Commentary
The Internet Won't Kill Television
- by Joe Mandese @mp_joemandese, April 12, 2011
"New media doesn't kill old media," she pointed out, citing the impact TV had on radio, as an example. "It just changes it."
Joe Mandese is the Editor in Chief of MediaPost. You can reach Joe at joe@mediapost.com.
So is that "change" that we are witnessing at newspapers? Because it looks more like "kill..."
And yes, TV did not kill radio... But the Internet is doing a pretty good job of kneecapping radio... Ask anyone in the radio business: They would not characterize the Internet effect as mere change...
How about classifieds? Paper coupons? Direct response? These are getting killed, not changed...
TV will fall too... Yes: people will continue to watch shows and movies on ever larger, HD, 3D screens... But it will be delivered over IP, and the ads will be delivered over IP, and most of the companies who make most of the money today from TV advertising will not be the one who earn it in IP delivery.
Doubt it? Because YouTube has bad content? Or because engagement metrics are low by comparison? Go check Netflix audience size, hours viewed per week, and the scale of their content investment. Go do the same for MLBAM...this is where it starts, not where it ends.
It is inevitable, and the people and companies who make up the traditional tv advertising ecosystem today will slowly but surely be replaced by a new ecosystem, precisely because they can not change.