FORT LAUDERDALE — These days, it has become commonplace for broadcasters and advertisers to be fearful of the consumer shift from linear, live viewing to watching more time-shifted programming.
Indeed, data from many countries shows on-demand viewing booming whilst old-style consumption wanes.
But that’s not the full story. Broadcasters are finding some success in reeling out big, appointment-to-view shows to woo watchers… and advertisers.
“I see the DVR as a bigger threat to the existing model than digital,”A+E Networks digital analytics VP Lee Boykoff told a Beet Retreat panel. “We’re partnering with Nielsen, we’re partnering with comScore and others to ensure that, as viewers move to digital platforms and as that viewership fragments over time, we’ll be able to serve dynamic ads, get them measured, and satisfy the needs of our partners.”
Boykoff’s A+E is launching a TV channel, Viceland, together with edgy media brand Vice, though he did not reveal details.
Nielsen precision and planning SVP Eric Solomon said technology is actually helping reinforce big, old TV shows, even if they aren’t live. “One of the things that’s propped it up, actually, is social,” he said. “We see that in the data when Game of Thrones is on live, there is a tremendous amount of Twitter activity around it. If you can generate that kind of excitement around an entertainment program, you can create an event that is almost like a live event.”
That is what The Weather Channel president David Clark keeps hoping for – big live events to keep viewers coming in.
“I never root for a storm… but, I do,” he conceded. “Storms are a form of breaking news. As the world fragments more, these live events sort of have more of a premium to them. They’re sort of the last thing that kind of bring us all together. All the time. I think that is one area where television is going to continue to reign supreme. Everything else is (going to be) on-demand.”
This video was produced at the Beet.TV executive retreat presented by Videology with Adobe, AT&T AdWorks and Nielsen.
The panel was moderated by Matt Spiegel, SVP and GM for data and technology solutions at MediaLink.
You can find more videos from the Beet Retreat on this page.