Video Search Monetization, according to Blinkx CEO Suranga Chandratillake

In this clip, Suranga Chandratillake (try saying that fast 5 times), CEO of Blinkx, discusses his thoughts on video monetization potential and why it, like performance advertising, may be less negatively impacted than other traditional advertising forms during the current economic downturn. I've read quite a bit as of late about the buzz around video monetization especially for this year. Just having a cursory awareness of this model however, it does make sense that as budgets continue to tighten, marketers will be interested ad formats that allow them to recycle what is already in production (or has been produced) for traditional TV advertising. He also makes some interesting points that there is more demand for professional content vs. UGC, primarily because of the quality and control factors. This is good news for the professional advertising/production elements that may start to see dips in their traditional ad sales/production business. What this also means for marketers is that those campaigns most likely to be successful will have found the sweet spot between the TV's mass-reach and commonality with viewers, and the edgy/quirkiness of online so that it can fit in both worlds.

What is Blinkx.com? According to their corporate site,
Blinkx, founded in 2004 with a current market cap of $350m, is the world’s largest and most advanced video search engine. Having built a reputation as the Remote Control for the Video Web, blnkx currently has indexed over 32 million hours of searchable video and more than 420 media partnerships, including national broadcasters, commercial media giants, and private video libraries, it has cemented its position as the premier destination for online TV. blinkx pioneered video search on the Internet, developing an engine based on technology that was conceived at Cambridge University, enhanced by $150M in R&D over 12 years, and is now protected by 111 patents. blinkx continues to pioneer innovative new approaches to digital video distribution in order to ensure it offers the most advanced capabilities and delivers the highest value to its audiences and partners.