The most notable thing about history is that it tends to repeat itself, whether in political conflict, economic, and yes even in media. It is a common pattern, one that seems to surprise us every time it occurs. These changes occur, both in good and bad ways, but inevitably they always happen. Nothing is constant and human patterns tend to repeat themselves.
In the media world, we have watched as technological change has caused changes in viewing pattens, from radio to TV, TV, to cable, and cable to online. And yet, we seem surprised that the upstart is taking share away from the established media. So it should be no surprise to read that cable viewership is declining and streaming is increasing. "Several factors could explain the downward ratings trend. For one thing, the number of households with DVRs has reached 43 percent, and viewers tend to record broadcast network shows more than they do cable shows. Also more people are watching shows via tablets, smartphones and computers, where Nielsen’s traditional ratings methods have struggled to keep up with changing viewing habits." Count this household as one that has adopted more DVR, on demand, and streaming to its viewing patterns.
My kids watch a ton of their shows either on DVR or on the computer. In fact, they are finding more online only programs that they are preferring to watch and enjoy. For my wife and I, the DVR is our way to watch what we want when we want. As broadcast tends to play once and repeat months later, a lot of broadcast viewing is done on the DVR. The notable exceptions are sports and news. Heck even the award shows are watched on a delayed DVR basis. Cable shows on the other hand repeat and repeat and repeat. There is less of a desire to schedule to watch and they become filler until a better choice is found. And with on demand and streaming services like Netflix, it is easier to watch a movie any time of day.
The only thing that doesn't change is the time available to watch shows. With so many alternative viewing choices, the long tail of programming choices gets longer and longer. It chips away at the bigger networks just as cable stripped viewers from broadcast. The DVR, on demand, and web streaming have changed how we as viewers watch our shows. Linear becomes less relevant and too many linear channels only continues to dilute the ratings.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Monday, November 28, 2011
Apple TV Sets Coming in 2012
The Steve Jobs' biography refers to products in the pipeline even after his death and news around an internet TV continues to spread. There is word that Apple is working with Sharp to create the screen and that the set will do for TV what the iPod did for music. "Last month, it was reported that Apple had created a prototype of an internet-connected television product that can stream content from the cloud and use voice-control via Siri, the system incorporated into Apple's new iPhone 4S."
Great for those that don't use a cable box to receive their TV content, but what will Apple do to work successfully with cable operators. The cable remote has been repeatedly chastised as too many buttons, with too few features. It is too easy to press the wrong button and mistakenly turn off the TV or switch the channel. Apple successfully took a device and made it work with 1 button and then ultimately with simple touch. Today, a number of functions are successfully launched with voice, through Siri. It is less about the TV set and more about how one accesses its features.
What else is in store and what will a Job-less Apple look like, we can only wait and see. Let's hope that innovation remains its mantra.
Great for those that don't use a cable box to receive their TV content, but what will Apple do to work successfully with cable operators. The cable remote has been repeatedly chastised as too many buttons, with too few features. It is too easy to press the wrong button and mistakenly turn off the TV or switch the channel. Apple successfully took a device and made it work with 1 button and then ultimately with simple touch. Today, a number of functions are successfully launched with voice, through Siri. It is less about the TV set and more about how one accesses its features.
What else is in store and what will a Job-less Apple look like, we can only wait and see. Let's hope that innovation remains its mantra.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
The DVR Is Not Dead - TiVo Posts Gains
With so much talk lately about cloud services, streaming services, and on demand viewing, it's nice to hear some encouraging news about the growth of DVR subscribers from the premier service, TiVo. In Q3, TiVo grew over 100,000 units a complete turnaround from the previous quarter when they lost more than 30,000. So what changed? "Basically, the key takeaway point is that TiVo stopped focusing heavily on retail sales and is distributing more through cable companies -- a strategy that appears to have worked." New deals with cable partners like RCN, and better relationships with DirecTV and Comcast.
So what is TiVo's next step? Perhaps a better relationship with Echostar and a discussion to integrate Slingbox technology with TiVo. A stronger push with its cable partners to increase its rollout of TiVo set top boxes with a ton of marketing promotion behind it.
So here is to TiVo. Let's hope that this first quarterly increase in four years is not an anomaly but rather the start of renewed growth for the company. A great product deserves great marketing and higher use.
So what is TiVo's next step? Perhaps a better relationship with Echostar and a discussion to integrate Slingbox technology with TiVo. A stronger push with its cable partners to increase its rollout of TiVo set top boxes with a ton of marketing promotion behind it.
So here is to TiVo. Let's hope that this first quarterly increase in four years is not an anomaly but rather the start of renewed growth for the company. A great product deserves great marketing and higher use.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Will Siri Be In Every Apple Product
Everyone that has an iPhone 4S marvels how much they enjoy using Siri. It represents a major change with how we use our phone to call up apps or get answers to our questions. Whether it is a simple search, math question, emotional response or simply a phone number, Siri continues to prove itself as useful. And as we as users become more comfortable using our voices rather than our fingers to generate commands, it represents a turning point in our interaction with technology.
"But experts say that Siri – and what it represents – might be as subtly revolutionary as the iPhone’s multi-touch screen was when unveiled in January 2007. That’s because Siri isn’t just “voice dialling” or “voice recognition” (which tries to turn speech into its text equivalent); it’s “natural language understanding” – NLU, in the lingo." So how much longer before Siri is integrated in our next iPad or laptop. When will I be able to say "Siri, open word document...type please...To Whom It May Concern..." or "Open iTunes...play Best of Playlist".
As I finish reading the Steve Job biography, I marvel at how many devices he created that never existed before and how he made us want things we never thought we would need. Siri is one more technology that in his legacy he will have successfully launched within his closed end to end architecture. Siri will become the heart of all future Apple devices, future TVs included.
"But experts say that Siri – and what it represents – might be as subtly revolutionary as the iPhone’s multi-touch screen was when unveiled in January 2007. That’s because Siri isn’t just “voice dialling” or “voice recognition” (which tries to turn speech into its text equivalent); it’s “natural language understanding” – NLU, in the lingo." So how much longer before Siri is integrated in our next iPad or laptop. When will I be able to say "Siri, open word document...type please...To Whom It May Concern..." or "Open iTunes...play Best of Playlist".
As I finish reading the Steve Job biography, I marvel at how many devices he created that never existed before and how he made us want things we never thought we would need. Siri is one more technology that in his legacy he will have successfully launched within his closed end to end architecture. Siri will become the heart of all future Apple devices, future TVs included.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Is There Too Much Fragmentation In Media
Is it possible to have too much choice? The proliferation of cable networks, websites, and other forms of media have made it harder for consumers to find what they want. Even worse, while the tail keeps getting longer, revenue growth is limited. No doubt the big brands continue to provide great content but some still struggle to grow revenue. Low cost rivals scratch away at market share, and in some cases, find that lean and mean can thrive against fat and bloated. But is it time for some consolidation and fewer choices.
Industry life cycles result in the big firms swallowing up smaller rivals and proceed to create oligopolies in their industry. Product life cycles follow their corporate brands which results in companies buying and merging other products into their family of products. And some products simply vanish as their usefulness erodes and they can no longer sustain their business model.
So as I look specifically at the number of cable networks and watch as viewers begin to prefer shows over networks, watching them on demand or through streaming devices, I wonder if it is time for consolidation of network brands. Where once UHF and VHF dominated, then to analog feeds and now all digital, networks have spawned more and more offshoots of their lead brand. One example is the arrival of OWN, the Oprah network from the folks at Discovery. She excelled on broadcast but her show and her network cannot find a meaningful audience. Would it have been better to put her show on the Discovery or TLC networks?
But Discovery is not the only network that has built new networks as niche offshoots of its main brands. HGTV has DIY, Food has Cooking, NBC has Sleuth now rebranded as Cloo, WE tried with Wedding Central, VH1 has VH1 Classic. Is it time for consolidation and a movement away from linear networks to on demand? Are these niche networks only hurting viewership of their parent networks and is it time for the 500 channel universe to reduce to 100?
Like the music industry, we are moving away from album sales to individual songs. For TV, viewers watch shows not networks. Couldn't a reduced number of linear networks help keep them more viable as aggregators and recommenders of the best content. Too much sometimes just lowers the quality bar of TV content. And with the rise of DVRs, on demand, and streaming, viewers watch what they want when they want, where they want. Perhaps it is time to bring expertise back to TV network scheduling. Drop networks that aren't performing and let people watch those niche shows on demand only.
Industry life cycles result in the big firms swallowing up smaller rivals and proceed to create oligopolies in their industry. Product life cycles follow their corporate brands which results in companies buying and merging other products into their family of products. And some products simply vanish as their usefulness erodes and they can no longer sustain their business model.
So as I look specifically at the number of cable networks and watch as viewers begin to prefer shows over networks, watching them on demand or through streaming devices, I wonder if it is time for consolidation of network brands. Where once UHF and VHF dominated, then to analog feeds and now all digital, networks have spawned more and more offshoots of their lead brand. One example is the arrival of OWN, the Oprah network from the folks at Discovery. She excelled on broadcast but her show and her network cannot find a meaningful audience. Would it have been better to put her show on the Discovery or TLC networks?
But Discovery is not the only network that has built new networks as niche offshoots of its main brands. HGTV has DIY, Food has Cooking, NBC has Sleuth now rebranded as Cloo, WE tried with Wedding Central, VH1 has VH1 Classic. Is it time for consolidation and a movement away from linear networks to on demand? Are these niche networks only hurting viewership of their parent networks and is it time for the 500 channel universe to reduce to 100?
Like the music industry, we are moving away from album sales to individual songs. For TV, viewers watch shows not networks. Couldn't a reduced number of linear networks help keep them more viable as aggregators and recommenders of the best content. Too much sometimes just lowers the quality bar of TV content. And with the rise of DVRs, on demand, and streaming, viewers watch what they want when they want, where they want. Perhaps it is time to bring expertise back to TV network scheduling. Drop networks that aren't performing and let people watch those niche shows on demand only.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Boxee Encouraging Cord Cutting
While the economy and poor housing market have been repeatedly cited as reasons for consumers to downgrade or cut their services, there is still a desire to watch TV. Boxee has developed an alternative to the cable box to provide a cheaper choice for web and broadcast viewing. They are "preparing a new add-on product in January that will let users pull out the cable cord and plug a USB device into their cable box, giving them access to broadcast TV channels like ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC for free."
You pay a one time fee to purchase the box and USB add-on and no more monthly cable charges. Unfortunately, consumers will have to pay for broadband access. And costs for broadband access are higher than when they are bundled with other cable services. Ultimately, we still pay.
So while Boxee remains a choice, so does switching cable providers and haggling for better pricing. We like the variety and quantity available on cable and thatmakes it hard to turn off completely. In a tough economy, we all become more astute consumers seeking out better choices and lower prices.
You pay a one time fee to purchase the box and USB add-on and no more monthly cable charges. Unfortunately, consumers will have to pay for broadband access. And costs for broadband access are higher than when they are bundled with other cable services. Ultimately, we still pay.
So while Boxee remains a choice, so does switching cable providers and haggling for better pricing. We like the variety and quantity available on cable and thatmakes it hard to turn off completely. In a tough economy, we all become more astute consumers seeking out better choices and lower prices.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Authenticated Cable TV Viewing Outside The Home
Content companies, especially those with TV networks, have been negotiating with cable operators to receive incremental license fee payments for access to their networks outside the home on iPads and other mobile devices. Today, that access has been mostly limited to mobile devices inside the home. But why should a cable operator agree to pay more for these rights with any network when that access is already possible with technology? Why pay each network when cable companies could be integrating Slingbox technology into their current cable box?
The latest news from Slingbox is the integration of a player within Facebook, enabling a bit of sharing about what you are watching. Cute, but not so earth shattering. Couldn't this be better done with 2 screens.
Is it that consumers don't yet feel the need to have immediate access to their TV outside the home. Slingbox has been around for some time and consumers could on their own buy a box and add it to their system. But we don't seem to hear much news about how Slingbox sales are growing, although all of Echostar's equipment sales were down double digit in the third quarter. Is the idea of TV viewing outside the home what consumers really want? Do we prefer an out of home experience to strictly be an on demand one, where we can access a particular show when and where we want? Do we really desire linear access outside our home?
As to the pull on cable operators to negotiate higher license fees for out of home authentication, perhaps current technology is an alternative to raising costs and ultimately raising fees.
The latest news from Slingbox is the integration of a player within Facebook, enabling a bit of sharing about what you are watching. Cute, but not so earth shattering. Couldn't this be better done with 2 screens.
Is it that consumers don't yet feel the need to have immediate access to their TV outside the home. Slingbox has been around for some time and consumers could on their own buy a box and add it to their system. But we don't seem to hear much news about how Slingbox sales are growing, although all of Echostar's equipment sales were down double digit in the third quarter. Is the idea of TV viewing outside the home what consumers really want? Do we prefer an out of home experience to strictly be an on demand one, where we can access a particular show when and where we want? Do we really desire linear access outside our home?
As to the pull on cable operators to negotiate higher license fees for out of home authentication, perhaps current technology is an alternative to raising costs and ultimately raising fees.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
The Future Of TV
A terrific presentation that may just help us better understand where TV and the web are headed. The one adage that continues to play out is that "History repeats itself". We try to learn from it, we try to avoid the same pitfalls, but we continue to be faced with the same results. In business, that is seen as a disruptive influence on the mature model, causing a change in purchase behavior.
The music industry has watched sales of albums be replaced with single song downloads. In cable, networks have been bundled and sold together while the web enables single streams of video. And that, according to the presenter, is how TV will change. "My analogy is that 'cable & satellite bundles are the album. and given choice consumers prefer either singles or to make their own bundles.'” It is what consumers are already clamoring for, a la carte network choices as opposed to tiers, all to pay only for what you eat, and not ordering the whole buffet.
The web already enables a la carte and web viewership continues to grow while TV viewership declines. TV manufacturers are embracing this change by building connected TV sets, offering direct to internet connections along with a plug for a cable box. But their hope may be that the cable box will just go away.
And as our presenter acknowledges, the need for more content will only be greater. Content remains king in this changed model although how much more people can earn is subject for debate. What the web does do is to lower the barrier to entry so that more creative folks are able to produce and distribute content. The long tail lengthens and more people will earn money from creating content.
The music industry has watched sales of albums be replaced with single song downloads. In cable, networks have been bundled and sold together while the web enables single streams of video. And that, according to the presenter, is how TV will change. "My analogy is that 'cable & satellite bundles are the album. and given choice consumers prefer either singles or to make their own bundles.'” It is what consumers are already clamoring for, a la carte network choices as opposed to tiers, all to pay only for what you eat, and not ordering the whole buffet.
The web already enables a la carte and web viewership continues to grow while TV viewership declines. TV manufacturers are embracing this change by building connected TV sets, offering direct to internet connections along with a plug for a cable box. But their hope may be that the cable box will just go away.
And as our presenter acknowledges, the need for more content will only be greater. Content remains king in this changed model although how much more people can earn is subject for debate. What the web does do is to lower the barrier to entry so that more creative folks are able to produce and distribute content. The long tail lengthens and more people will earn money from creating content.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Ready To Buy An E-Reader Or A Tablet
The Holiday Season is upon us and lists are no doubt being written on what to buy our family. And Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, and others have delivered an array of choices for our purchase pleasure. So what will it be, a Nook, Kindle Fire, or iPad? With so many choices on the market, the decision only gets toucher.
Well hopefully the graph from this article will make your decision easier. Ultimately it depends on what your primary needs are for the device. Do you need it to be a reading device or is watching videos also important. Must it have a camera and do you want to Skype from it. Does budget matter and must it be a tablet when an e-reader is more than enough. And lastly, does knowing that these generations will likely be modified in another 6 months with a next version, change whether you buy the most or least expensive device.
The rise of these e-readers and tablets this Holiday Season will most certainly capture the public eye and the consumers' pocketbook. Which device becomes the De facto winner remains to be seen. We may see an e-reader winner AND a tablet winner, or one device will outweigh them all. The fight is on.
Well hopefully the graph from this article will make your decision easier. Ultimately it depends on what your primary needs are for the device. Do you need it to be a reading device or is watching videos also important. Must it have a camera and do you want to Skype from it. Does budget matter and must it be a tablet when an e-reader is more than enough. And lastly, does knowing that these generations will likely be modified in another 6 months with a next version, change whether you buy the most or least expensive device.
The rise of these e-readers and tablets this Holiday Season will most certainly capture the public eye and the consumers' pocketbook. Which device becomes the De facto winner remains to be seen. We may see an e-reader winner AND a tablet winner, or one device will outweigh them all. The fight is on.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Has Twitter Changed From Sharing To Selling?
Today's article on Ashton Kutcher and his Twitter issues regarding Joe Pa raised an interesting question. Is Twitter no longer the place for naive meanderings about whatever news or gossip you wanted to share, accurate or not, and now simply a marketing tool? How many times have we made a comment about something without knowing all the facts? I can raise my hand and certainly so can Ashton. No one said that all gossip and information was true. Ashton made comments about the Penn State coach and then retracted them once he was more informed. In the world of Twitter, shouldn't that be no harm no foul. Apparently not.
According to Ashton, “When I started using twitter, it was a communication platform that people could say what they were thinking in real time and if their facts were wrong the community would quickly and helpfully reframe an opinion. It was a conversation, a community driven education tool, and opinion center that encouraged healthy debate. It seems that today that twitter has grown into a mass publishing platform, where ones tweets quickly become news that is broadcast around the world and misinformation becomes volatile fodder for critics.” It reminds me of the SNL commercial parody about a bank who's business was making change. When asked how they made money, the answer was simple, "Volume".
But in the business world and with Twitter, volume is not enough; a business runs on revenue and that is the Twitter mission. With such a wide audience, it is no longer possible to be wrong without it reaching epic proportions. So Ashton learned the age old wisdom "to look before you leap". Twitter makes it too easy to leap first and say whatever is on your mind. But that is not always a good thing and this lesson may affect more than just Ashton and his tweets. Twitter's prosperity relies on being a marketing tool and not a place for mindless rants.
According to Ashton, “When I started using twitter, it was a communication platform that people could say what they were thinking in real time and if their facts were wrong the community would quickly and helpfully reframe an opinion. It was a conversation, a community driven education tool, and opinion center that encouraged healthy debate. It seems that today that twitter has grown into a mass publishing platform, where ones tweets quickly become news that is broadcast around the world and misinformation becomes volatile fodder for critics.” It reminds me of the SNL commercial parody about a bank who's business was making change. When asked how they made money, the answer was simple, "Volume".
But in the business world and with Twitter, volume is not enough; a business runs on revenue and that is the Twitter mission. With such a wide audience, it is no longer possible to be wrong without it reaching epic proportions. So Ashton learned the age old wisdom "to look before you leap". Twitter makes it too easy to leap first and say whatever is on your mind. But that is not always a good thing and this lesson may affect more than just Ashton and his tweets. Twitter's prosperity relies on being a marketing tool and not a place for mindless rants.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Adobe Agrees With Apple, No Mobile Flash
If Steve Jobs were still alive, he certainly would be even more smug about his decision to not include Flash on his iPad or iPhone devices. Despite the negative press, despite he competitive difference it could make for Android devices, Jobs was certain it wasn't good enough for his devices. And ultimately, his decision paid off.
Where once Adobe proudly told Apple that they were wrong, they must now back track and swallow their pride. Apple was right. Flash on mobile devices is no more. "We (Adobe) are excited about this, and will continue our work with key players in the HTML community, including Google, Apple, Microsoft and RIM, to drive HTML5 innovation they can use to advance their mobile browsers."
Hard for a company to change; that Adobe continues to adapt to a changing web environment and the needs of its users should be welcome news. In the short run, Adobe's stock has been hit, but in the long run, this change was necessary. Survival means adapting to change and not remaining locked in old thinking. For Adobe to make this change is ultimately a smart move.
Where once Adobe proudly told Apple that they were wrong, they must now back track and swallow their pride. Apple was right. Flash on mobile devices is no more. "We (Adobe) are excited about this, and will continue our work with key players in the HTML community, including Google, Apple, Microsoft and RIM, to drive HTML5 innovation they can use to advance their mobile browsers."
Hard for a company to change; that Adobe continues to adapt to a changing web environment and the needs of its users should be welcome news. In the short run, Adobe's stock has been hit, but in the long run, this change was necessary. Survival means adapting to change and not remaining locked in old thinking. For Adobe to make this change is ultimately a smart move.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
AOL, Yahoo, And Microsoft Build Ad Partnership
In a bid to compete effectively against Google and Facebook, it seemed the best strategy was one of partnership. AOL, Yahoo, and Microsoft have agreed to work together to sell their unsold ad inventory. The article asks a good question, "The idea may seem a bit redundant, considering that all three already have massive reach—plus, if this is inventory they can’t sell on their own, why create a larger pool? Still, with Google and Facebook cutting into the portals’ traditional hold on display, this may be an imperfect answer to a challenging problem for all three."
Google and Facebook have each grown because they have made their sites compelling and valuable to use, and use frequently. As the dominate search engine and social network site, each essentially captures a huge audience making their ad sales efforts successful. In a world where content is king, the challenge for the others is to make their content sites equally as necessary and valuable to the user. With that comes eyeballs and more sold inventory at hopefully higher prices.
It may sound like a herculean task, but it is doable. Users are fickle and their tastes and interests change. New technologies and new content partnerships will continue to shape and change the landscape. No one stays on top forever. Companies stumble and get caught up with protecting rather than innovating. For AOL, Yahoo, and Microsoft, there is no time like today to get started.
Google and Facebook have each grown because they have made their sites compelling and valuable to use, and use frequently. As the dominate search engine and social network site, each essentially captures a huge audience making their ad sales efforts successful. In a world where content is king, the challenge for the others is to make their content sites equally as necessary and valuable to the user. With that comes eyeballs and more sold inventory at hopefully higher prices.
It may sound like a herculean task, but it is doable. Users are fickle and their tastes and interests change. New technologies and new content partnerships will continue to shape and change the landscape. No one stays on top forever. Companies stumble and get caught up with protecting rather than innovating. For AOL, Yahoo, and Microsoft, there is no time like today to get started.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Welcome To The Tablet Wars; Excuse Me, I Need A Recharge
With the latest release of the Nook Tablet, the players are set for a big battle, Apple vs. Amazon vs Barnes & Noble. Each has a different take and each is offering it's tablet at a different price point too. The iPad is the most expensive while the Kindle is cheapest to buy. And the consumer is left to decide which offers the best value for its investment.
Both Apple and B&N have stores around the country, although the latter is far more accessible in cities large and small. Amazon has been trusted as well with the ability to get merchandise into homes quickly and just as easily accept returns. As far as the tablets themselves, experts will soon uncover what the advantages and disadvantages are for each and confirm what target market they each best serve.
At the same time, they all will struggle with the same universal problem, battery life. Having just emerged from a freak storm, with some homes out of power for a week, people were charging their mobile phones off of their car battery in order to stay connected. Tablets offering more to do than simple e-readers will also see increased consumption require frequent recharging. It will be the company that makes that quantum leap in battery life that will truly become the market leader.
Both Apple and B&N have stores around the country, although the latter is far more accessible in cities large and small. Amazon has been trusted as well with the ability to get merchandise into homes quickly and just as easily accept returns. As far as the tablets themselves, experts will soon uncover what the advantages and disadvantages are for each and confirm what target market they each best serve.
At the same time, they all will struggle with the same universal problem, battery life. Having just emerged from a freak storm, with some homes out of power for a week, people were charging their mobile phones off of their car battery in order to stay connected. Tablets offering more to do than simple e-readers will also see increased consumption require frequent recharging. It will be the company that makes that quantum leap in battery life that will truly become the market leader.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Multi-Platform Content starting From A Different Direction
For years, it seems, content has moved from video to print. ESPN created a successful magazine to further reach its video audience; Food Network and HGTV has also been building a magazine brand to enhance its brand. The strategy seems to have paid off as the magazine has a built in audience to attract. But this strategy has been less attractive coming the other way. Sports Illustrated tried to build a cable brand called CNNSI, but it is now defunct.
So now comes word that Condé Nast will try to build video content as an extension of its magazine brands. "A Condé Nast insider told WWD that (Dawn) Ostroff is planning to hire a small handful of development people — aka D-girls — to plumb Condé’s titles for script ideas and to hit the town and pitch them." While these are shows and not an entire network, the challenge to grow the brand is just as real. I applaud the effort. I believe that good content can extend across multiple platforms. The three key issues to successful growth are quality content, strong distribution, and solid marketing support.
With a built in audience from the magazine, you would think it would be easy to market to your targeted audience. But as CNNSI proved, Sports Illustrated could not move viewers over to their new network. It still lacked enough distribution and awareness to impact ratings. And Condé Nast will need to determine in what new form this content will be delivered, as web video, TV shows, theatrical films, etc. Video now comes in many flavors. Still, it is an important next step and strategically building a Condé Nast seems to be a right move in the evolution and growth of their titles and brands.
So now comes word that Condé Nast will try to build video content as an extension of its magazine brands. "A Condé Nast insider told WWD that (Dawn) Ostroff is planning to hire a small handful of development people — aka D-girls — to plumb Condé’s titles for script ideas and to hit the town and pitch them." While these are shows and not an entire network, the challenge to grow the brand is just as real. I applaud the effort. I believe that good content can extend across multiple platforms. The three key issues to successful growth are quality content, strong distribution, and solid marketing support.
With a built in audience from the magazine, you would think it would be easy to market to your targeted audience. But as CNNSI proved, Sports Illustrated could not move viewers over to their new network. It still lacked enough distribution and awareness to impact ratings. And Condé Nast will need to determine in what new form this content will be delivered, as web video, TV shows, theatrical films, etc. Video now comes in many flavors. Still, it is an important next step and strategically building a Condé Nast seems to be a right move in the evolution and growth of their titles and brands.
Friday, November 4, 2011
AOL Still Has Paying Subscribers!
Talk about hard to believe, AOL continues to receive revenue from customers needing dial up access to email and the web. According to the article, there are 3.5 million dial up customers paying about $17 a month. That is $714 million dollars annually for dial up. That to me is an amazing figure for a dead service. So why can't AOL transition into a new digital business when it has such a cushion still to work with?
AOL still has a strong e-mail service, a number of strong content properties, and a dial up business that is still attractive to certain customers with limited internet needs. What it still needs is people with vision to help set its future course in a direction that integrates web and mobile to its growth. Otherwise, their past will surely keep them from innovating the future.
AOL still has a strong e-mail service, a number of strong content properties, and a dial up business that is still attractive to certain customers with limited internet needs. What it still needs is people with vision to help set its future course in a direction that integrates web and mobile to its growth. Otherwise, their past will surely keep them from innovating the future.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Where Did All The Cable Subs Go?
As Time Warner Cable, Comcast, Cablevision and others have been announcing their loss in cable subscribers, the question has been where have all the cable subs gone. The cause has been attributed to cord cutting, low housing starts, and of course, the economy. But now comes word where a good bit of these subs may have switched to. "DirecTV added 327,000 net new subscribers in the third quarter, soundly beating analysts' estimates of 203,000 net new additions." That certainly covers all of the lost cable subs in Q3.
It certainly puts to rest for now the argument that cord cutting and housing starts are to blame. And not knowing the cost for DirecTV, hard to tell if the switch produces a ton of economic saving. DirecTV believes the higher sub growth is due to their NFL Sunday Ticket promotion. If so, then the motives for change are actually due to content. Content is King and in this case, that content is NFL Football.
It certainly puts to rest for now the argument that cord cutting and housing starts are to blame. And not knowing the cost for DirecTV, hard to tell if the switch produces a ton of economic saving. DirecTV believes the higher sub growth is due to their NFL Sunday Ticket promotion. If so, then the motives for change are actually due to content. Content is King and in this case, that content is NFL Football.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Will SiriusXM Fall Into The Netflix Hole?
As we are proud to say, "it's the economy, stupid", we still seem to follow the same mistakes rather than learn from them. Netflix clearly fumbled the ball with a huge price increase at the wrong time. And Netflix continued to heap on more misery upon itself with a whole changing of the business model. So is it Sirius' turn to fumble with a price increase?
Sirius had troubles this past quarter with subscriber growth and a price increase on January 1 will only further erode subscription. "The company also had a harder time getting customers to commit to its service once its promotions end. It acquires most of its new subscribers by offering free trials of its service when people buy new cars. The conversion rate of trial subscribers who became full paying subscribers fell to 44.4 percent in the third quarter, down from 48.1 percent a year earlier." The price elasticity model is in place whether these companies want to see it or not. Consumers are rebelling at higher prices by seeking cheaper alternatives or cutting off altogether.
But it seems clear that Sirius is not about to change its pricing policy. CEO Mel Karmazin has said that the company has not heard any issues with its price increase; then again, they haven't put it into effect either. Once consumer receive their bills, there will no doubt be backlash. How it willcompare to what happened with Netflix we can only wait and see.
Sirius had troubles this past quarter with subscriber growth and a price increase on January 1 will only further erode subscription. "The company also had a harder time getting customers to commit to its service once its promotions end. It acquires most of its new subscribers by offering free trials of its service when people buy new cars. The conversion rate of trial subscribers who became full paying subscribers fell to 44.4 percent in the third quarter, down from 48.1 percent a year earlier." The price elasticity model is in place whether these companies want to see it or not. Consumers are rebelling at higher prices by seeking cheaper alternatives or cutting off altogether.
But it seems clear that Sirius is not about to change its pricing policy. CEO Mel Karmazin has said that the company has not heard any issues with its price increase; then again, they haven't put it into effect either. Once consumer receive their bills, there will no doubt be backlash. How it willcompare to what happened with Netflix we can only wait and see.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Content Companies Follow The Money
Whether streaming media deals encourage cord cutting or not, content companies still want to maximize their ROI on produced content. For Disney, that means selling TV content to OTT (over the top) platforms including Amazon and renewing with Netflix. For Amazon, deals like this one and others drive value for their new Kindle Fire. Content is the gas that runs the engine.
For Disney and other content companies, negotiating these deals requires a complex series of windows that give cable operators their first window for TV content and allows enough time before this same content is accessible on OTT devices. How long that window needs to be has most likely been determined through extensive research. Consumers willing to wait till content hits this secondary window will be more willing to cut the cord with their cable operator. Content companies are banking that the choice isn't a zero game of one platform or another and that these content deals only increase the revenue on produced content.
But the demand by Amazon, Netflix, Apple, and other OTT platforms for access to TV content will only put pressure on Disney and other content creators to keep shortening the windows so that fresher content reaches their smaller screens. This trend is already occurring with theatrical films reaching on demand, premium, and basic cable in shorter and shorter windows. TV content deals will most likely follow in a similar pattern and that will continue to cause more cord cutting by consumers from their cable providers.
For Disney and other content companies, negotiating these deals requires a complex series of windows that give cable operators their first window for TV content and allows enough time before this same content is accessible on OTT devices. How long that window needs to be has most likely been determined through extensive research. Consumers willing to wait till content hits this secondary window will be more willing to cut the cord with their cable operator. Content companies are banking that the choice isn't a zero game of one platform or another and that these content deals only increase the revenue on produced content.
But the demand by Amazon, Netflix, Apple, and other OTT platforms for access to TV content will only put pressure on Disney and other content creators to keep shortening the windows so that fresher content reaches their smaller screens. This trend is already occurring with theatrical films reaching on demand, premium, and basic cable in shorter and shorter windows. TV content deals will most likely follow in a similar pattern and that will continue to cause more cord cutting by consumers from their cable providers.
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