Watch out cable TV, watch out Netflix, Amazon, and iTunes, You Tube is augmenting its video business. "YouTube is going to launch VOD-style movie rentals on TVs and connected devices later this year." It is starting to look like movie rentals are becoming ubiquitous, available to everyone across any platform and any service that you connect to. As the video rental stores become less relevant, the need for a DVD rental is now easily replaced with a downloadable rental that exists for your immediate enjoyment.
For the movie industry, the hope is that this on demand business, whether rental or download to own, will replace the revenue and profit earned from the DVD. But just as the DVD replaced the VHS tape, so now the digital copy has replaced the DVD. The world is all about connectivity. Let's only hope we never find ourselves stranded with no internet and no way to watch a video.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
How Many Online Video Platforms Will We Have To Subscribe To?
One of the nice things about a cable subscription, believe it or not, is that it aggregates all the channels we watch, basic, premium, on demand, and sells it to us in one monthly bill that we pay. We may become disgruntled at the amount of the bill, but we pay it. Sometimes we wish we could drop channels we don't watch to try and lower our bills, but ultimately we still complain.
Those that cord cut seek out more inexpensive options online. A Netflix subscription at under $10/month becomes a good alternative to basic and premium channels. But demand for the most successful titles has brought competition to the online platform. "Amazon.com has struck a multiyear licensing agreement in the U.S. with Epix, the movie network from Paramount Pictures, MGM and Lionsgate, to stream thousands of movies after Netflix's exclusive online window with Epix expired in August." Of course those that like these titles and don't get Epix from their cable provider will now need to add an Amazon Prime subscription to their online bills. Multiple bills, multiple payments.
And depending on your interest in different types of entertainment, the likelihood is that more individual sites will arise to sell its own subscription service. Whether its multiple newspaper subscriptions, multiple music subscriptions, and now multiple video subscriptions, our entertainment budget continues to rise. There is something to be said for the cable model, one monthly price for music, sports, news, and movies. It is our insatiable appetite for more content that keeps getting us to try and find more without paying more for it.
Those that cord cut seek out more inexpensive options online. A Netflix subscription at under $10/month becomes a good alternative to basic and premium channels. But demand for the most successful titles has brought competition to the online platform. "Amazon.com has struck a multiyear licensing agreement in the U.S. with Epix, the movie network from Paramount Pictures, MGM and Lionsgate, to stream thousands of movies after Netflix's exclusive online window with Epix expired in August." Of course those that like these titles and don't get Epix from their cable provider will now need to add an Amazon Prime subscription to their online bills. Multiple bills, multiple payments.
And depending on your interest in different types of entertainment, the likelihood is that more individual sites will arise to sell its own subscription service. Whether its multiple newspaper subscriptions, multiple music subscriptions, and now multiple video subscriptions, our entertainment budget continues to rise. There is something to be said for the cable model, one monthly price for music, sports, news, and movies. It is our insatiable appetite for more content that keeps getting us to try and find more without paying more for it.
Apple Next Product Releases
Some bits of news post Labor Day that Apple will be holding a press release next Wednesday. The talk is that the next generation of the iPhone will be officially announced and new phones could be hitting the shelves shortly. Some say the phone will be slimmer, others that the screen will be slightly larger. And no doubt folks will be disappointed that it lacked this or that.
The other news, one that may or may not make it into next week's announcement is that Apple will also release its mini iPad in October. Common sense would argue that one announcement a quarter is more than enough and to hold a second conference one month later seems a distraction. Ideally, Apple making next week's announcement about both products would be big news for the company and the industry. We can only stay patient for next week to learn finally what Apple is doing in the iPhone and iPad spaces.
The other news, one that may or may not make it into next week's announcement is that Apple will also release its mini iPad in October. Common sense would argue that one announcement a quarter is more than enough and to hold a second conference one month later seems a distraction. Ideally, Apple making next week's announcement about both products would be big news for the company and the industry. We can only stay patient for next week to learn finally what Apple is doing in the iPhone and iPad spaces.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Apple Wins Patent Fight Against Samsung
Apple has won its case in court and the jury has agreed that Samsung did indeed infringe on a large number of Apple's patents. And while the award damages exceed $1 billion, the court battle is likely to continue while the appeals process takes over. At the same time, Samsung and other competitors may just have to go back to the drawing board to design tablets and smartphone devices that don't copy Apple. Will this improve competition or limit it? Could it lead to more innovation or slow it down?
This court fight may have hurt Samsung a bit, but it is sure to affect Google and others as well. "The verdict in the trial hardly concludes the legal battles over patents among companies in the mobile business. There are dozens of such cases winding their way through the courts; Samsung and Apple have also been battling in Germany, Australia and elsewhere. Even so, Samsung remains a major supplier of components for Apple products" How ironic, that Samsung may have lost the fight but is also a winner when it comes to producing pieces for Apple devices.
This court fight may have hurt Samsung a bit, but it is sure to affect Google and others as well. "The verdict in the trial hardly concludes the legal battles over patents among companies in the mobile business. There are dozens of such cases winding their way through the courts; Samsung and Apple have also been battling in Germany, Australia and elsewhere. Even so, Samsung remains a major supplier of components for Apple products" How ironic, that Samsung may have lost the fight but is also a winner when it comes to producing pieces for Apple devices.
Friday, August 24, 2012
Sometimes I Like Twitter, Sometimes I Don't
Overall I like Twitter today. When it works, it provides me information, breaking news, updates, and, on occasion, humor; but there are times that I find it bloated with hubris and nonsense that takes up space and floods the stream with silliness. The good news is that one can limit who you follow in order to flesh out the good from the drivel. Still, when sponsored content is automatically posted, out of my control, it reduces my enjoyment of the service.
But I may be the minority as many enjoy the social networking that comes from sharing pictures, ideas, locations, etc. with their minions. But now it seems that Twitter is breaking those ties with other social networking sites. I recently found that Twitter and LinkedIn are no longer connected. But more is happening "As Twitter shuts off the access that services like Instagram and Tumblr used to have to its valuable “follower graph,” it is also promoting the new relationships it has with media players like NBC. Between them, those two moves speak volumes about the company’s future." Will users like this transition and will it make for a better experience (as well as more profitable for Twitter) or will it turn away fans to the Twitter service?
The digital world is becoming a multi-platform play with media brands. Promotion as a means to drive usage on its on its media sites, for viewership, readership, and subscription. Communication has moved past the consumer talking to each other toward business driving consumer behavior. We can only watch to see if consumers accept this switch or seek other solutions.
But I may be the minority as many enjoy the social networking that comes from sharing pictures, ideas, locations, etc. with their minions. But now it seems that Twitter is breaking those ties with other social networking sites. I recently found that Twitter and LinkedIn are no longer connected. But more is happening "As Twitter shuts off the access that services like Instagram and Tumblr used to have to its valuable “follower graph,” it is also promoting the new relationships it has with media players like NBC. Between them, those two moves speak volumes about the company’s future." Will users like this transition and will it make for a better experience (as well as more profitable for Twitter) or will it turn away fans to the Twitter service?
The digital world is becoming a multi-platform play with media brands. Promotion as a means to drive usage on its on its media sites, for viewership, readership, and subscription. Communication has moved past the consumer talking to each other toward business driving consumer behavior. We can only watch to see if consumers accept this switch or seek other solutions.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Digital Advertising Share Larger Than Newspaper Advertising
In sports, we always marvel when a record is broken or a player rises through the list verse other players. In advertising, those records are seen by the size of revenue and the share verse other media choices. And when a rookie or new platform outpaces his or her rivals, that tends to be a big story. Today, that story is all about digital advertising. "This year, not the next, will be the point at which digital overtakes newspapers' share of the global advertising market to become the second largest medium, according to the latest spending forecast from Carat. Digital, which in Carat's view comprises search, display, online video, social media and mobile, will take a 15.3% share this year with newspapers on 14.4%." It is clear that those digital pennies are now looking like digital dollars.
Television continues to remain the number one platform for ad revenue. Still the percentage of growth in each of these respective media platforms, TV, newspaper, magazine are somewhat flat while digital is growing at double digit rates. With the rise in production and sales of tablets and smartphones, it is only natural to expect that the rate of digital growth will only continue to grow. And who knows, perhaps one day digital could also overtake TV.
Television continues to remain the number one platform for ad revenue. Still the percentage of growth in each of these respective media platforms, TV, newspaper, magazine are somewhat flat while digital is growing at double digit rates. With the rise in production and sales of tablets and smartphones, it is only natural to expect that the rate of digital growth will only continue to grow. And who knows, perhaps one day digital could also overtake TV.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Hulu Update Despite Ownership Issues
Hulu's online view is getting a makeover and the new look and functionality should be good news for viewers. An advance look can be found at new.hulu.com. And here's their video:
As to the ownership quarrels, well that will be news for another day. Good to see that the day to day operations are still moving forward.
As to the ownership quarrels, well that will be news for another day. Good to see that the day to day operations are still moving forward.
Broadband Not Everywhere
If you live in a big city, not to worry, you probably have not only broadband access, but perhaps even a second provider; however, if you live in the rural parts of this country, you are not so lucky. According to the FCC, "approximately 19 million Americans 'in areas still unserved by terrestrial-fixed broadband' and concludes that for that, and 'other reasons,' it must conclude 'that broadband is not yet being deployed to all Americans' in a reasonable and timely fashion.'" In addition, of those areas getting broadband, over a quarter are not getting the speeds of 100 Mbps or more today.
For the cable operator, the argument is that their rollout has been moving along at a fast pace, the FCC believes that accessibility and speed goals have not been reached. Broadband, it seems, has been treated like a necessity, equivalent to food, shelter, and clothing. It has joined the ranks of telephone and cable TV accessibility. In the private enterprise, the cost to string a city, with many homes passed per mile verse rural america where you may be lucky to pass 1 home every 10 miles, demonstrates the challenge of rolling out broadband service, cost-effectively, to a widely dispersed geographical base. As broadband gets perceived as necessity, and not luxury, the demand to speed that rollout simply grows in the public government's opinion. As noted in the article, "cable operators and others have made [a major impact] toward deployment and adoption, including 'billions invested by the communications industry in broadband deployment, including next-generation wired and wireless services'". Unfortunately, today, our patience seems to be wearing thin.
For the cable operator, the argument is that their rollout has been moving along at a fast pace, the FCC believes that accessibility and speed goals have not been reached. Broadband, it seems, has been treated like a necessity, equivalent to food, shelter, and clothing. It has joined the ranks of telephone and cable TV accessibility. In the private enterprise, the cost to string a city, with many homes passed per mile verse rural america where you may be lucky to pass 1 home every 10 miles, demonstrates the challenge of rolling out broadband service, cost-effectively, to a widely dispersed geographical base. As broadband gets perceived as necessity, and not luxury, the demand to speed that rollout simply grows in the public government's opinion. As noted in the article, "cable operators and others have made [a major impact] toward deployment and adoption, including 'billions invested by the communications industry in broadband deployment, including next-generation wired and wireless services'". Unfortunately, today, our patience seems to be wearing thin.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
ABC Pushing Nightline Back for Jimmy Kimmel
In 2013, the Tonight Show and David Letterman will face new competition; ABC is moving Jimmy Kimmel Live up from midnight to 11:35 to compete head on. Good for Jimmy Kimmel, bad for the fans of Nightline who won't be able to stay up till 12:30 am to watch their news program. "As a consolation prize, Nightline will resume a prime-time edition Fridays at 9 staring March 1, and will expand to 30 minutes nightly."
Why January and not with the start of the Fall premieres. You can thank the presidential election for that; political news junkies win. Nightline performs when certain news stories emerge above the typical level of noise. Nightline provided alternative programming on broadcast that truly differentiated from the other talk shows. Now Kimmel will be going head to head against Leno and Letterman and news audiences will have to seek other ground from cable and online alternatives.
Will Kimmel take more from Leno or Letterman and where will the Nightline audience go? The fight heats up January 8.
Why January and not with the start of the Fall premieres. You can thank the presidential election for that; political news junkies win. Nightline performs when certain news stories emerge above the typical level of noise. Nightline provided alternative programming on broadcast that truly differentiated from the other talk shows. Now Kimmel will be going head to head against Leno and Letterman and news audiences will have to seek other ground from cable and online alternatives.
Will Kimmel take more from Leno or Letterman and where will the Nightline audience go? The fight heats up January 8.
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