While most of the ad money is still being spent offline, how well traditional media companies adapt to the digital age is apt to determine their ultimate future. In a story republished in the
International Herald Tribune, Richard Siklos of
The New York Times runs down a few of the current efforts by "old media." He gives News Corp. points for "their speed and resolve to gain
traction online, as evidenced by its purchase of MySpace. Disney is notable for being the first to stream TV shows onto the Web with sponsor support, while Time Warner has the AOL "paradox" on its
hands: "It owns one of the top Internet destinations but is clouded by the service's daunting business challenges." Viacom has made some "small but clever acquisitions," and has a proven record for
knowing what young people want. For print-focused firms, The Washington Post Co., Dow Jones, and his own employer stand out for their online strategies. And cable nets CNN and MSNBC have at least
staked out prime real estate online. But, he cautions, "one could make a case that the amount of focus on--and hype about--Internet activities at media companies has some kind of inverse relationship
to the amount of near-term revenue they represent for these companies. We're still in the early innings, but given how much the Internet has already transformed the media and society, it's surprising
how little money traditional media companies make directly from it."
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Read the whole story at New York Times via International Herald Tribune »
