Commentary
Swanni's 3 Rules of Online Video
The longer the video, the less likely it will be watched.
By Phillip Swann

Washington, D.C. (June 16, 2006) -- The major broadcast networks are now investing in new services that enable viewers to watch their primetime programs online. For instance, ABC permits web surfers to view episodes of Lost and Desperate Housewives at ABC.com.

However, the networks' plans are both lost and desperate. Few Americans will watch long-form videos on small PC or laptop screens. The experience is too uncomfortable and unsatisfying to sit still for even 30 minutes, much less a one-hour program.

So is online video doomed to failure?

Not quite. Soon, you'll be able to download the videos directly onto your TV so you can watch them the way you're supposed to. But until then, the online video business will struggle to reach beyond a niche audience.

However, some online videos will experience some success on the PC and laptop.

Why?

Because they follow:

Swanni's 3 Rules For Successful Online Videos!

To be successful online, the video must:

1. Be exclusive
Why would people watch Lost on a small PC screen when they could have watched it on a beautiful big TV screen the night before? (Or recorded it.) Answer: They wouldn't. However, if there's an interesting video that can only be watched online, people will check it out. Some people, that is.

2. Be short
Even if the video is exclusive and entertaining, it won't go far if it goes long; when at their PCs, people don't have the patience to watch any video that exceeds a few minutes.


3. Be Daring
For an online video to reach a large audience, it must generate a lot of buzz. And things that provoke, amuse and titillate, such as Paris Hilton's sex video, the Chronicles of Narnia satire at YouTube!, and the video blogs from the comely Amanda Congdon at Rocketboom, do just that.

To learn more about what's working in online video, see a commentary from MarketWatch's Bambi Francisco by clicking Here

And click TVPredictions.com to see the rest of today's Swanni Sez.

© TVPredictions.com
 

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Online Video Bonus:
Videos of Snoopy, the HDTV-watching cat, are now available at Google Video.

See: Snoopy Watching Baseball In HDTV
See: Snoopy Trying to 'Catch' a Fish in HD

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Phillip Swann is president and publisher of TVPredictions.com. He has been quoted in dozens of publications and broadcast outlets, including CNN, Fox News, Inside Edition, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Financial Times, The Associated Press and The Hollywood Reporter. He can be reached at swann@tvpredictions.com or at 703-505-3064.

And click TVPredictions.com to read more news and features on TV technology.