[opendtv] Re: Tech Dirt: Nielsen Finally Realizes That TV Viewers Are Cord Cutting
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 3 Jun 2013 08:35:40 -0400
On Jun 2, 2013, at 7:56 PM, "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
> I'll say again, though, that this "cord cutting" phenomenon (which is a
> misnomer really, since people are not cutting the Internet access cord) ain't
> going to stop. Just like that article described, it's a transition that
> occurs when technology changes. Just like buying music in packaged media
> became a thing of the past, just like the milkman became a thing of the past,
> just like "town criers" became a thing of the past, and we can go on and on
> with the painfully obvious list of examples.
Actually, as I pointed out in a recent post, more people are cutting Internet
access than cable.
There is no question that technology is evolving, although it is clear that the
pace is much slower than that which would happen if there was an open and free
marketplace for TV content.
Music may be a good example. Clearly the technology caught the music oligopoly
napping, and forced them to get rid of "bundling" of music into LPs and CDs.
But the tables have turned. They make good money from iTunes and other online
music stores, and all of the streaming music services are paying royalties;
even mighty Apple is struggling to cut a better deal than Pandora - 12 cents
per hundred music streams. And radio broadcasters are now having to pay for
their streams too…
There is real irony here, since the music industry famously PAID radio stations
to promote their artists, and now wants a cut of radio station revenues. THis
is EXACTLY what is happening with OTA TV.
>
> The players need to reinvent themselves to add value to the new reality. I
> recently read an article somewhere which made the point that congloms can't
> very effectively stream their content online and insert the appropriate ad or
> news/weather breaks, like the local broadcasters can.
This is rubbish. They can do a far better job that the local broadcasters, who
can ONLY send the same ad to their entire audience. Google et al have
fundamentally changed the world of advertising; localization and targeting are
now routine, and hands off - there are no program logs and expensive automation
systems inserting local ads - just massive servers that track what you do and
target ads based on your behavior.
Not only can they add localized information, they can target you individually;
and soon this will be true down to your current location. And this my friend is
the REAL threat to broadcasting - hours and hours of programming that hardly
anyone watches, and ads that have no real relevance to the viewer. The
relationship between advertisers and consumers is ultimately going to determine
who pays for content, and who pays to AVOID the ads.
>
> So there's one possibility, perhaps. Retain that "local broadcaster" role as
> the distributor of content, plus the local ad and news/weather breaks
> threaded in, only now they make this available to the ISPs. Maybe a network
> of servers in the various ISP nets of a market, to get the servers close to
> the edge of these nets. Problem is, they would have to make this shift
> aggressively, or others will take on that role. If they have not already?
There is NOTHING to prevent broadcasters from doing this NOW. But broadcasters
(much like the newspapers that are now dying), are struggling to adapt to these
new technologies. Then again, why bother when you can get your "competitors" to
pay you for your programming?
(Yes Bert, cable and DBS compete with broadcasters in local ad markets).
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:
