HOLLYWOOD, Calif. -- Big video content producers need to come up with aggregate ratings that combine television viewing with online video consumption, says Patrick Keane, vice president and chief marketing officer for CBS Interactive, speaking Monday morning at MediaPost's OMMA Global conference in Hollywood. The combined rating would provide media buyers with a cross-platform option that's simpler and more detailed in terms of data, because of online metrics. Using CBS as an example, Keane said the online video audience for one episode of "Jericho" boosted the show's TV ratings by almost a full point: from 4.2 to 5.1. While Keane made no mention of it, this extra audience is especially valuable for a show like "Jericho," which has struggled to build a larger audience. The show's hardcore fans saved the show from cancellation once, but it's hanging by a thread--and another ratings point may help. Citing another example from CBS, Keane said that while the Grammys attracted 16.9 million TV viewers--down 15% from the previous year--it also generated 7.9 million online video streams and 4.9 million page views. Of course, it's a two-way street; TV programming also boosts online traffic. Keane said CBS Interactive closely tracks the relationship between shows and online behavior. Showing a chart that overlaid TV and online audiences, Keane said online traffic spiked in a fairly predictable way following certain kinds of programming, allowing CBS to refine its programming. Most important, Keane added that the online activity didn't cannibalize the broadcast audience--meaning that advertisers can add to frequency with linked online campaigns.
CBS Television Stations has another way to extend its TV properties in the digital world. The net is offering a partnership whereby local news content will be syndicated to local bloggers and social media Web sites. With the launch of CBS Local Ad Network, the CBS Television Stations will syndicate local news widgets that will deliver real-time news fees on the local partner sites 24 hours a day. Each widget will contain a banner advertisement. Major advertisers have already signed on. AT&T is partnering with WBBM Chicago, KCBS Los Angeles, KCAL Los Angeles. North Texas Honda Dealers has inked a deal with KTVT Dallas, and Liberty Mutual Insurance has signed with WBZ Boston. CBS said its stations now supply marketers with "the ability to broadly and efficiently reach a local audience, while remaining attached to CBS station brand and content." Local news Web sites will get a piece of the advertising revenue. CBS stations will sell all the ad time. The CBS Local Ad Network has hired SyndiGo, a new division of Seevast Corp., which provides advertising networks and network enabling services. The CBS Local Ad Network has already been launched in CBS-owned stations in Boston, Dallas/Fort Worth, San Francisco, Denver and Chicago. Over the next several weeks, markets in New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Miami, Sacramento, Pittsburgh and Baltimore will be added.
The New York Times Company has bowed to pressure, adding two new members to its board of directors and bringing the total to 15, as part of a compromise with Harbinger Capital and Firebrand partners. The company will add one new member elected by its regular "Class A" shares (for a total of five) and one elected by the "Class B" shares owned by the Ochs-Sulzberger family (for a total of 10). This arrangement will allow Firebrand founder Scott Galloway and James Kohlberg, another Harbinger nominee, to stand for election to the board of directors at the annual shareholder meeting on April 22. In return, Galloway and Kohlberg are dropping their original four-person slate for the election, which included two other nominees in addition to themselves. Previously, "Class A" board members have usually been nominated--or at least approved--by the Ochs-Sulzbergers. Along with Galloway and Kohlberg, this year's Class A nominees include Robert E. Denham, Thomas Middelhoff and Doreen A. Toben. William E. Kennard, who was previously a "Class A" candidate, will now stand for election by the "Class B" shareholders. Harbinger and Firebrand mounted their campaign to elect four new board members in February, citing growing criticism from shareholders that the company isn't moving fast enough to adapt to the changing digital media landscape. Subsequently, they raised their stake in the company to 19%, promising to pump up new digital initiatives if their four-person slate was allowed to join the board. Seeking to placate dissatisfied shareholders at the Bear Stearns conference in New York last week, NYTCO CEO Janet Robinson promised to redouble efforts to expand its online businesses over the next year. While preserving the Ochs-Suzlbergers' control of the company, the agreement represents a significant concession by the family, which in the past has refused to change the board structure--probably fearing dissident shareholders would view this as a precedent for even more extensive changes. The company's dual-class share structure became the topic of a public dispute with Hassan Elmasry, a London-based portfolio manager with Morgan Stanley, who said the Ochs-Sulzberger's grip on the company kept its management from adapting quickly to the changing media landscape. The bitter conflict eventually led the family to withdraw over $100 million from Morgan Stanley's management, and Morgan Stanley to dump its Class NYTCO shares, representing a roughly 7.2% stake in the company.
NBC Universal is expanding its Web and broadcast presence with a new acquisition--a 35% stake in driverTV, which produces auto-related video content for car buyers. The two will partner to create video content on the Web as well as long- and short-form TV programming. NBCU is paying about $6 million for a 35% stake in DriverTV, which has about $8 million in annual revenue, according to a source quoted in The Wall Street Journal. driverTV is available as a branded VOD channel in almost 30 million cable homes and 500,000 hotel rooms in 47 of the top 50 markets. It has distribution agreements with Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox, Charter, Insight and The Hotel Networks. At launch, its distribution partners will also include MySpace and NBC.com. The investment reflects an ongoing car-buying trend. Per eMarketer, 63% of adults used the Internet to research an automobile purchase or lease decision. The online auto market also includes Edmunds.com, Time Warner's AOL Auto and Autotrader.com. "Through the additional distribution channels we've announced today, NBCU and driverTV will allow carmakers to interact with even more consumers at the point when they want to buy," said George Kliavkoff, Chief Digital Officer, NBC Universal. Founded in 2005, driverTV has an HD video catalog of "virtual showroom experiences"--three-minute videos that provide a complete 360º interior and exterior view of a specific make and model. The company counts most U.S. automotive manufacturers as clients. "NBC Universal shares our vision for building a powerful new automotive information platform," said Jan Renner, CEO and founder of driverTV. "This partnership provides enormous expertise and resources to the table." @radical.media, which initially developed, produced and distributed driverTV, will retain a significant interest in the company.
Network executives have been holding their collective breaths: Will viewers return to network TV programs in the next couple of weeks as more original programs hit the air? Media agency Carat says they can exhale. Viewers will come back--not 100%, but a majority. For a study conducted during the first week in March, Carat noted that 62% will return to their favorite show once it is back on air in late March/April, with 55% returning to their favorite TV show even if it doesn't return until the fall or winter. Overall, TV viewers will return by the start of the fall season in September. The majority of viewers--75%--say they will channel-surf or watch other prime-time television shows if their favorite show does not return until fall/winter. The alternative for disgruntled viewers--who have waited while the industry went through the writers' strike--is online TV programming. Five percent say they do not plan to return to their favorite TV shows--and among those, only 11% says they plan to watch TV shows online. Some 10% of non-TV returnees plan to watch DVDs, go to the movie theater, play video games, or watch free VOD programming. The study also found that 48% expressed interest in watching the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. But only 19% said they were more interested in watching compared to the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. Forty percent said that they are interested in watching the upcoming 2008 presidential election. Here interest is greater--60%--than compared to the previous 2004 election.
NBC Universal's Telemundo has a new agreement to distribute more than 1,000 hours a year of its programming in Mexico. The deal is with Mexican broadcaster Grupo Televisa and includes multi-platform distribution--another move by NBC to expand its business internationally. In addition to linear TV, the platforms include pay TV and digital outlets. Terms of the 10-year deal were not disclosed. Televisa will launch a pay TV channel this year focusing on Telemundo content, both entertainment and news. The channel, distributed via Televisa's DBS and cable systems, will reach 2 million homes at first. The details of the other distribution platforms are yet to be ironed out, but are expected to include mobile, broadband and VOD. "This is an important agreement between two global leaders in Spanish-language media," said NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker. "Together, Telemundo's content and Televisa's distribution strength in Mexico will give viewers exciting new options for entertainment content. Telemundo remains an important part of our international strategy, and this is just the latest step in its dynamic growth." Don Browne, head of Telemundo, said the arrangement is part of the net's long-term objective to reach Hispanic audiences worldwide. "With this new distribution platform in Mexico, we will also benefit from cross-border dynamics, with families and friends coming together around their shared interest in popular programs, which will now reach both Mexican and U.S. Hispanic audiences."