[opendtv] Re: Analysis: Should Apple Buy Hollywood?

  • From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Fri, 3 Feb 2012 14:57:36 -0500

At 4:36 PM -0600 2/1/12, Manfredi, Albert E wrote:

Craig wrote:
"Why don't independent producers just create their own content portals and stream their content, either for a fee, or 'free' with embedded ads?" 

Dan wrote:
"And of course, they do. We have been doing it for years (UNLV.TV). And our statistics are dismal. One could argue it is the programming. I would say we have a couple of decent programs but no one can find them." 


Thanks Dan - Bert completely missed the target once again...

The problem is finding the content, and even more important, promoting it.
Dan is correct, anyone can stream original content via the Internet. If they know what they are doing, they may even be able to get the major search engines to show results for these programs.
But the sad fact is that TV viewers have become accustomed to a medium where cross promotion is nearly as important as the content itself. Look at ANY TV station, or cable channel, and you will see promos throughout every show, throughout the day. But this is just the beginning...
A significant number of popular TV programs are primarily designed as promotion vehicles.
Breakfast TV is considered part of the news divisions, but the content is mostly promotional, be it for a book, a TV show, a Movie etc. Dittos for the late night shows like Jay Leno, Letterman, etc.
Then you've got the syndicated afternoon talkers, the prime access shows like Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, etc. and on and on.
Then there's those HORRIBLE MVPD program guides, and cable channels dedicated to promoting VOD and other cable exclusive content. And the premium movie services like HBO and Showtime spend tons of time promoting Hollywood - just don;t call all of those short features ads... 

;-)
And let's not forget that broadcast radio is part of the promotional engine too, with both free and paid promotion. Or worse, the promos in the theaters before the movie you are paying to see starts.
Seems to me that small productions would benefit from getting on sites like Hulu, where they would get noticed by more people.
Seems to me that independent producers would benefit from being part of the media conglomerate promotional engine. And they can...
All they have to do is sell their souls to the conglomerates and hope that their content breaks through in the five hundred channel universe.
I heard Vint Cerf give a talk recently. He's one of the true creators of the Internet. He made the point that as the Internet is improved to carry new applications, for example mail, radio, and telephony, it soon becomes the dominant means of transport for these services. So I agree with the article to that point. Of course, I disagree with the notion that all the collusion mentioned in there should be allowed to take place unhindered. It's all up to the consumer.
Thus far, the media conglomerate has exhibited the ability to deflect the inevitable disintermediation from the Internet. They have been able to do this because of their close relationship with the politicians, who give them monopoly power and exemption form anti-trust concerns.
You need look no further than the two bills that were working their way through Congress before the Internet community got its' back up. Or the multiple changes to U.S. copyright law in the 20th Century. All of these measures have strengthened the power of the conglomerates to keep control of their kingdom. 

Regards
Craig


----------------------------------------------------------------------
You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways:
- Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at FreeLists.org 
- By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word 
unsubscribe in the subject line.

Other related posts:

  1. Home
  2. opendtv
  3. Archive
  4. 02-2012