So I'm a bit skeptical on the issue because we've addressed it before on The Media Backpage.  The issue is how can the advertising community best utilize the latest craze of video iPods?  Advertisers are still navigating these unfamiliar waters with the further development of the video iPod and recently companies are trying to take their traditional 30-second spots for television and reformat them for your iPod.  This is the wrong approach.  Advertising executives need to think outside their traditional realm as video blogs and programs are their own medium and need to attract uniquely crafted messages.  The sooner companies learn how to capitalize on this new medium, the better chance they have of getting their product or service noticed by this ever-growing population. 

Keep monitoring the trend on The Media Backpage - we're all over this trend.

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As today's media landscape continues yesterday's business models are becoming history. 

Audiences are finding new and unique ways to consume media.  Instead of watching your favorite television program on Thursday's at 8PM now you simply "TiVo" it and watch it when it's convenient for you, or watch it at a later date on DVD.  The news is no longer at 11 - but rather when you're ready at 11:07.  Your favorite radio station used to cover about a 100 square mile radius, now thanks to satellite radio it covers the entire country.  In the past, it took almost a year from the box-office to our dens, today movies are available with weeks. (Actually, with Steven Sodenberg's latest release - Bubble - the movie was released in the theatre and on DVD on the same day.)  

As we explained in our introductory post, yesterday's media business models are experiencing dynamic changes.  This recent article from New York Magazine does a great job of driving home the point about how technologies, such as the TiVo and the iPod, have changed how the media system works, and relegated the old media rules to the history books.

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Yeah...that will work.  In a "shocking" statement from Sirius, cease-and-desist letters have been sent out to online pirates, hearhoward100.com and hearhoward.org in a move to try and stop the "king of all media" from being heard for free.  After his satellite debut on January 9th, pirate radio stations around NY as well as other major markets began to retransmit the Sirius program on terrestrial (free) radio.  I can't imagine who was more thrilled, Sirius (by losing potential consumers) or the FCC (with Stern uncensored roaming on the FM dial).  Pirating Howard is nothing new, it has been occurring for years.  However, the issue is about dollars and cents now.  With Sirius costing consumers $13 a month, if their is a free alternative, people will flock to it.  There is little doubt Sirius will do everything in their power to eliminate the free transmission of Howard Stern's program with as much as $500 million invested in him.  Sirius spokesman Patrick Reilly said, "We don't condone the stealing of Howard's show, or any of the content on our more than 125 channels. We vigorously protect our intellectual property rights and we will actively prosecute those who attempt to steal it."

TheStreet.com put the scenario best: if water fountains started spraying free Coca-Cola. In that case, who’d want to part with four quarters for a bottle of Coke?

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With The Sopranos next season slated to start on March 12, I thought it would be a good time to take a look at what makes HBO so unique.  While the networks fight to retain audience share, the cable network, HBO, retains paying viewers with relevant and unique content like Sex in the City, and Entourage. 

While HBO is often the subject of water cooler talk they program and operate under a different set of rules from the rest of the television industry.  Not only does HBO charge for their programming and keep subscribers locked in between seasons, they also tend to counter program the traditional November or February Sweeps periods.  Instead HBO runs their most popular shows during network TV's off months such as January, March and July. This strategy allows HBO to capitalize on an unsaturated market for hype, to have few new network shows to compete against, and perhaps most importantly, by staggering their programming it ensures that subscribers keep doing just that, subscribing between and throughout seasons.

In short, HBO seems to have developed its own paradigm that allows it to create a win-win solution for the network and its audience. Now, I’m glad that I never cancelled that HBO subscription, because in just a few short weeks everyone's favorite mob family returns!

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There are a number of articles, like this one, from the Mercury News that are making the rounds these days about how through a series of actions Steve Jobs could rise to power to run Disney and what the implications would be for the media industry.

How does such a scenario develop?  Well, if Disney completes a deal to buy Pixar, the animation studio that created hits Toy Story and Finding Nemo, then Jobs, who is already Pixar's CEO would obtain Disney stock as part of the deal.  In actuality, he would probably end up with enough stock to put him on Disney's board and perhaps even the chairman's seat.

So, how does that sit within the modern media landscape?  While, it may remind you of the failed AOL-Time Warner merger, which, was orchestrated to fuse AOL's online portal with the Time Warner's vast content library, the outcome will be much different.  While there could be questions as to why this mega-merger would have a different outcome.  Basically, there are two major differences between the AOL-TW merger and Disney and Pixar situation.  First, the AOL and Time Warner deal happened before broadband was widely deployed in American homes, which allows consumers to download larger media content such as songs and video content.  Secondly, there was no device nor the ability to mobilize AOL’s content whereas a Disney/Pixar deal would bring together not only two content behemoths but one of today’s hottest technology providers.

If the Disney-Pixar deal does take foot expect Steve Jobs - in whatever capacity he is in the corporate hierarchy - to use the newfound position to influence the organization’s strategy so that he can leverage the Disney’s large content library via the Apple’s iTunes store.  Not only will this help fully usher Disney into the new digital age, but it will monetize an extensive library that is not available yet in the digital world.  While Disney's ABC and ESPN units have already debuted content in Apple's iTunes Music Store, with Jobs on the Disney board, it would not be surprising to see old television shows and movies, as well as new releases make their way into the virtual shelves and available for download.  Jobs has built a platform that over 80 million Americans now use to manage their music libraries, and with the latest release of the company’s iPod supporting video, Jobs is looking for a way to tip the scales again for television and film properties and further drive traffic through iTunes and thus the sale of the iPod. 

Of course, on a larger scale, if Jobs is successful in this endeavor it will impact not only Disney, but the larger media community.

Update: Since we posted this earlier in the week, the deal has been completed and it has been announced that Jobs will be on the Disney board of directors.  Business Week has a good analysis of how Jobs will interact and help drive the direction of the Disney organization.

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In a shocking move today, the newly formed CBS Corporation and Time Warner have agreed to shutdown their smaller TV networks, the WB and UPN.  Keeping their popular programming alive, the two major media corporations will launch the "CW" network in the fall season of 2006.  Network executives from UPN and WB will combine to run the new network, CW and will make decisions about which programs they will renew for the new network in the fall.  Often referred to as "Netlets" for their inability to crack the "big 4" ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX in the eyes of the viewers and the public, the folding of the WB and UPN is a significant move in the media marketplace. 

As cable television continues to dominate the marketplace with channels aimed at targeted "niche" audience, networks have been left scratching their heads to compete.  Cable has been grabbing ratings from the networks continuously for the past decade and is impacting the business-side of television.  The underlying point is that the television landscape is changing and this is just another large media merger within the entertainment industry.  The real winner is Time Warner who would earn a 50% stake in a possible 5th large network.      

Major outlets have already began to weigh in:

CNN
Wall Street Journal

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This is a great list of uses of RSS feeds and how users can benefit from RSS beyond just receiving the news headlines.  The list was published by Basement.org and we were lucky enough to learn about it via Steve Rubel's Micro Persuasion.

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As part of a broader effort announced earlier this week by the HD Radio Alliance, the nation's largerst radio broadcasters have begun unveiling their HD Radio roll-out plans.  As the announcements roll in many across the country are going to have the opportunity to experience new formats, as old ones will re-emerge.  For example, in New York, on one of Clear Channel's HD signals New York gained its first country signal in several years, while many of CBS's newly launched Free-FM outlets began providing modern rock on their HD channels.  Additionally, new formats for terrestrial radio are making their debut such as Clear Channel's Hip Hop Raw and Uncut channel in San Francisco.

FMQB - HD Radio Rollout Begins

Terrestrial Radio Gets "Serious" About HD

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Two weeks ago at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Yahoo, Microsoft, AOL and Google all showcased their new online video portals, which were set to debut later this year.  The idea was to challenge the stranglehold Apple already has on the market for both free videos, but more importantly those that content providers are charging for including television shows and movies.  Google has already cut a major deal with the NBA, for consumers to download games and highlights from around the league for their viewing pleasure.

As we have covered on The Media Backpage, major content providers like Walt Disney and CBS have already cut deals with Apple.  However, this week Google snuck one past everyone by launching it's service way ahead of schedule.  They have now officially launched their site, Google Video.

Everyone's excited to have options for online video, especially those with video iPods and similar players, with that said though some are not thrilled with Google's first offering, especially those at the New York Times ripped Google's beta version.  The service leaves a lot to be desired and isn't as comfortable as Apple's iTunes, but it is still certain to have a huge impact on the emerging video-download world.

Check it out and let us know what you think...

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On January 24th, Amazon hands the mic to Bill Maher, who will host a new on-line series of webcasts called, "Amazon Fishbowl." 

That's correct, after over ten years on the web, Amazon is getting into the original content business.  Each week, on Thursday evenings, the company will host Maher's program, which will feature various authors, artists, and directors.  As one might expect, most of the guests will have tie-ins with current or new products that are available through the e-retailer.  However, despite the move into the world of "Web 2.0," unlike the earlier moves by the traditional networks, Amazon will only stream the content live on their website and the shows will not be available for download.

I applaud Amazon for taking the step forward to offer original content, but the strategy is flawed.  Consumers are reaching out for alternatives from the traditional media venues but they want to do so on their own terms.  That is why there has been great success for products like TiVo, and on-line content like audio and video podcasts.  However, today's audience wants to have the flexibility to catch programming when and where they want, which is why I would strongly recommended that they make these shows available for download.  Not only would Amazon would benefit further by making this content available for download through their own site, but they can also reach new audiences through other distribution channels such as iTunes, Yahoo, AOL, and the many independent media directories.

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CBS will be not only adding to the plethora of video content available for download, but they will introduce a new element - the Micro-Series.  During the commercial break of some of CBS's primetime shows, mainly during their 9PM hour, the network has announced that they will run :40-:60 second segments a mini "serialized drama."  The first series will be called, The Courier, and will debut on January 24th during CSI Miami.  After the segments are broadcast, they'll be available online for download.

Link: Washington Post Story

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While most advertisers often try new ideas few stick with the same campaign for a quarter of a century.  Despite traditional logic or other advertisers behavior has the folks at Absolut Vodka have stuck with the same Absolut campaign style for the past 25 years.  The campaign, which was rooted in print for the past few decades, prior to television outlets accepting the hard liquor ads, routinely featured a design of an Absolut bottle in any number of settings or locations.   

Beginning today, Absolut will begin a new series of advertisements that will unlike their predecessors appear on television and feature a variety of American icons.  The new ads will for one thing be similar to the previous campaign in that they are sure to continue the tradition of playing on the Absolut name and the distinct look and design of the drink's bottle.

The campaign is designed to tap into TV's new-found acceptance of hard-liquor advertising and help reach more twenty-somethings.  We're also pretty sure the ads will in some sense become instant classics like their ancestors.

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The MediaBackpage is all over this topic.  Last week, you saw broadcast television stations like CBS, talking about launching "smaller screen" soap operas to hit your cell phones.  It didn't take long for advertisers to follow suit. In part of a push by marketers to create an "up close and personal" advertising campaign, cell phone providers are exploring ways to deliver video, audio, banner clips directly to your mobile.

It gets better, The New York Times details the latest technological advancements as marketers are gearing up to use your GPS to send advertisements that are relevant to your location.  Meaning a store or restaurant can send you a 3-second advertisement clip as you pass by, to try an entice you to come inside.  Are you ready for this yet?

Posted by Brett at 9:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Now, we're a little late on this story, but it seems significant enough to mention.  Wherever you go, no matter who you talk to, it seems that quite frequently the conversation turns to "the weather."  Well, that's simple enough - you can get the latest weather from your local radio station, the tv news, the internet, or well, even a local weather podcast.  The Weather Channel, recently announced that they have had over 500,000 subscribers (as of early December) download their local weather via podcast.  Now, entering the winter weather season, which means ski season in many parts of the country TWC will be offering special ski reports and weather updates via podcast.

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No longer do we have to report to our home dens for soap operas, or sporting events as we once had to.  Today, it seems as though everywhere you look the conversation is about content on anything but the television.  From the laptop to even smaller devices like cell phones, iPods, PDAs, and digital media players every one wants their content available to audiences no matter where they physically are and on any device.

Case in point, buried in the media headlines today, MediaPost's Media DailyNews highlighted that both CBS and the E! Network have announced new mobile deals.  While CBS will create new small-screen soaps for mobile phones and other devices, E! will launch a new broadband channel with streaming audio and video content to both cell phones and satellite radio subscribers.

While this particular story was a small blurb it is a highly signifficant move that demonstrates the mobile media trend that we'll be watching and focusing on here at The MediaBackpage.

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Today, consumers are faced with more and more media options with which they can spend their time then ever before.  Audiences options range from new on-demand content, to rental DVD options, and paid satellite radio. With that in mind the big media companies are rushing to stay relevant and while it seems as though everyone has a different strategy, one popular trend is to offer niche content to previously underserved markets.

Perhaps one of the larger populations to benefit from the change has been the gay community, which it seems many content creators are quickly trying to capture.  And why not, over the past decade the gay community has not only solidified its voice but within the community there is vast representation of many socio-economic backgrounds.  Further, the gay community is prominent in many of the Nation's largest markets including New York, San Francisco, Miami, and Los Angeles just to name a few. 

With that in mind, today, Sony Music announced that they plan to launch a new record label that features gay, lesbian, and transgendered artists.  The label will be run by Matt Farber, who started MTV's LOGO network that launched in 2005.  Reports are that the label will offer its first release in time for National Gay Pride Month in June.

Sony's entry into the gay and lesbian market follow's on the heals of not only MTV, but also of Sirius Satellite Radio, which has for several years provided Channel 149, Sirius OutQ.

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Rupert Murdoch has done it again.  Insiders were buzzing when News Corp. purchased MySpace.com last summer, but were surprised it has taken him this long to speak on his plans for the picture-dominated website. Watch out Yahoo, Murdoch announced a detailed plan to launch a full-service website portal complete with free video downloads, instant-messaging, and an internet phone calling service.  With over 47 million members, MySpace will tap into the 16-35 year old market with a bang.  High school kids, college students, and full-fledged adults surf thousands of pictures on MySpace all day long and Murdoch will take advantage of his built-in audience.  Why else would he shell out more than $1.3 billion for the site last summer?  Check out The Wall Street Journal's take on Murdoch's latest move (subscription rec'd.

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Welcome!  First of all, thank you for visiting The Media Backpage, we hope that this site (or a feed of our postings) can become a staple in your media diet. 

The Media Backpage will focus on today's modern media landscape and the changing dynamics of the information and entertainment arenas.  With that said, we will take a broad look at everything from radio and television to newspapers and new modern outlets such as blogs and podcasts.  Below, from our "pre-live" days, you will find the types of stories that will be covered.

At the Backpage we will try to take an objective look at how the industry shifts from its pre-digital days into tomorrow and as mega-newsrooms are retooled and subjected to the changing dynamics of today's on-demand, on-the-go, customized media landscape.  Additionally, we hope to be able to shed some light on how these new technologies can help communications professionals in the worlds of public relations and marketing.  With that in mind, and in an effort to maintain full disclosure, we will be working with clients through our consulting practice at CityCast Media.

In addition to providing insights into today's media and having an open dialogue about the media, we hope to be able to highlight some unique tools and applications along the way, we'll file those under "Things We Like."  Naturally, as we expand and grow with your support, suggestions and comments we will add futher content to the site.

Should you have any questions along the way please feel free to contact me directly at jason@citycastmedia.com.

Wishing you all the best!

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Allstate changed its advertising philosophy and opted to not load-up on "upfront" ad buys in 2006.  Traditionally, Allstate gears up about $100 million to the big four networks (CBS, NBC, ABC and FOX) which allows the networks to flaunt their fall television schedule and gives them financial flexibility before the TV season begins (when buying upfront, the networks give advertisers huge discounts).  According to the Wall Street Journal, broadcast networks attracted 35% of the TV audience down from 57% 10 years ago...in the same period, the big four broadcast networks nearly doubled upfront sales to $8.3 billion from $4.5 billion.  Allstate has always been one of the most loyal advertisers in the business and if this trend continues across the board, it only proves that advertisers are focusing their time and money on the developing new media. Wall Street Journal Link (Subscription Req'd.)

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