Technology360

Broadacst Flag Smackdown: Video v. Audio

Gigi Sohn writes:

One of the memes repeated over and over again at the House Energy and Commerce broadcast flag hearing two weeks ago was that the audio broadcast flag is much different (read: worse) than the video version. This argument is made largely to explain why the consumer electronics, software and broadcast industries are neutral or support the video flag, while they vehemently oppose the audio flag.  ¶ Yes, there are some superficial distinctions between the two, but they are distinctions without a difference. ...

Link:  Public Knowledge.

More on BBC restructuring

I posted about the BBC's reorganization plans on the 19th ("Unbroadcasting").  Here are some related links:

Rafat Ali, BBC's Big Restructuring Coming Today; New Media Expansion.  Link:  paidContent.org.
Staci Kramer, More On BBC Restructuring; New Future Media and Technology Division.  Link:  paidContent.org.

And thanks to Rob Paterson for the following:

Mark Sweney,  Highfield's spending power soars at BBC.  Link:  The Guardian.
Leigh Holmwood, BBC unveils major revamp.  Link:  The Guardian.
[unsigned], Delivering Creative Future: Mark Thompson's speech to BBC staff.  Link:  The Guardian.  Don't want to read the whole thing?  Rob exerpts what he believes is the most important part of this speech on Robert Paterson's Weblog.

Also see, Bobbie Johnson, BBC's Highfield comes under fire.  Link:  The Guardian.

And, BBC announces radical restructure for future media vision.  Link:  informitv.com.

--Dennis

The Long Tail and the Structure of the Media Industry

John Hagel comments perceptively on Chris Anderson's new book, The Long Tail, an expansion of his now-classic 10/2004 article of the same title in Wired.  Hagel writes:

... Given the importance that he attaches to the long tail, it is a bit surprising that Chris does not pursue in more detail the implications for the structure of the media industry.  His perspective is certainly suggestive in terms of direction, but he never really steps back and spells out how the long tail might re-shape media businesses, with particular attention to the most basic question of all: who is going to create economic value and who will destroy economic value?  Perhaps it is prudent for Chris to avoid such speculation given all the uncertainties in how this might play out, but this is the question that all media executives are confronting. ...

And later:

... My own view is that the current generation of aggregator businesses represents an unstable transitional form that will unbundle into two very different kinds of businesses: infrastructure management businesses and customer relationship businesses. As I have argued elsewhere, these businesses require different skill sets and cultures and they have different economics, yet most aggregators keep these tightly bundled.  I don’t think that will last.  Both of these businesses can be very profitable and can lead to high levels of concentration and consolidation but, to sustain world-class performance, they need to be managed as focused businesses, not bundled together. ...

Link:  Edge Perspectives with John Hagel.  Highly recommended.  --Dennis

Zune: what we know, think we know, and don't yet know

Ryan Block has a nice overview of what's now known and what's not known about Microsoft's upcoming iPod/iTunes competitor which it's calling Zune.  Link:  engadget.  Thanks to John Proffitt (KAKM/KSKA) for the tip. 

See also Om Malik's, Microsoft Partners, You Been Zunked.  Link:  GigaOM.  And also Michael Gartenberg's, Zune is Real and Here's What it Means - First Take.  Link:  Jupiterresearch.  And Rafat Ali has several articles on Zune under the Music category at paidContent.org.  --Dennis

On radio's blunder: Missing out online

Diego Vasquez has an interview with Mark Ramsey, whose work I frequently cite in this blog, about his research relating to online radio usage.  Link:  Media Life.  Thanks to Kurt Hanson's Radio And Internet Newsletter for the tip.  --Dennis

Analog shutoff date holds

Anyone looking for relief in the analog television broadcast shutoff date (2/17/2009) from the fact that the legislation specifying that date was signed in spite of there being different House and Senate versions will be disappointed by a court ruling on Monday.  The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California has ruled that the Deficit Reduction Act is valid and operable legislation.  Of course this doesn't mean there aren't a hundred other reasons why the 2009 date might slip.  Thanks to Andrew Cotlar for the information.  --Dennis

The Future of Media Report 2006

The Future Exploration Network has published a report of this title.  I've only paged through it, but it contains interesting stats and looks to be worth reading.  Here's Ross Dawson's description:

Some of the things you’ll find in the report:

Global media market highlights. In 32 years media will have doubled its share of the global economy. Newspaper revenue is stagnant, but television, driven by cable subscriptions, is growing healthily. The US is heavily overrepresented in the global media markets, boasting 42% of all revenue. However China’s media appetite is exploding.

Global media comparisons. Other countries are catching up to the US in online advertising, though classifieds is a particularly strong source of revenue growth in the US. Teens spend more total time with media than adults, but less time watching TV.

Emerging media relationships. The Washington Post far outstrips other major US newspapers in blog references per print copy, but still lags The Guardian. Almost half of all “mashups” are based on location. PhotoBucket outstrips the growth pace of MySpace.

Content creation and usage. Eighteen percent of Americans over 65 years old have created content on the Internet, showing it’s not just for teenagers. 37% of all blog posts are in Japanese, more than in English.

Media industry networks. Microsoft remains the company most central to global media alliances and joint ventures. Yahoo!, Apple, CBS, Viacom, and Sony Ericsson are among those that have become more central over the last five years.

The Future of Media Strategic Framework. A framework to pull together some of the many threads that make up the future of media, including the symbiosis of mainstream and social media, the consumer/ creator archetype, content, formats, revenue, distribution, globalization and localization, and intellectual property.

Five ideas transforming media. Key ideas include “time compression,” describing how people’s media consumption habits change when they get busier, and “infinite content,” about a world in which limitless media is available.

Media snippets. In 1892 there were 14 evening newspapers in London. Today there is just one. 36% of US high-school students believe that newspapers should get “government approval” before stories are published.

Link:  Future Exploration Network.  --Dennis

Google, the Media Network, Part 1

Hollis Thomases writes:

... What's Google's Content Network? Just what the heck is the buying opportunity? The simplest explanation is the Google Content Network allows an advertiser to display ads on Web sites across the Net. Google ads on publisher sites are demarcated by "Ads by Goooooogle," such as the Google ads on the bottom of the "Health" section page of "The New York Times."  ¶ End of the simple answer. ...

Link:  ClickZ Network.

Podcast: Conversation with Brittney Gilbert of Nashvilleistalking.com

ABC affiliate WKRN in Nashville is doing a great job of being more local through its efforts on the web.  One of its web sites is nashvilleistalking.com, an aggregation of some 400 locally-edited weblogs.  I think it's a good model for public media and my staff and I are exploring something like this for our region.  An interview with its editor, Brittney Gilbert, is available at Center for Citizen Media.

For more on WKRN's effort, see Man on the street reporting: homeless blogger takes reins at blog sponsored by TV station.  Link:  Center for Citizen Media. --Dennis

Coming Soon to a TV Near You?

Ronald Grover writes:

It's the Holy Grail of the movie download business. Movies straight from the Internet to your TV, none of that watching the flick in your straight-back chair while peering at your computer monitor. Now, for those who want to watch movies the way they should be enjoyed—that is, while curled up on your couch—comes the first downloadable movie that can be burned onto a DVD. On July 19, CinemaNow, a movie download site backed by independent film studio Lionsgate Entertainment, Microsoft, Blockbuster, and others, announced it will be the first to provide that service. ...

Link:  BusinessWeek.