Nielsen recently issued a new report with details about a "development to watch."
It was about people who are referred to as cord-swappers, people who are cancelling their cable or satellite television services and are instead hooking their televisions up to the internet. It's forced Nielsen, the television ratings monopoly, to create a new category of tv household. Add the "broadcast only/broadband" household to "broadcast only," "cable," and "satellite" homes as the types of households they measure.
Most new televisions come with a built in USB port. Some have built-in wifi receivers. There are Google TVs available right now at your local store. You can connect your current television to an Apple TV box and watch all sorts of programming stored on the iCloud.
Internet companies like Netflix, Hulu and YouTube are starting to provide original video programming available only online. Netflix made headlines just last week with it's launch of "Lillyhammer," a dramatic series starting Steve Van Zandt ( of The Sopranos) as a New York gangster forced to re-locate to Norway. Netflix further challenged television status quo by releasing the entire series at once, instead of piecing the episodes out one week at a time.
What does it all mean? Nielsen says that the number of "broadcast only/broadband" homes is still small, about 5% of households, but it is the fastest growing segment they measure. Last year it grew 22.8%. I predict it will pick up steam. Television manufacturers are pushing television toward the internet. Internet companies are working hard and investing big money to pull television viewers to the internet. What does it mean to your local cable company with it's thousands of miles of coaxial cable planted in the ground throughout your community? What does it means to satellite providers who once thought they could challenge cable? I'd say they have some serious thinking to do.
What does it mean for your local television station? They have some thinking to do too. Localism seems to be a big advantage that they have in terms of news reporting and local program production. That's content that they can distribute any way they want. But they better get around the old "appointment viewing" strategy and come to terms with our "demand-fed" generation. No body wants to wait anymore. If you like the first episode of "Lillyhammer" you can make a weekend out of it and watch the entire season. No need to wait. I think I'd enjoy doing that with "House" or "NCIS."
I can also think of two or three (probably more) broadcast companies which own and operate local television stations across the country that are achieving expense savings by moving all of their stations to a common look, feel and operating structure. They are enjoying the economies of scale by sharing production elements and content around the country. I believe they are sacrificing localism for a better bottom line. That may prove to be short-sighted.
Are you a cord swapper? Have you taken content from the internet and watched it through your television? I have. That's how I watch a bunch of blacked-out football games last season. We have watched "The Tudors" and a bunch of movies on our 47 inch set that were downloaded from Netflfix. We don't do it often... yet... but the opportunities are increasing.
I will let the tv, cable, satellite and internet folks duke it out between themselves. I'll gladly sit on the side and watch carefully. As a marketer, you have to ask yourself, does this make your marketing and advertising opportunities more complicated, or more plentiful? Will all these changes make our work more effective, or increasingly invisible? It's a great time to be involved in this business, don't you think?
It was about people who are referred to as cord-swappers, people who are cancelling their cable or satellite television services and are instead hooking their televisions up to the internet. It's forced Nielsen, the television ratings monopoly, to create a new category of tv household. Add the "broadcast only/broadband" household to "broadcast only," "cable," and "satellite" homes as the types of households they measure.
Most new televisions come with a built in USB port. Some have built-in wifi receivers. There are Google TVs available right now at your local store. You can connect your current television to an Apple TV box and watch all sorts of programming stored on the iCloud.
Internet companies like Netflix, Hulu and YouTube are starting to provide original video programming available only online. Netflix made headlines just last week with it's launch of "Lillyhammer," a dramatic series starting Steve Van Zandt ( of The Sopranos) as a New York gangster forced to re-locate to Norway. Netflix further challenged television status quo by releasing the entire series at once, instead of piecing the episodes out one week at a time.
What does it all mean? Nielsen says that the number of "broadcast only/broadband" homes is still small, about 5% of households, but it is the fastest growing segment they measure. Last year it grew 22.8%. I predict it will pick up steam. Television manufacturers are pushing television toward the internet. Internet companies are working hard and investing big money to pull television viewers to the internet. What does it mean to your local cable company with it's thousands of miles of coaxial cable planted in the ground throughout your community? What does it means to satellite providers who once thought they could challenge cable? I'd say they have some serious thinking to do.
What does it mean for your local television station? They have some thinking to do too. Localism seems to be a big advantage that they have in terms of news reporting and local program production. That's content that they can distribute any way they want. But they better get around the old "appointment viewing" strategy and come to terms with our "demand-fed" generation. No body wants to wait anymore. If you like the first episode of "Lillyhammer" you can make a weekend out of it and watch the entire season. No need to wait. I think I'd enjoy doing that with "House" or "NCIS."
I can also think of two or three (probably more) broadcast companies which own and operate local television stations across the country that are achieving expense savings by moving all of their stations to a common look, feel and operating structure. They are enjoying the economies of scale by sharing production elements and content around the country. I believe they are sacrificing localism for a better bottom line. That may prove to be short-sighted.
Are you a cord swapper? Have you taken content from the internet and watched it through your television? I have. That's how I watch a bunch of blacked-out football games last season. We have watched "The Tudors" and a bunch of movies on our 47 inch set that were downloaded from Netflfix. We don't do it often... yet... but the opportunities are increasing.
I will let the tv, cable, satellite and internet folks duke it out between themselves. I'll gladly sit on the side and watch carefully. As a marketer, you have to ask yourself, does this make your marketing and advertising opportunities more complicated, or more plentiful? Will all these changes make our work more effective, or increasingly invisible? It's a great time to be involved in this business, don't you think?
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