This morning the Wall Street Journal reports that a broad shift of eyeballs and advertising dollars to the Internet is putting the pinch on profits at local TV stations. If that wasn’t bad enough for the broadcasters, there are few hit shows flowing in from parent networks, a trend that's driving viewers to other media. There is almost the prefect storm forming around the business as viewership declines and major ad categories, like automotive, are cutting back schedules. The buzz from industry exec’s is that a lot of the budgets that currently are moving online are strictly experimental, and the hope is that when the experiment is over, those companies that tried it will come running back to broadcast. Wake UP!! The fact is, the number of consumers doesn't seem to be increasing at anywhere near the rate that each consumer's personal entertainment and information options are. This means further fragmentation, more competition and the need for new strategies to grab an audience and maintain/increase profits. Many stations are following the cash to the Internet themselves and are moving their website components away from the common “value-added”. Unfortunately in the race for stations to reinvent themselves many are proving that they just don’t know how.
If you had asked me 18 months ago about TiVo, I would have said that they would probably soon be out of business. That would have been very unfortunate because I was more than impressed with 
their product and the incredible brand recognition that they had created. Time has past and their management team has achieved a few wins. The business is on track and you have read here on numerous occasions about the new technologies and products that they have launched. Today is no different as TiVo is launching a new service that will let subscribers watch Web-based video on their TV sets. The content will come from a variety of new sources: NBA, NY Times, CNET, ivillage, Heavy and others. The new service is called TiVocast and it adds to the deal announced last month to provide web video from Brighcove clients. Most of the content is Ad-Supported and it is the latest attempt by the DVR pioneer to stand out amid an onslaught of generic DVRs offered by cable and some satellite providers. Link: WJS 06/07/06 – TiVo Will Offer Web Video Service to TV Subscribers
Speed Channel revs up its web site this week with its launch of “Speed on Demand” broadband video-on-demand portal. It offers archived original streamed videos or replays from events including the American Motorcycle Association Supercross and Superbike championships; FIA World Superbike; the Isle of Man TT races; the International Race of Champions; Federation International de l'Automobile Grand Touring; Le Mans Endurance Series; SPEED GT; Touring Car; and the recently added Grand Prix Masters.
Vice President of business development Kevin Annison stated that “With broadband access hitting critical mass, Speed is now able to offer a unique multiplatform-access portal to create an 'online motor-sports hub' offering races on demand. As we continue to secure broader rights to all of our programs, we will rapidly expand the Speed on Demand online offerings to feature hundreds of original race-series videos and linear-network race repeats.” Link: SpeedTV.com
Google had entered the lucrative online video ad market by distributing commercials for movie studios and other marketers to its AdSense network of online publishers, which will share in the revenues. "A certain segment of advertisers have told us that they want richer and more engaging messaging capability," said Gokul Rajaram, product management director of Google's AdSense program. This new addition to their product offerings is part of an initiative by Google’s management to diversify revenue and position the company better for the future. The pricing will be base on an auction system similar to the model they utilize for text ads. Links: San Francisco Chronicle May 23, ’06 –Google will offer video ads, AdAge.com May 23, ’06 – Google Adds Video Capability to AdSense
This morning the Wall Street Journal reports that a broad shift of eyeballs and advertising dollars to the Internet is putting the pinch on profits at local TV stations. If that wasn’t bad enough for the broadcasters, there are few hit shows flowing in from parent networks, a trend that's driving viewers to other media. There is almost the prefect storm forming around the business as viewership declines and major ad categories, like automotive, are cutting back schedules. The buzz from industry exec’s is that a lot of the budgets that currently are moving online are strictly experimental, and the hope is that when the experiment is over, those companies that tried it will come running back to broadcast. 
