[opendtv] Re: Warner Bros. Television Group to launch TheWB.com

At 11:52 AM -0400 4/29/08, Manfredi, Albert E wrote:

Maybe this is what Craig keeps talking about. Maybe it is happening
after all.

WB used to be available OTA, before the days of the CW and MNT networks,
and obviously had the same sort of "adults aged 16-34, with an emphasis
on women" target audience they claim they are going after now. They seem
to have reinvented themselves as cable/DBS/broadband Internet only,
supposedly integrated with Facebook.

Will be very interesting to see how this develops.
WB has had limited successes in the "Network TV" business. They have had a few shows that were a big success with their target demographics, however, like the big four commercial networks, they have had a hard time getting viewers to stick with the network after watching the show that they were attracted to.
The target demographics for WB are right in the sweet spot for the Gen Y crowd, young folks who are more than willing to pull content from the net, rather than making appointments to watch shows on broadcast TV or cable.
But there is something far more important going on here. Something that all of the networks want, but are struggling to make happen. That is the ability to build communities around popular programs and to actually know who is watching. When viewers are willing to participate in the community there are many collateral benefits: 

1. Tracking actual usage for the content at the center of the community;
2. The ability to target ads to the viewer;
3. The ability to sell other products to the community;
4. The ability to create a buzz for the content/community via peer-to-peer interaction. 
5. The ability to cross promote other content/communities.
Broadcasting has used its omnipresence for cross promotion, but that no longer seems to be an effective way to drive viewers to a specific show, much less to build the network brand.
Some of the networks have learned how to use the Internet to effectively promote a show - American Idol may be the best example, with viewer involvement in the process of eliminating contestants, the cross promotion via the iTunes store that let's fans buy the latest performances from the show, etc.
But I think Bert may finally be starting to understand the driving forces at work here. It is much easier to create community around a specific show than it is to create loyalty to a network. And Internet download eliminate some of those pesky middlemen who want to share in the profits... 

Regards
Craig



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