Thoughts from Digital Hollywood

Bobby Tulsiani | May 07, 2008, 08:22 PM

I have been in LA all week attending the Digital Hollywood conference. I had the opportunity to host a panel and attend several others, and heard a few key themes emerging in all of them:

Monetizing Video: Jeff Zucker’s "broadcast dollars versus digital pennies" quote was commonly repeated at the conference, reinforcing the challenges of building significant video business online.

Original Web Series: Well it is LA, but it did seem like there was real momentum in talented individuals creating web series and drawing an audience. A studio and distribution ecosystem seems to be forming around it as well led by Vuguru, MySpace, and Bebo.

Pay TV’s Future: With increasing amounts of video online, the role of a subscription TV service (be it from cable, satellite, or telco) seemed uncertain. Different challengers, each taking a different approach, seemed poised to make inroads into the biggest screen in the home including Sezmi, ZeeVee, and Microsoft’s Media Center.

I’ll miss the last day of the conference tomorrow, but enjoyed the opportunity to attend. My tips for LA if you attend next year, bring a jacket, the weather wasn’t quite up to Spring standards and try a breakfast burrito at the Baja Hollywood.