[opendtv] Worlds Beyond Standard TV Begin to Look Profitable for ABC News
- From: Monty Solomon <monty@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: undisclosed-recipient: ;
- Date: Fri, 16 Apr 2004 11:15:59 -0400
Worlds Beyond Standard TV Begin to Look Profitable for ABC News
Bernard Gershon, G.M. of newly formed Digital Media Group, explains
how he seeks opportunities in this "nascent little medium."
Increasingly lucrative ventures range from The Note for political
mavens and streaming video packages for third parties to wireless
markets and pay-per-view.
Staci D. Kramer
Posted: 2004-04-16
Bernard Gershon's newest title after 11 years at ABC News says a lot
about the network's approach to the world outside of broadcast
television: senior vice president and general manager of the equally
new ABC News Digital Media Group.
Gershon describes the new group, quietly formed earlier this year, as
"an aggregation of all of the pieces of ABC News that are devoted to
enhancing the brand and expanding the reach of the product." It's a
broad portfolio including ABCNews.com, video on demand, pay-per-view,
wireless markets and international syndication along with ABC News
Productions and ABC News Video Source.
"It's basically putting all of the pieces together that are not
supported by advertising on television and seeing if there are ways
to grow it longer-term," says Gershon, 46, who was vice president of
ABC News radio before moving to ABCNews.com as vice president and
general manager in 1999.
Gershon did just that with ABCNews.com. The site, which celebrates
its seventh birthday this May, turned a profit last year, according
to Gershon. Reuters reported last December that the site has averaged
15 percent to 20 percent revenue growth annually since launch;
Gershon told the wire service that the site entered its fourth
profitable quarter last October after a profit for the fiscal year
that ended September 2003.
But by April, details about finances had been taken off the
discussion table. The group's results are not broken out by parent
Walt Disney Co., but were included within the Media Networks segment.
When asked about profits, Gershon was vague. When queried, media
relations staffer Julie Summersgill replied: "We do not disclose
specifics; we're very pleased with our 2004 revenue growth."
Blending the resources of ABC News with the Internet's ability to
meet individual viewing needs, Gershon and his staff have crafted a
palate of products that appeal to a wide variety of tastes. The
subscription-only video service ABC News On Demand isn't just
snippets; it's literally video on demand with 30-day archives of
marquee shows and more. Users can swap a quick registration process
for free subscriptions to nearly two dozen daily, weekly or monthly
e-mails ranging from a reminder that the snarky, densely packed
political roundup The Note has posted and the more matter-of-fact
I-Team: Daily Terror Report to recipes and gardening tips from "Good
Morning America."
The war in Iraq was still a week away when ABCNews.com launched an
ambitious online video news channel called ABC News Live to meet the
increasing demand for breaking news coverage. That pattern had been
set first by "Nightline," which started out in 1980 as a nightly
report on the hostage situation in Iran. ABC News Live has now
expanded, in only 13 months, to include two anchors and more
scheduled shows like the weekday "Politics Live."
Live news should be second nature for Gershon, who joined ABC after
stints in New York as associate director, news and programming at CBS
NewsRadio 88 and news director of WOR Radio. He told high school
students in 2002 that his introduction to 24-hour news came through
radio as a broadcast student at New York University as a student in
the mid-70s.
He can't resist flip answers. Ask about a recent trip to China and
the answer is "It's a pretty big country." But he's completely
serious when it comes to the present -- and future -- of ABCNews.com.
He talked by phone earlier this week about the potential of the Media
Group. (Summersgill sat in.) The following is an edited excerpt of
that interview.
...
http://ojr.org/ojr/business/1082017409.php
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