My first job out of graduate school was at a broadcast network where, in the late '70s, we used to joke that owning a broadcasting license was like a license to print money because it was so easily
profitable. Good times. When cable came into the picture in the '80s, there was initial discomfit but no real cause for alarm. And soon, many broadcasters either bought or launched their own cable
networks so the television hierarchy remained intact. Viewers craving home entertainment were still captive to the television delivery box as we always knew it. Yes, customers were paying more for
television, but it expanded the choices available and was, for many, worth the cost. Thus began the slippery slope for media companies.
Fast-forward to the 21st century as we come face to face
with the end of the television network model as we know it. We always like to give lip service to the viewer. "The viewer chooses," we like to say. But it is never as true as today -- and many major
media companies, from magazines to newspapers to radio to television, are at a loss as to how to fully monetize. Not only can viewers choose, they rule.
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There are many factors placing stress
on the current model, such as the explosion of viewing sources and devices (many of which interrelate to each other); faster connectivity so higher quality video can be delivered almost anywhere;
burgeoning consumer choice and flexibility at a lower cost point; creation of new content on the consumer side in addition to the professional side; as well as a plethora of new and finely divined
data sources that challenge Nielsen's measurement currency.
About five years ago I sat across from a senior executive of a network group and told him that we needed to bulk up our Web sites,
negotiate for full program rights and create unique original content for the Web, because within the next three to five years viewers would be watching television on their computer. He said it
wouldn't happen because the industry could not monetize it. "Websites are just for marketing and branding the network," he said. But now it doesn't matter what we can or can't monetize. The consumer
is driving this change, not the media companies.
There are too many short-term thinkers in the industry. How else to explain the crash and burn of so many once great media properties? As long
as we reward short term thinking in place of long term strategies we will always be at the mercy of outside influences that reshape our industry beyond our control.
And yet, I see potential
opportunities which are not short-term or quick fixes.
Radio and print could arguably have the most to gain from the Internet revolution. They can, for the first time, break out of their
historical media forms. A radio or magazine Web site can stream video, for example. And, no longer limited to the strength of its signal, a radio station site can reach a listener anywhere and
everywhere, programming as many genres as there are tastes. For all media forms there is global advertising potential. I viewed Susan Boyle's video on ITV's "Britain's Got Talent" Web
site, which was skinned with a Domino's ad. There are many global brands. So why aren't more American media companies reaching out to global advertisers ... or creating new global advertisers? If I
can buy British Telecom stock on the Internet, why wouldn't BT advertise to me on CNBC, CNN or Fox News outlets? New ways of using media require new metrics and measurements. There are
more and more data sources, collected in real time and offering highly granular data points for valuable insights and trends. Let's finally move from age and gender posting and create more up-to-date
measurement systems that reflect a 360-degree media buy... or should we say, a 720-degree buy, taking into account the multitasking and interactivity of platforms? The future of media is
filled with opportunity if we are prescient enough to take advantage of it, and cooperative enough to reach some consensus on certain issues such as measurement. Mitch Oscar of MPG has formed a
committee on the latter and there are many strategic researchers at media companies who can contribute to the former, should senior management decide to listen.