Disney’s Iger Sketches Web Plans For TV Classics; No Decision On Ad-Support Vs. Subscription
By David Kaplan - Fri 07 Mar 2008 02:17 PM PST
With DVD shelf space at retailers becoming increasingly crowded, Disney (NYSE: DIS) CEO Bob Iger hopes to move some of its TV shows from the past 50 years to its website, Bloomberg reported. Iger’s remarks were made during the Q&A portion of Disney’s annual shareholder meeting Thursday in Albuquerque. His thoughts were conceptual in nature and didn’t appear to reflect a clear plan for how Disney would distribute its TV programs. So while Iger presented no time-frame on when a vintage TV web initiative would be launched, or what shows would be selected, the choice of revenue model is fairly clear-cut: “In the near future, you’ll see more of that product available on Disney.com, either for free or through some sort of subscription.”
Combing the Disney vaults for classic TV shows that would appear online is a natural progression from the entertainment giant’s current digital strategy. At the moment, ABC and Disney Channel programs are available on those properties’ respective sites as ad-supported streams. Their shows are also available for paid download on iTunes. But most media companies remain in the early stages, with both CBS (NYSE: CBS) and NBC Universal (NYSE: GE) experimenting with a mixture of syndication and media players on their own sites. But those efforts mainly concentrate on recent or current TV shows, though NBC has recently added old warhorses such as Miami Vice and The A Team to its own site and to Hulu. Ad agency reaction to the idea of sponsoring classic shows online after the jump.
-- Marlowe Sidney, VP/account manager at Initiative USA: “For an advertiser its “family friendly” and nostalgic.... So very user-friendly. And easy for viewers to come in and out of without any major commitment. But will viewers really be disciplined to watch full episodes online? It’s one thing to catch a current show like Lost or Desperate Housewives to be part of the watercooler conversation the next day. I’m not sure people would feel as compelled with ‘oldies but goodies.’ It’s definitely a trend.... Knight Rider on NBC, Bionic Woman on NBC.... a little buzz factor leading up to it, but no real ‘hits’ on our hand.”
-- Tom Woldum, SVP, Media Director at MRM Worldwide: “Depends on how you define ‘worthy of ad support.’ I think it’s unlikely that buyers are going to seek out this type of content specifically, but if you add up enough eyeballs viewing a collection of like programming it becomes a valuable reach extender. One thing nobody’s doing much of right now that seems like the miss in all this is layering on demographic and/or behavioral targeting within the context of their video inventory.”
Posted in: Advertising, Broadband, Companies, Disney, Entertainment, Media, TV
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