enough by a video to make a merchandise purchase through YouTube?

The numbers show a 9% decrease in cable TV watching vs a 26% rise in viewing via PC. The real trend is in mobile, with a modest rise of 19%, but you can expect that number to keep climbing as more tablets make it into homes across the US.

The study also found that online viewing habits were starting to mimic those of regular TV viewers. Both capture the majority of their audience during the primetime hours of 8pm to 11pm, with 6pm to 8pm, coming in second for web shows.

And Now a Word From Our Sponsor

43% of blip.tv’s viewers had a positive reaction to advertising that was presented before an original web series. This wasn’t the case with streaming TV content. There, only 30% reacted positively. This could come from the fact that people perceive TV shows as having a large budget, thus they can afford to stream without ads. Web shows, on the other hand, often come from small, struggling artists who need the ad dollars to make ends meet.

Dina Kaplan, co-found of blip.tv had a slightly different take on it:

“It’s clear from the research that web series fans are beginning to watch less television, while at the same time increasing the amount of content consumed on the web. It’s also significant that our viewers are more accepting of advertisements on web series, perhaps because fans are grateful to the advertiser for making the show possible. That’s a very different mindset, for a viewer, than seeing an ad on a show that was originally created for television.”

When asked to rate the different types of advertising by preference, 35% of those surveyed chose banner ads. Pre-roll ads came in next at 15%.

Blip.tv is home to original web shows such as GamePron News, Nostalgia Chick and The Spoony Experiment where a nerd reviews games and movies. I’m sensing a theme.

Are you ready to invest in web show advertising?

The second quarter of 2011 was record breaking, with a reported $7.7 billion over $6.2 billion from the same time last year.

Small Screen, Big Payoff

Although growth was good in all segments, video took top honors with growth equal to 42.1% over last year. Video is slowly becoming a viable option for advertisers of all sizes since video hosts such as YouTube have made it easier to do. You also have to look at the sheer number of videos that are popping up online. Now advertisers can choose from a wide variety of short form videos or hook their wagon to full-length TV shows and movies.

Just take a look at the new fall, TV season. It wasn’t so long ago missing a season premiere meant waiting for spring reruns in order to see what you missed. Now, viewers can find those shows on network websites, iPad apps or OnDemand, and often within hours of the original TV airing. And every episode comes with advertising attached, ads that can’t be skipped over, as they can be with a DVR.

A Banner Year

Video may be growing fast, but most of the money is still going to search (49% of the total.) Right behind that is display, with 37% of the spend, equaling more than $5.5 billion in the first half of this year. That’s a 27.1% increase over the same time last year.

David Silverman of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP thinks that accountability is responsible for the rise in ad revenue. Every year, we get more effect tools for measuring the ROI of online ads and that means companies can be confident about where they spend their marketing dollars.

Enter Eyeview. They’re a provider that specializes in highly-targeted video ads. Here’s a panel from a Target ad customized by gender and weather.

The ads begin the same but change to show the location of the nearest Target store and then an appropriate item. In this case, a short-sleeve Glee t-shirt for the sunny, Southern California girl, and a cozy, long-sleeve shirt for the guy in rainy Chicago.

In order to test the effectiveness of these ads, Knowledge Networks surveyed 400 online users, half who saw personalized ads for travel site Kayak, and half who saw regular ads. The results were pretty dramatic, but lets keep in mind that the study was released by an ad company who has a stake in personalized advertising.

“Those seeing the personalization notched a 100% improvement in level of favorability toward Kayak, a 37% jump in likelihood of visiting Kayak the next time travel is being planned online and a 73% increase in likelihood of recommending Kayak to a friend, colleague or relative”

40% of respondents said they liked the personalized ads. 12% said they didn’t like it. 40% said that watching an ad was a “fair price to pay for being able to watch online video for free.”

I don’t think anyone actually gets excited about seeing ads, but since few people are willing to pay for content, they’ve succumbed to the inevitability of ads attached to online video.

The trick, is getting people to actually pay attention. I’m guilty of cueing up a video then going to check my email while the “your video will start in 12 seconds” counter clicks down. A personalized ad has a much better chance of getting and keeping my attention and it’s more likely to stick with me when I’m done.

This is true for all forms of advertising, not just video. Whatever you can do to make an ad more personal is worth doing as long as you’ve got the time, money and tools to make it so.

Now YouTube is making it easier for even the novice video-maker to turn out a clean and creative product. Starting today, YouTube is officially rolling out an editing suite that allows you to make changes to your video on the fly.

Before now, you’d have to take down, fix and then reupload a video in order to make changes. This meant losing your URL and the comments associated with it. With the new edit button, changes are saved to the same ID number, so you don’t lose your place, counts or comments.

The edit suite comes with two levels of options. On the lower end you can stabilize hand-held footage, rotate a video, and boost the contrast and colors. The “I’m Feeling Lucky” button corrects color with one click.

For a more drastic change, YouTube has teamed up with Picnik to create visual effect overlays. Go black & white, thermal, or turn your video into a cartoon.

The new YouTube edit button isn’t meant to take the place of a full-scale video editor, but it can make your homemade efforts look more professional and fun. Not everyone can afford a creative team or has the talent to produce their own mini-movie, but as we’ve seen, polished isn’t always the biggest winner on YouTube. Very often, it’s the simple, silly or heart-felt videos that go viral, shaky hand-held footage and all.

Look at the YouTube edit button as permission to make a mistake. Make a short video featuring your product or service, don’t spend a lot of time, just do it and upload it. Then spend a half hour trying out the new filters and options. A basic video of a person enjoying your product, could take on all new life when it’s turned into a cartoon.

Remember, this is YouTube, where everybody gets to be a star for at least 3 minutes.

This fall, Yahoo will launch a schedule of short-form shows that were made specifically for the web giant. Comedian Niecy Nash will have her own show as will Morgan Spurlock and Judy Greer.

Variety reports that the shows will skew female with an emphasis on food, romance and celebrities. One show right up my alley is called Your Friends Will Never Believe You. In each episode a fan will receive a “unique” surprise visit from their favorite celebrity. All My Children star Cameron Mathison will help men deliver the Ultimate Proposal while Spurlock helps people deal with their fear of failure be it in business or in their relationships.

With so many short shows available all over the web, what makes Yahoo’s new shows stand out? Producing partner Drew Buckley says,

“When a lot of people were going online to watch video initially, it was all about giving information. What you’re seeing now online is more programming that’s much more about lifestyle and story.”

Variety reports that Yahoo is ready to keep writing big checks in order to insure the success of their new venture. They’ll be building out a portal that offers additional content to go along with the videos and they’re actively looking for bigger names and bigger stories. They’re also prepared to collect and use the data they get from watchers, something that is more easily done on the web than on TV.

What TV has that Yahoo doesn’t, is a longer attention span. Yahoo isn’t running any hour-long dramas but it’s possible we’ll get there in the future.

A new survey from In-Stat shows that 50% of tablet owners use it to watch TV shows or full-length movies. As tablet usage grows, it’s easy to see it becoming a viable second screen for nightly TV viewing. Once we’ve blurred the lines between the web and TV, Yahoo as a sixth network is highly possible.

A new report from eMarketer shows that 88% of Xers are online and that should rise to 90.9% by 2015. What are they doing online? 74.2% are watching videos and that number is also on the rise.

Not only are Gen Xers the biggest pool of video viewers, they also watch more TV than other brackets and are more likely to shop via their mobile phone. Clothing is the most shopped for item with airline tickets and hotel reservations making it into the top five along with books (e or otherwise).

For marketers, this means you have a wide range of options when trying to reach the Gen X audience and you should probably use them all. More than any other consumer segment, this is the one place where a mixed campaign of offline, online and mobile will do the most good.