The rise of hyperlocal online TV / video

The founding promise of the internet was all about ‘no borders’ and ‘global’. Global audience, global reach, global revenue. But as the web has matured, it has become increasingly clear that the localization of the web is just as fundamental to the growth of the medium as going global. Local is the ying to a global yang on the web. We live our lives locally, and most advertising dollars are also local. Factor in lower production costs/values and it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that online television and video content in general is going hyperlocal.

From Pasadena;

Pasadena Now TV (PNTV) an online “hyperlocal” TV network. The press release promises local versions of shows like “America’s Got Talent” and “Cops.”

PNTV publisher James Macpherson: “High-quality programs do not need to be expensive productions in today’s world. A large variety of vertical platforms and programs exist separately which, if used in concert, can create great programming.

One great example is the green screen + virtual set dynamic. Formerly the territory of CNN’s and ESPN’s, now this tool is common.

LA is loaded with talent and knowledge. Our objective is to produce compelling content with highest production value at lowest cost. We are very fortunate that a leading So Cal special effects studio has offered to assist us with technology and the use of a studio.

We hope to present a mix of video styles, from user-generated videos which we curate and edit, to studio-shot programs, to live streamed important civic events.”

To Peachtree City;

Smith is the founder and CEO of JayeliTV (pronounced “Jaye-L-I TV”), an online company he started in 2009. According to him, the “hyper-local” company exists to ensure that local residents get a chance to learn about “a lot of great stories that don’t get told and certainly don’t get seen on local television.”

“We are experts at mass-producing customized newscasts,” Smith said.

To San Francisco;

“Compared to larger ‘mainstream’ news organizations, local websites have an audience that is arguably much more engaged in a conversation about local news”

…that interaction between broadcaster and community has proven crucial. “We’ve seen that (media orgs/partners) who invest in the community and make their audiences know that they really want to hear their ideas are going to be really successful,” she said.

“A lot of people still really care about TV,” said Ma. “It’s still the easiest and fastest way to get your message out to a lot of people all at once. … The idea is that you can help decide which stories get covered, and how the media is portraying your neighborhood.”

News consumers’ habits have no doubt changed in recent years. Online, many users want to participate in the shaping of local stories.

(most video sharing sites) are global sites, but we’ve found through user behavior on the site(s) that there’s a strong interest in local content … there’s a lot of opportunity in the local space. We’re hoping to learn as much as we can to understand what types of footage people submit when they’re asked to document news and events around them”

via mediabistro
via fayettedailynews
via poynter

TV migrating to the Net

As an update to my previous post on CBC’s assertion that “Traditional TV and radio usage is not being displaced by the Internet” and “The trend is towards personalizing and controlling media, not developing new ways to consume it” comes yet another study that seems to debunk the CBC’s hypothesis. Again, I’ll preface this by saying that I do recognize Canada and the U.S. markets are not interchangeable when it comes to data. However, I do think when evaluating media consumption patterns and trends, there is much to learn from U.S. data as a loose barometer for present and future Canadian behaviour.845657-media_httpwwwjamescogancomimagescharttvgif_aqgsyGGDxFnslob

New data from recent months show online television viewers are using the web not just as fill-in or catch-up, but as TV replacement. IMMI finds more than 20 percent of panel members watch some prime time programming online, and the largest segment of online television viewers are white, affluent, well educated, working women aged 25-44.

A few quick notes worthy of mention. The 25-44 age demographic is older than some might think when it comes to viewing TV programming on the web. The other stat that jumps out is the 50% using the internet as a ‘TV replacement’. While that number may not be indicative of the entire market nor indicative of what is currently happening in Canada, even with a grain of salt, it’s a clear sign that there is a migration taking place. Suggesting that the internet is not displacing TV usage in any meaningful way seems akin to burying your head in the sand. You can download the full Integrated Media Measurement report in PDF form, over here.

CBC defends old media

The CBC recently submitted a 13-page document to the CRTC entitled “Reject old assumptions about New Media“. It’s an interesting read to say the least. Here are the paper’s main conclusions:

1. Traditional TV and radio usage is not being displaced by the Internet. 2. Amateur video will never be a substitute for traditional media, particularly entertainment programming. 3. It would be a waste time for traditional media companies to create Internet-only content if the goal is to generate advertising revenue. 4. Most Canadians use the Internet primarily as a communications and research tool (Ed: Implying that most Canadians do not use the Internet for entertainment.) 5. The trend is towards personalizing and controlling media, not developing new ways to consume it.

This paper seems more like a ‘Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey‘ look inside the CBC’s brain, and far less of a forward-thinking view of the old media / new media paradigm. For example, just a few days prior to the publishing of the CBC’s paper, came a new study about Canadians consuming TV content on the internet. Needless to say, it paints a very different picture.

Canadians are turning on, tuning in and watching traditional TV shows on the Internet often using underground ways to access American programming, says a new study. “A very important thing to realize is that every television program that is broadcast is available in most cases in illegal peer-to-peer broadcasting,” said Sawyer of Toronto-based Two Solitudes Consulting. “Canadians do an awful lot of that. I believe one of the reasons that Canadians do an awful lot of that is that they are not being offered sufficient alternatives.” “Television is largely irrelevant to Generation Y,” said Walker, president of Slurp Media, an online video content production company that produces LabRats.tv. There’s money to be made in online advertising and ads can be customized to the demographic that is watching a particular TV show, he said. “The larger, more aggressive youth-oriented brands, I think, really get the Internet and the more traditional, staid ones don’t. But I think that’s shifting. I think more and more, you are going to see people shifting their budgets away from print and television and into the Internet.

via InsideTheCBC via Canadian Press

$3 Million For 30-Seconds

Football talk in May? It’s NBC’s turn to broadcast the Super Bowl in 2009 and they are wasting little time setting the bar on advertising rates for America’s biggest spectacle. Fresh off last year’s record-breaking TV ratings (most watched sporting event in U.S. history), NBC will be asking $3 million for a 30-second ad spot which represents a 10%+ spike over last year’s rates. In an era where all media is being cannibalized by the web, live sports represents one of television’s last bastions of utility. Depending on who you ask, live events may be the only segment of the content spectrum to thrive on television as more and more programming migrates online.

In 15 years, broadcast television will only be useful for high-profile live events like the Super Bowl, awards shows and programs like “American Idol,” Ben Silverman, co-chairman of NBC Entertainment.

quote tv week

Canadians are replacing TV, radio with the web

CRTC released a new study, and it shows Canadians are spending less time with traditional media (radio and tv) and are replacing it with the web.

“It’s not as if TV is disappearing, it’s just that the Internet is really consuming it,”
Adam Finkelstein of Montreal’s McGill University

What is particularly interesting is how advertising dollars are still flowing (rising) for TV and radio despite dwindling usage. Having said that, while TV and radio are seeing a slight rise in annual revenues, Canadian online ad dollars hit $1 billion for 2006 which is almost double the $562 million spent on the web in 2005. Considering the online ad market in Canada is growing at approx. 35% per quarter, there can be no denying that the internet is ‘the’ growth medium in the media foodchain right now.