Media Bites July 15 2010

A recent ruling on TV decency occurred this week. The US appeals court has struck down an FCC policy that banned the broadcasting of profanity. A BBC news article goes on to say that the original ruling banning 'patently offensive' references to sex, sexual organs and excretion with no real definition of what is truly offensive generated far too much fear among American broadcasters. Now its OK to swear and use the actual words for sexual organs and bodily functions.

All of this is really the byproduct of the society we live in and the race for ratings and revenue. The more shocking or scary, the more viewers tune in; more viewers= higher ratings and in turn the chance to charge higher rates for ad placement. Don't get me wrong, its a business and business needs to make a profit-just not sure we need to sink quite this low to do it.

Here's something else to keep in mind: broadcast television is for entertainment and information and must be closely monitored at all times when you have kids ( I speak from experience). It is not the responsibility of the media properties to be educators and be held accountable for what is airing because there is not enough diligence in the household to prevent certain eyes and ears from absorbing questionable content. Should they do some self regulating? You bet-but they never will, so it is up to the individual or family to decide what is and is not appropriate. There is a great tool on the set-its called the power switch.

Media Bites-July 7 2010

If I believe everything I see and hear, then broadcast television continues to grow even in this competitive environment.

PricewaterhouseCoopers notes that ad spending on TV in the US will grow to $80.3 billion in 2014 from $62.1 billion in 2009 and a recent Magna Global research paper points out that TV's share of media dollars continues to expand to 36.8% in 2015. Emerging technologies will also have an impact on viewing as the introduction of HD sets that deliver better quality picture and sound actually encourage more consumers to watch more TV.

The problem is technology and choice. (1)Hulu recently launched HuluPlus for $9.99 month and will make programming available on the IPhone, IPad and soon enough on the Playstation3 and Xbox game consoles.

(2) Netflix just signed a deal with Relativity Media allowing them to stream up to 14 movies per year to their 13 million subscribers.

(3) Viewers skip ads through DVRs and other devices. In fact, Comcast just launched multi room DVR technology in select markets.

(4) Premium nets HBO, Showtime and Starz continue to develop original programming ( 'Spartacus', 'Tudor', 'True Blood' 'Hung' 'Pillars of the Earth')

Its still fragmented viewing and as yet no one has developed a technology that has one access point, one password, one bill so that I can choose when, where and how I watch TV.

Media Post-December 4 2009

I recently had to do a project with my fifth grade son on what my earliest memory was and I'm going to show my age here. It was the 1969 Apollo Moon launch-the famous 'one small step for man, one giant step for mankind' event. Keep in mind I thought all of the hoopla was about ME because it was a few days before my 5th birthday. Anyway, I remember them waking me up and watching it on a black and white TV with rabbit ears. 40 years isn't really that long ago, but in the TV landscape, it may as well be the age of the dinosaurs.

Ratings delivery in broadcast TV have seen a rapid decline in the the last 30 years. During the 1979-80 TV season, the top shows were 'M*A*S*H', 'Three's Company' and 'That's Incredible' with a household rating of 21.7. In the 2009-2010 season, the best of the best delivered a 13.0 household rating, a 41% decline in ratings which equates to less viewers and that means fewer consumers actually see your message if its on broadcast TV.

TV as we know it will not survive if it does not continue to evolve. Phil Leigh, of Inside Digital Media says 'whether its a monitor for video games, DVD player or laptop computer, the TV set is just a window into the Internet cloud.' And many new technologies are making it easier to hit that cloud and bypass the standard delivery format. In Q1 2009, there were 31 million TV households with a DVR, according to Mediabrands research, that number should surpass 51 million by 2014. Now I don't know about you, but you'd have to pry that DVR out of my hands.

Additionally, video streams increased to over 104.3 billion (yes billion) between January and October 2009 and Hulu had 583.2 million downloads in September 2009. Social media has also pulled consumers away from the set to watch friends, shows and dogs doing stupid things in a pool. According to Nielsen research, on-line video streams on social media sites has increased over 45%.

New gadgets are making their way into homes including Blu-Ray, Roku and Apple TV that stream movies and other content, but you may soon be watching your favorite episodes of 'Glee' and 'It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia' as well. And at Best Buy you can pick up an Internet connected TV with CinemaNow, giving users the ability to download movies. Other services like Zillion TV and Epix are developing similar technologies to give the users much more control.

The ultimate goal is a TV that streams quality content, lets me record shows or movies, play games, respond to ads I'm interested in, surf the web and work out all through one console. Hang on world, the future is upon us.

(source Crain Communications, Ad Age Nov 30 2009)

Media Bites-Nov 16 2009

Media Continues To Fragment But Innovators Find A Niche.



Tired of cable or satellite? If you live in the City of the Angels, starting today you'll have a new option: Sezmi.(http://www.sezmi.com/) Here's the skinny-Sezmi transmits cable networks through digital TV frequencies that they have leased from local broadcasters. Users install two pieces of equipment that the company is calling a 'smart reception system' that brings in over the air programming and the Internet, as well as a set top 'digital media player' that sends the programming to a TV screen or records it for later consumption. Customers can opt to lease the equipment (cost unknown) or purchase for $299.00.

During the trial for a monthly fee of $5.00 you can see local broadcast, Internet channels and some pay-per-view services. For $20 more you'll have access to over 100 cable channels. As a consumer, I'm all over this concept. As a customer of an unnamed cable company, I'm paying $135 for bundled services ( cable, Internet and phone) and we rarely go that far up the digital tier. The Sezmi model would have my monthly costs at $25.00 for the service, $40 for Internet (cable carrier)and $30 for phone (Vonage or similar). In times like these every penny counts and I'd take the $40 savings. Now, in fairness, what you'd be giving up are: 24/7 customer service.

Not only is Sezmi competitively priced for users, it has a distinct advantage over other TV-over-the-internet companies: it can offer networks a percentage of subscription fees , in addition to a revenue share from advertising. At this point in time, that's something a platform like Hulu can't offer yet; but that could all change with the proposed Comcast/NBCU merger.

(source: LA Times, Jon Healy. Images from Sezmi)

September 19 2009

Epix HD Launched by Lionsgate, MGM and Paramount
Service will have no advertising and won't appear on your cable bill.

Here's how it will work: The network will broadcast movies that fit into the 'pay TV' window-the time frame weeks before a DVD release, much like HBO or Showtime does now. What makes this completely different is that it will be bundled with cable packages and if the consortium can convince enough cable providers to sign on, they will have an immediate financial advantage over premium pay TV. Additionally, users will be able to get the content online, on demand and at Epixhd.com (http://www.epixhd.com/) Keep in mind that there will be no direct-to-consumer services, only TV distributors including cable companies, Verizon FIOS, AT&T U-Verse and satellite services. In order for the TV viewer to take advantage of this unique network, they'll need to subscribe to both internet and cable service.

The timing of this launch couldn't be better. Case in point-Time Warner Cable has been testing TV Everywhere in select markets. This service allows you to view not only premium pay per view nets online like HBO and Showtime, but other top tier programming as well.

12-24 months from now, TV and internet as we know it will be completely different. It will be one big happy internet/TV universe-At least thats my opinion -:) But that's just me.