Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: 20th Century Fox, Animation, Arts, Entertainment, General Electric, Jeff Zucker, NBC Universal, Simpsons
Production has resumed for the 20th season of FOX’s The Simpsons as the starring voice talent signed a new four-year agreement with 20th Century Fox TV this weekend. Salary negotiations between the cast and studio have delayed production on the show and as a result only 20 episodes will be completed instead of the usual 22. The agreement increases each voice actor’s salary to around $400K per episode and adds new duties for some. (Cynopsis 6/3)
Fans of FX series “Rescue Me” will get a little something extra beginning June 24. That’s when the channel will begin running five-minute “minisodes” of the Denis Leary-starring comedy as a way to bridge the nearly two-year gap between the fourth and fifth seasons of the show. (Variety 6/2)
NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker is being forced to find creative ways to finance deals after getting the financial equivalent of the cold shoulder by parent General Electric. Slowing growth prospects and investor pressure are making GE’s financial pockets “much shallower.” (Iwantmedia 6/3, http://www.nypost.com/seven/06032008/business/nbc_goes_it_alone_113758.htm 6/3)
A new study from IAG Research showed that viewers of advertising that appears within the video-on-demand format as opposed to linear TV are far more likely to remember the spots. The study found that viewers who saw a series of Lexus commercials within VOD shows were 68% more likely to recall the ad messages and 83% more apt to remember the brand itself. (Mediaweek 6/2)
In today’s changing environment, media moguls are said to struggling to understand whether they should buy or sell assets. “Old-media guys are trying to transform into new-media ‘it’ girls,” says one observer, “while upstarts are thinking, ‘Hey, maybe I can take down a dinosaur.’ ” (Iwantmedia 6/3, http://www.thedeal.com/servlet/ContentServer?cid=1211840632968&pagename=TheDeal%2FNWStArticle&c=TDDArticle 5/30)
Rainbow Media’s Voom, a 15-channel suite of high-definition channels, has filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit against Dish Network, charging that the satellite service unfairly dropped Voom channels in mid-May. The suit, filed with the New York Supreme Court, says the Dish move has cost Voom more than $1 billion in damages. (Multichannel News 6/2)
Pali Research analyst Richard Greenfield upgraded small-market provider Mediacom Communications from “neutral” to “buy,” noting the company’s recent success at signing customers up for its triple play of services. The move boosted the company’s stock price as much as 24% on Monday. (Multichannel News 6/2)
Filed under: Feature | Tags: Arts, Cease and desist, End of Control, Entertainment, Gerd Leonhard, Video, Video clip, YouTube
THE END OF CONTROL
In the above video, Ask a Ninja discusses the future of online video and more importantly why the availability of online video is so important in this 2.5 world (I’m tired of 2.0). Every second, 10 minutes of online video are uploaded to the internet. In a week, more people in the US watch YouTube videos than the top 10 network shows. These statistics may not mean much to you now but maybe more when the ninja drops it. Check it.
All jokes aside, this video caused me to think more about the distribution of content and the loss of control media companies are experiencing in this regard.
That’s when I came across the book and online blog entitled The End of Control by Gerd Leonhard. In the past, content publishers controlled distribution of their content primarily to the television and DVD platforms. That control and limited distribution has been terrorized by the consumer’s desire for content anywhere they go. Based on this consumer desire, the availability of content has been ripped from the content publisher by way of uploads to a global audience almost immediately after release on linear television.
Don’t Make Me Angry
Most media companies choose to fight this loss of control using their extensive legal teams and incessant cease and desist letters. While this does address the larger issues, the scale of the internet is most difficult to contain by any company no matter how large the legal team. It’s like being in a relationship. One person tells the other it’s not working out and the other ignores it. Even ignoring the situation or fighting back doesn’t make the relationship any stronger.
Paying for Content
DVD sales were and continue to be a huge driver of revenue for media companies. That said, paying for content does not only include a transfer of $$. As a user, I can pay for content either with $$ receiving an ad-free product or pay with my time and sit through the pre-roll. The video above illustrates Leonhard’s three methods for payment of online video.
Where To Go From Here
I wouldn’t dare say that I have all of the answers but what I do know is that controlling the internet is a futile exercise. If consumers have demanded a new product and forced that product to come to fruition, media companies should pool as many resources as possible to discover how to re-package that product in a form the consumer is willing to pay for. I truly believe that most people will pay for a product if provided a high quality video and seamless user experience (cough iTunes cough cough). And for those experiences that consumers are not willing to pay for, concentration should be placed on other methods of payment: attention and engagement.
And I Leave You With This
And OK, This Too
The rapid rate at which broadband is being adopted around the world will lead the number of Web video viewers to quadruple by 2013, according to a report by ABI Research. The study also says that Web video sites are increasingly finding more efficient ways to distribute their content. (http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9952659-7.html 5/27)
