The NewsRoom expands content but has it solved its payment issues?
Author: Tim Nash
The NewsRoom is a great idea syndicated content, with short adverts, easily mashable and very easy to insert on to sites. Now it has managed to add the BBC content to its list. This is great news for those outside the USA or who wanted some more varied news, though while attempting to embed a BBC story the teething problems were there apparently I can’t view the Feed in the UK!
This is the problem with News Room great concept but they seem to have continual teething issues, many affiliates are now complaining they haven’t been paid, slow servers and irrelevant ads for the videos.
Its a shame for the BBC that they chose to work with such a company - though the Good news is that nearly all the video on News Room is also available on Youtube as part of the BBC Google deal so while you might not get paid to show the content you might at least have a chance some of your visitors might see it!
Only time will tell if the NewsRoom will be a success but while the problems and doubts over payments, how it determines video views and its slow servers we can’t recommend it.
Johnty
from SEO Forensics2007-09-09 10:37:12
I couldn’t get to the BBC content either, maybe because we can access it via the beeb site they don’t license it for viewing in the UK?
I’ve been tempted by theNewsRoom but I haven’t heard anyone say they have been paid!
admin
from Webdigity webmaster forums2007-09-09 15:01:40
I don’t think they are scammers. They just have “beginning” problems.
Maybe we should contact them to ask them their opinion on this problem (we had contact in the past because of our posts here)
Tim Nash
2007-09-09 16:20:34
No I don’t think they are scammers, but they do seem to be having some really serious teething issues. I think the BBC content is a big coup for them but without being able to see it I wouldn’t know
AS Johny said this could be due to the TV licensing laws in the UK which mean the BBC can only transmit to UK views ad free, so if the NewsRoom bundles ads and shows them to people in the uk it would be breaking the license laws, that said which would it be better to let UK visitors see it ad free or simply block them without explanation after all this is purely speculation.
Jenny Towns
from www.voxant.com2007-09-17 16:59:59
Hey from TheNewsRoom! You guys are right - we aren’t able to show BBC content in the UK (licensing agreement). That said, we have tons of other content, and hopefully you can find something relevant for your site.
We have been paying users since the beginning of July.
I’m happy to chat further with anyone about these details. Thank you!
Tim Nash
2007-09-17 19:05:08
Hi Jenny its a little ironic that us poor souls in the UK can’t see our own news via thenewsroom though I understand that the BBC licensing deals are quite strict are their any other countries that are not able to see the content?
Great news on the payment front we had a commenter on a separate post complaining they had yet to be paid so I will point him to this thread hopefully he will be able to confirm his problems have sorted.
I’m glad you guys are making progress it really is a great concept just a shame I can’t use the Beeb material on my sites
(predominantly uk audience
Sabrina AKA HitMeBabyOneMoreTime
from CelebsExposed In Hollywood2007-09-27 18:25:15
Hello Everyone
I’m Sabrina and im so glad someone has comment on TheNewsRoom. Allow me to put my 2cent in this blog. Well they def have there ups and downs, the WORST part is that they will not count all your visitors. THATS A PROVE FACT. I have advance trackers on my site that keeps log of everything from the time someome entered my site what time they left and where they came from and even more.
Now on Sept 26th 2007. Wednesday i had a total of 1,107 vistors come by of which 738 were UNIQUE, of the 738 they all view every i had to offer,(total 4 video feeds. The News Room pays for EACH video your vistor sees, So ………..
738 Unique Vistors X 4 Videos Feeds Each= 2,952 PLAYS or CPM
The formula to calculate revenues is 0.004 x number of plays. (cause they pay $4 per 1000 plays)
In this case my earnings yesterday should have been
TOTAL $11.81
Instead these people only credit my account
$6.00
Im upset cause in total as of yesterday im suppose to have a grand total of $30.47
I have been with them 4 days now.
I have been promoting my site as usual no extra work. Cause this taffice is normal for my site.
So im calling them today to talk some things over and i will reply back to you all…and let you konow what they say in details. IF THEY DONT CREDIT my acct accordingly im filing a complaint on them and blogging them out as a NO NO NO NO
So everybody hold your horses while i ride in town and check out this New Sherrif (The News Room)
Thanks
oh p.s my site might be a mess when you come by thats cause im spring cleaning..
Tim Nash
2007-09-27 18:45:03
I’m sorry to hear of your problems, I think you do have to keep in mind your account is only credited for a full view of the video, or at least the advert in the video as I understand it. This means that unless you can prove the video was watched to the required point it will be difficult to argue with their stats, the news room is not alone adsense are notorious for not counting clicks to the point that you have to question the motives, I’m not suggesting that The Newsroom guys & gals for one moment are deliberately not counting but I hope they don’t make the same mistakes as Google and are open and honest in their recording in a perfect world the stats would be collected independently but perhaps the newsroom might offer detailed stats to users indicating a the time needed for a click and how long each visitor was on the ad.
Jenn Towns
from www.thenewsroom.com2007-09-27 19:06:43
Thanks for that response, Tim.
There are a few reasons why your numbers might not match our numbers:
1. The content you embedded did not fully load – this happens most often when someone surfs off a page in less than 10 seconds or when you have more than 3 of our players on a single page.
2. For video, sometimes people think we pay on render – we actually pay on impression or “play.” Generally, video is played about 10-20% of the time.
3. Due to a problem with our ad serving company, the ad did not appear – even though the content did – this partial render does not count as an impression
I’d be happy to discuss any of these things in more detail!
Sabrina AKA HitMeBabyOneMoreTime
from CelebsExposed In Hollywood2007-09-27 20:52:55
Thanks for the reply, Well that pacifiers me for the tiem being, LOL @THENEWSROOM, the only other test i have is when i get my first check. Those digits better look good lol….Right now im underconstruction but i get the most traffic around 3-9pm i can get anywhere from 3 vsitor-15 in w minute spam…my vistors are on my pages at least 4 four minutes some are there 3hrs…i have stat sheets from the statcounter…i will review this information ALL 1000000 hits LOL and see. But overall THENEWSROOM is one of the best yet. CHEERS
writer
2007-10-10 20:10:51
I have been using the newsroom for two months now and I am owed over $150. If they don’t pay by next month they come off my site.
Jenny Towns
from www.voxant.com2007-10-10 20:30:52
When did you hit the $150 mark? When you reach $50 in revenue in a given month, you will be paid by the end of the following month – for example, if you reach $50 in September, you will be paid at the end of October.
Feel free to contact our customer service desk if you have specific questions and we can try to sort it out for you.
Jonathan
2007-10-27 00:48:41
The guys from Voxant are deceiving their users.
They say in their own website that: You’ll receive your check within 30 days following the last day of the month in which it was earned.
However, the answer that some publishers have being getting from them is that they process the checks 30 days following the month in whici it was earned.
You then have to wait 30 days more in order to get the payment !!!!.