CBS: Best House in a Bad Neighborhood

With the start of the new Fall season, I came across this article and found it especially telling. With tonight's airing of The Jay Leno Show, NBC has taken to low cost programming to compete in a profit conscious world. And while all the networks have utilized reality programming to keep its costs low, CBS has also produced the most comedies and dramas, the staple of most television networks. Will CBS's strategy prove the right one or not. "CBS is especially exposed. It's the only network without a vast corporate sugar daddy to keep it afloat regardless of what it puts on the air. It also lacks a stable of basic cable networks and the dual revenue streams (advertising revenue and subscriber fees) that such outlets offer. "

To me that is its bigger problem. NBC has a slew of cable nets including MSNBC, Bravo, and others. ABC has Disney and of course ESPN, Fox has fx, Fox News Channel, and others. CBS spun off its Viacom properties and that was probably not a smart move. When their US Open coverage had two women semifinal matches airing at the same time, they could not spin off one channel to a basic cable outlet. They could simply bring cut ins. Those that may have cared for the other match could not watch it. Now perhaps that is not their bigger problem but it is one example of the synergy they are missing.

Still, CBS's reliance on a traditional programming strategy should remain a right one. More programming to repurpose, better ratings, and higher advertising revenue. As we revisit them, it will be fascinating to see if NBC made the best move or CBS wins the race.

Will The Jay Leno Show Change TV

On Monday at 10 pm, NBC will premiere The Jay Leno Show, a talk/variety show, and air it Monday through Friday. 5 hours of low cost programming, live to tape, to compete with DVR and VOD technology. Revenue for the show through advertising may not be huge, but the profit margin may change how TV gets programmed.

The last format that changed TV was reality programming. A decade ago, broadcast shows like Survivor, Amazing Race, and yes American Idol made average people into stars. And these shows beget even more reality shows on cable. Cooking shows, wedding shows, home buying shows and yes even parenting shows. We idolized Rob and Amber, Kelly Clarkson, and now Jon & Kate. Low cost programming that generated ratings.

On Monday, new format may change TV again or prove a bust. The Jay Leno Show will fill multiple hours of prime time real estate and will either become the "must watch show for the 2009-10 season, or the worst idea since "Captain Nice" and "Manimal". Don't judge the success of this format on the returns from Monday night. It will take a good month or two to gauge its stickiness. Curiosity will cause us to watch in the beginning to see what all the fuss is about. But whether we stay is another story.

My personal opinion is that 5 nights a week is too many. And the first night's guest list doesn't seem to match who Jay's core audience is designed to reach. There will be a lot of sleepless nights for NBC executives as they watch and interpret the ratings from this experience. At the end, they will be deemed either geniuses or fools. I doubt there will be a middle ground. And should it indeed fail, NBC can at least say they kept Jay from jumping to another network to compete with their Tonight Sow brand. Perhaps that is something they can take away from this programming chess game.

PS. And should The Jay Leno Show succeed, we will have seen TV change again from the golden days!

Time Inc. Looking AT An E-Reader

Time Inc., owner of print titles like Sports Illustrated, Time, People, and others, may be adding E-Book distributor too! "It's a big shift in strategy by Time, which earlier this year said it would not introduce its own e-reader. But things have changed, and Time's plans for the e-reader market are on a fast track. According to the in-house presentation, Time Inc. is seeking to unveil its plans within the next three months." It seems smart to own both the content and the distribution; why give away some of the profit to middleman. That is what cable is facing today with its programming. Sell networks through a cable operator who packages it and sells it as a cable subscription or sell the network or just individual programs directly to the consumer through a broadband connection.

Time may not be alone in this strategy. "Publishers are interested in the market as well. News Corp. is exploring an electronic reader for its large newspaper business. Hearst, a large magazine publisher, also unveiled its own plans for an e-reader in March."

Will 2010 be the year that E-books really take off and get wider acceptance by the consumer. Will the price point drop and the flexibility improve to make it the must have device of the year. Content producers are certainly getting on board that train.

Bloomberg Likes The Magazine Business

Bloomberg continues to prove itself a very successful business. It started with financial terminals and has successfully grown its radio and television businesses. SO now it appears they may be going after a magazine and seeing an opportunity to synergize its media operations further. "According to people familiar with the matter, the financial-data giant is now seen as the front-runner, ahead of "Bid 'em Up" Bruce Wasserstein, the Lazard boss who also owns New York magazine." There may just be certain efficiencies that can help Bloomberg find profitability with the magazine.

Both Comcast and Time Warner Looking For More Acquisitions

It seems the recession may be over, Comcast and Time Warner have both announced their interest in acquiring content. And there may be a number of content companies up for grabs: Scripps, Rainbow, even NBC.

Both Comcast and Time Warner see a reason to expand. Time Warner Chief Financial Officer John Martin said said: "'We are trying to focus our resources in capital, we've identified areas where we will be willing to invest...like local TV and home production, games and networks where we could opportunistically and thoughtfully expand, and opportunities to identify emerging territories where we could build.'" Comcast has a slightly different angle. According to Chief Operating Officer Stephen Burke, "'We wouldn't be doing our job if we didn't figure out a way to get bigger in the cable content business', said Burke. 'At our core, we believe content and distribution work well together.'"

I am sure the M&A world is buzzing now!

Pop Goes the Critic - Winelibrary.tv

The web has created new TV stars and has become an effective way to target and reach the masses. Case in point is Gary Vaynerchuk and his online creation, winelibrary.tv, a fast paced show that brings the enjoyment of wines down by to the masses. And I count myself in that group. Love to drink it, not so label worried, I have picked up a greater appreciation for wine without paying for the most expensive bottles. And having the advantage of living near his store in Springfield, NJ, I get to walk up and down the aisles, looking for recommended labels and other deals.

What has been most interesting is how successfully Gary has used social networking to hawk his brand, Gary V. First the web site, then Facebook and Twitter, and at the same time using the traditional media of TV, newspapers, etc. to raise awareness of himself and his passion for wine, and the Jets. "He estimates his audience for each episode of Wine Library TV (he’s just recorded No. 733) at 90,000 people, and he has nearly 900,000 followers on Twitter." Just watch a few episodes and you will be hooked too.

Beatles are going digital

It's about time, the Beatles are finally available on Rock Band. No it is not earth shattering nor is it a game changer. Still, the Beatles, known for its change to the music scene, may do the same for digital. "This Beatles week signifies one thing above others - that there’s value in shifting content from atoms to bits, if you can take advantage of those bits’ unique qualities. That same lesson has been learned from the migration from VHS to DVD to Blu-ray and from vinyl to cassette, CD, MP3 and beyond."

There is still one piece missing and one that we hope is announced soon, that all Beetles songs are available for download through iTunes. Sure, they have been accessible through illegal P2P sites, but its time to bring them back to the masses to enjoy.

Like Apple, TV Explores Must-Have Applications

When it comes to the standard of consumer friendly devices, Apple stands atop the mountain and others simply try to catch up. They created the game changer for cellular phones and the question is, with convergence, can the same be done for cable TV. Its iPhone has enabled Apps that can remotely record a show via Tivo, find information on TV and movie programs, and more. Verizon Fios and Direct TV are trying to create an Apps type store for their respective cable service. And the traditional cable operators are even further behind. "But the companies are still wrestling with how open they want their systems to be to outside developers, what business arrangement to make with developers and what sorts of things people want to do while watching their TV from their couches."

Unfortunately, the cable boxes from SA and Motorolla aren't able to yet; whether that is their fault or the cable operators concerned that opening up the box to the web will affect security and other factors. "'The lowest end set-top box is the equivalent of a Mac II from 1991,' said Mr. Kotay of Comcast. Even recent models are hardly able to handle all the interactive tasks that developers have started to imagine, especially combining text, graphics and video from cable channels and the Internet. And the next generation will go further." But how slow can cable be to get into the game before others find away to simply go around them.

As new HDTVs come onto the market, they are being equipped with internet access. A consumer could begin to bypass their cable company and use broadband only for access to programming. That is what cable has to fear and timing is everything. Upgrade the cable box now, improve the remote control, enable interactivity with web and mobile, and make the product more user-friendly or risk watching us go elsewhere.

My Kindle Has Been Stolen; So What!

When you get robbed, you go to the police and report your less. And sometimes your items get recovered and sometimes they don't. In the digital age, every item has a unique identification and since it tends to communicate with a central system, it can be followed. Yet Amazon seems reluctant to want to help the original owner of a Kindle get their stolen device back, or at least assure that it can't be used illegally by another. It seems they won't! Ironic, since they are ok peaking into your device and taking away content that the owner possesses. How cruel!

"Amazon’s policy is that it will help locate a missing Kindle only if the company is contacted by a police officer bearing a subpoena. Mr. Borgese, who lives in Manhattan, questions whether hunting down a $300 e-book reader would rank as a priority for the New York Police Department. He began to see ulterior motives when he twice sent e-mail messages to Amazon seeking an address to send a police report and got no reply. 'I finally concluded,' Mr. Borgese said, 'that Amazon knew the device was being used and preferred to sell content to anyone who possessed the device, rather than assist in returning it to its rightful owner.' Drew Herdener, an Amazon spokesman, said only that the company acted in accordance with the law and cooperated with law enforcement officials." Typical bureaucratic comment, lacking any sense of caring about their customers' needs. And this merely confirms that Amazon doesn't get it and will ultimately lose its customer base.