Another so-called over-the-top TV service, Aereo, has been sued by broadcasters for copyright infringement. The move comes as no surprise to many business analysts. The companies include: American Broadcasting Companies, Disney Enterprises, CBS Broadcasting, CBS Studios, NBC Universal Media, NBC Studios, Universal Network Television, Telemundo Network Group and WNJU-TV. The suit was filed in U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York. Based in New York, Aereo is planning a March 14 launch -- and has already been beta testing its service. Barry Diller is a major financial backer of the Aereo service. Dennis Wharton, executive vice president of communications of National Association of Broadcasters, stated: "NAB strongly supports today's legal action against Aereo. Copyright and TV signal protections promote a robust local broadcasting system that serves tens of millions of Americans every day with high-quality news, entertainment, sports and emergency weather information. A plaintiffs' win in this case will ensure the continued availability of this programming to the viewing public." Unlike other services, Aereo is an "antenna-to-Internet" service, technically ascribing an antenna to each person it sends its signal to. That part of the equation is important, as U.S. viewers can still receive broadcast signals from traditional, old-style, over-the-air antennas at no cost. That is why Aereo believes it doesn't need to pay for its broadcast signals. But broadcasters believe the service -- and others of its kind -- are more like cable, satellite, and cable multi-TV channel operators that pay broadcast stations a fee to retransmit their signals. Recently, broadcasters sued and won against other over-the-top Internet TV services -- ivi TV and FilmOn -- which started up in the last year or so.
Sports fans still love their big screens, but new research indicates the Web is changing how athletics are enjoyed worldwide. Across Europe, the Web has surpassed TV as the primary platform for 18-to-35 viewers to watch their favorite sport, according to new research conducted by Havas Sport & Entertainment for the Global Sports Forum Barcelona. A full 36.1% of this prized demographic sign in online to watch their favorite sport or team play on a weekly basis, compared with just 32.1% who do so on television. This marks a significant shift from a year ago, when similar research conducted by Havas found the Europeans of prime age still preferred their sports on a TV. Advertisers, content providers, broadcasters, rightsholders and athletes will all be affected, according to Lucien Boyer, President and CEO of Havas Sport & Entertainment and General Commissioner of the GSFB. “The implications of this are huge and suggest the broadcast sales model for sport needs to be carefully considered in the future,” Boyer warned. “Whilst TV will clearly continue to remain of enormous importance, the younger generation choose to consume sport in a number of ways. The key now is to be a content provider that can satisfy the demands of sports fans across all platforms.” Stateside, the evidence suggests that more sports nuts are choosing to forgo pay-TV services for Internet services. According to The NPD Group, iVOD users reduced the time they spent watching television shows, news and sports via pay-TV companies by 12% between August 2010 and August 2011. In particular, the National Basketball Association is benefiting from its embrace of the Web. Last year, NBA.com reported more than 1.94 billion videos views, which represented an annual increase of more than 140%. The site also saw nearly 5.9 billion page-views -- an increase of more than 35% year-over-year. Just as consumers are moving online, however, media providers are rethinking their digital business models. After years of offering college hoops for free -- with ads, of course -- Turner Sports, CBS Sports and the NCAA recently unveiled a new tiered pricing and access model for this year’s on-demand March Madness offering. Now dubbed NCAA March Madness Live, full access to all 2012 NCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball Championship games from March 7 to the April 2 finals will run $3.99 across Web, mobile and tablet screens. (Free streaming will still be available on NCAA.com, CBSSports.com and SI.com for select games.) Paid or not, the market for digital media and sports marketing and endorsements is increasing. Exceeding TV ad spending, digital media is expected to reach $77 billion by 2016, according to Forrester. Pro-athlete sponsorship dollars are also rising -- projected to exceed $38 billion by 2016, according to eMarketer.
Just in time for the “March Madness” college basketball tournament, Enterprise Rent-A-Car is launching a new TV spot to leverage its sponsorship of the NCAA, which is currently in the seventh year of a multi-year contract. The new ad, which is part of the “Enterprise Way campaign,” showcases real Enterprise employees who are former student athletes in nearly every sport, from swimming to football to soccer. The spots make a connection between Enterprise employees and the brand’s partnership with the NCAA. Every year, Enterprise hires more college graduates than any other company, and many of Enterprise’s 70,000 employees played college sports. The TV spot plays up how from personal passion to a competitive spirit to a strong sense of teamwork, former student athletes excel at Enterprise. The NCAA partnership is a great way to build brand equity, but also serves a wide range of business building purposes -- including recruiting -- said Enterprise spokeswoman Lisa Martini. “Our criteria for any partnership investment is an alignment of brand values on top of an audience fit,” Martini tells Marketing Daily. “The NCAA has been, and continues to be, the right fit for Enterprise Rent-A-Car to reach existing and prospective customers as well as potential employees.” The spot, which will receive heavy rotation during the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, focuses on a diverse range of sports and colleges to feature in the commercials, reflecting the strong diversity of employees and customers from across the country. The makeup of the company’s customer base is as diverse as the college basketball fan audience, she said. “Our demographic for the Enterprise Rent-A-Car brand is broad: 25-54 years old and split nearly half female and half male,” Martini said. The broadcast campaign will be supported with an integrated social media program (a “Road Trip to the Final Four” featuring an Enterprise employee), digital and mobile ads, point-of-purchase displays, television integrations on the “Best of College Basketball” program and the College Slam Dunk and 3-point Championships. Enterprise will also provide branded courtesy vehicles for the NCAA employees working the March Madness events. Enterprise also is launching the Enterprise Plus loyalty program, which awards customers points toward free rentals that can be redeemed anytime for any available vehicle at more than 5,500 Enterprise Rent-A-Car neighborhood and airport locations.
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia didn’t escape the fourth-quarter downturn that struck the rest of the magazine business. Weakening print advertising demand resulted in substantial revenue declines. Revenue declines on the broadcasting side also contributed to the fourth-quarter slump. Total revenues at MSLO came to $61.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2011, down 15% from $72.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2010. Publishing revenues slipped 13% from $44.6 million to $38.8 million, due to lower print and digital advertising revenues. Meanwhile, MSLO’s broadcasting revenues tumbled 40% from $16.4 million to $9.8 million, due to lower programming and advertising revenues. The one bright spot was merchandising, where revenues increased 13% from $11.6 million to $13.1 million, due to strong sales of the Martha Stewart Living line at Home Depot. For the full 2011, total revenues came to $221.4 million, down 4%. Publishing revenues dipped 3.2% to $140.9 million, while broadcasting revenues plunged 24.6% to $32 million. Merchandising revenues increased 13.6% from $42.8 million to $48.6 million. Separate figures from the Publishers Information Bureau showed that ad pages at Martha Stewart Living slipped 6.2% to 1,079 in 2011, while ad pages at Everyday Food decreased 21.2% in 2011, to 327. Ad pages at Whole Living slipped 2.8% to 559. However, ad pages at Martha Stewart Weddings increased 9.9% to 1,007.
Game developers will soon have the ability to connect Total Immersion's augmented reality technology with Unity, creating D'Fusion for Unity, a gaming tool that will create immersive video games for consoles and smartphones and tablets. It joins brands like Volkswagen and Ray-Ban, which have created ad campaigns and platforms to allow consumers to try out their wares. Consumers who play video games on smartphones, Sony's PlayStation Vita, Microsoft's Xbox 360, 3D television and Web content can experience augmented reality by putting their image in the picture. Developers will have the ability to license the software development kit to create a variety of applications. Total Immersion has been experimenting with the technology, creating an AR Formula 1 game that runs on the Intel Ultrabook, which has both gesture detection and a Webcam that can track faces. The software inserts the player's face in a racing game complete with helmet behind the wheel of the car. The player holds up anything in the shape of a steering wheel that the camera would recognize. In the future, connected-TV manufacturers supporting 3D TV could increasingly turn to augmented reality to bring a more immersive experience to viewers. The technology will also change search through computer vision by providing a new way to interact with machines, according to Bruno Uzzan, Total Immersion CEO and co-founder. He says people will search "using your hands, face and eyes." In 2011, the company secured $5.5 million in venture-capital funding in a round led by Intel Capital, with existing backers Partech, iSource and Elaia Partners participating. The total raised came to more than $11 million. Total Immersion, which supports more than 6,000 developers and 100+ partners worldwide, is working with companies such as the eyewear company Ray-Ban, so people can try glasses by looking into a tablet. It gives consumers a way to try on virtual glasses. The display uses face tracking and augmented reality.
For a second year, Kimberly-Clark's Kleenex brand is running a program directed at the Hispanic market in which kids are enlisted to be "Atrapa Estornudos," or Sneeze Catchers. Actually, it’s slightly different this year because the company is talking more directly to moms, and dangling a chance to win a gift card worth hundreds of dollars and a year’s supply of Kleenex brand facial tissue. Central to it is a national sweepstakes at www.atrapaestornudos.com. The idea the first time around borrowed the tactic used by toymakers: reach parents through kids. Ken Champa, associate brand manager for Kleenex brand said, in a statement, “By engaging her kids, the first year we were able to turn a large number of Latina moms into Kleenex facial tissue users. Now that she’s more aware of Kleenex brand’s benefits, we also want to speak directly to her in a more adult voice." Thus, Kleenex is holding Latino-market events in stores nationwide. The company says there's also a new adult-voice landing page on the Sneeze Catchers Web site that goes into the product's technical aspects for will also be devoted entirely to moms, helping explain how moisture-retaining Sneeze Shield technology works. A toll-free phone number has also been set up to help mom learn more about the program. Supporting the effort, which ends at the terminus of cold and flu season (late April) is a large Spanish-language TV, radio, PR, grassroots and digital strategy that the company says is (like last year) aimed at enlisting Hispanic children to sign up to become Sneeze Catchers. Again, kids who sign up get a free kit with games and activities about proper cold-related hygiene practices. The company sweetened the pot this year with a Kleenex branded bag, branded t-shirts for kids and adults, and an "official Kleenex brand Certified Sneeze Catcher ID" card. Last year the company also launched a product called "Kleenex Cool Touch" tissue, which cools on contact with the skin, per the company, and is designed to soothe inflammation caused by, say, blowing one's nose.
IMG’s media arm is launching a version of Fox’s Fuel network in Asia, focusing on action sports such as surfing, snowboarding and BMX. The company said EDGEsport, targeting young adults, will offer events, as well as biography-type and lifestyle programming, with the network in HD. IMG said it has distribution deals in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Malaysia using pay-TV cable and satellite methods in addition to IPTV. Mobile simulcasting in Asian markets -- where there is heavy smartphone penetration -- is on the radar screen, as is online platforms. Graham Fry, who leads global sports production for IMG Media, stated: "Action sports already has a young dedicated following, and we see huge growth potential in this genre.” One genre Fuel apparently will have that EDGEsport won’t is mixed martial arts. Fuel picked up Ultimate Fighting Championship programming as part of a broader News Corp. deal. Fuel is owned by News Corp. Fuel is in about 36 million homes in the U.S., which should grow with the UFC. It is also available as a network in Australia and Europe. Its programming is in other countries, but IMG may be trying to lock up a presence in the Asian market with 24/7 programming.
Fisher Communications, which operates ABC-Univision duopolies in Seattle and Portland, plans to continue to “reinvent local media” with “hyper-serving,” according to CEO Colleen Brown. In broadcast news, Brown said there is a focus on an “advocacy journalism approach” in its core station business. But that also acts as a starting point across multiple platforms, including multicast channels, digital (including 121 neighborhood sites) and a Seattle news radio station. Fisher operates 13 full-power TV stations, from Seattle to Idaho Falls to Bakersfield, Calif. In the fourth quarter, Fisher posted a 9% increase in TV ad dollars to $27.4 million (the auto category was up 19%, while the retail category dropped 6%). Excluding a real estate sale, profit would have dropped to $6.4 million from $8.3 million for the same period in the year before. Fisher's share price jumped nearly 5% on Thursday to close at $30. Brown did not offer a definitive answer regarding whether Fisher would participate in any federal government auction of spectrum, saying it is reviewing the matter, but “there is too much to speculate on right now.”
CIMM is taking a pro-active role in advancing new media nomenclature and processes with both its Lexicon(terms and definitions associated with Set-Top-Box data measurement) and Asset Identification Primer (glossary of asset terms). These documents form the basis of this column, which offers a common language for Set-Top-Box nomenclature that can expedite the roll-out of the data for its many industry applications. There are often several ways to describe the same measurement metric in media-speak. A good example is Reach (or Cume), which can be reported as a percentage (or in thousands). Reach is the unduplicated expanse of your content or your message whether it is measured in homes, viewers or set-top boxes, and whether it is based on time or quantity. With STB data, reach can be calculated to the second-by-second level which may or may not be meaningful to programmers or advertisers. Time will tell. Reach %See also: Cume % CIMM DEFINITION: The percentage of unduplicated homes, Set-Top Boxes or viewers who have viewed or tuned at least once during a time period or program or any piece of content. Reach (in thousands)See also: Cume (in thousands) CIMM DEFINITION: The total number of unduplicated homes, Set-Top Boxes or viewers who have viewed or tuned at least once during a time period or program or any piece of content. 3: The total number of people who have contacted at least once during a plan. An item is a daypart, program, spot. (Source: Kantar Media Audiences) Cume %See also: Reach CIMM DEFINITION : The unduplicated number (in thousands) of Set-Top Boxes or households or individuals exposed at least once to a channel, program or commercial in the specified time frame expressed as a percentage. (Source: Kantar Media Audiences and TRA) 2 : See Total Item Reach % below. Reach can be calculated for a spot, program, episode, network, genre, or brand. (Source: TiVo) Cume (in thousands)See also: Reach CIMM DEFINITION : The total accumulated number of Set-Top Boxes, households or individuals exposed at least once to a channel program or spot in the specified time frame expressed as a percentage of the designated universe. (Source: Kantar Media Audiences) 2: The number of unique projected In-Tab households who saw a given program, ad, half hour, etc., A household is counted as "having seen" if it was tuned to any second of the commercial (commercial cume / reach), or if it was tuned to at least six minutes of the program (program cume / reach). etc., (Source: TRA) Please refer to the CIMM Lexicon online at http://www.cimm-us.org/lexicon.htm for additional information on these and other terms.
More new TV video platforms will start this year. But there'll be a price to pay -- for all concerned. For CBS' Les Moonves, this will come in the form of new subscription video-on-demand services -- like Netflix, Amazon and Hulu. Moonves hopes that new companies will pay TV networks decent fees for airing older episodes of shows -- like Netflix does. In turn, consumers will also need to open their wallets. Viewers are getting primed for all this -- in different ways. For example, about half the country more or less delves into 'video-on-demand' of TV shows. That's right. But it isn't through traditional cable VOD-type services. It’s from home DVR units. If consumers are already paying a $5 or $6 DVR monthly fee to a TV/video multichannel distributor, there already is a connection. What’s needed now is a more savvy subscription VOD company, like Netflix, to market the transition. Right now, no single SVOD company has enough programming heft to make this a reality. Neither Netflix nor Amazon has a wide range of network and cable programming to convince consumers to make the switch. Even Hulu -- with the likes of NBC, Fox and ABC programs in its stables -- can't truly be pitched as a pseudo-DVR alternative. And TV viewers might always want a form of DVR under their control -- at least in the near term. For CBS and other companies, a new wave of SVOD services -- paying handsomely for older programs or year-old episodes of current series -- is a good deal. So are upcoming higher retransmission revenues. But not buying the likes of TV Guide Network or Hallmark Channel. That's because the goal is all about big-time costly programming, not something mid-size channels or others can support. That said, even CBS wants to start producing more for the bigger general interest cable networks. But that would just be a starting platform to sell shows internationally and digitally. For many networks -- cable and broadcast -- big time-shows will continue to demand big dollars. Somehow and somewhere, new VOD services will have to adjust to those business metrics.
According to the latest Nielsen Cross-Platform Report Americans spend more than 33 hours per week watching video across the screens, but how they’re consuming content, traditional TV and otherwise, is changing. Consumers are increasingly making Internet connectivity a priority, 75.3% pay for broadband Internet (up from 70.9% last year):
The two biggest broadcast events of the year have once again come and gone. The first broke ratings records and the second actually saw a slight uptick from its performance in 2011, so nobody is going to pay very much attention to hindsight criticism. But that doesn’t change the feeling of general disappointment that followed NBC’s telecast of Super Bowl XLVI on Feb. 5 and ABC’s presentation of the 84th Academy Awards last Sunday. Regarding the Super Bowl, the New York Giants and the New England Patriots delivered a great game, and NBC mounted a technically dazzling telecast overall. But for industry purposes it was the ads that mattered, and there wasn’t a truly memorable or breathtakingly original commercial in the bunch. Most of them are already forgotten! The viral success of so many ads online, some of them running two minutes or longer, indicates that people appreciate commercials if they offer entertainment value along with their messages. But the only value to be had from the dozens of breaks that were crammed into this year’s Super Bowl telecast was the many opportunities they provided to check out the annual “Puppy Bowl” on Animal Planet without missing any of the action in Indianapolis. Interestingly, the ads from JCPenney starring Ellen DeGeneres that debuted during the Oscar telecast were much more engaging than any of the spots that made their television debuts during the big game. As for the Academy Awards, which remain helplessly dependent on the effectiveness of their host, I felt that Billy Crystal wasn’t as funny or as appealing as I remember him being in past Oscar gigs. I was far more impressed by actor and comedian Stephen Fry as host of the Orange British Academy Film Awards, or BAFTAs, on BBC America three weeks ago. He was classy and captivating and remained in full command of the stage at all times (even when Meryl Streep lost one of her stilettos and almost tipped over while climbing the steps to accept her award for “The Iron Lady”). The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences could do worse than consider Fry as a future host. Here’s another terrific BAFTA thing: The show opened with a sensational performance by Tom Jones, on hand to sing the theme song from the James Bond flick “Thunderball” in honor of that lucrative movie franchise’s 50th anniversary, an occasion that went ignored by the Academy. Why does musical entertainment continue to flummox producers of Oscar (and Emmy) telecasts? (And why did they think the home audience would be endlessly fascinated by actors prattling on about their favorite movies? James Franco sleep-walking through his gig last year as Oscar co-host was more interesting than that!) As has often been the case, the most entertaining element of ABC’s Oscar-night festivities was the short film on the annual special presentation of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” that always follows the Academy Awards. (Remember the big fun of Kimmel’s “I’m F*cking Ben Affleck,” the all-star 2008 Oscar night follow-up to Sarah Silverman’s “I’m F*cking Matt Damon”? How about the “Handsome Men’s Club” from his 2010 Oscar show?) Titled “Movie: The Movie,” and featuring appearances by over 30 stars (including Tom Hanks, George Clooney, Helen Mirren, Meryl Streep and Chewbacca), it spoofed the hundreds of formulaic, big-budget, over-marketed mainstream Hollywood movies that frequently fill multiplexes. It was more enjoyable than the filmed piece starring Crystal that opened the Awards. Also worth noting on last Sunday’s edition of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” was a segment in which special guest Oprah Winfrey’s admitted that it’s difficult coming up with good ideas for compelling programs on her new network, prompting Kimmel to run footage of a recent pitch meeting with Winfrey in which he suggested ideas for new series that might work on OWN. They included “Oprah Repos Her Favorite Things,” in which cameras follow Winfrey as she hits the homes of audience guests from her famous “Favorite Things” shows and takes back their treasures; “The Jimmy & Oprah Interview,” in which the two talk over each other to get their guests’ attention; and the self-explanatory (and comically ultra-violent) “Oprah’s Book Club Fight Club.” Kimmel’s riotously funny routines at ABC’s presentations have since 2005 been the comic highlight of many an upfront week; maybe it’s time to give him a shot at similarly livening up the Academy Awards as host. If he brought his own writers, he would undoubtedly fare better than David Letterman or Jon Stewart, two New York City-based talk show hosts who famously seemed out of place on the Oscar stage. Kimmel is rooted in Los Angeles and would know exactly how to harpoon Hollywood. More than that, I think he would likely understand that his primary role would be to entertain the millions of people watching at home, rather than the 3,000 people sitting in the theater formerly known as the Kodak. Some may say that Kimmel isn’t “big” enough to handle the Academy Awards. I say just ask the huge stars who have appeared on his post-Oscar programs and get back to me.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is probably just like every other worldwide TV viewer: He doesn't like commercials. And as the leader in Russia, he wants to do something about it. “Many Russian media outlets are entirely focused on their commercials,” he said recently. “This keeps them showing news stories about murder, rape or burglary.” Putin said he wants to "purge" state TV channels that have commercials. Hmm... Murder, rape and burglary news content better than a commercial for, say, a Skoda automobile? Well, we all have our preferences. We are not sure whether this is a big part of Putin's re-election campaign -- and it's not exactly clear what the alternative is. In part, proposals have been floated around for some sort of "public funding" of Russian TV, which means taxing the citizenry, for the most part. Others have talked about a hybrid plan -- half-public, half-private funding. Estimates are that 20% to 25% of total Russian TV network airtime goes to commercials, amounting to some $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion a year. That share of commercial time seems on par or even a bit lower than what viewers see on more Western commercial TV networks. Getting rid of commercials is also being discussed in Europe. French President Nicolas Sarkozy recently announced plans to rid television of commercials by 2013. But the Parliament nixed that -- and advertising was merely restricted to 5% of airtime. In the U.K., citizens pay a TV set tax for access to networks, including government-owned BBC networks, that have no commercials. But plenty of other commercial TV networks -- terrestrial, satellite and otherwise -- have commercials. Economies are still having a tough time all over the world, so making consumers pay for what they now normally get for free isn't a good alternative. Imagine if senior media agency executives from the U.S. could get in a word with Putin. They'd push home the point that viewers actually want to see some commercials -- and that they don’t always desire hard-core news content. But they should leave all the tech talk about "addressable" advertising behind. In this country, that just gives people headaches.
As a subscriber to the print version of the New York Times, I saw an ad on Super Bowl Sunday with the visual of two TV sets side by side, each tuned to an american football game, with one titled “$1.2 Billion,” and the other “Free." The headline stated “It’s The Same Game. Why The Big Price Difference?” It was signed by the American Television Alliance, an organization that I wasn’t familiar with, whose subheading states “A Voice for the TV Viewer.” As excited as I was to see possible advocacy for TV viewers, I was also confused. I wondered whom the ad is aimed at. What is it about? Who paid for it? And if it’s in the interest of TV viewers, why does it complain about premium content delivered for free? Most cord-cutters under 40 would be thrilled to get the Super Bowl live on their iPad or smart phone. On its website, the American Television Alliance identifies 36 partners: 20 cable/satellite/telecom/ broadband system operators, including Cablevision, DIRECT TV, Time Warner, Verizon and AT&T; six cable networks including Discovery; six cable/satellite/broadband trade associations and four advocacy/public interest/open Internet organizations. It also makes a convincing case for its single issue and reason for being: to convince the Federal Communications Commission that retransmission consent fees (payments TV distributors make to broadcasters) are subject to out-of-date rules governing fees and negotiations. This, the website points out, has recently led to record numbers of TV blackouts for consumers and dramatically escalating fees. Since my focus is on the next business model for MIA (multiplatform, interactive, advertising-supported) T/V (television/video), I confess I’m not much interested in how parties try and rework the past or even current models for linear television. I, do, however support the ATA’s right to address, communicate and raise awareness of the issue. Everyone has a right to make a buck fairly, right? I’m just hoping that the time, money and energy that these companies and organizations are spending against the declining linear business model are matched by R&D and promoting dialogue on how the current explosion of technology options will create and deliver future revenue and customer satisfaction. I challenge the idea that the American Television Alliance is “A Voice for the TV Viewer.” When I contacted a spokesperson for the organization, he said that in using this phrase, the Alliance means it only for this issue. When I first saw this ad, I was excited about the idea of an association, alliance or advocacy group that would advance the collective interests and desires of the next generation of T/V consumers. But after spending several hours of research to clarify and understand the “who” and “why” of this ad message, I ended up frustrated by the confusion and distraction it creates against the primary challenge of how this industry is going to get to the right business model. How many like me are even remotely motivated to find out what’s really being said and by whom? So here’s a couple of additions to my growing wish list for things to get us to a potentially brilliant new business model for MIA T/V, which as the acronym implies, really is missing in action today: 1) How about a powerful advocacy group for T/V consumers, not pushing political, business, social or any agendas other than building the best way(s) for viewers to get the content they want with the least amount of ad interruption, and at the lowest possible cost? 2) Wouldn’t it be great to see some old-style, Bell Labs-like R&D effort focused on business models for MIA T/V, with full, transparent and complete disclosure of the who, what and why of it, and thoughtful insights and implications to guide all parties toward a prosperous future?
Patients and their families are a favorite target audience for digital out-of-home video networks, and this week brought a new player in the form of Aceso’s Hospital TV Network, or HTV for short. HTV will deliver content focused on healthy lifestyles, entertainment, and learning -- along with targeted advertising -- to hospital common and waiting areas. It functions as an extension of UpCare, a digital video network also operated by Aceso, which engages patients in their hospital rooms. According to Aceso, HTV programming content will be sourced from national network producers, but will also include locally produced programming focused on the particular areas of clinical expertise, research and specialty care available at each hospital facility. Hospitals can use HTV to communicate directions, details of upcoming events and key hospital staff profiles, as well as promoting on-site businesses such as cafes, gift shops and newsstands. Advertising revenue is shared with hospital partners. As noted, HTV isn’t the only DOOH network targeting patients in hospitals and elsewhere. The Wellness Network operates The Patient Channel and The Newborn Channel, acquired from NBC in 2010. According to the company the two networks reach 20 million patients and their caregivers and 3.1 million new moms per year, respectively. And in May of last year AccentHealth unveiled nine new “condition-specific” networks which deliver digital video content to waiting rooms targeted according to the types of condition most commonly treated at each location, focused on diabetes health, heart health, men’s health, mental health, senior women’s health, rheumatology, allergies, asthma, and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). These joined four original AccentHealth networks which target general practice, seniors, ob-gyn and pediatrics.