Clients of Pollack Media Group have been able to witness how the trends we outlined in our New Media Landscape report (published in January) have dominated media throughout the year. Perhaps the trend that has had the greatest impact in 2006 is providing content on-demand. From the explosion in podcasting (and the iPod evolving into the on-demand multimedia device) to YouTube acting as the de facto source for on-demand network television viewing, facilitating the consumption of media on the consumers’ own terms has been the story of 2006.Ironically, the concept of on-demand hasn’t gotten a lot of press in 2006. While on-demand hasn’t received a lot of press in 2006, companies that focus their business model almost exclusively on providing content on-demand were almost ubiquitous—YouTube, Apple, Network television, even the movie business.
With this in mind, let’s look at some of the specific examples of how on-demand is changing the new media landscape. The first thing to understand is that, as we outlined in our New Media Landscape report, the future of media centers around consumer convenience. Listeners, readers, and viewers want to consume their content how they want it, when they want it, and where they want it. This underlying point is the key to practically every media trend extant.
Of course, the key to on-demand is that it serves consumers by allowing them to view or listen to media when they want, not on some company-defined schedule. Mark Cuban recognized this as an important factor in driving his “day and date” release strategy for his movie company. Movies released by Cuban’s production company, are distributed through every key visual distribution channel. While the consumer embraces the ability to view the movies where and how they want it (what we call divergence in the New Media Landscape report), you can’t minimize the importance of on-demand. For someone wanting to watch Enron: The Smartest Guys In the Room on Sunday morning, rather than during one of the scheduled showtimes at the theater, they can do so in their home thanks to Cuban’s initiatives.
While on-demand is part of Cuban’s day and date strategy, it is the engine driving the explosion of the iPod. Hearing the songs you want whenever you want has never been easier: You aren’t limited by swapping out CDs or cassettes, and you aren’t tethered to your computer. Thanks to the iPod, listening to all of your favorite music can be done anytime you want with no effort at all. What is interesting about the iPod is how Apple has built on this base. Today, you can find on-demand content from the radio thanks to podcasting and from movies and television thanks to the video iPod. You can even find e-books available for the iPod. Another trend we outlined in the New Media Landscape is the old concept of convergence, which has been given new life by devices like the iPod, which converges all of the on demand content you can think of in one place.
Perhaps the highest profile and purest example of the impact of on-demand on media is the media company that has received the most press over the past six months: YouTube. While consumer generated content is a big part of YouTube’s content, make no mistake: The explosive growth of YouTube was fueled by consumers wanting to view television shows when they wanted, not when the networks had scheduled them.
TiVo was the pioneer in offering television on-demand, but YouTube made the content truly on-demand—you could view it at work or at home or even in a Starbucks with a wireless connection. All you needed was a computer.
The networks, of course, noticed. ABC, CBS, and other cable and broadcast networks all announced plans to provide shows online for viewing on-demand. They even integrated the on-demand availability of content into marketing plans. Showtime has provided the first two episodes of their new show Dexter available online for free viewing on-demand. This use of on-demand as a way for consumers to sample content will be a big part of television marketing in 2007.
If you look beyond packaged content, the Internet is changing the media landscape for such things as television news and radio morning shows. Television news is grappling with the difficulties of a world where viewers can find video news on the Internet for a full day before the network’s broadcast their newscasts. While morning show podcasts are still in the nascent stage, radio will face the reality of a world where they will supplant at least some live radio listening.
For media professionals planning strategy for 2007, a fundamental understanding of on-demand is critical. If you can’t provide your content—no matter what it is—in a way that it can be consumed when, where, and how the audience wants it, you are in a vulnerable position. The question won’t be if a company like YouTube will fill the void, but when.
