Going To The Movies Not So Worth It

Here's a basic question, are you going to the movies more or less times than you went say last year or 5 years ago.  Does the movie experience or interest in a title push you to go out and would you be willing to go back to see the same film again and again?  It seems that the cost of going to the movies, coupled with much shorter distribution windows and better home viewing experiences has hurt attendance.  "Attendance at the movies last year was the lowest since 1995, and per-person attendance fell to a 25-year low — in particular among younger consumers who frequent the cinema most often, a new report shows."  3D movies have grown, but the cost to watch and the experience in general underwhelms.  Imax screens help, but there are few around to make them convenient to the masses.  And the price to watch and the cost of refreshments make the total cost a bigger drain on the pocket books.

On the other hand, films released early in the year are accessible through on demand or online in less than a year.  With vastly improved HD TV sets and high resolution iPads, the cost is much less and the enjoyment more.  For a family of 4, a night out at the movies with popcorn is more than $60; the cost to watch on VOD with a microwave popcorn bowl, under $10.  It is that growing chasm between the two choices in a depressed economy that  strikes at the nerve of the movie industry.  When going to the movies becomes a more special experience, we go less and expect much more in return.

"Back in 2002, the average moviegoer went to the theater eight times a year; last year, it was fewer than six. In particular, younger viewers are going to movies less often. Attendance per person for consumers ages 12 to 24 is down 40 percent since 2002."  Blockbusters try to help, but the rising costs limit how many we choose to watch.  This trend is not limited to movie theaters.  Look at professional sports and see how few seats are being sold.  Yankee stadium as an example has rows and rows of seats empty; the New York Jets face similar issues trying to sell out its stadium.  As costs rise, less people can afford to go.  And once they begin to switch their viewing behavior, it becomes more difficult to win them back to your venue.

The Fall And Rise Of Yahoo!

Yahoo! has had some very public struggles lately.  But with the hiring of former Google exec, Marissa Mayer, we may start to refocus on the value that Yahoo! brings to the web.  Some may question what Yahoo! stands for today, but the more important question will be what does Yahoo! want to be.  Ad Age has it right.  "Yahoo needed to be a product company again, and media alone isn't a good enough product. Rather, Yahoo needs to build the tools and services that bind its 700 million users into its world, services such as Mail, Yahoo Finance and Sports. The debate of Yahoo as a tech company vs. a media company has been settled: It must be both."

Despite their failings, viewers still use their services; for me it is finance, sports, and news.  Continuing to push their content and their strengths as aggregators of content means we will still seek them out for our information.  But more is needed to drive use.Ad Age notes need to improve the homepage and mail.   "With those two products growing increasingly stale, and today's youngest generation of internet user gravitating toward social networks instead of portal pages or even email, Yahoo is facing a not-so-distant future in which it'll need to replace the core traffic-driving engines that create value in its media properties." Whether it through acquisition or refresh, Yahoo! needs to focus on matching itself to the future - from better mobile deployment and tablet usage to a best social network experience.

Can Yahoo! do it?  I think with the right leadership and renewed investment, the answer is a resounding yes.

Murdoch Resigns From Newspaper Boards

Ahead of the split of News Corp of broadcasting from print businesses, Rupert Murdoch has decided to resign from a number of British Newspaper boards.  "According to company officials who claim to be familiar with his thinking, the scandal has convinced Mr. Murdoch that the British newspapers, including The Times and The Sunday Times, which have been racking up tens of millions of dollars in losses in recent years, have become a financial and reputational drag on the News Corporation’s other holdings."  Whether it is also about removing himself further from the earlier hacking charges leveled on his publications, one can only assume that there is some connection.  The more separate he can become the lesser the stink.
 
Certainly these charges have seriously affected his ability to grow his media empire.  Rather than consider purchasing BSkyB, Murdoch has become a seller.  "The abandonment of a $12 billion offer to acquire the remaining shares in the company, announced as the phone hacking scandal grew last year, was part of the heavy price the Murdochs have paid for the tabloid scandal."  Once the empire has been pared back and the hacking drama has dies down, perhaps their investment in US businesses will increase.

DirecTV and Viacom Renew Their Vows

Someone blinked.  While deal terms were not announced, it is logical to expect that they did indeed rise and will continue to increase over the course of the new deal.  Consumers who subscribe to DirecTV will once again get their MTV, Comedy Central, and their Nickelodeon, and eventually find themselves paying more on their bills. Cable and satellite multi-video program distributors (MVPD) are still the primary aggregators for linear content.  And while they may temporarily drop a network or two, ultimately they still find themselves needing to carry everything.  At the same time, the growing costs of carriage may cause the subsequent rising consumer fees to further push consumers to cut the cord.

For DirecTV the new deal assures them programming for authenticated viewers in a TV Everywhere world.  "DirecTV subscribers will also be able to see Viacom shows on tablets, laptops and other devices using DirecTV's Everywhere platform."  One deal done.  Now we can focus on Dish and AMC, Hearst and Time Warner Cable.

REVISED:  Hearst and Time Warner Cable have just agreed to terms. Per Multichannel, the blackout has been lifted.

Should Facebook Buy Blackberry

Not my idea but I am certainly keen to it.  Gary makes a great point, no one remembers phone numbers anymore.  I couldn't agree more.  Listen to his vlog and see if you agree with his  idea for Facebook to buy RIM and Blackberry.

Who Needs FaceTime or Skype, Kids Like to Text

No matter the allure of video calls, it just never seems to find traction. And calling in general has lost favor to e-mails and texts. For younger demos, phone calls have become less relevant to their interactions.  And the research seems to back it up.

"A British study conducted by independent media regulator Ofcom found that among 16- to 24-year-olds, phone calls are being superseded by texts or other e-messages. Per the research, 96 percent use some form of text-based communication -- either though social networks (73 percent) or through traditional texting (90 percent) -- on a daily basis. By comparison, only 67 percent of that age group talks on the phone daily. Overall, total time spent on the phone declined 5 percent for Britons of all ages, the first such drop since the 1990s, according to The Guardian."

The trend, according to the article is the same in the US.  Our kids are not using their phones as often to make real calls or to embrace the new technology of face to face through Facetime or Skype.  Instead, the preference is to send short text messages.  Have we lost the ability to communicate and is this the new generation of one sided staccato messaging back and forth?  In the long run, my hope is that we have not lost our voice.

Networks Remain Off Cable Systems

Certainly not new stories, but networks continue to remain off the air of some cable and satellite providers as time goes on.  The  big story has been the loss of Viacom networks on DirecTv.  Even Jon Stewart wants Viacom to capitulate rather than see ratings continue to suffer and advertising revenue decline.  For Time Warner Cable, it is the loss of 15 Hearst broadcast networks in various markets.  And of course there is the loss of AMC Networks on Dish Network.

An interesting comment overhead is that the longer these blackouts go, the more likely the viewer is to find alternative solutions.  Whether it is switching channels and finding new favorites, or switching cable providers, or switching to different platforms like online networks, viewers adapt and ultimately change their preferences.  The longer you as a network are off the radar, the  more likely you will be replaced and forgotten.  It is a lot harder to win back loss subs then it is to grow incremental usage.

TiVo May Skip Ads, But It Also Measures Who Is Watching Them

The beauty of TiVo and other  less notable DVR technology is the  power it offers to easily copy and replay programs, whenever you are in the mood to watch.  No expiration of VOD assets to worry about; copy all the episodes of your favorite show and watch at your leisure.  Add to that the convenience of fast forwarding past the commercials and you are in control.  But surprisingly, we are sometimes too lazy to hit the button and we let the ads play through.

Ironic, but what leads to TiVo's need to take advantage of viewership data and match to the ideal profile when pushing ads to the consumer.  And in order to do it well, TiVo has found a partner.  "The television analytics company TiVo is expected to announce on Tuesday that it has acquired full ownership in TRA, a research company that has found success in recent years with a system that matches up television viewing with consumer buying habits."  With best information of household shopping preferences and show interest, ads can be targeted to the right audience in order to get the most effective reach.  And as DVR owners are not taking full advantage of the fast forward feature, they too are being reached.

Why aren't more cable operators offering TiVo technology in their cable box?  Wouldn't their local ad sales efforts be better helped with a collaboration with TiVo verse their own generic DVR?  I wait and wonder.

MSNBC.com and NBC News Split Up

If msnbc.com was a bookmarked favorite, you may want to reconsider where you get your news.  As of today, all of NBC News will be redirected to nbcnews.com while msnbc.com will be strictly about the MSNBC Cable Network.  Confused?  So will the users of the website and  the cable network.  Isn't the cable network also owned by NBC?  Yes, but the website was co-owned by Microsoft.  The challenge lies in the ownership and with it comes the revenue model as it relates to other non Microsoft owned properties.  So now NBC properties can get full value of their web based synergies with their TV brands.  Today Show info will no longer be on msnbc.com; rather, clips from the network will be on nbcnews.com.  And the result, NBC can keep 100% of the digital revenue.

So MSNBC the cable network, a left leaning political site will point to msnbc.com while NBC News, the Today Show, Rock Center and other news properties will point to nbcnews.com.  And hopefully, the web surfer will add a new bookmark and notice the change.  Otherwise, the concern will be how to recapture the lost web traffic.

One thing that I haven't seen addressed, what happens to MSNBC the cable network?  "Microsoft’s stake in the cable channel was dissolved in 2005. But NBC came to feel handcuffed by the Web arrangement; an increasing number of advertisers wanted to buy ads both on its TV newscasts and its Web sites, a strategy called cross-media sales, but it could not respond effectively because Microsoft ran the ad sales part of the business."  It seems the next step is a name change for the cable network itself, further distancing itself from MSN and embracing the NBC News brand.   I expect that a name change is sooner than later.