You can build it, but can you sell it. That is the question that all channels and producers needs to ask themselves in a world where content is created for online and mobile viewing, paid for through brand alliances or micro-payments systems.
Where does this new market environment leave the established or budding commercial media company? They already stand or fall on the quality of their programmes and ideas. However, they will have to wean themselves off a reliance on commissioning fees from the broadcast channels. While some content will be commissioned in this way, other content may be self generated with a payback via online micro-payments or they will work directly with brands to create and distribute content. The producers therefore need to be more market orientated, while remaining true to their creative souls. They will need to embrace web and mobile marketing as a means of grabbing attention and sales and/or they will need to schmooze corporate marketers and convince them that their brand will be enhanced through an association with the brilliant new content – whatever the genre. It makes for a whole new subset of pitching!
How will the producer get their product to market, and what will it look like? For a start, they will need to re-evaluate their audience - numbers, geography, culture and demographics. In the online world, a content merchant can speak to everyone all at once, therefore they will need to learn how to maximise attention in the places where their audience browse. If the audience operates in different languages [and a single language version will just not do], all versions of the episode will have to be released at once – unless that is the creator does not want to alienate those whom are not catered for from the start. Going further than this, localised versions of a series may have to be made in parallel and released at the same time. This also creates interesting challenges for licensing of third party content.
Some content will of course be universal in tone, but even here, the web savvy channel and/or producer will need to have a secure and easy to use e-commerce engine. This ability to generate online, direct sales from the consumer will also impact upon format of programmes. Shorter episodes for mobile devices will become more prevalent. At the same time, the technology itself will influence storylines and formats, for example, the interactive possibilities online and the geographic location abilities of mobile. This is all possible, while retaining quality entertainment and drama.
To summarise, the shift to a pay per episode model for video content would be good for content creators and good for the consumer because:
Producers will have to take much more responsibility for their content.
Experimentation will still continue at the fringes of production – encouraged by the low cost of production and the ability to reach a mass audience through the web.
The channels will no longer be the ‘destination’ for a mixed bag of programming.
You and I will pay for that which we like at a time and place that suits us.
Producers can choose to work with ‘channel’ partners – be they TV channel brands or other brands with access to a ready audience.
While producers can interact directly with their audience, they will have to be much more web and market focussed. No more relying on the channel to hype their content.
For those broadcasters willing to face facts and face up to the opportunities, there is a strong chance that they can reinvent themselves for this new world. They just need to become web marketers.
