In Milwaukee, HBO on the Laptop, Only For Subscribers

More often nowadays it seems as if new technology is being developed to change the way people recieve information and entertainment. Some of these new technologies are helpful and others are just new ways of looking at doing things for future reference. I think that this new way of downloading television material on to personal computers is a great idea. Today more and more people whether its for business or pleasure are using they're computers more and more not just adults but kids as well. I think what Time Warner is presenting here will give the paying customer more variety of what content they want to view. I am a bit curious about the idea of shows deleting after a certain experation date. I think if it is possible they should try and make the service more like a DVR as well. That would allow subscribers to save a show they really like and record and fast forward to they're favorite spots within the shows they download. Along with the type of downloaded content that is available I would like to know how companies if at all would advertise during these types of shows downloaded? Read the article below and comment on what you think!

March 30, 2009, 12:05 am — Updated: 12:06 am -->
In Milwaukee, HBO on the Laptop, Only For Subscribers

By Brian Stelter

In Monday’s New York Times, Brad Stone and I report on tests by cable and satellite companies to create a subscriber model for TV viewing on the Internet. Worried that the proliferation of free video on the Web, the distributors want to make available an online library of TV episodes, but only to customers who pay for a cable or satellite subscription.

In Milwaukee, Time Warner Cable is already testing a similar service. Through the one-year-old HBO on Broadband product, cable customers who already pay for HBO are able to log in to a software program and select which TV shows and films they want to download. The Internet content mostly mirrors what HBO makes available through its cable video-on-demand platform; shows and films rotate in and out of availability, and they are automatically deleted from the computer when they expire.

Kurt S. Bocksenbaum, 45, subscribed to HBO solely because he wanted to use the broadband service. Now he downloads programs like “Big Love” directly to his computer. “I hope that this is extended to other channels,” he said.

Customers are allowed to set up five accounts for each household. Mr. Bocksenbaum’s daughter Elizabeth, age 4, has already learned how to download the animated series “I Spy” onto her child-sized laptop. When HBO on Broadband was announced last year, The Times reported:

While most networks have embraced browser-based streaming video, HBO’s programming is to be watched in a separate computer application that downloads shows to the hard drive. It may face several hurdles: the program is available only on Windows PCs initially; the downloaded content cannot yet be transferred to portable devices; and the content expires four weeks after being downloaded.

The application has some innovative features. It allows users to set up accounts for each family member, and the attached parental controls can block violent or explicit content. It also lets users watch the live televised version of HBO, a feature that may appeal to subscribers who are away from home.

Some HBO customers in Wisconsin say they especially like the download functionality. Rebecca Lavoy, 33, started using the service late last summer to entertain her children when they spend weekends at a cabin in Illinois.
“On rainy days we had nothing for our kids to watch except the same DVDs, and they were sort of bouncing off the walls,” she said. With the broadband service, “we could download a couple shows for the kids and a couple shows for us.”

Time Warner Cable said it did not have a reliable estimate of how many customers are using HBO on Broadband in Milwaukee. Still, the service could be a harbinger of TV’s future on the Web; Time Warner expects to begin broader trials of an authentication system for online TV viewing by this summer.

Young Boomers Watch 9.5 Hours of Video per Day; TV Still on Top

When I was looking at tvweek's website this article stood out. The headline alone was astonishing. I found it interesting that people from the ages of 45-54 watch more than 9 1/2 hours of television per day while other age groups average about 8 1/2. That seems like so much tv for one day but when I was thinking about it I thought of when I watch a game on tv. By the time the game is over its three hours later. Putting it in terms of what you watch doesn't seem as bad as when you break it down to hours. The article also discusses how we are exposed to 72 minutes of television advertising. Since the research showed that 99% of video consumption is watched on traditional TVs and even 98% of 18-24 year olds' video consumption is seen on televisions. It sure sounds to me like television isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

March 26, 2009 10:35 AM

By Jon LaFayette

Live viewing on television still is the dominant form of video consumption in the United States.

A new study conducted by Ball State University’s Center for Media Design and Sequent Partners for the Nielsen-funded Council for Research Excellence, found that 99% of video consumption on televisions, the Web and mobile is on traditional TVs. Even among adults 18 to 24, 98% of video is seen on televisions.

The figures confirm numbers generated by other forms of measurement by Nielsen.
Live TV was the top way video was consumed, followed by DVDs, with digital video recorders third.

http://www.tvweek.com/news/2009/03/young_boomers_watch_95_hours_o.php

Solid early bounce for March Madness

Welcome back from spring break everybody! Thought I would start the action with a post from TV Newsday regarding the NCAA march madness and the improvement of ratings. I found it interesting that the ratings were up 9% from last year, and that is only in the opening round. My question is to whether this has driven up the price of advertising during the airing of the games. From the people I know, there are ALOT of people who watch these games, and since CBS is the only station that airs them, people don't change the channels as much either. I have noticed that Vitamin Water is a big advertiser this year as I see their logo everywhere both on the court and in commercials, but I wonder about everyone else and what the action is like in the sales aspects of this

Opening round of games is up 9 percent over last year

By Toni Fitzgerald
Mar 23, 2009

The first round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament may have been light on upsets, with virtually all the high seeds prevailing easily, but it was heavy on viewers.

Thursday’s opening-round coverage on CBS was up 9 percent compared to last year, according to Nielsen overnights, from an average 4.3 household rating and 10 share to a 4.7/10.

All but one of the day’s four windows of games saw improvement versus 2008, with the second afternoon telecast up 0.4, to a 3.7, the second-highest rating in the past four years, and the two primetime windows both up 0.5.

That wasn’t the only area where CBS saw year-to-year improvements. Its March Madness on Demand online platform recorded its best-ever opening-day traffic as well.

The site’s video player drew 2.7 million unique visitors, up 56 percent versus last year. Those visitors watched 2.8 million hours of live video and audio streaming, 65 percent better than last year.

The TV and online growth is being attributed to a number of factors. The down economy certainly means more people are looking for cheap entertainment, and the NCAA tourney is free both online and off.

Too, an unusually large number of big-name schools, with huge alumni fan bases, made the tournament this year, cutting down on the potential small-school Cinderellas, who received very few bids. That surely drew in viewers for squads like Michigan who hadn’t made NCAAs in a few years.

Also, the competition certainly isn’t what it used to be on Thursday night. Though NCAAs faced an original episode of “Grey’s Anatomy” on ABC, that show’s ratings have plummeted since last year.

Meanwhile, online, a growing number of people have learned about the free CBS games, and an increasing number of surfers have the broadband internet capabilities to watch those games.

Plus, CBS partnered with literally hundreds of web and mobile sites this year to promote the game, including Facebook, YouTube, ESPN.com and more.

Here's an example of the revenue situation most stations are facing. Revenue is UP but it's mostly the result of political advertising, events that likely won't be repeated for four more years. Local advertising is down 17%; Internet advertising is up 21% but contributes a smaller slice to the revenue pie....$3.2 million vs $45 million from depressed local advertising.

http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2009/03/16/daily.5/

Gray Posts 12% Gain in 4Q Revenue

By Staff

TVNEWSDAY, Mar 16 2009, 7:47 AM ET

Gray Television Inc. today announced fourth quarter results for the period ended Dec. 31, 2008. Its total net revenue increased $10.5 million, or 12%, to $94.8 million due primarily to increased political and internet advertising revenue, partially offset by decreased local and national advertising revenue in the fourth quarter of 2008.

• Political advertising revenue increased $24.7 million, or 942%, to $27.4 million.
• Internet advertising revenue increased $600,000, or 21%, to $3.2 million.
• Local advertising revenue decreased $9.2 million, or 17%, to $45 million.
• National advertising revenue decreased $5.1 million, or 24%, to $16.1 million.

Local Media Decline

We talked this morning about the importance of advertising sales to pay the bills for any media company. Without advertising, few media companies could operate unless government funded or funded through receiver license fees. Even then, channel selection would be limited. Who wants to revert to a media system with only three or four government funded media channels?

This article, from Multichannel News, discusses the anticipated decline in local media advertising over the next few years. Local advertising will decline by about $11 BILLION by 2013. Worth thinking about is that advertising/marketing expenditures won't necessarily disappear--they may instead move to new media forms/formats. Click the link to read the full article:
http://www.multichannel.com/article/189663-Study_Local_Media_Declines_for_Next_Few_Years.php?nid=2381&source=title&rid=5248892

Study: Local Media Declines for Next Few Years

K.C. Neel -- Multichannel News, 3/9/2009 1:00:57 PM MT

The weak economic environment should curtail overall local advertising spending in coming years, according to the U.S. Local Media Annual Forecast (2008-2013) study by BIA Advisory Services and its Kelsey Group division.

Local ad revenue will decline from $155.3 billion in 2008 to $144.4 billion by 2013, according to the report, which represents a negative compounded annual growth rate. Of all the local ad revenue segments, only interactive is expected to grow over the next five-year period, Kelsey Group reported. All other local media will experience marginal to rapid declines in the next 18 to 36 months, BIA Advisory Services president and CEO Tom Buono said in a statement. A small number of traditional media will rebound with a revived economy beginning in 2011, though most traditional media will continue to decline, albeit at a slower pace.

"By the end of the forecast period, the overall size of the local advertising market will be considerably smaller than it was at the end of 2008," Buono said. "As the shift to online accelerates, and the demand for accountability metrics grows, there is an increased urgency for traditional media companies to develop and embrace new business models that incorporate digital strategies in order to drive business over the next decade."

Different Points of View

Broadcast systems vary around the world--even between the U.S. and Western European countries. Italy has JUST approved product placement in programs; the UK has said NO to product placement on it's commercial network ITV.

Product placement is one more source of non-traditional revenue. You're more likely to see it generate high revenue numbers in network shows--money that the show producer may get a slice of as well as the network. The FCC has looked with a wary eye over the years about product placement on U.S. shows. Is this practice ethical? Quick answer: Yes. And, legal too--in the U.S. But, how about the leverage fee mentioned in the article? Legal--yes...ethical--yes but at what point does it become questionable? "Questionable" is the polite word we use for unethical.

Here's the link: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=102029

TV Watch Branded TV In Europe: Going In Different Directions

Wayne Friedman, Mar 12, 2009 11:45 AM

In Europe, branded entertainment is considered both a good and bad thing. On the same day that the Italian government agreed to allow product placement on local TV shows, the British government gave a thumbs-down to branded integrations for its commercial TV network, ITV. This wasn't an easy decision for Italian officials, who are still concerned over youth product placement. While a ban on product placement will continue for children's shows in Italy, the murkier area comes around teen TV programs, where it will be okay for marketers to run in-show product appearances.

A Bright Light in the Failing Economy

We have all been reading and hearing about how television stations around the country are filing for bankruptcy and have to be bought by banks. We have also been hearing and reading about local advertising on the outs and stations losing money hand over foot. But there is one place where the television stations are doing just fine, even great.

MARKET SHARE BY ARTHUR GREENWALD

Making More News and Sales in Savannah

TVNEWSDAY, Mar 9 2009, 2:51 PM ET

Just when networks and station groups are closing down news bureaus and entire newscasts, the "Little Stations That Could" — New Vision's duopoly in Savannah, Georgia (DMA 96) — are busy expanding their turf. They just opened a combined sales and news bureau in the fastest-growing part of their DMA...

Full Article: http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2009/03/09/daily.5/

These stations are thriving in one of the fastest growing areas in the country. They are expanding, getting new equipment, and learning how to have a better business model. It talks about having a more permanent staff, and a better working environment. In the article it discusses how if you have a standard that you must uphold, business will come to you. They discuss how if you air stories about local events, and places in that area than those businesses will want to advertise with you. Although this town and it's stations seem to be almost an annomly in today's market. It is good to know that not everything is going downhill.