TV Ad Sales Market Rebounding

Despite the internet, despite VOD and DVR, despite other media, the TV business is growing again. "Barclays Capital analyst Anthony DiClemente expects upfront ad dollars for the four major broadcast networks -- ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC -- to rise 20 percent to $8.26 billion this year." Good news for the broadcast networks, and certainly good news for the cable nets as well. Advertisers seek TV for their media budget.

At the same time, let's hope that these same advertisers recognize that the only way to break out of the clutter is to diversify so that your message resonates across platforms. Out of box creative, entertaining copy, targeted placement to the key audience groups, can further assure that your message is heard and that consumer purchasing action occurs. And the choices for placement is vast. Besides TV, radio and billboards, newspaper and magazines have not gone away either. A solid direct marketing approach will also enable messages to enter into the home. And then there is social networking. It may appear to be a very inexpensive means to talk to the consumer but viral doesn't necessarily cause results. Social networking opportunities need to co-exist with these other media platforms to truly connect consumers with brands.

And so it is great to hear that spending is rising; let's hope the trend continues across platforms. Healthy spending indicates a better economy. And in this changing entertainment landscape, it's nice to see some good news.

Sirius May Be Safe From NASDAQ Delisting

Now that Sirius' stock price has been up over a buck for over a week, surviving yesterdays market downturn, it seems that Sirius will be safe from delisting. "Wall Street brokerages have price targets on Sirius at around $1.15 to $1.35 a share, not far above the $1.145 that the stock closed at on Tuesday, which was the 10th day that it has ended above $1, satisfying a Nasdaq listing requirement." Let's hope that there is more good news in store for Sirius.

The Problem With Media Convergence

Last night, I sat down to watch Channel 5 in New York, Fox News at 10. One of the stories was about the launch of The Wall Street Journal's new Greater New York section of the paper. The anchors and reporter all held up the edition and effused at how wonderful this edition was and all the news it contained. It mentioned how it competed with The New York Times. Oh, did I mention how wonderful this new section was, per each anchor's comments. This 3 minute plus "news piece" was then followed by the weather.

At no point did the news segment mention one very important fact; that both the Fox Affiliate and The Wall Street Journal are owned by the same organization, News Corporation. Sure there are lots of bloggers and other outlets to provide multiple points of view to a story. But, when two of the largest news organizations merge, they can incorrectly present news as something else. I can not tell you if the Fox news story was actually news or promotional advertising for The Wall Street Journal. It hurts both organizations "credibility" and "truthfulness". Fine to share a "story"; but next time, tell us all the facts; else, we may raise more of a red flag when multiple news outlets in a market converge and merge.

Kindle vs iPad, Which To Buy For E-reading

Thinking of switching from paper to plastic; sorry, I mean from paper to e-reader. Is now the time to make a switch? Which device to choose - Kindle, Nook, iPad, etc. "Amazon is clearly emphasizing Kindle sales and its status as their premier product in response to the potential competitiveness from Apple’s tablet device, the iPad. Amazon subsequently released its own iPad app for the Kindle, to compete with iBooks." So how will it really shake out.

Obviously Kindle has a good year's jump on Apple but the iPad is proving to be a formidable competitor. And I wouldn't look too closely at this first generation product as speculation of iPad's future models make it even more of a must have product. And how many devices must we carry remotely to be connected: a phone, a reader, a laptop. As our phones provide web connections, with video, do we need a reader to do the same. Or should it remain true to its core use, bringing the written page to a device in an easy to read manner, emulating a book design, but lighter and easier to hold and carry. Can the iPad compete in this scenario or are its uses best needed elsewhere. Could the Kindle and iPad prove more complementary than competitive.

Ultimately the consumer will decide how they best want to use each of these devices and how each fits into their daily lives. As for me, I continue to wait. Still too early to buy, but certainly engaged in their progress and which would better work for me.

Can A Free Website Make Money With A Pay Platform

Hulu, that online alternative to cable TV, is moving away from a free website model. Not satisfied with an ad supported revenue model, Hulu seeks a second source of income with a pay model approach. "Under the proposal, Hulu would continue to provide for free the five most recent episodes of shows like Fox's "Glee," "ABC's "Lost" or NBC's "Saturday Night Live." But viewers who want to see additional episodes would pay $9.95 a month to access a more comprehensive selection, called Hulu Plus, these people said." But will consumers pay?

And no doubt that these pay programs will also include commercials so essentially you are paying for cable on the web. So the choice, pay your cable bill or your Hulu bill. But wait, isn't the reason consumers cut their cord to cable is because they were tired of paying for TV. What was once free should be free again. So to ask these users to start paying again may present them with a bit of a dilemma. How the consumer responds and how much revenue Hulu receives from this new model will ultimately decide whether it expands or dies on the vine.

Can consumers accept an online subscription service for TV programming? Will they start paying for something they have been getting free for a couple of years? Or will they move away from Hulu and seek their content from other sources? Clearly this move by Hulu is a stepping stone. Most current content is still available for free. This subscription model is clearly aimed at the heavy user. But losing your best customer could be a concern to Hulu. A drop in use will affect ad revenue and could prove disastrous. Once you lose a customer, it is hard to win them back. So be careful of this slippery slope you are taking; it could be profitable, but it could also end your business.

It's Starting...Cable Losing Its Live Advantage

In many discussions in this blog and others about consumer cord cutting, cable's one advantage has been live programming. Sure you could drop your cable subscription and get broadcast channels with a digital antenna. Sure you could drop your cable subscription and watch The Daily Show or Mad Men or some other cable show on Hulu. Sure you could drop cable and watch movies on demand from Netflix, Amazon, and others through the XBox, Playstation3, or Wii. But you couldn't watch live sports outside of broadcast. Till now.

"Major League Baseball is upping its digital game again, bringing live sports to the videogame console for the first time. The league will make its MLB.TV subscription service available through the Sony PlayStation 3, which has made its way into more than 12 million US homes." It will only be a matter of time before the other leagues offer similar packages.

Now customers that subscribe on cable should be asking, why should I pay twice for access across devices. You shouldn't. Tools exist today to bring TV to you, wherever, whenever, whatever you decide. It is just that your cable operator prefers to keep old set top boxes in the home and not try to offer new technology. With Slingbox and other tools, programs can follow you. With better DVR devices, programming can be presented more intuitively and with more flexibility. And the tools exist to make incremental revenues from these devices.

Except your cable company is not even trying to compete. As their mantra is to save a customer from defecting to telco and dish, they forget that the customer is also leaving the cable landscape completely, preferring to get their programming via broadband access. And as customers have found that their cable box doesn't connect to the web, but their TV and game console does. And as more programming populates these other connections, cable defection will only increase.

Consumers Want What Apple Got

Once again, Apple had higher revenues than projected thanks to the iPod, iPhone, and laptops. "Most impressive: Apple shipped 8.75 million iPhones last quarter, versus expectations around 7 million. Incredibly, iPhone sales more-than doubled vs. the prior year.
Mac sales were solid: 2.94 million shipped, versus expectations around 2.7 million. And Apple's iPod business is still showing signs of life: 10.89 million units shipped vs. 9 million Street consensus." And since iPad numbers weren't part of the quarter, we can only expect stronger revenue for the next quarter. Consider that the more units sold, the more consumers to access the Apple App Store and thus even more business selling bits and bytes. No manufacturing costs, no added labor costs. The rise of the App Store and applications for sale means more revenue and more profit for Apple.

Even more exciting is what Steve Jobs has up his sleeve for his next product. "Apple CEO Steve Jobs took the opportunity to tease new products in the company's earnings release. 'We've launched our revolutionary new iPad and users are loving it, and we have several more extraordinary products in the pipeline for this year,' Jobs said in a canned quote." I can't wait!

Is Lost iPhone A Big Deal?

Normally a lost iPhone is no big deal; just go to the store and buy another one. But when it is a prototype of a next generation phone, it could be a problem. The worst kept secret was that a next generation iPhone would be release; the best kept secret, until yesterday, was what modifications would be made. "From the front, it looks similar to the current iPhone, but it has sharper edges and is a little thinner. The volume and power buttons are stylistically different, and the back of the phone appears to be a ceramic glass, which would enable better reception. That would address a persistent problem that has plagued the iPhone since its inception three years ago."

And while it may at first blush feel like a nightmare, it may, in fact, be a marketing coup. I for one, am now more excited about getting an iPhone. I only wish that the news included more exact dates when it would be made available on the Verizon network. And while Steve Jobs may be angry that his security was compromised, I am confident that he will turn lead into gold, marketing gold! And so take your lumps to get your prototype returned. But in the long run, the Apple brand continues to represent the pinnacle of what a mobile device offers.

BlackArrow Nabs Strategic Investment from NDS

Lots of talk about advertising in the mobile space, less so about the VOD space. But as more people watch on demand, making sure the ads inside the programs are relevant is a big job. And to switch out on the fly and target to the household is the biggest opportunity. "BlackArrow is best known for being able to dynamically insert targeted ads into video-on-demand platforms, and has signed up customers like Comcast an Fox Cable Networks to do so. Without technology like BlackArrow’s, adds that appear in cable VOD systems are typically stitched into the video itself, which limits the flexibility of the ads that can appear."

In the last few years, Black Arrow has been developing these tools and with the latest round of funding from NDS seem ready to finally break through. And as this application can apply to VOD, DVR, and other broadband streams, the opportunities only grow. Providing one trafficking system that can do it all (VOD, DVR, linear broadcast and cable TV and broadband video services) should be an economic boon to cable and broadband content providers that distribute programming.