Starting a Streaming-TV Service? Here’s a Pre-Launch Checklist (Guest Blog)
In becoming ”digitally ready,“ traditional media companies have their work cut out for them
Dan SchechterGuest Writer | August 31, 2016 @ 8:30 AM
As we discussed in our previous posts, over-the-top (OTT) TV is a natural extension for most traditional content owners. But many media organizations still face challenges in deploying a digital strategy. Kevin Tsujihara, chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Entertainment, said this only last year:
“I don’t think our business models are keeping pace with the changes taking place in consumer behavior. There’s been a shift from linear viewing to nonlinear viewing, and it’s happening in dramatic fashion. People are turning to Hulu, YouTube and even the networks’ own sites, but we’re still having a hard time in the television business monetizing that audience.”
Nancy Dubuc, president and CEO of A&E Networks, echoed that sentiment:
“Digital is the buzzword of the moment … we’ve learned that you can’t just put your promos up in a digital environment and expect the consumer will accept that as short-form content. Our challenge is to make sure we’re acknowledging the need to get much more sophisticated in understanding those changes in creativity.”
Even as OTT becomes more ubiquitous in our everyday lives, many of the traditional media powerhouses face the challenge of “digital readiness.” Simply defined, digital readiness is being able to serve the viewer whenever, wherever and in whatever manner he or she wants to engage.
Digital readiness is about providing a seamless and integrated entertainment experience across platforms — anytime, anywhere — in order to engage with the viewers regardless of which channel they are watching. However, being digitally ready presents a new set of challenges for most TV producers.
TV organizations are great at creating and monetizing content (the set of functions in the dark gray area of the chart below). However, having great content and a traditional marketing engine does not necessarily translate to digital success. The digital enterprise needs to have a direct-to-consumer relationship. This requires housing customer data, collecting subscriber monies, developing a consumer platform, deploying customer service, etc. (the set of functions in the light gray area of the chart below).
More functions are needed to effectively compete in the new ecosystem than were required for success under a traditional model. Furthermore, these additional functions take many content organizations out of their comfort zones. Most of these functions are not easy!
Traditional TV viewing is not dead — not even close. But it is under some pressure. And while millennials do consume OTT in far greater amounts, they also consume a large amount of traditional TV content. In short, the ship has not sailed just yet, and content/TV organizations need to prepare themselves for the future.
So what can these organizations do to become digital ready?
The first step is to decide what makes the most sense for your content and where you want to end up. For example you need to decide many issues, including:
Pay per transaction or subscription
Work with the traditional distributor or outside this system
High return/medium risk or medium return/lower risk
Direct relationship with the consumer or have a third party operate an OTT system for you
The next steps are about evaluating how we get to that ideal state. This will require an understanding of the external economy and an internal organization realignment.
Once you have answered the questions, understanding the financial implications of various scenarios will inform a go/no-go decision.
The above checklist for becoming digital ready is indicative and not exhaustive. But this list is a good starting point for any organization looking to evaluate whether it is ready to serve its viewers in the digital space.
Finished 'Making a Murderer'? 9 More Infuriating Documentaries Streaming on Netflix (Video)
Before we go any further, we have to make sure: You've seen "Making a Murderer," right? If the answer is "no," then what are you waiting for? Watch the trailer to get an idea of what all the hype is about.
"The Central Park Five" (2012): Documentarian Ken Burns examines the 1989 case of five black and Latino teenagers who were convicted of raping a white woman in Central Park, and spent between six and 13 years in prison before a serial rapist confessed. This one might also appeal to fans of HBO's "The Night Of" for its look at how the criminal justice system works... and sometimes fails.
"The True Cost" (2015): This deep dive into the fashion industry not only exposes the deadly cost of cheap clothing, it shows just how little executives at some of the most successful companies capitalizing on foreign labor care about it. Even more upsetting, though, is the uphill and seemingly hopeless battle workers in poor countries are facing for working conditions Americans take for granted.
"The Race to Nowhere" (2010): Remember what it was like to be a kid without any responsibilities? Lucky you, because this documentary exposes a sad reality that grade-school students across the country are bombarded with so much homework and pressure to prepare for college before they even hit high school that they're already as stressed out as working adults. And some of them end up taking their own lives as a result.
"Kids for Cash" (2013): Prepare to be even more disgusted with the criminal justice system, as this film details the disturbing decision of a once-celebrated judge to sentence kids to outrageously long juvenile detention sentences in exchange for money from the private company building the detention center.
"Divorce Corp." (2014): As if the criminal justice system hasn't failed enough Americans, this documentary makes family law seem downright criminal. After watching this terrifying exposé on how the big business of divorce ruins the lives of parents and children caught in the crossfire, you'll think twice about ever popping the question.
"The Farm: Life Inside Angola Prison" (1998): This doc chronicles the lives of several inmates inside the nation's largest prison. While some of them were guilty of their crime, it's heartbreaking to see one who swears he's innocent show a parole board evidence to support his claim, only to have them promptly disregard it.
"Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father" (2008): This heartbreaking film focuses on an unbelievable custody battle between a murdered man's parents and the ex-girlfriend who took their son's life, while pregnant with their grandchild. One would think this strange scenario would be an easy decision for a judge, but get ready to get angry.
"Fed Up" (2014): The tragedy Katie Couric's voiceover presents in this documentary isn't just that both the government and food industry place profit above public health, it's the realization that even those parents who are actually concerned about their children's poor diet have no idea how to eat healthy themselves.
"How to Survive a Plague" (2012): This Oscar-nominated documentary will make your blood boil when you see how the American government and members of the medical community turned their backs on homosexuals and HIV patients during the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. Thanks to the tireless efforts of groups like ACT UP and TAG, the country has made substantial progress on the issue, but remember this battle when society inevitably finds another population to stigmatize and stand up before it's too late.
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The best documentaries are enlightening, infuriating and sometimes even frightening — ”Making a Murderer“ certainly was. But if you’ve finished all 10 episodes of the true-crime saga, check out these docs currently streaming
Before we go any further, we have to make sure: You've seen "Making a Murderer," right? If the answer is "no," then what are you waiting for? Watch the trailer to get an idea of what all the hype is about.
Dan Schechter is a Managing Director and Partner at L.E.K. Consulting, and he leads the firm's Global Media, Entertainment & Technology practice. He has broad experience within the media, entertainment and technology sector, including TV, film, Internet content and commerce, radio, magazines, theme parks, advertising and news. He also has experience working with retail, consumer products, travel and industrial clients. Dan was awarded his MBA from Stanford University and his BA, cum laude, from Harvard University.
As we discussed in our previous posts, over-the-top (OTT) TV is a natural extension for most traditional content owners. But many media organizations still face challenges in deploying a digital strategy. Kevin Tsujihara, chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Entertainment, said this only last year:
Digital readiness is about providing a seamless and integrated entertainment experience across platforms — anytime, anywhere — in order to engage with the viewers regardless of which channel they are watching. However, being digitally ready presents a new set of challenges for most TV producers.
More functions are needed to effectively compete in the new ecosystem than were required for success under a traditional model. Furthermore, these additional functions take many content organizations out of their comfort zones. Most of these functions are not easy!
The first step is to decide what makes the most sense for your content and where you want to end up. For example you need to decide many issues, including:
