At the MIPTV conference in Cannes during the first week of April, online content was right at the center of the annual TV programming market. Dozens of online content producers were in Cannes, explaining what they do, who is watching and who is buying.
One of the most
interesting sessions for news people introduced creators of “second screen
applications” – online content for mobile devices designed specifically to
enhance the television viewing experience, one of the hottest trends in online
content development.
News and factual
programming seem ripe for second screen applications. Here are a few thoughts for
creators of online content who are thinking of pitching their idea to news
organizations. As potential clients, news programs have some
"special" characteristics, unique from the requirements of fiction,
sports, reality and game show programming where second screen applications are
already well established.
First of all, there definitely is a market among broadcast news organizations (both public
service broadcasters and private stations, television and radio) for these types of applications. All the broadcasters are
seeking, naturally, to increase their audience share and this remains a primary
focus, something they are working on constantly. This is particularly important
now, in an era of increasingly fragmented market shares.
The rollout of
all-digital television in Germany in 2012, for example, with 100+ new channels,
adversely and dramatically affected the market share of all the biggest players
in Europe’s largest television market. Some of the majors saw program ratings
drop by as much as 1/3 after the digital rollout, while very other small,
previously invisible channels showed a dramatic increase in their audiences.
Eventually the quality of the programs and how they are promoted will even
things out, but there is a lot of concern about the changing dynamics in
audience share right now.
The bottom line is
anything that increases (or has the potential to increase) the market share of
news and factual programming will be looked at with a lot of interest, especially
anything that seems to attract younger, more educated and more affluent audiences,
and for sure that's how online content creators should present their services
to news organizations initially.
However, online content
companies should also recognize that news organizations have certain
characteristics which set them apart from other types of potential clients. Doing
news is a source of a lot of pride within most parent companies, giving
legitimacy and credibility in a way game shows, reality programs, entertainment,
sports and advertising never could. Successful news organizations consistently
draw large audiences and can be significant profit centers for their parent
companies and, by reporting on issues of significance, provide real value to
audiences and pride for their parent companies.
Key market success
factors in news include a combination of credible, compelling content and
talent, a relentlessly competitive attitude and a strong focus on promotion. The
producers of news and factual programming are good at what they do. It's why,
despite diminishing audience share every year, television remains the dominant
medium for news and factual programming worldwide, why the bulk of advertising
dollars still goes to TV, and why the source of so much content online is
actually television.
One of the things that
makes news a tough market for the new generation of digital / online content is
that many news organizations are frankly not convinced of its real value.
Definitely they all know they have to be there and they are doing it just like
everyone else, but because the numbers they see are not particularly persuasive,
for now they are not putting many resources into it.
The online units of many
of the top tier broadcast news organizations are small, with few people working
on it; the budgets for online content are usually a fraction of the overall
news budget. The reason is obvious. While broadcasters recognize the phenomenal
growth in online users over the past few years, which they can't ignore, overall
the numbers for online are still disappointing compared with their traditional
platforms. Lower numbers, less resources, it’s that simple.
So, while it's important
to be there, for now online content remains a sideshow for the biggest news
organizations. A common perception is that online content can increase
audience share marginally in the direction of younger audiences, but not as
something that helps their broadcast platforms, which have far bigger audiences
and which are the main source of their revenue and profitability.
Decision-makers in news are
tough, skeptical people. They do a lot of audience research and understand
exactly what audience share is, where it comes from and what it means to their
businesses. That's good news for online content providers, who will find a receptive audience for precise numbers-driven analysis, despite the perception that many of the top television executives are conservative people unwilling to move away from what they see as their
"core businesses."
But there is a disconnect between what news people hear about online content and what they can
see. Many of the fabulous claims providers of online content and data services make
about what they are delivering seem like rhetoric and hype to experienced news
executives. For example, the fact that Twitter right now is the heart of most
second screen applications could be a challenge. When people from Twitter cite
a number like "3.3 billion Twitter impressions" it may not be
particularly impressive to buyers in news. Many news people simply don't
understand what that means, or how it could possibly be useful to their
business model. The fact that the Oscars 2014 selfie (which was an
advertisement organized by Samsung) was the most tweeted image of all time says
a lot about Twitter, and does not necessarily enhance Twitter's credibility as
a serious news source.
More importantly, the hot
new trend of "seamlessly blending" factual content and advertising into
what is known as branded content and native advertising, particularly online,
is anathema to top news organizations. They have battled for years with
advertisers, owners and general managers who wanted to integrate ad content
into news programming. Today advertising is always "fenced off" in
broadcast news, and the result is the most dominant news medium the world has
ever seen. Broadcasters have spent many years building the reputations they
enjoy (and the audience share and profits that go with it) and know how easily
those reputations could be destroyed. They will always be cautious to use any
content that has advertising embedded in it. In the case of many of Europe's
public service broadcasters, the practice is actually illegal, violating their
mandate to serve the public transparently.
The challenge to reach
these buyers will be to show news organizations how online content can build
audience share on their traditional broadcast platforms. That growth can be
expressed in raw numbers, or potentially even more interesting, by bringing in
a new, younger demographic to broadcast platforms via online engagement. Giving
broadcasters the tools, via a second screen application for example, to do this
would definitely be something they would look at.
My suggestions for online
content producers who want to successfully develop clients in news and factual
programming include:
- Make your potential
buyers understand how second screen applications are not a mirror of television
but indeed a totally different experience than TV; that it enhances the viewing
experience without drawing audience away from it.
- Educate them about how
to value and evaluate success in the online medium; for example, explain how
"engagement" - now defined as number of hits/views + time of
interaction - is a deeper metric and why it important for the specific
demographics they are trying to reach. Explain that value in online content is
no longer only about the number of unique views.
- The fact that the
content of a second screen application could be "moderated" by a
journalist will be very attractive to news organizations. This will go a long way
toward defusing the concerns about commercialism/branded content in something
that will be associated with a news product.
- Be clear about the
numbers; audience share, demographics and trends. Positive growth comparisons
are good (this year vs last year, broadcast vs online, etc.) Don't worry about
small numbers overall; the important thing will be to focus on growth and the
potential for that, particularly among younger users and the users of mobile
devices.
- Be up front and
transparent about the role ad content plays in your offer. Obviously news
organizations are not against advertising, indeed they are largely dependent on
it, but ads associated with a news or factual program need to be clearly
labelled. Assure the client you are sensitive to how transparency about ad
content works in relation to the particular application they are buying.
And here's the "holy
grail" – if you can show potential clients in news how a second screen
application would direct a significant number or demographic back to the
broadcast platform, that would be absolutely epic. If this can be demonstrated
consistently and very importantly, with the numbers to back it up, you could be
looking at a huge breakthrough in developing clients in news.
My sense is that most
news organizations not only want this type of service for their audiences, but
are starting to realize that they cannot do this themselves. More and more they
are recognizing they need real experts in online content development to make it
happen for them; to show them what's out there and to show them how it can be
done.
When it comes to
providing online content and second screen applications, the interest and the
desire is there in every news organization. But the value versus the costs need
to be clearly expressed, as well as an understanding of how news organizations
work to both serve their audiences and be profitable.
