Murdoch making the case for free WSJ online

Is this becoming a trend?!

Can Subscription Work on the Web?

Apparently the New York Times is giving up on a dual revenue stream and no longer charging for access to special features on their site, N.Y. Times Select. Lost fees will be made up, hopefully, by more eyeballs and thus more advertising revenue. So with the Times caving in, does this lead to more sites doing the same. I was not a subscriber to their website, although we have been getting the print edition home delivered for years. I always felt that I could get the information I needed without paying extra for it. obviously others felt the same.

And yet, I am a subscriber to the Zagat subscription site, receiving both a book and full web access to their reviews. Am I in the minority; do most people find adequate info to their search without paying extra for membership. And will that type of open access lead to fundamental change in behavior. Will people stop buying the print edition of the Times or the Zagat book, when the info is so easily accessible on the web. In these two cases, and as many others are noticing, convergence is changing behavior and old methods need to be replaced with new thinking. How companies find new ways to monetize these businesses will determine their continued existence and their profitability.

Hearst to Acquire Health Web Site RealAge

The announcement by Hearst Magazines that it is buying a consumer website is further recognition how the web has changed our behavior. I was recently asked when did I make the jump from going to the newspaper to look up movie theater times to searching for that info on the web. I still read newspapers, but the immediacy of the web and the fact that the info can now be retrieved faster led to that transition.

In the case of the above announcement, what magazines need to recognize is the same shift of behavior and to adapt each to suit the user's needs. Magazines aren't dead, and the value of the Magazine brand can extend across technologies. With this acquisition, Hearst appears to be spreading the risk by sharing the content of the RealAge website across multiple magazine brands, Oprah and Cosmo.

The key is synergy of content with convergence across distribution, to satisfy user interest and keep them loyal to the brand longer. To escape the long tail of usage and find a large audience, content from the web needs partners across other media and multiple distribution paths, to build brand awareness, preference, and value. Big fish do eat small fish and that is what makes them bigger and stronger.

Video Distribution Wars Heat Up

Great article from MediaPost's Online Video Insider! Worth reading.

The bottom line - many different distribution strategies aimed to reach the user. Is it a zero sum game or can multiple approaches work. Which one does the user embrace and which don't achieve their full potential. The one thing for sure, digital distribution seems to allow for a lower barrier to entry. Own the content and you can decide which distribution plan to embrace!

The Convergence of Devices and Content

Gary Shapiro, the President of the Consumer Electronics Association, spoke recently at the International Broadcast Conference, assuring the broadcasting industry that they are far from dead. As he notes, change is inevitable and the convergence of viewing devices and content, along with the shift in viewing toward more mobility, brings greater opportunity. He points to devices like the iPhone as examples of this convergence, and also to more viewing choices such as wireless phones, computers, and PDAs.

His most interesting note is to proclaim that the broadcaster has the best direct line to the end user and that they "own the highest value spectrum there is," better than cable, satellite, wireless, and web. Interesting, since most customers that still take their broadcast signal over rabbit ears will have to buy a digital antenna, and perhaps also a new TV set that takes the digital signal. Also, broadcast has not come up with a direct to home device for hi-speed web, relying on phone lines or cable. I argue that this FCC digital transition may lead these remaining non-cable, non-satellite customers to in fact take one of these products and force the broadcaster to rely even more on their relationships with cable and satellite.

Recent ads by cable tout that competition is good and that by them entering the phone business they are bringing healthy competition to the user and thus better pricing options. The triple play by cable companies have in fact been an ideal way to lower churn and retain customer loyalty. They also have the pipeline to interactive content, like VOD, and the convergence of data and video.

At the same time, the FCC transition may also be helpful to competition. Along with a digital antenna and superior signal, comes HD programming directly to the set, without a converter. Niche programmers with an inability to get prime channel line-up space on cable or satellite might consider offering a digital signal and become a broadcaster of their own channel. As Shapiro says, "A single touch of one button and the consumer is instantly dialed in." Still, how the broadcasting industry answers the issue of interaction will have to wait for another day.

CBS interconnects local affiliate sites to its interactive network

While the MTV side of the family employs a decentralized approach to its content and websites, CBS is going at it from an opposite direction and interconnecting its diverse family of affiliates to a central site for content.

I'm kinda partial to the CBS approach. A user looking for CBS content, say Survivor, is likely to utilize search for the show and be pushed to the CBS site. There they can find ways to localize their interest to their local broadcaster. I also think the synergy of a central site allows that user to learn about other shows of the CBS Family. In addition it is keeping the brand value inside the CBS brand. Unlike NBC and Fox's shared site, Hulu, and independent sites like iTunes or YouTube.

It's still about creating a well organized site with accessible search that intuitively understands the user and what they are seeking. It's also about all these sites working together to push the website brand. "Our collaboration with CBS Interactive represents another great leap forward in the evolution and continued growth of our TV stations' digital media initiatives," said Jonathan Leess, digital media group president and general manager, CBS Television Stations. "The expanded integration of CBS Entertainment, News and Sports video content into our sites and, ultimately, the sharing of hundreds of thousands of locally produced, on-demand news clips from our award-winning, local newsrooms truly makes this a win-win partnership."

ESPN Adds Web, Mobile Series

Watching compelling content find its way across multiple devices, including pc and phone, is always exciting. ESPN is the leader in moving content to its audience. They were early to take their tv brand to radio, and the continue to push outward with breadth and depth of content to the web and mobile.

I am most amazed how users are finding this content, not just ESPN, but as more content is created, which shows are most watched and which fall down the long tail. The strength of ESPN is their ability to communicate these choices through their on-air brand and build a synergy to get their viewers to taste their brand in so many different ways. Of course, the final success will be determined by the user, if they find and stay loyal to these new outlets as they have to the TV.

MTV Niche vertical web strategy

MTV is employing a unique strategy creating unique websites that stand alone as content and tie in specifically to its related on-air content. So that for example, The Daily Show will get its own web site as opposed to being a link inside a Comedy Central website. This decentralized approach enables a more targeted experience but may be at a cost of less clicks to get to a site, but more time spent on the site and related content. It also remains to be seen how each of these individual sites connect to each other in such a way to keep the user engaged across other properties.

The bottom line remains the quality and quantity of the assets on each site. The example posted in the article with The Daily Show.com providing links to full shows has great potential for advertising revenue. Given the number of shows already produced, the search mechanism to find shows to watch based on guests, dates, stories, etc will improve usage as well. Its VOD for the web. I love it.

Vudu Brings Movies to TV

Competition is especially fierce in the download to own or rent for movies. In addition to cable's VOD application to watch movies on demand, entrants like Netflix, Amazon, iTune, and now Vudu. So many choices, how will the consumer choose. I believe the following 8 factors will determine which company emerges the leader:

1. Quality of the content - essentially an HD format to match the popularity of the screen.
2. Ease of use - VERY User Friendly
3. Speed - how fast is the availability of the title and will it start immediately
4. Quantity across genres - not just the most popular, but all types from indie to blockbuster
5. Accessible menus and Ease of search - few clicks and offer recommendations
6. Non-disruptive advertising - enough said
7. Extras - DVD like stuff without the DVD - alternate endings, cut scenes, etc.
7. Ability to copy and share across platforms - TV, pc, iPod, Zune, PSP, etc.

The company that does the best job of delivering the above will emerge victorious.