At first glance, they could be seen as unrelated companies – the upstart online video company Vimeo trying to overtake the traditional TV experience that A+E Networks does so well. But as Kerry Trainor, CEO of Vimeo and Nancy Dubuc, President & CEO, A+E Networks sat down with Re/code Senior Editor Peter Kafka at today’s INTX General Session, it became clear that they are actually in the same business. They are both trying to deliver video programming in any form that audiences want. The race they are running is for the consumption of viewers’ time, as consumers are getting flooded with more video than ever before.
When looking at the entire video marketplace, Dubuc says it’s a vibrant ecosystem. There are different places to go for different kinds of content, whether it be something short and snackable, or something long and dramatic. “People are getting very sophisticated about where to go for what,” Dubuc said. Trainor calls it the “viewer diet,” that’s evolving over time. Compared to YouTube, Vimeo has always skewed a bit longer with content. With the new Vimeo On Demand service, Trainor thinks the platform can go with even longer form TV shows, feature length films and documentaries. “We see creators breaking all the rules of price to length,” Trainor stated.
“If YouTube is the open global equivalent of broadcast TV, we want Vimeo to be the open global equivalent of premium cable.”
For A&E, the digital platform is a growth business, more than just supporting the traditional experience. It’s a place to be experimental and take risks with programming even more niche and targeted then cable. But as the online video market is ten years old and already has a competitive billion-dollar ad business, the only two-year-old paid online video market should follow a similar path, Trainor predicted.
As Trainor put it, “If YouTube is the open global equivalent of broadcast TV, we want Vimeo to be the open global equivalent of premium cable.”
With all the competition, the key is thinking about the different combinations of content that viewers want and giving it to them where and when they want it. And most of all, Dubuc concluded, “It’s good storytelling that’s going to prevail, it always has been.” And that’s great for the consumers.