The lines continue to blur between digital media and traditional media as new partnerships reshape the landscape. Companies that were once considered upstarts are now dominating aspects of print, music and video. This week, we’ve had a good look at this principle, as Twitter, Spotify and Amazon have all made significant moves to partner with or, when necessary, bypass traditional media. These three companies, each at its own stage of development, and each in its own way, are redefining the media.
Twitter is also planning to become an important part of video & TV. The company, which recently inked agreements with BBC and Comedy Central, is rumored to be on the verge of more content deals with major networks like NBC. These deals would allow Twitter to add video clips to its real-time stream. No word yet if these clips will also be integrated into Twitter’s 6-second video clip service, Vine, but it seems like a natural fit.
But Twitter’s not content with just doing content deals; they’re going to generate more revenue too. Twitter has just signed its biggest advertising agreement to date, with Publicis’ Starcom Media Vest Group, which is reported to be worth millions of dollars over multiple years. In fact, analysts predict that Twitter’s advertising revenue will double this year, to surpass half a billion dollars.
Apparently, Twitter’s not the only company to covet a prime location in the video space. There are strong rumors of Spotify venturing into video and TV. Spotify, like many other music companies, sees the leap into video content as a natural move. Meanwhile, a new agreement this week with LG will put Spotify’s premium music service on LG smart TVs and Blu-ray players, similar to the deal they cut last fall with Samsung.
Finally, the LA times reported this week that Amazon is planning on extending its Kindle line to include a Kindle TV. The Amazon set-top box would feature the Amazon Video on Demand service as its primary content engine, but it would also stream other services such as Netflix and YouTube. Guesses are that the Kindle TV would be priced below competing devices from Apple and Roku. The rumor is that the device would be ready sometime later this year.