The internet’s continuous disruption of the traditional television business has twisted the licensing of multi-genre video content for distribution into a complicated business. However, the intricacy has given birth to the ‘rise of the digital age’ which is taking the film and television content production, distribution and presentation platforms by storm.
Last year, MIPTV’s new MIP Digital Fronts, the world’s first international screenings for showcasing and featuring new creative talent and producers, and trading content designed for digital distribution, was launched with the aim of unravelling any complexity for content sellers and buyers.
Brightcove’s Ben Morrell, Senior Technical Consultant explained, “The dominance of traditional linear broadcast TV is over. With the evolution of mobile technologies playing a critical role in transforming the way viewers consume media, the traditional TV set as we know is facing some stiff competition in the living room. At the centre of this transformation is the way viewers now seek and demand access to content in more ways than ever: live, on-demand, mobile, desktop, living room, and beyond.”
He said according to Nielsen, mobile video viewing more than tripled between Q3 2008 and Q3 2011. It’s no longer viable for media companies to focus on a single channel; now, they have to be able to deliver across a rapidly proliferating array of devices, platforms, and underlying technologies, including:
- Desktop computers, smartphones, and tablets running Windows, MacOS, iOS, and Android operating systems
- Internet-connected Smart TVs that run third party apps
- Over-the-top (OTT) hardware like Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, Boxee, Google TV, Microsoft Xbox, and Sony PS3
- OTT service provides like NetFlix, Amazon.com, and BBC
“With so many options available to viewers, broadcasters cannot afford to alienate them with unstable, stalled, or low-definition video. To deliver content in the right way for each viewer, broadcasters need to be able to deliver video in multiple renditions and stream at different bit rates according to their specific device and network connection,” he added.
Woodcut Media’s Jt Creative Director, Derren Lawford said, “Digital consumption especially by younger consumers is not going to diminish, so it’s a matter of finding ways that fit your business model and modus operandi. In the UK, all the major channels have an on-demand service available on multiple platforms, a mixture of catch-up and live streaming.
“The other option is to buy digital companies as part of your M&A strategy. ITV have done this by acquiring a minority stake in U.S. digital producer Believe Entertainment Group. In America, Disney has acquired YouTube Multi Channel Network, Maker Studios and via their subsidiary company A+E Networks have taken a stake in Vice Media.
“Then there’s the opportunity for digital platforms to create an additional revenue stream either by selling your catalogue to Netflix, Amazon et.al or conversely giving Netflix a place within your own eco-system as in the case of Virgin Media and YouView. Also, ensuring programming is simultaneously available on multiple platforms, can create more of an “event” for a series launch and deter piracy.
Lastly, TV can choose to directly compete in that space. The BBC’s proposed closing of its youth TV channel BBC Three to take it wholly online is a current case in point.”
By taking advantage of the digital platform, some traditional-TV distribution arms of media juggernauts are generating even more business via the digital media. It is clear that licensing professional TV and original video content to digital and on-demand platforms has created new business opportunities today.
Damaris Valero, Managing Director and Founder, Animus Group said, “TV has to become a leader in ‘bundling’ screens. The target issue here is the fragmentation of the ‘same’ viewer. So far, everyone seems to be competing for the same consumer who watches TV and goes online often. We have to remember that consumers have not grown in numbers but their habits and attention spans have fragmented. These platforms do complement one another. Sometimes the content can be released on broadcast and later on the web, and vice versa.”
As for licensing the new platforms, she said, “We are all navigating in a ‘Wild West’ World. This can be seen as an opportunity to create some new rules. Whoever does it first, others will follow. It’s basically about creating some contractual boundaries defining what can or cannot be done with these TV video rights. Perhaps attorneys could re-define these guidelines for the new platforms. Then, it only takes some vigilant work for companies that measure exposure of video content to bring back data and force platforms to pay for any unpaid rights. What usually happens is that others will eventually follow these new parameters.”
“Netflix in particular were very canny in offering acquisition fees in line with linear TV acquisitions fees and doing so in bulk,” added Derren Lawford. “This meant they were immediately seen by indies as proper players in the content game and a fresh source of revenue which in turn makes the negotiations between producers and platforms tougher for everyone, as there’s more competition. From an indie perspective that’s no bad thing here. There are examples where everyone benefits as in the case of Amazon Prime which due to its investment in the latest series of Ripper Street secured the first TX window with the BBC picking up the secondary window but the primary window for TV. In that regard, the toughest negotiations are around windowing and attributing an unknown value to constantly changing windowing models,” he said.
Sharing from a consultant’s perspective, Ben Morrell said, “Content discovery has undergone a dramatic change recently. Social networks such as Facebook enable people find and share content through the shared tastes and affinities of their friends. Some of the largest Twitter trends are about past or highly anticipated TV show discussions. Social sharing can yield tremendous benefits in increased reach and exposure, but as an organic, viral process, it is not something media companies can control directly, compared with a traditional advertising spend as they would a traditional advertising buy. Instead, broadcasters have to pay close attention to the kind of content their audience is most likely to share, then make it as easy as possible to do so, including the ability to play and share videos right from a social network feed. Blogs and video aggregator sites play a similar role, providing added viral distribution – especially when videos include features that make them simple to embed and re-post in new locations.
“Syndication is vital to success in a highly fragmented content landscape. To gain the largest possible audience, broadcasters will have to reach beyond their own properties and reach viewers on portals such as Yahoo or Xin MSN, and as well as video destination sites like YouTube and Hulu. Beyond increasing reach for individual titles, this can create a valuable halo effect for all of TV content by bringing viewers back to the broadcasters own branded destination site.
“The transformation of TV shows no signs of slowing down. To adapt to a rapidly changing media environment while capitalising on powerful new revenue opportunities, broadcast media companies need to move quickly to embrace the new strategies and implement the technologies to support them.”
“Online offers more precise targeting,” acknowledged Derren Lawford. “Channel 4 (UK) are great believers in acquiring data from their online platform to target their audience and Netflix’s algorithmic curation has been much lauded. They get lots of information about you which will undoubtedly inform what they showcase, commission and acquire. However for the audience, algorithms don’t do nuance, editorialise, signpost in the way that traditional schedules do.
“If your whole family is watching Netflix, then their recommendations may appear slightly random. Also, audiences are largely watching TV in the evenings after school or work so they really don’t want to search around for content. Sometimes they just want to know what is on, when and what it’s about and in that regard, traditional TV targeting promotional and scheduling strategies are still key. In fact Netflix, Vice, YouTube and Amazon no longer rely on being online and actively advertise their services on TV, billboards, publications – very much like traditional TV has always done,” he added.
