Archive for May 16th, 2007
As I was sitting with Keith Norman from Waterman Broadcasting (Ft. Myers, Florida, the winter home of the best-in-baseball Boston Red Sox), he offered me some good advice about my earlier presentation. Keith suggested that I needed to add some best practices and action items into the presentation. Keith’s right. I tend to get a little worked up in these presentations, and it’s good to list some takeaways on items you can start to implement today. So thanks for the feedback, Keith. (As he self-effacingly apologized for offering up the advice, I told him it beat the standard “Hey, Safran, you have no idea what you’re talking about” I often get.) Your action items from Streaming Media East 2007, after the jump…
Read the full post May 16th, 2007
There are some genuine friends I have made through the years at Streaming Media conferences, and I really look forward to meeting up with them every year. I admire their work, and I admire them as people. So if you’ll forgive me, I want to recommend you check out their excellent year-in, year-out work. Jose Castillo, whose ThinkJose site has become a source for great podcasting information. Jose’s also a cool dude. More link love to Andy Plesser at Beet TV. Not just because he interviewed me live on his site (OK, partially because of that), but because he completely gets the idea of using a blog as a marketing tool to promote one’s line of work. Steve Bryant, who has far too many writing gigs for me to count, is worth checking out at his Google Watch blog and Hollywood Reporter blog, Reel Pop. Bryant has a great sense of humor and an even better BS detector. Jarvis, of course, always comes in, makes a kerfuffle, and leaves a windstorm. Alisa Fiksdal from WorldNow has spent more “floor time” than anyone I know at these things, and is unfailingly polite as she gives demos for what must be the billionth time. The FeedRoom’s Bart Feder always has great insight into the industry, and is a former Boston guy. My new colleague Andrew Deal of Cellecast came all the way in from Vancouver, Washington for this - we met at Streaming Media West. Good to see Paul Ragland and Cory Factor from Dayport as well - they’re good guys to talk “state of the industry” with. And, of course, conference organizer and overall madman Dan Rayburn who pulled it off again. I appreciate the indulgence, folks - these are people I just wanted to thank.
May 16th, 2007
We want our content, and we want it all over the place. We want it to be original and specific to each platform as well as multiplatform. We, the consumers define, our own entertainment experience. But media companies still aren’t redeploying resources into new media to keep up with demand. The Streaming Media East 2007 panel, “The Streaming Disconnect Between Consumers & Major Media” looked at this issue and talked about why the problem still exists. Your correspondent’s hastily-typed notes, after the jump.
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The message could not be more clear: the networks expect the locals to start flying on their own. At Streaming Media East 2007, I asked Ron Berryman, Senior VP, GM Television Stations, Fox Interactive Media where local affiliates fit in the distribution chain as the network sends it content out directly to the consumer. Here, paraphrased, is his candid answer:
Local television stations have a lot of work to do. They’re used to packaging programs. Our challenge is having these people become creative. They need to generate content at the local level that brings people back. If I go to weather.com, I get the forecast and then get out. People go to local news sites, get information and get out. There’s a challenge for the local television stations – we’ve been working very hard at that for the last 18 months. Stations that have been working very hard at that are succeeding. That’s what they’re going to have to do. Look at the advertising value surrounding the (local) automotive industry – how do we keep that customer online? We’ve got to be innovative to keep that customer online and keep the advertising money.
We hear this consistently now from the networks. Affiliates can no longer rely on network programming to generate numbers and lead-in ratings. They need to generate original programming and online content tailored to their audience and ad revenue expectations.
May 16th, 2007
Met up with Jeff Jarvis after the keynote this morning. Jeff asked me what I liked most about the conference. I have to say the thing that’s best about Streaming Media East (and West) is that there is no arguing. There is good debate, to be sure. But there is no “us vs. them,” no “blogs are death,” no “that’s not real media,” no “that’s not our core competency” arguments. The open-mindedness of companies here is terrific. Broadcasters need to learn from the entrepreneurial spirit of these folks. They look at emerging tech and see the possibilities, not the limitations.
May 16th, 2007
In a post below, I wondered if the quality of presentation software is passing by the local TV stations. You asked for some examples. There are products here I definitely like. Some are presentation layers, others encode. Others are just plain cool. Check ‘em out and tell me what you think: Vividas (which looks gorgeous), Maven (intuitive, great looking), PermissionTV (why don’t video sites look like this?), Silverlight (Yes, the Microsoft product - the ease of production is impressive) and VectorMax (multiplatform, makes you wonder why locals don’t stream live more). I note Cory’s comment that locals need to create better content first. I completely agree. But if you start with high-quality video, why not put it out in high quality? And yes - I realize I am violating the first rule of blogging here: never praise anything. I haven’t tested any of these products - I just know they look great.
May 16th, 2007
Think primetime TV isn’t what it used to be? You’re not alone. A Publicis study found that 38 percent of respondents said they’re less satisfied with primetime television than in past years. Almost 75 percent report that programming is either less compelling or no more compelling than years past. Only 9 percent said they are enjoying it “a lot more.”
May 16th, 2007
The keynote speaker at Streaming Media East 2007 on Tuesday was the NY Times Sr. Vice President of Digital Operations, Martin Nisenholtz. Of special interest to the LR Faithful were a couple of his points: the Times intends to grow its video audience by four to five times by allowing blogs to embed its video. “To reach a broader audience, the Times must distribute its video outside of NYTimes.com, ” said Nisenholtz. “We believe we need to go outside the walls to make this work.” My notes after the jump.
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C. Kirk Read has been named president of Media General’s interactive division and VP of the company. Read was GM of TBO.com until 2004.
May 16th, 2007
It’s billed as “the first broadcast-caliber online sci-fi series,” and if you’re into sci fi, Sanctuary certainly looks promising by the looks of the trailer. The production and effects are broadcast caliber, indeed. But here’s the catch: each 18-minute or so webisode will cost you $1.99 each. “This is the next evolution of series-based entertainment,” says Damian Kindler, the show’s writer/creator and executive producer. “Sanctuary is the first series developed exclusively for an online audience that offers both standard and high-definition resolutions, plus direct communication between the fans and the Sanctuary creative team.” Sanctuary is the product of Stage 3 Media, a Vancouver B.C. company. (Thanks, Mike!) Screen grab of the player…
May 16th, 2007
