US News Quits Print Subscription Business

Add another magazine to the list. US News and World Report has decided to end its print subscription business to concentrate on web and special print issues. "After December, regular editions of the magazine would only be published online, The New York Times reported Saturday. Editors said an occasional special report might be released on paper." Certainly the cost to print and mail continues to rise; in addition, consumers are dropping their print subscriptions to get their news online. When the economics no longer work, it is time to face the reality and make a change. For US News, this new era starts in January.

Surprisingly, their focus in on free web content and not on a digital subscription model. With the rise of tablets, I'm surprised that they are not considering this strategy. Print will still be offered as one off issues, but only through newsstands, thus saving mailing costs. An interesting move that their editors describe as a growth move, but appears as more like waving the white flag.

What Does Election Mean For Net Neutrality

News has been a little quiet on the FCC's net neutrality moves. It seems they were waiting till after the election before taking the next steps. The FCC is trying to find ways to force all broadband distribution to treat equally all online content, regardless of file size and usage demands. And their attempt to get a bill passed has now gotten more difficult. "The widespread Democratic losses made an already uphill battle even tougher. More than a dozen incumbent congressmen who had voted for a similar Net neutrality bill in 2006 were voted out of office on Tuesday, most notably Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., a 28-year House veteran." Without congressional support for net neutrality, a bill unlikely to go through.

Should all online content be treated equally? Shouldn't a free economy enable companies to pay for better positioning. Isn't that what the NY Jets and NY Giants did with PSLs for season ticket seats. If an online company is willing to pay to get it's content through the pipe faster, shouldn't they be allowed. And why can't the broadband platforms benefit from offering prime positioning. It seems that is the way the world is headed and net neutrality will become ancient memory.

No Remote Needed With Kinect

Microsoft has faced a number of challenges lately. Beyond its Windows Platform, it has yet to see success in mobile phones, tablets, or music devices. Its one exception, gaming. Their XBox 360 has been a hit and now they have enhanced its features with Kinect, a hands free, motion detector device, that recognizes players and puts them and their physical actions into the game. "By all accounts, Kinect is loads of fun. The black rectangular device, used in conjunction with Microsoft's Xbox 360 console, lets your on-screen character faithfully mimic your movements. It'll have you flailing your arms to steer on-screen cars using an invisible steering wheel." No fear of throwing your remote into your TV screen either!

Expectations for success are high with analysts expecting 5 million units being sold this Holiday season. But at its high price tag, X Box customers must determine whether the extra feature is worth it. "That said, it's not essential.. And at $150, it's a pricey proposition. Buy it with the console and a few $50 games, and the price tag for fun can quickly rise to $400." We currently have in our home the XBox, the Wii, and an old Playstation 2, not to mention a DSi, and ipods withe game apps. My son's big ask this Holiday is not the Kinect but to add the Live feature to his XBox. Which way to go?

Certainly, before we make the decision on purchasing the Kinect, we will see if the games themselves are of interest to him. if the games aren't compelling, why would the Kinect device be needed. I look forward to seeing how the Kinect games stack up to the Wii games. That may ultimately determine how successful the Kinect will be.

3D or not 3D

3D may be an opportunity for theater screens to charge a premium and make more money, but does it make sense for TV Networks. So now ESPN is questioning whether it is a business they want to pursue. "But the 24-hour sports network is already making noises about the future of its 3-D effort, with one exec admitting that there's 'very little indication' whether the channel will continue in its present form—or indeed, even survive—for a second year." How well 3D TVs do this Holiday season may indicate to ESPN and other networks how much money they want to invest into another version of their current networks. The addition of an HD channel proved to be an expensive investment and Networks weren't able to get the cable operators to pay more for an HD signal. I'm sure the concern is that they won't get an extra penny for a 3D version either.

Others question how much the consumer wants 3D in the home, especially if they need to wear glasses to view. And viewers don't tend to watch TV without also multi-tasking; reading the paper, talking to their spouse or friends, eating, drinking, answering the phone. Well you can see that unlike the theater experience when the viewer has little distraction; at home, there are too many little things that divert from the viewing experience. Putting glasses on, taking them off, and putting them on can get tiring. Until 3D is accessed without glasses, I expect the investment in 3D Networks will also slow.

Election Online

It's election day and so it it is time to go out and vote. So vote early and often. Seriously, just vote. It remains the one true way our voices are heard.

As it related to the changing entertainment landscape. Well just look around. Political messages are not just on TV, radio, and print. They are on Twitter, Facebook, web pages and other online tools. And so it is not surprising that election coverage will also be accessed both on traditional media and online. "ABC, CBS and PBS will each stream part of their election-night coverage on the Web on Tuesday, and NBC and ABC plan six hours of results lasting into early Wednesday morning. The networks will involve some of the biggest and most popular websites — Google, Facebook, YouTube and Yahoo! — in delivering their versions of the news."

Content, regardless of what it constitutes, is being consumed across all media platforms. Live coverage, whether sports or election results, demonstrate the need to make it accessible anywhere, anyhow, anytime. Consumers no longer want to wait to get home or for the morning paper to learn results. They want the news to follow them and not the other way around.

As the elections choose a winner, so too will media consumption demonstrate how far we are trending toward online and mobile consumption. Much has changed in the last decade. And nights like these demonstrate how much farther we can still go.

What Next

So it is the start of the new month, with thoughts of the holiday and new gadgets for the home, office, and play. Content remains king as Cablevision finally acquiesces to Fox's terms, as did Dish a few days earlier. Apple is suing Motorola for stealing patents and Tivo is still waiting to resolve its long term patent fight with Dish. New Apple iPads and iPhones are coming to market as are a multitude of other tablet-like products. And 3D remains the possible next great TV upgrade.

It is clear to me that the pace of change is quickening and competition is getting fiercer and fiercer. What is ahead for 2011. Soon the prognosticators will emerge with their insights on what to expect. For me, a few obvious and some not so obvious:

1. Verizon iPhone and iPad are instant successes
2. A major Cable Distributor merges with another
3. Tivo finally wins it's patent fight with Dish
4. Apple buys a content company
5. Comcast and NBC do indeed merge but with many caveats
6. And another network goes off the air in its contract dispute.

Put it in a jar. I'm picking early and I'm feeling confident in my predictions.

What are yours?

Cablevision and Fox End Fight

It took two weeks, but the stand off is over and Fox is back on the air in Cablevision homes. "Cablevision begrudgingly ended its dispute with News Corp. Saturday after several weeks of contentious negotiations over fees, getting Fox 5 back on the air just in time for the first pitch of the third game of the World Series." And in getting to agreement, I am confident in saying that some increase in fees occurred. How soon that increase to Cablevision customers remains to be seen, but I will make a first guess and say that it will happen between January 1 and February 1.

And it is leading us down the path to a la carte pricing, for both networks and individual shows. As bundled fees get more pricey, the customer is cord cutting. Moving toward content that is less expensive. And asking to pay less to get only the networks and shows they want to buy. Consumers will pay less at the end, but get less at the same time.

But back to the present. Cablevision customers were without their content for two weeks and will still end up paying more. The end didn't justify the means. The result for them is the same, an increase in fees. And as predicted, the customer continues to lose.

Cablevision-Fox Duel Continues

The NLCS, 2 World Series games, NFL Football, and of course all the Fox TV shows have been unavailable to Cablevision customers for too many weeks. And in that time, customers have been asking for rebates, others have switched to alternative distributors like FIOS and Direct TV, and others have purchased a digital antenna. And others have learned to simply do without. This battle simply demonstrates that both sides are wrong. Putting the consumer in the middle is not smart and forges bad feelings. Both Cablevision and Fox may hope the public has a short memory and will soon forget once this ugly business ends. But others will see this as a wake up call to what is going on in cable. I am not taking either company's side in this argument. Both are wrong; but at the end of the day, regardless of the outcome, the only party hurt will be the customer. And that is ultimately who needs to be protected.

Is Print Media Dead In 10 Years?

It's October 29, 2020 and you are drinking your coffee and eating your breakfast. Or you are starting your commute on the train or waiting for your flight to take-off. It is during these and other times, that you find folks reading their newspapers, magazines, and books. But according to this new study, we will all be doing these activities on our digital reader. Print will be dead. "The 24/7 Wall St./Harris Poll on American Media shows that 81% of people believe that the use of print news will decline. That, however, is cold comfort because 55% of those questioned said that traditional media will no longer exist in 10 years."

Now it is very clear where the trend is headed, so no doubt, print media in its traditional form will decline. But I very much doubt that it will cease to exist in 10 years. So I guess I am in the minority. These same type of statements have been said every time a new item was displacing an old one. And yet we still listen to radio, we still use trains, and we will still read print. The truth is that any change forces the older item to adapt or die. But the need for print will remain albeit in perhaps other opportunities. And the transition to an all digital world will not be accomplished within 10 years. I suspect it will take another decade or two. And yet there will always be a need for a printed copy. Whether that printing is done at printers or directly in the home, some form of paper will still be around. We may eventually share it, move it around, and consume media digitally, but we will also still like some of it to be printed.