These are challenging days for media moguls. The proliferation of media conveys the impression that times are good, and in many ways they are. However, these are also times of enormous change, with
shifting consumer tastes, emerging platforms, and redirected advertising dollars. Enormous sums are moving from traditional media to the Internet. The result, says the Associated Press' Seth Sutel,
"is deeply troubling to many media companies." Television execs are "grappling with the implications of ad-skipping technologies, and key advertisers like automakers and retailers are rethinking their
ad budgets." Meanwhile, we are watching a rapid realignment among phone companies, satellite broadcasters, and cable companies, each moving into competitors' territories, vying for access to consumer
wallets. Can this be a net positive? It depends on one's perspective. But from the standpoint of the investment community, it's not necessarily a good thing, writes Sutel. Citing Harold Vogel, a
media investor, he says, "The street is basically intolerant of confusion." Viacom, Knight Ridder, Clear Channel, Time Warner--each marches into 2006 with uncertainty at its back. Will Google and
Yahoo! take deeper bites out of their advertising? Will their audiences tire? Will investors support their boards? The AP doesn't offer any conclusions, except to suggest that next year will be a
pivotal one for a number of big players in media.
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