Posts by Todd Chanko (bio)

Todd Chanko | April 11, 2007, 05:04 PM
Comcast Coming to a Theatre Near You!

When Comcast purchased thePlatform last year it was a clear signal that the nation’s largest Pay TV operator had no intention of relying solely on the triple-play to boost revenues. As I’d said at the time, Comcast is committed to distributing content to consumers – wherever they are and on whatever platform.

Today’s announced acquisition of Fandango.com – and its planned integration into Fancast – is yet another indication that Comcast is not so much abandoning multichannel video service as it is augmenting it. By owning the nearly 5 million monthly unique visitors to the movie listing site, it will be able to expand its relationships with Hollywood and develop a new footprint with theatre owners across the country. Should Fancast live up to even half of its promise of being a one-stop site for video discovery and multi-device management, it would expand Comcast’s video relationship with consumers beyond the set top box. Even more significantly, it will continue to expand Comcast’s relationships with consumers beyond its traditional multichannel subscriber model. It’s only a matter of time when we’ll see an online revenue category in their quarterly announcements.

Now doesn’t this make Brian Robert’s coveting Disney seem quaint?

Todd Chanko | March 26, 2007, 11:07 AM
Cablevision’s Network DVR – Back to the Future

When is a duck not a duck? There’s some crusty old joke that must start like that. Where it ends for Cablevision, regarding its plans to deploy a network DVR, depends on whether it appeals today’s US District Court ruling. Cablevision had sought to deploy technology developed by Arroyo – whose investors prior to its acquisition by Cisco had included Comcast and Time Warner – to liberate subscribers from the limitations imposed by a DVR’s finite hard drive. In lieu of recording and storing programming locally, Arroyo had developed technology in which subscribers would store requested content at the cable operator’s head-end.

The legal issues raised by the plaintiffs – which, ironically, also included Time Warner, as well as News Corporation and Disney – center on the rights to store and retransmit content, claiming that Cablevision’s deployment would violate such rights. Yet, consumers would be the arbiters of timing of any “retransmission,” consistent with the on-demand world in which we reside. However, DVR revenues are not shared with content providers – and that may be the real issue upon which the studios are pouncing. Time Warner’s Start Over service does, in fact, allow for revenue sharing with the networks whose programming is being shifted by subscribers. Is this legal battle but a ploy to pressure the cable industry on concessions to programmers? Certainly if unauthorized duplication or distribution of stored content were at issue, these are readily answered by the conditional access and DRM applications available.

What is undoubtedly true is that a network DVR blurs the lines even more between DVR functionality and VOD. More and more VOD is free – and ad supported. Check out my recent report on Advertising on DVRs to see how just how blurred these lines are.

Todd Chanko | March 08, 2007, 01:30 PM
Baudrillard: France's Bad Boy

"L'Amérique est la version originale de la modernité, nous en sommes la version doublée et sous-titrée"... "L'Amérique, c'est l'utopie réalisée".

America is the original version of modernity – the rest of us are living the dubbed and subtitled copy. America is utopia achieved.

With these words, and many more, the late Jean Baudrillard cut into the heart of our modern, media-drenched world. Reading his 1986 volume “Amerique,” I was struck by the image of a lone TV set, always on, in a dank, unoccupied motel room. It was a trenchant comment on the ubiquity of media in American life and, at the same time, the emptiness that can sometimes be its result. Baudrillard died this past Tuesday, March 6th, and had a forty-year career challenging the assumptions of the consumption-obsessed society. If you haven’t heard of him, check out his opus.

Todd Chanko | March 01, 2007, 01:30 PM
Crazy like a Fox?

Fox’s plan to deepen its relationship with its affiliates by sharing revenues as part of its new download-to-own service demonstrates the essential paradox of modern television: even as networks advance their digital strategies, which theoretically should render intermediaries obsolete, traditional distribution structures appear more important than ever.

By integrating local affiliates with their digital offerings to consumers, Fox acknowledges the role local stations play. After all, what is a “network?” Of course, Fox has a vested interest, as well: the Fox Television Stations Group owns 25 Fox stations. The success of a network TV program depends on the nuanced relationship between local affiliate support and network promotion. The network needs stations to broadcast the program: the stations need these high-value assets against which to sell local advertising. Fox is enabling affiliates to deepen their relationships with their audience, increasing engagement with the network’s programming. Both parties benefit. I’ll be looking at affiliate relations further in an upcoming report.

There’s another side to this story: by creating ancillary revenues for affiliates – including its O&Os – Fox is sending a signal that unlike CBS, it may not yet be interested in tackling the cablers for retransmission fees. Another indication that Fox embraces the new, while respecting tradition.

How quaint.

Todd Chanko | February 20, 2007, 02:13 PM
"Joost in Time" for Viacom?

Joost…it sounds so exotic, so foreign…so cutting edge. No wonder Viacom, in its current YouTube grumpiness, has decided to license a truckload of content to the Skype founders’ latest baby. Yet, as much I enjoyed test-driving Joost in its Venice Project iteration, it may not be the answer to Viacom’s bad case of digital envy.

Certainly every media company has an obligation to explore the frontiers of what are now quaintly called “alternative distribution platforms,” but unlike ABC’s dramatic initiative last spring to stream – at extremely high quality, no less – primetime programs, or News Corporation’s bold acquisition of MySpace, Viacom’s alliance with Joost is but a dalliance. As sleek as the application may be, Joost has a limited user base. Comscore data on Joost isn’t in yet, but let’s put the platform in context: YouTube garnered over 30 million unique visitors last month. MTV.com yielded about 7 million. The deal is certainly a great boost for Joost, but it is unclear what immediate benefits accrue to Viacom.

Recalling “I Want My MTV,” how about “Just give me my Joost” or “Juice Up with Joost!” Viacom is certainly hoping that this latest deal is “Joost in Time.”

Todd Chanko | February 13, 2007, 03:01 PM
News Corp Implements some DRM "Magic"

There’s really no easy way around it. DRM, that is. While the music biz scuffles about what to do post-Jobs outburst, its video analogues are still searching for a solution. Today News Corporation announced that it would implement a scheme to track unauthorized uploading of video content to MySpace. Furthering its test last fall of Audible Magic’s system to track Universal Music content, News Corporation is extending Audible Magic’s database-centered approach to video. The system relies on a database stored by Audible Magic of “digital fingerprints” derived from the media content supplied by the content providers themselves. These “digital fingerprints” are then crosschecked against the media files uploaded by MySpace users. Unauthorized files won’t make the cut.

Sounds all well and good, but the real question here is – is it worth it? Audio Magic’s proposition relies on some heavy lifting by media companies – the provision of thousands of hours of media content to Audio Magic for ingestion and “fingerprint” processing. Having worked in network television, I know firsthand that coordinating efforts among producers, tape librarians and Avid editors is no easy task. In fact, it’s a big drain on resources and diverts precious energies away from a media company’s core business – creating content. Moreover, media companies would be obliged to continually supply Audio Magic with new TV shows, films and music as such content is produced. That’s a real expense. Given the media industry’s historical reluctance to pay for DRM – the cost for conditional access, for example, is borne by Pay TV operators – would media companies be amenable to Audio Magic’s approach?

Moreover, the situation for MySpace is not without considerable irony. How long will the site continue to attract fans if the uploading of personal creativity – copyright be damned – is thwarted? Of course, this assumes that Audible Magic’s solution would work so flawlessly. In the meantime, News Corporation can take the lead in advancing both the causes of media companies’ intellectual properties and user generated websites – a delicate balance indeed.

Todd Chanko | February 02, 2007, 09:14 AM
A Missive to Telcos on DVRs

What’s a telco to do? Pay TV is a mature market, with limited upside in subscriber growth. Content providers have zero incentive to provide any meaningful exclusivity, so telcos can’t distinguish their content offerings significantly. Price and bundles may motivate some subscribers to leave their incumbent providers but not nearly enough to transform telcos into Pay TV providers-of-choice. So Verizon & ATT need to focus on features that improve functionality for subscribers and reduce costs.

Reduce costs? While adding features? How is this possible?

Enter NDS. Majority owned by News Corporation, this leading provider of conditional access, middleware and DVRs is introducing DVRs that have no hard drive. We’re not talking about Network PVRs – that’s so 2006 – but rather a “Distributed DVR” which leverages disk space on a subscriber’s network. NDS recently acquired Jungo, which supplies Residential Gateway software that seeks suitable external hard disk space for DVR TV storage. Consumers can add as much storage as they like without waiting for the latest set top box upgrade, while the Pay TV provider would pay less than it would for a conventional DVR. Perhaps telcos could make a bold move: boost subscriber acquisitions by passing these savings on to consumers, either by reducing DVR subscription fees or, as DISH is doing right now, abandoning them all together. Such a tactic would translate into larger SAC but telcos’ sub numbers might really perk up.

Of course, a “Distributed DVR” essentially shifts the burden of storage cost onto the consumer – which could conceivably depress demand for a device already facing challenges in consumer adoption. Will average consumers really be induced to explore the arcane world of gigabytes and research how to supplement the storage they already have? Do most consumers even know how large their hard drive is – or what that means in terms of hours of TV content storage potential?

Even more provocative, though, is ShareTV, NDS’ P2P solution that allows subscribers to share content with other subscribers. Unlike copyright issues posed by an operator’s storing content on a network PVR – such as Cablevision faced regarding a proposed deployment of Arroyo’s technology last year – ShareTV’s solution may encounter fewer legal objections. It should be noted that content would remain encrypted and could only be viewed from the DVR. “Desperate Housewives” so obtained could never make its way to Kazaa. So telcos can promote DVR features that accommodate subscriber’s over-subscribed lives – without worrying ABC, et al.

Moreover, since the providers would manage the exchange of programming so recorded, they can provide measurement of which programs are downloaded and shared. This would a new dimension to non-TiVo DVRs, providing additional insights into users’ DVR behaviors and which shows are being recorded and traded.

A boon for advertisers and providers alike.

Todd Chanko | January 17, 2007, 03:19 PM
DVD or Not DVD? That is the Question.

Cognitive dissonance, anyone? Within a span of two days, twinned announcements underscore competing visions of the delivery of video content. Yesterday Netflix announced it would begin offering a limited selection of titles for streaming to subscribers’ PCs. Reed Hastings, the clever entrepreneur behind Netflix, has long argued that physical delivery of DVDs was but a way station to his ultimate goal – broadband delivery. Today, however, CBS announced that it was carving out a separate business unit devoted to the sale of DVDs: CBS Home Entertainment. The new division is charged with distributing both the CBS and Showtime libraries, respectively. More intriguingly, CBS aims to boost its DVD release sked by 20 percent this year.

Now many a pundit has predicted the demise of physical media and the ultimate dominance of the purely digital. True, there is no arguing against the raw data that suggests that DVD sales have slowed considerably in the past two to three years. Yet, even in the age of iTunes, iPods and now iPhones, at least one major media company is not yet abandoning physical goods. Ironically – or perhaps not so much – it is this same company that launched its well-intentioned Innertube last year and announced a beta test with Sling at CES earlier this month. Yet, let us not forget that CBS is a broadcast network – and that good old rabbit ears can still pull down its signal. Traditional delivery still apparently has its place in the media firmament – 92% of online consumers regularly watch movies & TV shows on a TV.

Todd Chanko | January 09, 2007, 04:26 PM
Now It's Satellite in a Box.

When I saw this headline: “Satellite Television in a Portable Box,” I had to check the URL – was this really The New York Times? For a moment, I thought my browser had meandered to The Onion. Yet, sure enough, in the same week that Verizon announced its deployment of MediaFlo at CES, DirecTV has launched its own bid for portable TV at the fabled Las Vegas show. Yet, the solutions couldn’t be more different. The DirecTV contraption, developed by Rick Rosner, the creator of “CHiPs”, evokes such legendary devices as the KayPro II and the Osborne. While a DirecTV subscriber would have wide access to his or her programming line-up, wouldn’t a SlingBox achieve a similar effect – and worldwide, at that? In fact, anyone that can afford $1300 on DirecTV’s portable unit certainly has a laptop, and can get a SlingBox for a lot less. Verizon, meanwhile, goes to great lengths to advance the cause of its own brand of mobile video by promising simulcasts of such broadcast hits as CBS' Survivor and Fox's 24.

So in other words, the same population that subscribes to PayTV and complains that there is nothing on in the multichannel universe will now be able to take their complaining anywhere. This is progress.

Meanwhile, from the other double-take department: now children of all ages will be able to more fully enjoy the depth and nuance of “Top Cat,” “Tom and Jerry,” and “Huckleberry Hound,” as The Cartoon Network announces its HD launch.

You can’t make this stuff up.

Todd Chanko | January 02, 2007, 04:41 PM
Fox Biz News: Will Cure What Ailes Ya?

When I was at CNBC the halls shuddered with fear – and with a frisson of excitement – at the notion that Roger Ailes, former CNBC president, was launching a business network for Fox. Today Time Warner announced a tentative agreement to carry the as yet unnamed Fox business news channel, accelerating the likelihood that we former CNBC staffers will actually see some Fox business TV content.

What is striking about Fox’s launching a business network now is that it is doing so on the traditional TV platform, demonstrating the immense power Pay TV operators continue to have even in the so-called Web 2.0 environment. Nevertheless, Fox parent News Corporation divested itself of DirecTV last month and continues to focus its energies on broadband.

Enough with Redstone’s old canard “content is king.” Distribution still has considerable leverage.

Todd Chanko | December 30, 2006, 10:34 PM
This Was the Year That Was

The turn of the secular New Year always brings with it the urge to assess and prognosticate. The year past saw:

· The rise of consumer generated content aka the “YouTube” effect…
· resulting in anxiety among mainstream content providers…
· who countered with full-length, primetime, broadband initiatives on their own…
· forcing the ur-Time Shifter itself, TiVo, to team up with Verizon Wireless...
· whose parent company really, really wanted to overtake Comcast et al – 2006, the year of Telco TV!…
· while Murdoch pretty much saw a mature market in Pay TV, abandoning the US satellite business while increasing his exposure online…
· which Comcast seconded in its acquisition of thePlatform and its launch of FearNet…
· while NBC focused on its own digital ambitions, firing everyone in its path, showing David Zaslav and Randy Falco the door, yet giddily launching a successful primetime comedy, 30 Rock, which mocks just about everything on this list.

What will 2007 bring? Will John Malone have a credible response to cable’s bona fide triple – and in some cases, quadruple – play? Will YouTube mature into just another platform for trailers, sinking under the threat of lawsuits? Can broadcast affiliates survive in this volatile environment?

Check your local listings for times and showings.

Happy New Year everybody. Have a blast.

Todd Chanko | November 30, 2006, 10:45 AM
You Never Give Me Your Money

“You never give me your money,” sang Paul on their last album, Abbey Road. Unfortunately, if the UK Treasury has its way, in the year 2019 EMI will lose the copyright on the original sound recording of the 1969 release – and neither Paul, nor EMI will get a farthing from future sales in the EU. At issue is UK and EU copyright law, in which records are protected a mere 50 years from the date of recording. Producers have been lobbying the UK to extend copyright protection to 95 years but the UK Treasury – our analog concerning copyright is the US Library of Congress – is rumored to maintain the status quo when it issues a recommendation on December 6th.

What is not at stake, however, are the underlying musical compositions. Lennon-McCartney will continue to receive their percentage of performance royalties and other revenues generated from their considerable body of work. UK copyright for songs is life of the author plus 70 years, not dissimilar from what prevails in the US.

In our digital age, this situation presents something of a sticky wicket. Apple – that is, Steve Job’s Apple – is about to sign a deal with Apple Corps in which the Beatles’ catalog would be available on iTunes. While the sale of, say “Can’t Buy Me Love” would continue to generate royalties for the underlying composition far into the foreseeable future, what will happen in 2014 to the digital sale of the song itself – at least in the EU? It means that whatever deal is struck now for iTunes, at that time, in Europe at least, anyone can sell – or try to – “Can’t Buy Me Love.” How valuable, then, is any money that Steve Jobs is forking over to Apple Corps? The situation also demonstrates how DRM need be as flexible as possible – so that if I were a Liverpudlian and later this month I were to buy “Abbey Road” from iTunes, will Fairplay take into consideration that ultimately my purchase may need to be unshackled from its iPod prison?

Will Steve Jobs be singing “and in the middle of the celebration, I break down?”

Todd Chanko | November 27, 2006, 05:31 PM
Is Mel Sirius?

I was there when Mel said it. In fact, I was somewhere else where Mel said it, too. Come to think of it, Mel Karmazin, CEO of Sirius, has been saying it pretty loudly and clearly for a while: that Sirius & XM should confess the obvious and merge, fer crying out loud. Let’s not forget that Mr. Karmazin is a rough and tumble New Yawkuh, and proud of it.

Mel’s ruminations about a possible merger have an impact on a related media platform: satellite TV. Echostar and DirecTV had explored a possible merger in 2002 until the FCC quashed it. But John Malone’s recent interest in swapping his 19 percent stake in News Corp. for the latter’s 38 percent ownership of DirecTV have revived speculation about such a merger.

In both cases, the program offerings are essentially the same. True, Sirius has Howard Stern, in the same way that DirecTV has NFL Sunday Ticket. But in order to compete, both XM and Sirius have to offer, for example, Bloomberg Radio, while both Echostar and DirecTV must provide ESPN. Yet, if Howard Stern were enough to drive subscriptions and reduce churn, Mr. Karmazin wouldn’t be floating a merger of rough equals – proving that programming is largely commoditized. Non-programming attributes, such as signal coverage, hardware features and customer service – and, of course, price – are the true differentiators.

All I want this holiday season, though, is for an oldies station to return to the New York airwaves – as in FM. Cousin Brucie? He’s on Sirius!

Todd Chanko | October 31, 2006, 03:30 PM
Comcast’s “Killer” App: Fearnet

As tonight is Halloween, let us consider something scary – the triple threat posed by Comcast in its launch of Fearnet. It’s a website – no it’s a (true) VOD platform – no, it’s a wireless app…in fact, it’s all three. An impressive web design with a great video player, Fearnet is targeting squarely at what is currently an underserved niche online and on cable: Horror fans. Partnering with Sony and Lions Gate, Comcast is leveraging well-known franchises such as “Saw” and “Grudge” that resonate nicely with the 18-34 demo. On the web nine titles are streaming for free – right now. The VOD platform will be made available to cable operators, further enhancing Comcast’s reputation as the lead in VOD. Lastly, the mobile component will feature ringtones and shorts. Will we finally see the fruits of the JV with Sprint, et al?

Comcast will generate revenues from a portion of download-to-own, advertising and VOD affiliate fees. Horror fans will get a chance to experience the shivers of their choice when and however they want to. And film libraries will derive ancillary income from once-moribund titles.

No dumb pipes in Philly.

Todd Chanko | October 24, 2006, 05:42 PM
Canadian Savvy: TV Guide Online Only

It’s very hard to make a buck when the goods you’re selling are fungible. There’s no pricing power and differentiation is essentially impossible. That’s what the demise of the once innovative Canadian edition of TV Guide as a print publication demonstrates. Transcontinental, one of the largest printers in North America, is shuttering the venerable publication – which severed links with its News Corporation-owned US sister publication years ago – and migrating it to the web as an ad-supported vehicle. Certainly, as an online entity TV Guide makes sense, providing TV viewers functionalities not even imagined when Annenberg launched TV Guide in 1953. Unfortunately, while Transcontinental will undoubtedly save considerable expense – not to mention trees – it will still face steep competition from the Canadian equivalents of such sites as Titan TV and MeeVee. Moreover, digital cable and satellite operators’ EPGs, having already substituted for the print edition of TV Guide, will continue to do so for its online reincarnation.

Now if they can incorporate a revolutionary online video search component, as well, then we’re talking. In fact, soon I’ll be publishing a report on the very topic of online video search. But that’s for another blog.

Todd Chanko | October 19, 2006, 05:59 PM
Time Warner, Turbines and Turpentine

Back to back developments in distribution and production point to the complexities of conglomerates. Yesterday Time Warner announced it would undertake a long hinted IPO of Time Warner Cable, a first step in acknowledging that the vast media empire needs to be either unraveled or at least have some value unlocked somehow – just as Mr. Icahn had suggested in late 2005. TWC provides a nice steady stream of predictable revenues in an otherwise unpredictable media universe - digital cable in particular will be source of some growth. TWC is a distribution pure play (unless you count NY1, which is silly) that demonstrates that owning subscriber relationships is very valuable indeed.

Across town, it’s a different story. NBCU is going through a painful time precisely because content players typically don’t own their audience – they just rent them. NBC had a nearly twenty-year lease on the American viewing public, particularly on Thursday nights. That lease expired a few years ago, with only a few sublets now and then. Today’s job cut announcement is a painful reminder of not only the narrow bridge on which all TV networks must pass to get to their audience but also of the uniquely difficult situation in which NBCU finds itself: as a business unit of GE. GE’s ownership of NBC, which it acquired as part of RCA in 1986, has always had an uneasy feel to it – engineers and chemists turning out turbines and turpentine derivatives mixing with sunglass-sporting LA hipsters. Immelt certainly had to have had limited tolerance for NBC’s gradual slide, so the slashing and repositioning was inevitable.

This is not to say that if NBC weren’t part of a conglomerate that it would not have to be re-engineered. However, whence the mandate comes is clear: do or be undone.

Todd Chanko | October 12, 2006, 10:29 AM
30 Rock: Can YouTube do That?

Much has been written this week about "GooTube." While Google's strategic goals in acquiring YouTube will continue to be debated for some time to come, what is not under question is what YouTube is not.

It is not a portal for high-value video assets. Unless Google distorts YouTube's grassroots environment beyond recognition, it will never be capable of delivering what NBC delivered last night: 30 Rock.

Yes, 30 Rock. I know the address well, being a veteran of one of NBC's cable properties. My former employer has taken more than a few hits lately for its seeming inability to maintain what was once an impenetrable lead - "must see TV." Last night's premiere of "30 Rock" demonstrated that with courage, Zucker can tap into the Zeitgeist. Tina Fey's romp through the sanctum sanctorum of everything from NBC's parent GE to the inanity of office politics to even race relations left me breathless. The overnights have not yet been published publicly but I hope they will provide wiggle room for the show to grow.

Earlier this week the Dolan family announced its intent to take Cablevision private. The Long Island-based company's cable network assets are estimated to be worth about $2 billion. Can Google justify the $1.6 billion it paid for YouTube in light of such valuations? And, even more importantly, in light of even just one great show - 30 Rock?

Todd Chanko | October 09, 2006, 02:45 PM
You Say it's Your Birthday

Yes, maybe Paul wrote most of it but I'm convinced that the break is pure Lennon: "Yes we're going to a party, party." Check out the heavy E-chord.

Happy Birthday John. Yes, your historiography will no doubt continue to see you as a Ghandi-like figure. While your efforts to leverage your fame on behalf of the dispossessed and against war should be praised, I like the angry, snide Lennon. Your power came from - your power.

It's great that Yoko's Lennon Ono Grant for Peace is granting Medecins Sans Frontieres and the Center for Constitutional Rights awards. But who can resist chuckling at Lennon's comment on his other partner's solo efforts:

Frankly, the visual pun is just as applicable today to Apple's latest money-seeking excursion, "Love."

Todd Chanko | October 04, 2006, 04:01 PM
The Dish on TiVo

"Death By a Thousand Cuts" - if it's not a film noir title on Turner Classic Movies to be recorded on my DVR, it ought to be. In fact, what it is is the unenviable position in which Tom Rogers, CEO of TiVo, finds himself. Today the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit blocked the injunction against Echostar, which would have prevented the number two US satellite operator from continuing to offer DVR service. TiVo had won a reprieve recently when the Texas court ruled in its favor, granting the injunction and fining Echostar almost $90 million.

Yet, while a close reading of the product descriptions of the DVRs offered by both providers reveals some differences - notably, TiVo's attempt to be as cross-platform as possible - at the core, the functionalities are the same. In essence, the DVR biz is a commodity biz - and while features may be important at the margins, it's a pricing game. TiVo may yet win in its battle with Echostar, potentially forcing the company to recall millions of DVRs, increasing churn and rendering life difficult for hapless DISH customer service reps. But the war is over, proving once again that in science and industry, being first-to-market is not necessarily an advantage.

Now let's go to the IMDB to check out that "thousand cuts" title...

Todd Chanko | September 22, 2006, 03:05 PM
The Power of Letting Go

Not a week goes by without several stories worshipping the centrality of a consumer "in control," who seeks to have content "on demand." Certainly the focus of much of my research relates to this topic, whether I'm evaluating the impact of DVRs on advertising or the role of the web for the broadcast networks.

Yet, this morning, as I was engaged in my ablutions, I had the radio atypically not on NPR or Radio France Internationale bur rather New York's local classic rock station. The first blast of solid rock was something I hadn't heard in years, and which had moved me greatly in my salad days: "I'm Your Captain," by Grand Funk Railroad. It's a sweeping paean to wanderlust and still holds up today. This was followed by Edgar Winters' "Frankenstein," a funk rock instrumental with one of the great rock drum solos of the day. Lastly, the segment was followed by Queen's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," an homage to rockabilly.

What does this have to do with "on demand?" Everything. I had no specific aims this morning beyond getting dressed appropriately for work and certainly wasn't fixated on a particular artist. My reward for letting go of my prerogative to program my environment was the serendipitous splendor of hearing three songs that I hadn't heard in a while. I felt energized and connected to whoever was responsible for programming the songs and the thousands of other folks who were grooving anonymously to them at that same time. Good for me. Good for the station. Good for the advertisers.

There’s much talk of "community" and "control" and "on demand." There’s also still much room for programmers to tap into zeitgeists old and new to create communities that don't depend on the effort that so much of this newish on-demand requires.

Tune in. Turn on. The rest is up to you.

Todd Chanko | September 14, 2006, 03:57 PM
Murdoch Maneuvers

The possible deal between Liberty and News Corporation to transfer respective ownership stakes in DirecTV raises many issues. NDS, a provider of set top boxes, conditional access and DVRs would no longer enjoy a “special relationship” with DirecTV due to its majority ownership by News Corporation while TiVo’s deal with DirecTV could possibly be extended beyond its current three year extension.

Most importantly, Murdoch may be signaling his intentions to sharpen his focus on digital media even further. Earlier this week News Corporation purchased a controlling interest in Jamba from Verisign for $188 million. Are we to infer that Murdoch sees more fortune in ringtones than in satellite TV? Moreover, is he now moving away from recurring revenue streams to more transaction-based models?

On the other hand, there are still some advantages to satellite TV: look at the snafu that occurred recently with BskyB’s broadband content service. Hackers cut through Microsoft’s DRM, freeing up content for subscribers – and their friends. The service is temporarily halted until Microsoft can develop a patch. Looks like online video services may still need to work out some kinks.

Todd Chanko | September 08, 2006, 02:41 PM
WiMax TV - NDS Gets It

Convergence is in the eye of the beholder. When is a PC a TV? Online video aspires to emulate television - but still isn't the same as switching on the remote, leaning back on the La-Z-Boy and channel surfing.

Convergence also poses thorny issues for bundled service providers. There's another word that starts with "C" - cannibalization. With the proliferation of video content across devices and platforms, what's a Pay TV operator/broadband provider to do?

NDS, majority owned by News Corporation, is presenting a WiMax TV solution at the IBC convention in Amsterdam. It may have an answer to the "C" problem. Working closely with Intel and Viasat Broadcasting (a unit of Modern Times Group), the provider of DRM and conditional access solutions hopes to demonstrate more than a live Pay TV signal-over-WiMax application - it proposes the platform as a viable alternative for broadcasters and content providers alike.

Moreover, a successful deployment of WiMax by, say, Comcast, could, conceptually at least, threaten Slingbox. A laptop equipped with a Comcast WiMax client would satisfy the needs of a TV hungry road warrior. Comcast would provide additional value – outside the home – to its subscriber. Intel gets to sell more chips…well, you get the picture.

Something for the JV among Comcast, Sprint, Cox, Time Warner Cable and Advance/Newhouse to look at.

Todd Chanko | September 07, 2006, 03:16 PM
A Tale of Two Networks

It was the best of times...ah, you all know how it goes.

Today CBS announced it would re-ink with David Letterman, the curmudgeonly yet courageous funnyman, for four more years (hmmm, now that has a nice ring to it...) Earlier this week Katie made her debut, eating the competition. Mr. Moonves has restored much luster to the Tiffany network, relying on a savvy combo of prime time talent, daring shows, and cultivating successful franchises while leveraging non-traditional TV platforms. To wit, CBS' simulcasting Katie on the web and its announcement earlier this week of a deal with TiVo to enable the latter's subs to record at once four premier episodes from the new CBS season.

Now, nearby at 30 Rock, NBC is about to start broadcasting NFL football again since its deal expired with the league in 1998. In fourth place, the Peacock network is paying $600 million annually for six years for the privilege to be back in the game. It's a risky gambit but one that NBC couldn't afford not to wager - even its omnipresent Law & Order franchise can't seem to move the needle. NBC's multiplatform strategy can't help but a feel a bit forced: promoting the NFL on iVillage?

Ironic, isn't it, but as one character on NBC's very own Seinfeld famously said, "What's ironic?"

Todd Chanko | August 17, 2006, 01:11 PM
Floating YouTube

So who would be the ideal suitor for a much-rumored acquisition of YouTube? Time Warner already has significant distribution, both in traditional Pay TV through TWC and online with AOL. News Corporation is already busy integrating MySpace, has a broadcast network and, of course, a significant interest in DirecTV. NBCU has traditionally shied away from distribution in traditional Pay TV but has cozied up to YouTube in recent months...and Viacom has been beaten about the head and neck for not acquiring MySpace.

But what about IAC? It recently purchased CollegeHumor.com, and roll-ups seem to be Mr. Diller's style. Also, unlike NBCU and Viacom, there would be no inherent content conflicts-of-interest - just more real estate in more verticals on the web.

Besides, it would bring Barry back to the biz he grew up in - video.