Sky ramps up ads in online video

Sky is to increase advertising on its video content across its sports, news, showbiz, travel, motoring and style sections.

The deal with in-video advertising firm Adjustables will see a range of new ad formats featured in the content.

Sky Sports has already recorded 14 million video ad impressions online and Sky News 3.5 million, according to a release from Adjustables.

The partnership underlines Sky’s commitment to online video, Tom Bevan, operations manager at Sky Digital Media, said.

“Within our growing portfolio, video is clearly something that differentiates Sky’s online offering. We’re particularly well served by a wide variety of unique video content, be that from Sky’s core content business or web exclusive material,” he said.

Sky News new beta site

Sky News has launched a beta version of its new website, to run in parallel with its existing news site.

It has adopted a top story carousel for the homepage that displays the latest breaking news in video and pictures.

It has also added a story tracker in the right column, which lets you follow a story as it develops, and in the left column a See Your News personalisation feature.

"What you are visiting is very much work in progress. We are testing and trialling new features and a very different design," Steve Bennedik, editor of Sky News Networked Media, wrote on his blog.

"At the same time we are still offering our existing site. When we are ready, we will switch off the old site and this will be our public face."

Full story...

Tags: beta site, news site, Sky News, Sky News Networked Media, Steve Bennedik

Sky News uses CoveritLive for Crewe by-election debate

Sky News yesterday used live blogging service CoveritLive to host a debate between candidates standing in the Crewe and Nantwich by-election (thanks to Simon Dickson and his Puffbox blog for the tip).

Candidates Tamsin Dunwoody (Labour), Elizabeth Shenton (Lib Dem) and Edward Timpson (Conservatives) responded to questions directly from readers of the blog and Sky News’ host Martin Stanford.

The service is becoming increasingly popular with news sites: today the Lancashire Evening Post is liveblogging an afternoon from a local pub, while US newspaper the Grand Island Independent used the tool as a feedback channel during the redesign of its website.

Elsewhere Farmers’ Weekly is liveblogging ‘an afternoon in the life of the newsroom’ - a similar experiment to that conducted by the Liverpool Daily Post.

Read Journalism.co.uk’s interview with CoveritLive president Keith McSpurren.

Tags: CoveritLive, Crewe and Nantwich, Edward Timpson, Elizabeth Shenton, Farmers' Weekly, Keith McSpurren, Martin Stanford, Read Journalism.co.uk, Simon Dickson, Sky News, Stanford, United States

A plug for Sky News Unplugged

From tomorrow Sky News will air its new online programme Sky News Unplugged.

The show, which promises ‘a sideways look at the week’s news’, will be available only on the channel’s website and through interactive services on TV.

The programme will later be available on demand through the site’s video channel.

Tags: online programme, Sky News

Guardian: Times website seeks Sky News link-up

The Times website wants to carry more video content from Sky News. Times Online editor-in-chief, Anne Spackman, told MediaGuardian.co.uk that negotiations to make this happen were at an early stage on the newspaper website carrying breaking news videos from Sky. Any deal is likely to improve the online video offering from the Times. Despite being one of the first national newspapers to adopt a TV service the Times offering has fallen behind other nationals - in terms of quality - and seems to be due an overhaul. Full story...

Tags: Anne Spackman, MediaGuardian.co.uk, online video, Sky News, The Times, Times Online

Sky News creates multimedia timeline to mark disappearance of Madeleine McCann

Sky News has produced a multimedia timeline detailing the events and news coverage of Madeleine McCann’s disappearance over the last year.

The timeline incorporates videos, pictures and analysis from Sky’s crime correspondent Martin Brunt. Users can scroll through the timeline, which offers over 100 screens of multimedia.

Tags: Madeleine McCann, Martin Brunt, Sky News

Photoshopped marathon pictures fool Sky News website

Journalism student Todd Nash’s new blog Journalism Today has flagged up some pictures from Sunday’s London Marathon sent to Sky News’ Your Photos section.

Only not every picture here tells the true story, rather the pics have been photoshopped and submitted by forum members of website Football365.com.

Some of the pictures are still available, including this appearance by the grim reaper:

And another submitted by A. Lurker (clue: look closely at his vest):

The news site are likely to take the joke well: following an earthquake in the UK in February the site received so many spoof photos of quake damage, it created a separate archive for them.

Tags: news site, Sky News, Todd Nash, United Kingdom

Breaking news of the UK Earthquake online and off

News of an earthquake that struck the UK in the early hours of Wednesday morning caused a surge in traffic to Sky.com/news with more page impressions recorded on the site at 1am than 9am, the site’s executive producer Julian March writes on the Editors’ Blog.

A similar effect was experienced by the Nottingham Evening Post’s site, HoldtheFrontPage reports, after it posted news of the quake within 30 minutes.

The site saw 1,821 readers visit between 1am and 2am - increasing this to 6,000 by 9am, 20,000 page views and 60 comments on the story - though it’s a shame they appear to have only opened this feature from 6am.

Both great examples of why it’s crucial to break news online - whether a local or national title - and get ‘ownership’ of the story to keep drawing those viewers back.

The BBC’s online and radio coverage was hot on the heels of the incident, though the video below - courtesy of student journalism blogger Dave Lee - suggests their TV news had to play catch up.

(I like the idea of competitive news watching between channels)

Tags: BBC, Dave Lee, earthquake, executive producer, online and radio coverage, quake, United Kingdom