Make Marketing History

The views of a marketing deviant.

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

The Networks' Dilemma.

Yesterday saw the launch of the first new US television network in ten years. Featuring cheap programming such as telenovelas and considerable internet tie-ins, myNetworkTV is being touted as the future of televison. It will be fascinating to watch its progress (even if its programming seems less than enthralling) because I am not certain that the dominance of traditional TV is as threatened as commentators would have us believe.

Last night, I heard that this new venture had booked $50 million in advertising compared to $600 million at another soon-to-launch network (which I assume to be CW). Some might say this just shows that the worldview of advertisers is entrenched in the old model and I would not argue with that. But, perhaps they're also unconvinced that tie-ins with mySpace will lead them to advertising-friendly viewers.

If the online revolution has created a new viewing paradigm, then it is reasonable to question whether the best response is to create a hybrid of the old and the new business models. To me that seems evolutionary rather than disruptive.

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