Smart Screen Exclusive

By Chris Tribbey

LAS VEGAS — It’s a saying you may have heard before, and Ed Haslam, SVP of marketing for multi-screen video advertising company YuMe, used the phrase to sum up the challenge for the second screen industry: “TV is dead, long live TV.”

Speaking Jan. 6 during the 2^nd Screen Summit before the opening day of the International Consumer Electronics Show, Haslam and other second screen industry experts tackled the issues confronting apps, content and advertising for mobile devices. Should the second screen be treated as if it’s the main screen now, or does it remain merely a companion to the big screen?

In just the past few months there’s been a more-than-50% jump in online video ad growth and about one in three Americans now own a tablet. Bob Hall, VP of platform for YuMe, shared data showing a full 97% of TV viewers are multi-tasking while watching the big screen, compared to 85% watching video on a tablet.

Every single tablet user watches video on their device while at home, compared to 66% who reported watching video content while on vacation. And 33% of tablet owners reported watching video alone, compared to only 5% with the HDTV.

“What has to be given to the end user is an overwhelming proposition to use the mobile device,” said Zane Vella, CEO and founder of Watchwith. “The numbers of viewers, the numbers of devices, the time spent, all the indicators of second screen performance continue to climb. All the key metrics are moving in the right direction.”

But while all the numbers seem rosy for the second screen business, “The first screen is still where the money is,” said Eoin Dowling, CEO and co-founder of TV application programming interface Boxfish.

Brands are still buying more ads for TV than anything else, though cross-platform planning is becoming more common every day, according to Jesse Redness, chief strategy officer for Mass Relevance, which works with brands to integrate social media into marketing and advertising efforts.

“We’ve seen a tremendous shift of TV dollars over the last 12-18 months to the platforms we manage for agency buyers,” said Brent Gaskamp, SVP of corporate development for ad technology company Videology.

Ad dollars or not, Colin Hornett, executive producer iPowow, said the most important thing for any screen remains the content. “Give me something I want, and let me extend it with another screen,” he said.

And second screen hasn’t been treated with nearly the respect it deserves, panelists agreed.

“Engagement is what advertisers want. There seems to be an enormous lack of wanting to address the second screen in a way it deserves,” said Jody Stark, global commercial VP for OTT video monetization solutions company Piksel.

Ian Schafer, CEO and founder of Deep Focus, put it this way (quoting a friend}: “I didn’t see anyone walk in here with a TV. The mobile screen is the first screen and people are spending a ton more time on it.”