It's been an interesting week for me. I started a new evening course on social media and digital marketing on Tuesday, to try to understand not just how to use the various communications channels, but to get some insight into how others are using them, and what impact all these channels have on the business we are in- there's no doubt that broadcast and online have both a symbiotic and adversarial relationship, and its fascinating to see how this relationship is developing, ever more quickly it appears to me. So one of the side-effects of my new-found social-media awareness is that I've been spending a fair amount of time reading articles, blog posts, online newsletters, online magazines, and other communications- including press releases!- relating to our business, no doubt much to the annoyance of my colleagues who've been getting "this is interesting......" Comments from me all week! And although of course you can't believe everything you read, there is a common thread running through the stuff I've been reading, and it points to some interesting times coming down the tracks.
Every industry goes through a major upheaval periodically in its history, when the rules of the game change, and a new -sorry to use the word but can't think of another one- paradigm - emerges. Think of the introduction of motorised transport and its effect on the work-horse trading business, or the invention of the steam loom on the clothing manufacturing business. Closer to our industry, look at the effect desktop publishing had on the print business, not to mention of course the Internet itself- in fact this blog wouldn't exist without the emergence of DTP and the Internet - though some might argue that would be no bad thing!
It seems to me that the broadcast media business is undergoing one of these paradigm shifts now, and its going to take a while to figure out the new model. With ever more methods of distributing content, and ever more content creators making content, in some ways we should be entering a golden age for quality TV, movies, and other moving picture content. The challenge is to find a way to get this in front of the viewer, whether via traditional broadcast, subscription service, or online service. Or maybe via some other channel that we haven't thought of yet!
One of the interesting snippets I read in the course of my "research" was that Netflix streamed over one billion hours of programming per month over the past year! That's a phenomenal amount of programming, and that's just one provider, with content that's mostly re-used from traditional broadcast channels. Their newly launched original programming indicates that they appreciate that viewers do want new and interesting, quality content, and by commissioning their own, it seems they are in some ways emulating elements of the existing broadcast business- where they realise that viewer loyalty has more to do with the quality of the content than the brand of the channel.
How much of their revenue will go into original programming is an interesting question, but I think it points to an optimistic future for the production community, especially when taken with YouTube's recent announcement of their intention to commission content, and Amazon's similar announcement.
So traditional broadcasters are looking at many options to try to retain the viewers, and I think we're starting to see the bones of how the broadcasters of the future might operate. Of course, catch-up services are pretty much universal at this stage, and we are starting to see some interesting second-screen deployments- especially around sports events- designed to enhance the viewing experience and hold onto the eyeballs. The potential move to higher resolutions, such as 4K, may not happen for a few years yet, but in the meantime, improvements in HD picture quality are being made through improved production kit, better compression technology (the HEVC demos at NAB were stunning!), and probably just more experience on the part of the producers in squeezing more quality out of the production chain.
The major networks- think the three US FTA networks, HBO, BBC, ITV, and other major content commissioning companies- are among the major providers of content to the new-comers, and they are the ones predominantly funding the cost of series such as the Sopranos, Breaking Bad, David Attenborough's many nature series, and so on. I'm not saying that without these networks, this content wouldn't be produced- but I think it's fair to say that the quantity and perhaps quality might reduce. However, the number of hours that need to be filled isn't going to reduce, so somewhere in all this, it's reasonable to expect that an accommodation will be reached that enables the content production companies to find commissioning organisations, and the content distribution companies to find producers to produce the ideas, pilots, and series.
So maybe there might be a parallel in the way cinema has developed over the past few years. The emergence of videotape was touted as heralding the end of the cinema, since we could all stay at home and watch the movies, and at lower cost. But in reality, the amount of new and interesting movies available to rent was pretty poor in the main, and renting a movie was pretty much a Friday or Saturday night takeaway activity- people still went out to the cinema for both the experience, and the quality of the show. But the cinemas had to change too, and they improved their facilities and enhanced the customer's experience, and something similar is likely to happen to the traditional broadcast networks. Maybe not as easily defined as with the cinema market, but by becoming the go-to place for quality first-run content, and enhancing this with improved facilities- be it eventually moving to 4K (as no doubt the major manufacturers would love!), or offering enhanced second-screen experiences, or maybe by tying in additional services to take on the newcomers at their own game, such as with the success of the BBC iPlayer.
It may be that viewers would be willing to pay a subscription to the traditional broadcasters if they offered the same types of services as the Netflix, Hulu, Amazon type organisations. And the broadcasters have a huge advantage- they are available to everyone in their region, and aren't dependent on someone finding them online. They also have the advantage of being able to offer live programming in a meaningful, timely way- especially sports programming, news programmes, and other time-critical content. And the trend towards using the various social media channels to build community around a programme helps tie the viewer to the scheduled run of the programme, rather than watching it time-shifted, or online.
So, the shape of the broadcast landscape may be changing, and the view may not yet be well defined, but through the fog, there is the first glimmer of a new dawn for the broadcast industry, and so long as they are willing to keep pushing the boundaries, and to innovate at the same pace as the startups, then the long and rich heritage, and viewer loyalty they've built over the decades, should enable them to prosper and grow in the future.
It's an exciting prospect, and I for one feel optimistic that quality -both technical and content- will help the emergence of the Golden Age I referred to earlier.
Meantime, back to my Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest......
As always, comments welcome!
Kevin
Twitter- kevineurotek
Facebook- Kevin Moore
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