NBC has decided to part ways with Apple Itunes online store and begin to offer their TV episodes free of charge to viewers. Here's the catch, you can't skip the ads, and the file deletes itself a week after its been aired on TV.
NBC apparently wanted to jack the price of each episode to over double the cost currently. Apple said no deal, and NBC took their ball and went home. Now they're going back to the tried and tested way of selling episodes - to the advertisers. Unskippable ads, however, probably have about as much effect as ads on TV to those that really don't want to watch them, except instead of channel clicking, people will just open up a new window.
Apparently NBC's main argument is with the revenues it garners from online sales. It wasn't enough (mind you, somethings still more than nothing, considering torrents etc). So NBC decided to sell advertising shares and forgo the download cost. This brings up a secondary argument, one that hasn't been higlighted in the news so much.
Many of the programs that NBC plans to offer are aimed at the younger audience. These shows also have high viewer rates, but aren't always counted in the same way. Heroes was one of the most watched series last season, but it's viewer numbers were not as high as they actually were. This is because the Nielson ratings don't account for TiVo'ed views that are watched later on than the showings. Advertisers don't benefit from recorded shows, as viewers tend to skip the ads as they feel. But the behaviour shown by viewers matches the age group. Younger people are the On Demand generation of viewers. They watch shows when they have the time and want to, not when Cable TV tells them to. This explains why box sets of series DVDs sell, and why TiVo and ITunes downloads of episodes are popular.
But again, ads are gone from these sources. So what does NBC do? They create a way to capture at least a part of this On Demand market that was getting away ad-revenue free. They'll keep all the ITunes consumers, that's almost guaranteed. Changing the delivery method usually doesn't turn away previous consumers, especially when the cost drops. This means, as long as they get at least an equal amount of advertising revenue from the free download, they break even. Given the fact that its very likely much of the On Demand TiVo market will take this route as well (I know I will) means their viewer numbers will go up from ITunes. If NBC sold ads based on only ITunes subscriptions, they can expect to be able to charge more for revenues as the viewer base grows.
There is one downfall for the moment though. NBC is only offering it to windows users. No Mac, No Ipod. It reeks of spitefulness on the part of NBC, which is probably a poor choice. Yes, Macs arent a big market, but the Ipod video probably is. This is only a temporary issue, of course, but it's just a mean-spirited way of doing business.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Privacy be damned, I want my network!
Following up on yesterdays post about the plausibility of Yahoo's new social networking site to flourish given the possibility that cyber bullies, or for that anyone, has the ability to edit data on your profile wiki-style, is a report stating that most Facebook and Myspace users are OK with the sites selling thier personal information.
Many of the users of both sites seem pretty naive from what seems to be on the report, given that a large majority of overall users list their personal emails along with their real names (This one, for facebook at least, would defeat the purpose of the site if not, and as such makes a moot observation) on the sites, and there is also the ability to post phone numbers on facebook (I know some of my friends have done this....I could never bring myself to publicly post my phone number). Even knowing that the hosting sites sell this data to advertisers, most users are OK with it, so long as it allows them access to the social networking tools.
You can only get something if you end up paying for it in return, and apparently, online marketers have found at least one tool that consumers are willing to use and in return, give up some privacy. MySpace is taking it one step further using data mining tools to customize ads specifically to each of its users. Which makes sense, as if you only have a small window of opportunity to present ads and generate revenue without angering your target audience, you want to make sure you maximize the potential of returns.
So this can presumably be dubbed the good side of profile sharing on network sites in terms of privacy issues, as it may be. Intrusive, yes, but it isn't so intrusive that consumers are avoiding it. The bad side really hasn't reared its ugly head....yet. So long as advertising ads on the sites are the only use for the data mine, I think most users won't mind. It's when spammers, telemarketers, heck even employers can access what was once thought to be semi-private data between you and friends that the proverbial youknowwhat hits the fan.
Many of the users of both sites seem pretty naive from what seems to be on the report, given that a large majority of overall users list their personal emails along with their real names (This one, for facebook at least, would defeat the purpose of the site if not, and as such makes a moot observation) on the sites, and there is also the ability to post phone numbers on facebook (I know some of my friends have done this....I could never bring myself to publicly post my phone number). Even knowing that the hosting sites sell this data to advertisers, most users are OK with it, so long as it allows them access to the social networking tools.
You can only get something if you end up paying for it in return, and apparently, online marketers have found at least one tool that consumers are willing to use and in return, give up some privacy. MySpace is taking it one step further using data mining tools to customize ads specifically to each of its users. Which makes sense, as if you only have a small window of opportunity to present ads and generate revenue without angering your target audience, you want to make sure you maximize the potential of returns.
So this can presumably be dubbed the good side of profile sharing on network sites in terms of privacy issues, as it may be. Intrusive, yes, but it isn't so intrusive that consumers are avoiding it. The bad side really hasn't reared its ugly head....yet. So long as advertising ads on the sites are the only use for the data mine, I think most users won't mind. It's when spammers, telemarketers, heck even employers can access what was once thought to be semi-private data between you and friends that the proverbial youknowwhat hits the fan.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Yahoo on the Social Network Bandwagon
Apparently, getting ad placement on Bebo wasn't enough for Yahoo, as now, they are testing the waters on their own social networking site. Apparently, getting thrashed once with Yahoo 360 wasn't enough. This time, they're playing the "me too" game, imitating Facebook. Given that Google and Microsoft already have the two big Social network players tied up for advertising dollars, it's basically all Yahoo can do to get in on the game. I'm not sure it will work though. Critical mass has already been reached on the popular network sites, meaning its intrinsic value to new members is positive and climbing as more people join the site. New networks have negative investment value to the initial joiners, and given the work needed to involve enough people to extract value from the venture, most shy away from it. What Yahoo needs to do with Mash is ensure that there are enough innovative features that will attract early adopters, and hope that enough people see promise to adopt it, such that future consumers have positive benefits. The problem is, Yahoo went tried and true with most of it, copying Facebook.
One new interesting feature though, is the fact that Yahoo's Mash will also implement a wikipedia-style entry. Which should prove interesting from a social aspect, as cyber-bullying already appears regularly on IM and chat rooms. Imagine the ability to change a person's profile entries in the anonymous realm of cyberspace. It's frightening in a way. I can imagine what some of my Exes might say about me, for example. The ability to have complete freedom in cyberspace is something that's usually strived for by companies as an appealing point of their service. Here though, I'm not sure if it's something people will exactly go after, given the negative possibilities.
But again, what choice does Yahoo have but to try?
One new interesting feature though, is the fact that Yahoo's Mash will also implement a wikipedia-style entry. Which should prove interesting from a social aspect, as cyber-bullying already appears regularly on IM and chat rooms. Imagine the ability to change a person's profile entries in the anonymous realm of cyberspace. It's frightening in a way. I can imagine what some of my Exes might say about me, for example. The ability to have complete freedom in cyberspace is something that's usually strived for by companies as an appealing point of their service. Here though, I'm not sure if it's something people will exactly go after, given the negative possibilities.
But again, what choice does Yahoo have but to try?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)