Posts for 'Cable Networks'

• Golf Channel “The Drive” Premium Membership - $29.95/year (lots of instructional video – makes sense to charge)
• CourtTV “EXTRA” - $5.95/mo (feeds of multiple trials simultaneously, for the armchair criminologists among you)
• Weather Channel “Desktop Max” $29.99/year – (really the ad-supported Desktop service, but minus the ads, and also more comprehensive than just video)

CBS has announced that it is partnering with at least 13 "leading community-building websites and social application providers" to allow its users to incorporate clips in their pages at these sites.

I think this is a great step by CBS toward embracing what I have termed the "clip culture."

Our Q4 '06 report on the broadcast industry and broadband video concluded that to date, the networks have looked at broadband as simply a new distribution path for existing programming. While this is a significant opportunity, another big one is using the broadband medium to redefine the kind of programming they offered and how fans could engage with it.

Since traditional networks are steeped in 30 and 60 minute thinking, they've been slow to recognize how powerful short (i.e. 2 minute'ish clips) are online. YouTube exploited networks' reticence, with users uploading tons of networks' clips (albeit without permission, but that's another story).

The language of the CBS press release is a little vague, but it suggests that CBS will determine which clips users can embed. This is a great start. While this announcement is a positive, it doesn't appear to go far enough in allowing users to actually create their own clips for embedding. That would be the ideal. Hopefully that's coming next. That's what today's users want.

Today’s panelists reinforced my thinking that these would-be bypassers are in for a tough fight. Bill pointed out that since operators own their own networks, they can deliver quality-of-service (QOS) that others can’t. This is especially important when it comes to delivering really big Blue-Ray or HD-DVD files. Meanwhile, Jim reminded all of us that “most favored nations” clauses in most cable networks’ carriage agreements with operators will be keeping plenty of lawyers busy just determining if networks can even make deals with the upstart broadband video aggregators.

The broadband video aggregation area is going to be very interesting to watch…..

I was talking to a reporter earlier today, who asked me if traditional media companies should view broadband video as a threat.

It’s often tempting to think of anything new or any change as being threatening. That’s probably human nature. So it’s perfectly understandable why broadband video is still perceived as a threat by many.

But in fact, broadband is a giant opportunity.

Here’s a great example. CNNMoney.com launched a new Luxury “channel” on its site. This gives CNNMoney a place to grab the attention of high net worth audiences. By showcasing products with glossy video that luxury products companies and retailers want to be next to, CNNMoney is able to tap into new ad dollars in a targeted way. Could Turner have launched a conventional cable channel on “luxury”? Not a chance. There’s no room left on the dial and financing a 24x7 linear network would take big bucks until it eventually got to break-even.

Broadband lets Turner/CNN get into an important new category for a modest amount, leveraging their brand and traffic to generate new revenues.

I keep saying that media companies should view broadband as not only an opportunity, but one of the biggest ones they seen in ages. CNNMoney seems to get it.

Well not quite yet, as the lawsuits are not yet flying. But we're getting there. After some flip-flopping on this last fall, today Viacom officially told YouTube to take down its clips, reputed to number over 100,000. Obviously you'd need to be involved in these negotiations to know the details of what the offers and counter-offers have been, but it's a disappointment for both parties not to be able to work things out.

As I wrote back in November, "Big Media's Most Vexing Challenge (and How to Overcome It)", companies like Viacom are going through a painful adjustment process to the new broadband-dominated world. This flare-up with YouTube is yet another example.