Nasdaq OMX Puts Focus On Video

Nasdaq OMX is boosting its internal and external communications services for investors with an increased focus on video.

The exchange is now providing secure, interactive, live and archived video webcasting for earnings calls, full-day analyst conferences, annual shareholder meetings, press conferences, product launches, and virtual internal meetings such as Town Halls, training seminars, and conference events.

Production services also include CEO signature series, 90-second vignettes and 3-4mn corporate profiles.

"We're really trying to provide the technology that powers business communications globally. One key aspect is using video more strategically. I believe it needs to become and will become the killer application," Demetrios N. Skalkotos, SVP of global corporate solutions, Nasdaq OMX, said in an exclusive interview with WS&T.

Video is a powerful, innovative communications medium which captures energy and emotion unlike traditional methods such as print and basic audio webcasting, he added. "If a CEO can do a video taped 90sec recording along with a quarterly press release, how cool would that be?"

Skalkotos points out that webcasting of conference calls and investor meetings can also help boost investor confidence, by mitigating full disclosure risk and demonstrating transparency -- a key benefit in today's economic climate where credibility, quality and experience of the management team is the biggest non-financial driver for investors, he adds.

"The other thing to consider with video is it really ensures a level of security. It allows people to share confidential information and control distribution," he says.

Currently, Europe uses video more than the U.S, Skalkotos says. But video is becoming increasingly popular in the U.S.

In October 2009, more than 168 Million U.S. viewers watched online video, accumulating nearly 26 billion total views, according to research from ComScore.

Almost 85 percent of the total U.S. Internet audience viewed online video, with the average online video viewer watching 10.8 hours of video. The duration of the average online video was 3.9 minutes, ComScore said.

Skalkotos is confident that U.S. companies will now increasingly start integrating video into their communications strategies.

"[]We're out there educating people about increased bandwidth which allows producing video and streaming video to be a lot more cost effective [than before]," he says.

Nasdaq's video solution service will be engineered by ICR, a leading global financial communications consulting firm specializing in investor relations and corporate communications.

Melanie Rodier has worked as a print and broadcast journalist for over 10 years, covering business and finance, general news, and film trade news. Prior to joining Wall Street & Technology in April 2007, Melanie lived in Paris, where she worked for the International Herald ... View Full Bio