From Airwaves to the Interweb

By Andrew

Part 1

Hayley’s article on ABC’s streaming video service got me thinking about the changing landscape of television. This thinking turned into an article far too long for a single post, so I’ll break it up into a series over the next couple weeks.

There once was a time when television viewers could imagine that they were connected with hundreds of thousands of other viewers watching the same show at the same time. This is no longer true. As the number of delivery options available to consumers expand, the market is segmented into viewers watching the show on cable, satellite, broadcast television, online streaming, digital downloads, and DVD box sets. While this expansion brings choice to consumers, it also represents a battle between the networks and their local affiliates. To the networks, all revenue is the same, and there are plenty of ways to glean that revenue. Local affiliates are limited to revenue they receive from local advertisers.

Let’s take NBC’s The Office as our example. I was watching an episode the other week and noticed Kevin using a shredder with “Staples” prominently displayed on its front. In typical Kevin fashion he was using it to shred a salad. While NBC doesn’t disclose the amount that Staples paid for that product placement, I’m sure it amounts to a significant source of revenue for the network. NBC will also receive revenue from the sales of DVD sets which include the episode, and receive a cut of paid-for ad-free downloads from places like the iTunes store. Essentially, the broader the market, the more opportunities NBC has to make money off of The Office.

Local affiliates are far more limited in their ad revenue. From that same Office episode, the only money local affiliates made was what they could charge local advertisers for ad spots during the show. Local affiliates don’t get any of the money from Staples’ product placement, or DVD sales, or iTunes Downloads. In addition, more people watching shows in alternative mediums means fewer people watching on the local affiliate’s station, making it harder to justify advertising costs to local advertisers. Local stations already have to deal with the segmentation of viewers between over the air broadcasts, satellite TV, and cable. Now, they’re also losing viewers to online streaming, DVD sales, and digital downloads.

This seems to paint a pretty grim picture for local broadcasters and advertisers. Is there any hope? Stay tuned to find out… [To be continued]

Patrick Loves the iPhone

By Patrick

Apple finally announced its long-awaited iPhone. Why mention it on our agency blog you ask? Because it's awesome that's why. As a connoisseur of everything Apple, whenever Steve Jobs has a product announcement to make, I listen. It's exciting to see how Apple can work its magic on a device that we all use on a regular basis. It's also great to see how designers, engineers and programmers can come together to make something artful, elegant, practical, and useful.

The other day I found a great article that dispels the top ten myths of the Apple iPhone.

A Very Thorough Survey

By Hayley Raynes
In a completely unscientific study of online TV show watchers (myself), I have concluded that when it comes to commercials, less is most definitely more. When I say online TV shows, I am referring to the viewing fare available at abc.com. These shows, which include Grey’s Anatomy, Ugly Betty and Lost, are offered with limited commercial interruption, because each viewing is sponsored by just one company (Remax Realty, Nissan, Disneyworld, Florida Orange Juice, etc.). There are only a few commercials throughout each show, and they play one at a time.
From the standpoint of the viewer, what’s not to like? During an hour long show, I would much rather watch two minutes of commercials than almost twenty minute’s worth. From the standpoint of the advertiser, this is also a great setup. ABC online offers exclusive sponsorship. This means that the advertiser’s message actually gets heard. There is no competition with other advertisers. There is no flipping to see if something else is on, and there is no Tivo-ing the commercials away. Plus, the commercials are interactive. The viewer is automatically directed to the commercial page for thirty seconds, and after the thirty seconds are up, it is up to the viewer whether or not to continue viewing the commercial or return to the show. To maintain interest, most advertisers offer games and puzzles, extended product information, more viewing material, etc. What I found interesting was that I ended up watching commercials that were longer than thirty seconds even though I didn’t have to.
As of right now, I like what ABC has done with their online content, and I am interested to see how it will evolve. I think that ABC has succeeded in creating an advertising forum that takes into account our ever shortening attention spans. What I wonder is, as online show viewing gains in popularity, will they continue to present in this format? Or will they kill the goose by adding more and more ad content? Only time will tell.

Brilliant, yes. Effective, perhaps not.

By Andrew


I came across this European campaign for TELE2, an “alternative telecommunications company.” It is, doubtless, a brilliant attention-getting campaign. However, like so many other brilliant campaigns, I suspect that people will pay more attention to the funny idea than the company it represents.

Via TWENTY FOUR.