[opendtv] Re: News: YouTube's 2 billion daily viewership beats primetime audience of top US TV networks
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 21 May 2010 08:19:40 -0400
At 7:01 PM -0400 5/20/10, Albert Manfredi wrote:
The first part I can agree with. It only matters how much time they
spend on the content.
Does this mean you disagree with the second part?
Knowing who is watching, and perhaps even more important, what they
may be interested in, is the Holy Grail for advertisers. We have
already seen how important this is in the Internet search market,
where Google has grown into the 800 pound gorilla in just a few years.
Now add Google TV to this picture, and I think you will see the
direction things are moving. The anonymous "shot gun" approach to
Broadcast TV advertising is going to be replaced with targeted ads to
pay for content; the consumer is driving this, willingly sharing some
information in exchange for a far better TV experience.
I have been predicting this for quite some time now; it looks like
it's finally starting to gain some traction. The future of TV
broadcasting is seriously in doubt - note I am not talking about the
high value network content that has allowed broadcasters to thrive
for more than a half century. If the market for shotgun advertising
dries up, and there are many signs this is already happening, then TV
broadcasting goes away.
Retrans consent fees will not be sufficient to keep broadcasters
alive. And to date, broadcasters have made no effort to develop a new
business model that allows them to have a direct relationship with
viewers that they can use to stay competitive in a world where
advertisers are looking for accountability for their ad dollars.
Even the cable industry may become a victim, as the ability to access
all kinds of content via the Internet allows consumers to escape from
paying for costly packages of content they do not watch.
The You Tube phenomenon is primarily of interest because it changes
the way we consume content, AND it allows anyone to become a content
producer if they have something compelling to offer to highly
targeted audience.
The whole point of posting the original thread was to illustrate how
consumers are changing their viewing habits ...
And where they spend their time with content.
I recently did some on-line research for some house stuff, and
easily watched half a dozen YouTube clips during this research. To
watch that many prime time shows would have taken me the better part
of a week. The YouTube clips took very little time to digest, in one
easy sitting.
Are you suggesting that the two numbers are comparable?
Comparable, NO.
Significant, YES.
Watching long form entertainment is not going to go away. The way
this content is paid for is going to change, and the ability to
search for and watch this content on demand is going to largely
replace appointment TV except for coverage of live events.
From the story I just posted about Google TV:
"The video-on-demand experience has always been antiquated at best,"
said Richard Greenfield, a media analyst at BTIG, a financial
services firm. Google TV and similar efforts "put pressure squarely
on cable operators and anyone in the business of distributing video
content to improve their user experience."
Consider the You Tube video that was embedded in the Sony Google TV
announcement that Kon posted yesterday. It is now possible for anyone
to use video to tell their story, and for anyone, anywhere to see
that story, just as you described above.
This ability may not be comparable to watching high value network
entertainment content from a broadcaster, but it IS causing many
people to spend more time on the Internet and less time in front of
the TV. As the two converge the usage models will favor the search
driven model over the broadcast model.
And too, just because YouTube exists and does well does not mean
that TV dramas, sports, even reality shows, will disappear. They are
not in competition with each other. They can and do coexist
perfectly well.
Correct.
It is the way the content is paid for that changes.
Regards
Craig
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