The live version of the RTÉ Player has now launched, meaning the device can be used for more than catch-up. But what does this mean for RTÉ, advertisers and agencies?

1. RTÉ Player Live Ciarán Norris March 15, 2011
Background
RTÉ’s highly successful Player has been updated so that viewers can now stream live shows, as well
as using it as a catch-up service. This brings the RTÉ Player in line with similar devices, such as
those of the BBC & ITV in the UK.
Details
Video on Demand (VoD) has been one of the biggest success stories in terms of driving digital
revenue to indigenous publishers over the last 18 months. By allowing previously nervous clients,
who may have had little experience of online advertising, to essentially replicate a model they know
and understand, the various players have opened up a lot of new opportunities.
However, the case is still not 100% made, and the new Live player highlights this: whilst, as with the
catch-up version, a short ad, or pre-roll (usually 10-30 seconds long), plays at the start of the
programme, when the TV ads are being shown, the online viewer is presented with a blank black
screen and the words RTÉ.ie Commercial Break. Who said the web was all about engagement?
The Live player is likely to increase the already sizeable numbers of people viewing TV content
online (the RTÉ Player alone claims over 2 million streams a month), which are still growing steadily,
which makes it even more important that they are able to back-up the reasons for investing in what
is, when compared directly to TV, a relatively expensive advertising channel.
Implications
If the TV stations wish to continue to charge the sort of premium rates that they currently are for
Players, they need to prove why advertisers should pay them. With 3 minutes of black screen during
a live stream, there are bound to be many, both within the TV stations, and in agencies, asking
what the true value of such a view is.
The first step to answering this is to provide combined ratings, something that 4OD has started to
do for many shows, allowing agencies and clients to understand what proportion of an audience
they would miss out on were they to exclude Players from their plans. When they can do this, they
will have answered a lot of questions, particularly as pre-rolls and other Player formats can’t be
skipped.
On top of this, they will need to work to provide a standard multiplier, which will be a significant
step on the path to creating a digital version of the GRP. If they are to fill the long black gaps that
currently appear when ads are airing on TVs, they’ll need to be able to answer simple questions
such as how many people are watching, who they are, and what they’re worth to an advertiser.
With the likes of Facebook & YouTube entering the long-form content space, and able to provide
data on the value of the interactions that surround the viewing experience, and the BBC’s iPlayer
app likely to launch outside of the US sooner rather than later, local suppliers will need to start
boxing more clever if they want to keep agencies and advertisers interested in this indigenous
success story.