BlackBerry shutdown nearer after ruling
If you are an addicted Blackberry user, constantly checking your email, today's news will worry you.
BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. today was pushed closer to a possible shutdown of its U.S. mobile e-mail service after a judge refused to delay a patent infringement case and rejected a disputed settlement with patent holder NTP Inc.
U.S. District Judge James Spencer said he would request briefs and set a hearing date to deal with the remaining issues of injunctive relief and appropriate damages against RIM.
"Valid patents would be rendered meaningless if an infringing party were allowed to circumvent the patents' enforcement by incessantly delaying and prolonging court proceedings, which have already resulted in a finding of infringement," Spencer said in his ruling.
Still pending before Spencer is a request by NTP to move forward with an injunction that would halt U.S. sales of the BlackBerry and shut its service.
Can you imagine your world without a Blackberry...you may need to start taking steps backward...
full news release
posted by Unknown @ Wednesday, November 30, 2005,
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Study: Teen girls more likely to multi-task media
And you thought you were an excellent multi-tasker? Just look at today's teenagers.
Jim Geoghegan, president of the media-planning agency Media Head, says a study of how young boys and girls use media reveals that girls are notably more skillful at multitasking -- that is, surfing the Net, text messaging, watching TV, and so forth, all at the same time.
Advertisers and marketers who want to reach this 12- to 17-year-old demo should strive to take advantage of this tendency among girls. Says Geoghegan: "You need to think beyond targeted print or TV, and think about how these mediums influence each other. For creatives, particularly, there are opportunities to create advertising where these mediums intersect and overlap, and girls are engaged." While girls are especially adept at interacting with multiple media simultaneously, the report from New York-based Media Head also indicates that youngsters in general are more multimedia-oriented than those who are older than 17.
full AdAge story (free log-on required)
posted by Unknown @ Wednesday, November 30, 2005,
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The Issue of Indecency: "A Very Dangerous Idea" on Capital Hill
Hearings continue on the subject of indecency in the media...and "very dangerous" ideas are being considered. Ideas that could dramatically impact advertisers, cable channel operators and consumers.
The issue: Media content allegedly has pushed so far past social standards that regulations (restrictions) are required since broadcasters and consumers alike can't be trusted to keep within the "standard" of acceptible content. So the government needs to police the content (free speech) and penalize when abuses are found (as determined by the government, not the public or the marketplace).
Recently-appointed Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin told a congressionally sponsored forum Tuesday, "The industry needs to do more to address parents' legitimate concerns. Something has to be done."
Is it the "parents' concern" or the government's concern? Complaints to the FCC do not represent even a small percentage of majority for mainstream Americans. Complaints sent into the FCC are computerized, mass-produced letters created from well-funded, well-organized, highly-conservative content factions (like Morality In Media and Common Cause) who understand how to manipulate the system through bulk emails to the government.
The logical adage "That's why there's an off button" and the democratic principal of letting the marketplace decide don't seem to have access into the congressional anterooms.
The dangerous idea: The FCC's Martin said Tuesday during the hearings that cable operators could sell family-friendly program tiers, or offer channel-by-channel choice so families can keep objectionable programming out of homes.
Without specifically endorsing any proposal, Martin also suggested basic cable packages could be regulated for indecent content. Currently only broadcast TV and radio is regulated, under an exception to the First Amendment. Including cable would require congressional action, and for the change to survive challenge before the Supreme Court would be likely.
Kyle McSlarrow, president and CEO of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, called a la carte programming "a very dangerous idea" that would decrease consumer choice because it would make it harder for new channels to attract viewers.
In essence, it would probably kill many channels (which, depending on your point of view, may or may not be a good idea in this 500+ channel digital cable universe of overwhelming choice). Would you buy channels that are nice to have but you never watch? No. Geraldine Laybourne, CEO of Oxygen Media Inc., which owns the Oxygen channel, said an a la carte pricing structure, if it were imposed on the industry, would put her company "out of business. Unless we had the total possibility of widespread distribution, we could never have raised the money we raised," said Laybourne, a widely admired industry leader.(Oxygen is currently in about 75 million homes.)
McSlarrow, whose group represents large cable operators, said any government intervention in cable programming would violate the First Amendment.
Don't forget. You buy cable channels (you've seen your monthly bill) in order to view the content. You have made the approved decision to allow the content in your home. You have accepted the responsibility to decide what content is acceptable for yourself and for your family and friends. And you can always change the channel or turn it off if you don't approve of some of the content...or even block the channel completely with your remote programming.
The same is true of radio programming. With satellite radio, you buy the receivers and subscribe to hear the content. With traditional broadcast radio (as well as traditional non-cable TV), you buy the receivers in order to accept the content. If something does not meet your own personal standards, the choice (your choice, not a government-required choice) remains the same: turn if off or change the channel...and block the channel if the content remains beyond your standard (V-chip, etc.)
Back on Capital Hill yesterday, the daylong forum was convened in Washington by Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), chair of the Commerce Committee, which is working toward passing anti-indecency legislation. A House-passed bill to sharply increase fines for broadcast indecency is languishing as the Senate makes up its mind. In all, there are 6 variations of anti-indecency bills being considered in the 2 houses of Congress...President Bush is just waiting for one to make it to his desk for him to approve.
"We want to let Congress have a better chance to understand all of the points of view," Stevens said. He did not say what form legislation might take but said, "Parents have a right to try to protect their children from some of the things they can run into in the media."
Of course, Senator. I believe parents have that right already...and active parenting respects that family responsibility. That responsibility should remain in the hands of parents and not the FCC or Congress.
--Chris Kennedy
posted by Unknown @ Wednesday, November 30, 2005,
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Web Video Ad Spending to Double in 2 Years
According to Adweek.com, Internet video spot buying is set to more than double by 2007, spurred by increasing numbers of homes with broadband Internet connections and an improved selection of programming from big-name media companies, according to a report.
New York research firm eMarketer pegs the online video ad market in 2005 will generate $225 million. It expects spending will rise to $640 million in 2007 and $1.5 billion in 2009.
Broadband penetration is driving the market, the report said, with 42.3 million U.S. homes going online via high-speed connections, a 23 percent increase from last year. In 2007, eMarketer forecasts 60.4 million households will have broadband. While half of Web-connected U.S. homes now have broadband connections, eMarketer expects half of all households will have it by 2008.
AOL, Yahoo, Viacom and other media companies have increased the amount of video content available online this year. This expanded choice in programming, combined with high-speed connections that make viewing it possible, has resulted in increased viewership, according to ComScore Networks. It tracked streaming video penetration rising from 55 percent of Internet users in March to 61 percent in August.
posted by Unknown @ Tuesday, November 29, 2005,
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Study Examines Media Habits Of Children 6-11
More Than Half of Respondents Have a TV in Their Room; Most are Happy Being Their Age
A new study from Mediamark examines the habits and media usage of American children ages 6-11. Among other things, children were asked about the way they consume music and what items they use to listen.
Among the findings:
* Gaming is the top online activity.
* CD players outnumber MP3 players for music listening
* 70% want to make a lot of money when they are older.
* When asked what they do when TV commercials come on, nearly 60% of respondents say they watch them.
The children ranked a car radio (as in their parents' car) far and away as the most common source of music in their lives, with 74 percent saying they listen through one. A CD player came in second, with 62.8 percent of respondents, followed by a portable CD player (48.4 percent), stereo (39.5 percent) and the computer with 25.5. percent. Portable MP3 players only received 4.2 percent of the vote, followed by 4.1 percent for simply "MP3 player."
When asked what items they own in their room, 59.8 percent of children surveyed said they have a CD player, with 28.6 percent saying they have a stereo. The complete study can be found here.
posted by Unknown @ Tuesday, November 29, 2005,
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Big Google Becomes Big Target
(from New York Times)
In 2001, about a dozen of Google's founding employees sat in a conference room trying to come up with a set of corporate values. After a while, one of them, an engineer, Paul Buchheit, said everything they were saying could be summed up by a simple phrase: "Don't Be Evil."
Today, while Google is adored on Wall Street, you can see all over the Web anti-Google sentiment is on the rise.
In a column on The Register, a London-based technology news site (www.theregister.co.uk), Otto Z. Stern says that "Big Google Is Much Worse Than Big Oil." Asserting that Google's success is based more on its ability to bamboozle Internet users and investors than on its ability to provide value, Mr. Stern taunts his readers: "Go ahead and celebrate everything Google. When it has a total monopoly on online advertising, content, goods and services, religion, morality and porn, you can really rejoice."
Some Google-watchers say new products like Google Base are meant to put a stranglehold on the Internet, and drive smaller operations like Craigslist.org (a mostly free classified-ads service) out of business. But product shortcomings could inhibit that game plan.
As Cnet's News.com reported, Webmasters have complained that Google Analytics, a new service that measures and analyzes Web traffic, takes up to two days to return statistics. Google says the bugs are being worked out.
A few years ago, when Google introduced Gmail, a Web-based e-mail program that serves up ads based on keywords found in messages, privacy advocates bristled. This despite assurances from Google that it would never reveal private information to outsiders, and would not tie the keywords to individual users.
To be sure, Google has plenty of fans...but Google's growth has only heightened the concerns of some trend watchers.
full New York Times article (log on required)
posted by Unknown @ Monday, November 28, 2005,
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MediaWeek: Radio Sees Podcasts as New Source of Ad Revenue
Podcasting, which began as a reaction to corporate radio, is fast being embraced by the industry often cited as having the most to lose from the nascent medium in ad dollars and listeners. At first, radio business models for podcasting focused on providing convenience to listeners. But if radio's latest forays into podcasting are any indication, the medium could provide a new incremental revenue stream.
full story
posted by Unknown @ Monday, November 28, 2005,
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Sony's Escalating "Spyware" Fiasco
The consumer-electronics giant has unleashed a firestorm by including a covert program on music CDs that leaves PC users prey to viruses. Along with lawyers, prosecutors, and furious fans, artists are joining the backlash against the label for slipping a hidden, anti-theft program into users' computers
Call it the revenge of the nerds -- digital style. For years, computer geeks and cyberlibertarians have howled about aggressive user restrictions programmed into music CDs, movie DVDs, and all kinds of software. They've issued dire warnings about the media industry's zeal to protect content in the Digital Age. At risk, they cautioned, was the consumer's right to enjoy legally purchased content how and where they saw fit.
To prevent audiophiles from making multiple copies of the CDs, Sony had programmed dozens of CDs with a hidden code called a "rootkit" that secretly installs itself on hard drives when the CDs are loaded onto listeners' PCs. Soon enough, hackers began designing viruses to take malicious advantage of the hidden program, and a Sony boycott had begun.
Singers and songwriters are increasingly expressing frustration at devices used by record companies to protect digital content from widespread theft that results when CDs are copied repeatedly or popular tracks are given away on peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, such as LimeWire and BitTorrent. Sony's misstep has been bad for the company -- and its effects could spread much further, should the consumer outcry gain traction with the recording artists who need to keep their fans happy if they want to sell records.
The wrath of fans killed Sony's CD copy controls, with the company pulling 52 titles off retail shelves, beginning the week of Nov. 14. But the wrath of bands could be far worse for the company -- and for efforts to protect content in general.
full BusinessWeek.com article
posted by Unknown @ Monday, November 28, 2005,
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Words For Marketers: Opposites Attract
What do you do when consumers want something you don't have? Give it to them.
(from CMO.com)
The "anti-brand" -- a brand that lies at the opposite end of its parent brand in terms of audience, price, style or other criteria.
Done right, the anti-brand can give a company entry into an arena it never could have imagined filling without diluting the legacy brand. By maximizing the power of the anti-brand, the brand is "taking the road less traveled." Just take a look at BMW and their Mini Cooper campaigns.
If there's one thing an anti-brand can't abide, it's being the same. If the anti-brand starts feeling the same as the parent brand then it has no reason to exist.
full article
posted by Unknown @ Monday, November 28, 2005,
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To Mark The Start of the Christmas Season: Another Example of Computer Geeks Ruling The Neighborhood
From the suburbia of Sherman, Illinois, here is an example of what a computer geek can do to the Trans-Siberia Orchestra's "Wizard's of Winter"...a modern version of those psychedelic laser light shows set to Pink Floyd. How'd you like to have this family for your neighbor?
It's among the Top 10 most-viewed viral videos on the web.
Happy holidays!
click here for streaming MWV link
Here's the link of the viral video at iFilm
posted by Unknown @ Thursday, November 24, 2005,
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Old Media: Innovate or Die
Innovation is absolutely necessary for business to thrive; it is often desperately late to market. Unfortunately, such is the case for radio and other old media.
For FM radio's first thirty years after commercial radio broadcasting began in 1947, it was the place for experimental radio. Hits were played on AM radio (both for music and dramas) while FM played the "album cuts", the "pre-hits" or the "non-hits". Then, beginning in the 70s and for for the next 30 years, FM took the primary music role for radio -- hits, non-hits and everything in between -- while AM shifted to talk, news and sports. By the late-90s, the rise of the Internet began to challenge FM radio's music leadership in its ability to broadcast music to the masses.
Today, radio still reaches 200 million listeners across the US. The radio industry now brings in more than $20 billion in total advertising revenue. Around the world, radio is still the dominant way to reach the majority of music fans. The internet serves a smaller audience of music fans...but its users seem much more passionate than the ones listening to traditional radio. Why is that? The 4 Cs -- Convenience, Connection, Control and Community -- is the bottom line for consumers. Being experiemental/trying new things is the background driving theme in the digital world. Music fans get what they want when they want it in the amount they want it...without having to wait or listen to "junk" they are not interested in (commercials, DJs, contests, etc.)
So, FM faces another transformation in its 85-year "Big Picture". AM radio transformed from experimental to dramas to music to news/sports/talk. Will FM follow a similar path: from experimental to music to talk? Can it bring back its own experimental spirit?
Infinity is going back to a drawing board they tried and give up on several years ago: Hot Talk. In January, they will change format for several heritage rock stations icons to a new concept called "Free FM"...the first aggressive move across the board into Hot Talk from a major radio group owner. They are betting big on its success, with heavy ad campaigns seeking to bring back some sparkle to radio.
Regardless of its success, the very idea that radio is finally waking up to the need for more aggressive, bigger marketing plans is a good thing for all of radio. The Internet and digital media has taken all the spotlight for the last 5-plus years and all radio has done is cower and take a beating. Ultimately, it behaved like "old media", trying to hold onto its past successes and not investing into future growth. Hopefully, with large-scale marketing efforts such as Infinity's leading a renewed path, other radio groups will follow with campaigns of their own.
Radio needs to look and act bigger than its has these last few years. New formats, new shows, new seasons, new capabilities (like, perhaps, HD Radio)...new ways to improve convenience, connection, control and community for listeners. It needs to try new things. In essence, it needs to get back to its experimental roots -- where it is better to try and fail than to not try at all. New media has taken that experimental lead because radio let new media take it (or, Wall Street took it away). Getting more experimental is one of the key elements for radio's next needed transformation. To reference a famous line, "Innovate or die!"
--Chris Kennedy
For suggested reading, read this 2003 BusinessWeek article: check here
Related recommended reading: THE INNOVATOR'S SOLUTION - Creating and Sustaining Successful Growth by Clayton M. Christensen and Michael E. Raynor (Harvard Business School Press)
posted by Unknown @ Thursday, November 24, 2005,
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From Time.com: Wanna Buy A Slice of Sitcom?
(from Time.com)
Selling episodes on cable, online and on iPods, the networks change the face--and price--of prime time
For nearly half a century, watching network TV was like eating at a school cafeteria. You chose from the limited options that day, take 'em or leave 'em, and you ate when they were served. If you missed Taco Tuesday, you were out of luck until next time it came around.
Sure, there were VCRs and, more recently, TiVos, but most people built their evening around the prime-time schedule, watching series at their appointed time or waiting for reruns or video. But suddenly, the cafeteria workers who run network TV are loosening their hairnets and offering viewers vending machines and takeout. ABC, CBS and NBC Universal struck deals to sell shows, hours after their airing, via video on demand. ABC is already doing with iTunes; CBS and NBC start their offerings in early 2006, while Fox is currently testing its options.
Why would people pay to watch shows they can get for free? For the same reasons, networks hope, that they buy DVDs of shows: convenience, instant gratification and the ability to skip ads.
full article
posted by Unknown @ Thursday, November 24, 2005,
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The Return of The Music Video: Music video audience migrates to Web
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Since Apple's release of the new video iPod and its servicing online through the iTunes music store, it looks like music videos are getting a good re-polishing. It makes sense, too -- music videos are ready-made content for the digital world.
Earlier this month, Internet media giant Yahoo launched two music video services, and both efforts illustrated the Internet's growing dominance among music video media.
One features the online debut of a different music video from mainstream acts each weekday (yes, there still are world premieres of music videos!). The videos are available online at Yahoo exclusively for 24 hours -- many as world premieres, though some will have simultaneous TV releases.
Yahoo's other new music video service is StopWatch, which highlight new and emerging acts. Each week, it recommends one of three videos from newer artists based on a user's music-listening history and stated preferences.
"The Internet is now leading where the music video business is going," Yahoo head of programming and label relations Jay Frank says.
By and large, label executives agree.
"If you look at some of the big projects we've done of late," EMI senior VP of strategic marketing Ted Mico says, "they've pretty much all launched online."
Even MTV has embraced the Internet. The network launched its Overdrive site to help keep music video fans engaged with the MTV brand. In addition, it recently began offering online streaming of its campus-based mtvU channel in an initiative called mtvU Uber.
So, music videos are relevant again...the question is: will Britney ever be?
full article
posted by Unknown @ Thursday, November 24, 2005,
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iTunes outsells traditional music stores
Apple Computer's iTunes music store now sells more music than Tower Records or Borders, according to analyst firm the NPD Group.
During the past three months, iTunes made it to the U.S. Top 10 sales list for the first time, NPD said.
"Taking their growth and others' pain, it's not inconceivable to see them cracking into higher ground in the foreseeable future," said NPD music and movies industry analyst Russ Crupnick.
The benchmark is a meaningful sign in digital music's steady progress--and Apple's domination of that trend--toward becoming a significant part of the overall music business.
full story from cnet
posted by Unknown @ Tuesday, November 22, 2005,
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XM On The Apprentice: Trump Has Satellite Radio Eliminate Another Candidate
Last Thursday, XM satellite radio received some major mainstream, mass-market exposure: the latest test for executive job candidates on Donald Trump's "The Apprentice".
Mr. Trump assigned the 2 teams their task: produce and create an original song for an unsigned musical artist and pitch it to XM Satellite Radio executives and listeners.
Ultimately, XM execs (led by longtime radio savant and leading satellite radio champion Lee Abrams and his team) judged Capital Edge's artist and song a better fit for their station.
In reality, XM was the biggest winner of the night.
full story
posted by Unknown @ Monday, November 21, 2005,
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Can Podcasting Do Business?
Search tools, ads, listener analysis -- the medium may be growing up too fast
Media today. They grow up so fast. Take podcasts, for instance.
Latest evidence: The beta test of Podzinger.com, which performs keyword searches through transcribed audio feeds for thousands of podcasts. Podzinger, which is expected to launch in December, ultimately seeks to be a Google of multimedia search -- and sell Google-style text ads alongside search results -- but is honing its service first with podcasts. These, a Podzinger executive argues, need some sort of organizing principle. "Without relevant search results, it's a world before Google," says Alex Laats, a divisional president at Podzinger's Boston-based parent BBN Technologies.
Podzinger, Blinkx.com, Yahoo!, AOL and Audible now measure podcast listenership.
They all show a semi-medium rapidly reaching early adolescence. An infrastructure to enable commerce -- search, networks, measurement -- is sprouting. There are two reasons for this. One is the ubiquity of the iPod (almost 30 million units sold). The other is the speed these days with which players glom onto anything that glimmers, even faintly, like the Next Big Media Thing.
Still, some basic conceptual questions about the medium remain unsettled. Podcasting is, obviously, downloaded audio. But it's not clear if listeners will ultimately regard podcasts the way they do downloaded songs, in which case an ad is unwelcome, or as a form of radio, in which case it's acceptable. This being the 21st century, it's hard to imagine that podcast advertising will be universally rejected. But some ad executives still express caution. "We are trying to test what the tolerance [for advertising] is going to be," says Eric Blankfein, a senior vice-president at New York-based media buyer Horizon Media. Podcasting "is something quote-unquote pure. How do you mess it up with branding?"
We're finding out. Full article
posted by Unknown @ Friday, November 18, 2005,
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The Essential Peter Drucker
(from BusinessWeekOnline)
"The world knows he was the greatest management thinker of the last century," Jack Welch, former chairman of General Electric Co., said after Drucker's death.
"He was the creator and inventor of modern management," said management guru Tom Peters. "In the early 1950s, nobody had a tool kit to manage these incredibly complex organizations that had gone out of control. Drucker was the first person to give us a handbook for that."
Adds Intel Corp. co-founder Andrew S. Grove: "Like many philosophers, he spoke in plain language that resonated with ordinary managers. Consequently, simple statements from him have influenced untold numbers of daily actions; they did mine over decades."
The story of Peter Drucker is the story of management itself. It's the story of the rise of the modern corporation and the managers who organize work. Without his analysis it's almost impossible to imagine the rise of dispersed, globe-spanning corporations.
Full article
posted by Unknown @ Friday, November 18, 2005,
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Burger King Icon Used In Striptease Viral Video
Over 4.1 Million Downloads of Unauthorized Racy Film
(from AdAge.com) Burger King's iPod sponsorship on Heavy.com has spawned a wildly popular online parody of Miramax's once infamous "The Crying Game." A viral video of a striptease ends in a twist that leaves viewers staring in disbelief at Burger King's The King mask.
Heavy.com, which also is running a promotion offering free video downloads for iPods backed by Burger King, features the faux striptease on its site. It has proven to be one of the most viral clips ever shown on the male-dominated, video-rich site.
"We've done over 4.1 million streams of that video," said Simon Assaad, co-CEO at Heavy.com. "It's a sensational hit." Read full article
posted by Unknown @ Friday, November 18, 2005,
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Do You Netflix? Over 4 Million Do Now...
The movie industry's in-theater ticket sales are down almost 8.4% YTD compared to last year. That's more than a half-billion dollars. Movie execs are worried...but Netflix isn't.
According to Barry McCarthy, the CFO of Netflix, "There were 554 movies released theatrically last year and I bet most of us can't name 20. A lot of those movies you would enjoy, if you knew that they existed. If you don't know that they existed then they might as well have not been invented. Our goal is create demand for content and own the gross margins associated with owning demand."
He believes Netflix will hit 4 - 4.2 million subscribers by the end of this year, more than 5.5 million by the end of next year and 10-to-12 million by 2012. The Jointblog think Netflix make it easier to watch movies in a manner that is completely convenient to the consumer's needs.
Jointblog reader Davis at blog ThomasHawk.com informed us about today's Lehman Bros Small Cap conference featuring Barry McCarthy. Do you Netflix? If you do or are curious, this is a good read. Thanks, Davis.
posted by Unknown @ Thursday, November 17, 2005,
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Tech Execs: Just Wait Till Web 3.0
Executives at the San Jose TechNet Innovation Summit say the online re-revolution is just beginning (again), once even faster Internet access is made available in the United States and other countries. "Web 2.0 is broadband. Web 3.0 is 10 gigabits a second," Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said at the show (broadband is 2-3 gigabits per second). Crucially, for companies like eBay, the Internet has evolved into a communications service that allows buyers and sellers to conduct business more cheaply and quickly, without the inefficiencies of the supply chain.
posted by Unknown @ Thursday, November 17, 2005,
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Jon Stewart: The Next Oprah?
It's official: Jon Stewart is funny, like in a New Yorker kind of way.
His No. 1 best-seller, "America, The Book," nabbed this year's Thurber Prize for American Humor, awarded last night at a ceremony at New York's The Algonquin -- where Harpo Marx and Dorothy Parker sat at the Round Table. (www.thurberhouse.org)
While honors are lovely, and we're sure he was duly touched, it's all just icing on the cake for the host of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart." I Want Media declared him Media Person of the Year for 2004, but 2005 seems to be turning out OK. Ratings for the show are up 20%, and ad revenue is up 100% through August, to $41 million.
But with such power comes great responsibility. As Crain's New York reports this week (www.newyorkbusiness.com), publishers are tripping over themselves to get booked on "The Daily Show," both left- and right-wingers, because it puts their authors in front of an audience that reads. Which means his show is shaping up to be the Oprah Book Club for the political press.
Read the full AdAge article (free subscription logon required)
posted by Unknown @ Tuesday, November 15, 2005,
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Top Traditional Broadcasters Agree: Radio Needs A Unique Strategy for Streaming
From Billboard Radio Monitor and RAIN: "To monetize radio's investment in the Internet, programmers and managers must first pull back from the logic that has guided them for years. Their basic broadcasting DNA has to be completely rewritten.
"Simply put, they need to be deprogrammed. While radio can successfully extend its brands online, the two are entirely different mediums. Merely replicating radio for the Internet negates all the characteristics that make the Web so powerful: interactivity, customization, on-demand capability and the like.
"Such was the consensus among the four Web gurus who gathered Oct. 20 at Billboard Radio Monitor headquarters in New York... While the execs who oversee the online efforts for Clear Channel, Infinity, Emmis and National Public Radio agree there is money to be made in cyberspace, there are stark contrasts in their Internet strategies...
"How different is the Web business model from radio? So different that 'success is a punishing experience on the Internet,' NPR executive VP Ken Stern said. 'The more people listen, the more bandwidth costs you have,'...
"No longer does NPR, perhaps the most aggressive radio entity on the Web, think of its sites as an extension of the on-air experience... NPR sorts its robust podcast offerings by topic, by editorial choice and by number of requests received. Served in bite-size portions, they run in six- to 13-minute bursts rather than radio's standard longer forms...
"Round-table participants agreed that radio is playing catch-up on the Internet. Case in point: station Web sites. Visitors to Clear Channel sites were not getting the quality online experience they had grown accustomed to from other sites, the company concluded. So its online unit systematically overhauled station sites...
"'Our sites were terrible,' Gerrit Meier [senior VP/GM of Clear Channel Online Music & Radio] said...To woo at-work listeners, the company also increased the number of stations streaming on the Net from less than 100 at the beginning of the year to 400-plus now. Meier said, 'Audiences told us, 'We don't have radios at work anymore. We have computers.' "
Read the full article at Billboard Radio Monitor
posted by Unknown @ Tuesday, November 15, 2005,
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Holier than thou: Jarvis Hits Carr, Sparks Fly
It's always fun to watch blog zealot Jeff Jarvis get mad, which he does nearly every day. His Buzz Machine (buzzmachine.com), an excellent forum for his various complaints about old media vs. the brave new world of citizen-produced media, is among the most cited in a certain realm of the blogosphere, and for good reason. Jarvis is by turns incensed, infuriated, intense, and nasty--pretty much daily. He's truly a blogger extraordinaire. Yesterday he took on David Carr, the New York Times reporter and columnist who, more than any other, addresses the subject of media-making. True enough, Carr often expresses skepticism about (or is it envy of?) the incoming wave of online "journalists"--the very same people whom Jarvis so openly adores. So, when Carr earlier this week wrote a column once again ruffling the feathers of blog spotters everywhere (in particular, he went after the popular gawker.com), Jarvis let the fur fly. His meltdown is, as always, long-winded, but a gas. Read it here.
posted by Unknown @ Tuesday, November 15, 2005,
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Jack-FM Not Yet Hijacking The Airwaves
Chris Anderson, the editor of Wired magazine, writes in his blog that Jack-FM, a fast-growing radio format, might be the wave of the future for commercial broadcast radio, but the jury's out. For sure, Anderson says, Jack is the wave of ... right now. Unlike most stations that play music, Jack-formatted outlets feature lengthy playlists, often of 100 songs or more. Some might refer to the music as "Adult Hits," and that's fair, but the point is that the playlists are large and diverse, usually specializing in music from the 1980s and 1990s that appeals to a generation accustomed to iPod-length playlists. Anderson also includes a link in his blog to the Wikipedia entry on Jack-FM, which is, as usual, up-to-the-minute accurate.
In an email on thelongtail.com, Anil Dash asks a good question:
I've been following the rise of Jack FM a lot lately... It's alleged to be the fastest growing new broadcast format in radio today (I think that honor might actually go to latin radio, but it's certainly one of the most popular), based on the idea of pulling the songs played from a much longer playlist and having no DJs. Thought this might be interesting as an attempt by the notoriously conservative radio industry trying to adopt long tail-influenced techniques.
To read the blog entry, click here.
posted by Unknown @ Tuesday, November 15, 2005,
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Bridge Ratings Study: Podcasting Elevates Listening
(from fmqb)
Bridge Ratings has released a new study examining the effect of podcasting on station listenership. The results show that recall of a station is improved due to listening to podcasts. Bridge Ratings President Dave Van Dyke says, "This is the first study I know of that uncovers the true power of podcasting as a means to capture radio station listening done by listeners who download radio programming. We had hoped that this technology would empower radio and this first-look study confirms that podcasting will impact listening and ratings."
For the survey, 4000 radio listeners ages 16 and up in six major markets were studied between January and October of this year. Listeners to commercial stations had a seven percent increase in their cume, with a 15 percent jump in TSL per week after becoming a regular listener to podcasts. Fans of NPR and other non-commercial stations showed a five percent increase in cume listening, with 10 percent more TSL after regularly listening to those stations' podcasts.
"It's apparent that a regular schedule of podcast listening is a key element in order for a radio station to receive the benefits of increased listening," added Van Dyke. "In this study we found that a frequency of listening to two podcasts per week over the course of a month was the minimum exposure to a station's podcasts which would yield the perception of increased listening."
Bridge Ratings will continue to release data and findings from the study over the new few weeks at bridgeratings.com.
posted by Unknown @ Monday, November 14, 2005,
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Management Guru Peter Drucker, 95, Dies
Peter F. Drucker, revered as the father of modern management for his numerous books and articles stressing innovation, entrepreneurship and strategies for dealing with a changing world, died Friday. He was 95.
Drucker was considered a management visionary for his recognition that dedicated employees are key to the success of any corporation, and that marketing and innovation should come before worries about finances.
Drucker championed concepts such as management by objective and decentralization, and his motivational techniques have been used by executives at some of the biggest companies in corporate America.
Business Week magazine hailed him as "the most enduring management thinker of our time," and Forbes magazine featured him on a 1997 cover under the headline: "Still the Youngest Mind."
We at Joint Communications have believed and utilized Peter Drucker's thinking and principals for decades. He truly was visionary. To us, he lives on through his teachings.
To read more, click here
posted by Unknown @ Saturday, November 12, 2005,
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Alert the Media! "Papers not a must read"
A generation of young adults turns to the Internet as its primary news source
No wonder some worry the newspaper industry's future looks bleak. A generation is growing up with a new array of information options: partisan Internet blogs; Web pages devoted to news on a single subject; and portals like Yahoo that aggregate news from myriad sources.
The industry's circulation woes keep getting worse, with the number of copies sold on an average day falling by 1.35 million during the five years ending in 2004, according to the Newspaper Association of America.
Meanwhile, ad revenue is stagnant, and newsprint costs are rising. Not surprisingly, the industry has been chockfull of news itself lately, particularly in the form of layoffs.
The Chicago Tribune even says "Papers not a must read" among young demographics. However, they have a plan to reach them...
(full Chicago Tribune article)
posted by Unknown @ Thursday, November 10, 2005,
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I Want My Ubiquitous Conglomerate
MTV Networks is not exactly a rube when it comes to new ventures. Last week, Comedy Central introduced a broadband site called MotherLoad, and last month MTV Networks acquired the iFilm Corporation, with its huge library of short-form video content, and Neopets, an online community for pint-size surfers. MTV Overdrive, a broadband video Web site, began delivering a digital version of rock videos in April; meanwhile, MTV's television channel offers on-air promos for ring tones and has deals with both Sprint and Verizon to provide video content to cellphones. Even the kiddies need not miss out on the fun: Nick Mobile will deliver the Fairly OddParents to their screens as well.
With more than 111 channels worldwide, MTV Networks has enough programming options to preoccupy remotes everywhere. In 2005 alone, MTV Networks brought 19 new channels to life in Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa.
But once you are everywhere, where do you go next?
full article (New York Times subscription required)
posted by Unknown @ Thursday, November 10, 2005,
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Welcome to the MassMarket: XM To Be Featured On Trump's Apprentice
XM Satellite Radio will take center stage on Donald Trump's show The Apprentice on November 17. The two teams of candidates on the show will face the challenge of finding, developing and promoting a new artist, and XM will size up the work of both teams and choose the most deserving artist. The winning artist's song will be placed in rotation on XM music channels. full article
posted by Unknown @ Thursday, November 10, 2005,
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Turning Old into New Media: Serious Transition Pains (from TheDeal.com)
Has any industry ever encountered a set of strategic choices more fraught than the ones the media business confronts today? It seems unlikely. And five years after the dot-com bubble burst, six years after the ill-conceived creation of AOL Time Warner Inc., a rapid-fire series of acquisitions of new-media companies by the old-media giants -- nine in the last year, including three by News Corp. -- is bringing the issues into sharp relief.
"Nobody has a precise answer as to how all of this is going to shake out," says Dennis Miller, a veteran of old media who's now a general partner at Spark Capital, the Boston-based early-stage investor in media and technology. "But one thing we do know is that, with new media, decision making is from the bottom up. Successful sites are all about community, connectedness and the viral/personal references that one-to-one communication provides. What they're not about is answering to corporate authority or playing by corporate rules."
Memo to media moguls: Get over it.
Get over your need for control. Get over the fear and fealty you've instilled in your subordinates for all those years. And get over the top-down decision-making process that has characterized mass media companies since they first arose in the 19th century. Read on...
posted by Unknown @ Thursday, November 10, 2005,
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MTV braces for growth spotlight in new Viacom
At the MTV Europe Music Awards Thursday, MTV Networks CEO Judy McGrath told Reuters that new media will also be the future at MTV. McGrath said she sees MTV Networks as the growth engine for the new, slimmer Viacom, developing new channels outside the U.S. that will be integrated with Internet firms the company will buy. "With the explosion of new platforms, I can see a whole vista of places to grow in front of us," she said. By the end of the year, Viacom, Inc. is planning to split its faster growing cable and film unit, which includes MTV, from its broadcast, radio, publishing, and outdoor properties, which will be renamed CBS Corp. MTV expects tremendous growth in the years ahead from properties outside of the U.S. As one executive put it, "Eight out of 10 MTV viewers are outside the U.S., 80 percent of multi-channel subscribers are outside the U.S., and 90 percent of 3G (mobile phone users) are outside the U.S., but does 80 percent of our revenue come from outside the U.S.? No." For example, viewers in Europe, South America, and Asia can already send text messages directly onto TV screens to chat with friends, stream music videos over the Web and receive MTV content on their mobile phones. - Read the whole story...
posted by Unknown @ Friday, November 04, 2005,
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