Rupert Murdoch gave a speech to the Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers last month in which he said that the days of the old media baron were numbered.
He said: "A new generation of media consumers has risen demanding content delivered when they want it, how they want it, and very much as they want it."
Fine words from a 75 year old. And Murdoch has put his money where his mouth is with News Corp investing almost $1bn in online and $400m on MySpace.com alone.
Murdoch may be right, the old media baron's days may be numbered as media consumption habits change, but the acquisition of MySpace and the stories being associated with it now do not indicate that 'old media barons' know anything about online yet.
It has been revealed that Coca-Cola is aiming to tap into youth culture with a series of viral ads that will be distributed via social networking Web sites such as MySpace.com. Stories have also been circulating about tie-ups with other News Corp assets in the UK ahead of the launch of the UK front end of MySpace, including tie-ups with The Sun – all of which have been denied.
News Corp needs MySpace to start paying its way. If there is anything I can tell you about publishing it is that proprietors do not like loss makers. But trying to attract advertisers to MySpace will defeat the object of the community in the first place.
MySpace is an anti-portal, an environment that lends itself to free expression and the original ethos of the Web, open communication. For starters this is not the usual environment that brands enjoy online and secondly the users will simply move on if it becomes a branded world. Other models mooted include adding e-commerce, again a turkey in my opinion as it is against the natural ethos of the community.
In response to the problem of disparate online assets News Corp began creating last year Fox Interactive Media, an overarching online play, which will hopefully for Murdoch bring together all of his Internet investments and make them pay off.
The problem is that the more you try and commercialise MySpace, the more you damage what you have bought in the first place, a community. It’s a unique problem for Murdoch and anyone else who has invested in social networks in the hope of capitalising on the phenomenon and as yet I have not seen a model that I think works. All Murdoch may end up with in the end is a very expensive promoter of his TV programmes.
Monday, April 24, 2006
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Who has the Rights?
Interesting story on the Guardian Web site today saying that mobile phone operators are now cooling on the idea of shelling out millions for exclusive rights to show Premier League football highlights.
It is an interesting problem for the Premier League and other rights holders as they seek to exploit rights in a world where technology is outpacing selling models.
Bob Fuller, chief executive of 3, is quoted saying that 3 will look at buying up the next rights package when it comes up, but says that he thinks that exclusivity is not worth paying lots of money for anymore.
His argument is sound. A few years ago when 3 launched and video on mobile was still in its infancy, paying for exclusive rights to Premier league highlights packages could be used as a carrot to get people on the network. Now, in the age where mobile TV is available for a few and is rapidly become a reality for all, paying millions for a hived off 'mobile only' package of rights does not make sense, especially if you then add in the convergence of delivery companies with triple and quad plays being launched into the market that will abe able to offer better content packages.
Interestingly mobile entertainment company Rok announced a few weeks ago that it had developed something it was calling the Rok Black Box (BLCX for short), a device that plugs into the TV, encodes and compresses the signal, delivers it across broadband to the Web and can then be acessed via 2.5G mobile using a Java application and viewed at 24 frames a second.
The BLCX (apparenlty standing for Bollocks to the networks) is not yet commercially available but is planned for a roll-out before the World Cup this summer. T-Mobile paid a vast sum of cash (£20m?) for the exclusive UK rights to bundled World Cup highlights packages, charging users for access for each view. The BLCX, if it works, will allow you to watch whatever you would normally receive on your TV - Sky, Cable of Freeview - for nothing more than the data charge on your phone, or for free if you happen to be in a Wi-Fi hotpost.
With technology like this and the rapid emergence of mobile TV, rights holders are going to have to re-think how they package and sell their rights.
It is an interesting problem for the Premier League and other rights holders as they seek to exploit rights in a world where technology is outpacing selling models.
Bob Fuller, chief executive of 3, is quoted saying that 3 will look at buying up the next rights package when it comes up, but says that he thinks that exclusivity is not worth paying lots of money for anymore.
His argument is sound. A few years ago when 3 launched and video on mobile was still in its infancy, paying for exclusive rights to Premier league highlights packages could be used as a carrot to get people on the network. Now, in the age where mobile TV is available for a few and is rapidly become a reality for all, paying millions for a hived off 'mobile only' package of rights does not make sense, especially if you then add in the convergence of delivery companies with triple and quad plays being launched into the market that will abe able to offer better content packages.
Interestingly mobile entertainment company Rok announced a few weeks ago that it had developed something it was calling the Rok Black Box (BLCX for short), a device that plugs into the TV, encodes and compresses the signal, delivers it across broadband to the Web and can then be acessed via 2.5G mobile using a Java application and viewed at 24 frames a second.
The BLCX (apparenlty standing for Bollocks to the networks) is not yet commercially available but is planned for a roll-out before the World Cup this summer. T-Mobile paid a vast sum of cash (£20m?) for the exclusive UK rights to bundled World Cup highlights packages, charging users for access for each view. The BLCX, if it works, will allow you to watch whatever you would normally receive on your TV - Sky, Cable of Freeview - for nothing more than the data charge on your phone, or for free if you happen to be in a Wi-Fi hotpost.
With technology like this and the rapid emergence of mobile TV, rights holders are going to have to re-think how they package and sell their rights.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Brussels Medling
Interesting story in The Times today. It seems that Brussels wants to start regulating video content on the Internet, including video blogs.
It is updating the 17-year-old Television Without Frontiers Directive and is including for the first time rules to govern “non-linear audio visual services” — video on demand and Internet broadcasting and as part of this, larger blogs.
This has prompted OfCOM, the UK media regulator, to say that the Commission’s plans are misguided. OfCOM, to give it credit – as many people just like to bash it – sees that this is a complete minefield for both the Commission and itself.
Regulation of the Internet by any organisation is seen as Big Brother style interference and in the past OfCOM has been quick to distance itself from any indication that it would take this path. Only last month it denied it was to regulate content online governing the advertising of junk food to kids and has always maintained that self-regulation is the best way forward when it comes to online media. Whether this is a kop out, a sensible approach or an admission that it simply does not have the manpower or teeth to enforced any such laws is up for debate (I am betting the latter of the three), but Brussels seems set to test the water.
Efforts are being made by James Purnell, the Broadcasting Minister to get other nations to join him in trying to change the directive, but at present the Commission is on a collision course with bloggers everywhere, although given its track record at implementing rules such as these it will no doubt come to nothing when they realise that their proposals are totally unworkable.
It is updating the 17-year-old Television Without Frontiers Directive and is including for the first time rules to govern “non-linear audio visual services” — video on demand and Internet broadcasting and as part of this, larger blogs.
This has prompted OfCOM, the UK media regulator, to say that the Commission’s plans are misguided. OfCOM, to give it credit – as many people just like to bash it – sees that this is a complete minefield for both the Commission and itself.
Regulation of the Internet by any organisation is seen as Big Brother style interference and in the past OfCOM has been quick to distance itself from any indication that it would take this path. Only last month it denied it was to regulate content online governing the advertising of junk food to kids and has always maintained that self-regulation is the best way forward when it comes to online media. Whether this is a kop out, a sensible approach or an admission that it simply does not have the manpower or teeth to enforced any such laws is up for debate (I am betting the latter of the three), but Brussels seems set to test the water.
Efforts are being made by James Purnell, the Broadcasting Minister to get other nations to join him in trying to change the directive, but at present the Commission is on a collision course with bloggers everywhere, although given its track record at implementing rules such as these it will no doubt come to nothing when they realise that their proposals are totally unworkable.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Credit to PayPal
eBay owned PayPal is launching a credit card in the UK through a tie up with GE Money. It has already launched one in the US and is planning to offer 100,000 of its British account holders the card first later this month.
The card itself is unremarkable, as is a deal to offer a card with an affinity brand, but whilst cards with brands such as football clubs make sense, tapping into the fan loyalty, a card with PayPal seems a bit weird.
The card itself offers the usual type of thing - 12.9% APR with 0% interest on balance transfers for the first six months – but the sting may be in the tail in this deal as PayPal has said that the card is the first of a number of financial services it plans to offer in the future, leaving plenty of room for speculation.
Obvious tie-ups will be to get people to use the cards on eBay, but other tie-ups could see benefits for PayPal customers when used for other online transactions and it could even be part of a wider move by PayPal to move into the traditional market as Visa and Mastercard move online with their respective plays Verified by Visa and Mastercard SecureCode.
Secure online payment is a big component in the growing popularity of e-commerce, moving into the mainstream with a credit card may convince those who are not digital at heart that PayPal is as safe an option as Visa or Mastercard.
The card itself is unremarkable, as is a deal to offer a card with an affinity brand, but whilst cards with brands such as football clubs make sense, tapping into the fan loyalty, a card with PayPal seems a bit weird.
The card itself offers the usual type of thing - 12.9% APR with 0% interest on balance transfers for the first six months – but the sting may be in the tail in this deal as PayPal has said that the card is the first of a number of financial services it plans to offer in the future, leaving plenty of room for speculation.
Obvious tie-ups will be to get people to use the cards on eBay, but other tie-ups could see benefits for PayPal customers when used for other online transactions and it could even be part of a wider move by PayPal to move into the traditional market as Visa and Mastercard move online with their respective plays Verified by Visa and Mastercard SecureCode.
Secure online payment is a big component in the growing popularity of e-commerce, moving into the mainstream with a credit card may convince those who are not digital at heart that PayPal is as safe an option as Visa or Mastercard.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Content Still King
So Carphone Warehouse is opening up the UK broadband market, offering 8MB connections free when you sign up to its international calling plans. This may look great on the surface and it will probably mean that consumers get the benefit of a price war in the short term, but the longer game won’t be about fixed line and broadband, it will be about broadband, fixed line and TV and video content.
Wanadoo will probably be looking with caution at what is happening, even after they combine with Orange in the UK they may struggle as they do not have significant fixed line capability and do not have a content play.
It is doubtful BT will be worried about the announcement from Charles Dunstone this morning as although they are firm competitors with Carphone in the fixed line and broadband services market, they are building up to offer BT Vision, their own TV on demand service over broadband later in the year – which will be free to BT Broadband subscribers - and their dominant market position in fixed line would suggest they won’t worry too much.
Likewise Sky, which is set to offer broadband later this summer after buying Easynet last year, has a dominant market position from the TV side and will no doubt aggressively sell into its own subscriber base.
Finally NTL / Telewest, the cable giant should also not worry as it has fixed line, broadband, cable and on demand TV services and is also ready to add mobile through Virgin to the fold.
Free broadband may be Queen for the day, but content is still King.
Wanadoo will probably be looking with caution at what is happening, even after they combine with Orange in the UK they may struggle as they do not have significant fixed line capability and do not have a content play.
It is doubtful BT will be worried about the announcement from Charles Dunstone this morning as although they are firm competitors with Carphone in the fixed line and broadband services market, they are building up to offer BT Vision, their own TV on demand service over broadband later in the year – which will be free to BT Broadband subscribers - and their dominant market position in fixed line would suggest they won’t worry too much.
Likewise Sky, which is set to offer broadband later this summer after buying Easynet last year, has a dominant market position from the TV side and will no doubt aggressively sell into its own subscriber base.
Finally NTL / Telewest, the cable giant should also not worry as it has fixed line, broadband, cable and on demand TV services and is also ready to add mobile through Virgin to the fold.
Free broadband may be Queen for the day, but content is still King.
Monday, April 10, 2006
Welcome!
This is my first post. Welcome to The Interactive Zone. It's only a baby but soon it will be jampacked full of the latest media, marketing and business stories. Watch out for the latest trends and ideas appearing here soon.
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