How Google's Feiken Sees Online Video
on iMedia Connection
by Rebecca Weeks, June 20, 2006
Google Video's Jennifer Feiken talks to iMedia about how Entertainment has only begun to scratch the surface of online video possibilities.
This past January, Google Inc. launched its Video service that allows consumers to download various types of videos-- commercial (ranging from old "Brady Bunch" episodes to NBA games), educational, historical and user-generated.
Jennifer Feikin, the director of video and multimedia search partnerships at Google, is constantly exploring ways to improve the service. She manages partnerships with content providers and industry organizations, and oversees product development. Her entertainment expertise comes from years of experience working for Hollywood companies, such as AOL Time Warner's Strategic Development Group, 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight Pictures and Morgan Creek Productions.
iMedia's Content Director, Rebecca Weeks, sat down with Feiken to learn more about Google Video's strategy, positioning, business model and potential for incorporating advertising.
Rebecca Weeks: iTunes' branding and usability has obviously set the bar extremely high for digital video. But its content is primarily popular entertainment. To what other types of content does Google Video give access?
Jennifer Feiken: Google is a search engine, so we're about searching all the world's content. As such, our Video product is about searching a very wide range of video content-- from the most popular entertainment content from partners such as CBS and the NBA to historical and educational video from the National Archives and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. We also allow and encourage user-generated content on our site. We do enable downloads and payment for content like iTunes, but unlike iTunes, with Google Video, content owners set the price they'd like to charge for their content. This openness allows content owners, large and small, to have a new means for distributing and monetizing their content.
Weeks: How are you educating consumers about the differences between Google Video and offerings like iFilm and Atom Entertainment?
Feiken: Unlike other offerings, Google Video opens a door into a new world of video content that wasn't previously accessible online. Users can search across these videos, ranging from their favorite TV shows to historical news events, and once they've found what they want, we make it fast and easy for them to watch it on their computers. We also give content producers instant access to an audience of millions of people who search with Google everyday and offer them a new way to monetize and distribute their content.
Weeks: What's the biggest challenge you face in working with content providers?
Feiken: Google Video gives content providers the opportunity to reach a wide audience with all lengths and types of content. We don't see our relationship with content providers as challenging-- usually they are excited about the potential for new ways of distributing, promoting and monetizing their content. We find partners, such as National Archives, are especially appreciative as Google Video, and the online video genre has opened the door for all internet users to view content that was previously inaccessible. In fact, that is the core mission of Google: to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.
Weeks: Now that you've tested the pay-for-content model (content owners set their own prices), are you considering embracing an ad-supported model?
Feiken: At this time, we do not support ads, but anything is possible. We firmly believe in allowing the user to tell us how to improve and shape our products, and if there is an interesting way in which we can support ads and make it beneficial to the user, we would explore that.
Weeks: What percentage of consumers doing generic Google searches also uses Google Video? When will it be possible to query how to renovate a kitchen, for example, and receive a video reply?
Feiken: We generally don't provide stats or discuss the future direction of our products. However, Google's mission is simply to allow universal accessibility to all forms of information and content-- from text to images to videos. Right now, those who go to video.google.com can make such a query and get access to all relevant video content, whether produced by users or premium content providers.
Weeks: Last month I read about Google partnering with Columbia Pictures to develop a promotion for its film "The Da Vinci Code." The puzzle involved users in various Google products, such as Google SMS, Google Maps and Google Video. What other ways do you plan to bring in new users?
Feiken: We are always interested in working with content producers on doing creative programs that use multiple Google products. We will continue to explore these opportunities with all of our partners.
Weeks: Where do you hope Google Video will be this time next year? What hurdles must be overcome to get there?
Feiken: We are constantly working to make Google Video better and more useful to our users. Stay tuned for much more to come-- we have only begun to scratch the surface on all the possibilities for online video.
by Rebecca Weeks, June 20, 2006
Google Video's Jennifer Feiken talks to iMedia about how Entertainment has only begun to scratch the surface of online video possibilities.
This past January, Google Inc. launched its Video service that allows consumers to download various types of videos-- commercial (ranging from old "Brady Bunch" episodes to NBA games), educational, historical and user-generated.Jennifer Feikin, the director of video and multimedia search partnerships at Google, is constantly exploring ways to improve the service. She manages partnerships with content providers and industry organizations, and oversees product development. Her entertainment expertise comes from years of experience working for Hollywood companies, such as AOL Time Warner's Strategic Development Group, 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight Pictures and Morgan Creek Productions.
iMedia's Content Director, Rebecca Weeks, sat down with Feiken to learn more about Google Video's strategy, positioning, business model and potential for incorporating advertising.
Rebecca Weeks: iTunes' branding and usability has obviously set the bar extremely high for digital video. But its content is primarily popular entertainment. To what other types of content does Google Video give access?
Jennifer Feiken: Google is a search engine, so we're about searching all the world's content. As such, our Video product is about searching a very wide range of video content-- from the most popular entertainment content from partners such as CBS and the NBA to historical and educational video from the National Archives and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. We also allow and encourage user-generated content on our site. We do enable downloads and payment for content like iTunes, but unlike iTunes, with Google Video, content owners set the price they'd like to charge for their content. This openness allows content owners, large and small, to have a new means for distributing and monetizing their content.
Weeks: How are you educating consumers about the differences between Google Video and offerings like iFilm and Atom Entertainment?
Feiken: Unlike other offerings, Google Video opens a door into a new world of video content that wasn't previously accessible online. Users can search across these videos, ranging from their favorite TV shows to historical news events, and once they've found what they want, we make it fast and easy for them to watch it on their computers. We also give content producers instant access to an audience of millions of people who search with Google everyday and offer them a new way to monetize and distribute their content.
Weeks: What's the biggest challenge you face in working with content providers?
Feiken: Google Video gives content providers the opportunity to reach a wide audience with all lengths and types of content. We don't see our relationship with content providers as challenging-- usually they are excited about the potential for new ways of distributing, promoting and monetizing their content. We find partners, such as National Archives, are especially appreciative as Google Video, and the online video genre has opened the door for all internet users to view content that was previously inaccessible. In fact, that is the core mission of Google: to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.
Weeks: Now that you've tested the pay-for-content model (content owners set their own prices), are you considering embracing an ad-supported model?
Feiken: At this time, we do not support ads, but anything is possible. We firmly believe in allowing the user to tell us how to improve and shape our products, and if there is an interesting way in which we can support ads and make it beneficial to the user, we would explore that.
Weeks: What percentage of consumers doing generic Google searches also uses Google Video? When will it be possible to query how to renovate a kitchen, for example, and receive a video reply?
Feiken: We generally don't provide stats or discuss the future direction of our products. However, Google's mission is simply to allow universal accessibility to all forms of information and content-- from text to images to videos. Right now, those who go to video.google.com can make such a query and get access to all relevant video content, whether produced by users or premium content providers.
Weeks: Last month I read about Google partnering with Columbia Pictures to develop a promotion for its film "The Da Vinci Code." The puzzle involved users in various Google products, such as Google SMS, Google Maps and Google Video. What other ways do you plan to bring in new users?
Feiken: We are always interested in working with content producers on doing creative programs that use multiple Google products. We will continue to explore these opportunities with all of our partners.
Weeks: Where do you hope Google Video will be this time next year? What hurdles must be overcome to get there?
Feiken: We are constantly working to make Google Video better and more useful to our users. Stay tuned for much more to come-- we have only begun to scratch the surface on all the possibilities for online video.
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