iTunes announces advertising is on the way
Abbey Klaasen writes in Advertising Age that billboard advertising is about to appear in Apple's iTunes service. Is anyone surprised by this? I can think of few demographics more mouth-watering to an advertiser. Online, high disposable income, high speed internet, undeterred in using credit cards over the web (owns a credit card), active consumers of media, interested in trends... Agencies will fall over each other clambering for those spaces.
There is, however, some speculation that this is the first step in opening up podcasts to advertising.
Great! If this is done correctly then it could be a boon for end users and content suppliers. I have written elsewhere on this blog about the arrival of an Emmy category for cellphone or portable device content. At this moment this just means more back-patting for Lost and Desperate Housewives - one of these two programs is clearly going to win. But the introduction of advertising into this fledgling content medium is exactly the step it needs to see it grow into a whole new category of story telling.
In the coming months ABC is going to make several programs available to download for free. These programs will contain advertising that cannot be skipped. Even better news: NBC will roll out original 'webisodes' (how long before we get to drop the quote marks?) of The Office. This is not good news because I like the show -I don't. The US version is an appalling travesty compared to the original. It is good news because this is the new category of story telling I mentioned in the previous paragraph.
Now if only the major networks -or anyone else, for that matter- could combine these two strategies then we are in for exciting times. And I am not just talking about giving downloaders the option of paying for an ad-free episode or getting an ad-supported one at no charge -though that always remains an option.
Consider the narrative shape of a one-hour TV drama. How much backstory gets cut out? How much of the B plots and C plots don't make it into the final 44 minutes? This content -which is often shot during production anyway- is a perfectly saleable product that is currently only used for DVD extra features. I want to see this kind of content for the programs that I like. I seek it out.
Quoted in Ms Klaasen's article, J.P. Morgan analyst Spencer Wang estimates that the networks currently make $1.44 per iTunes episode sale compared with 57 cents in advertising revenue when that same episode is broadcast on television. That is good money but it once again misses the point. The argument should not be paid download versus ad-supported free download, there should be no argument at all.
By all means resell your broadcast content for a couple of bucks without the advertisements but I want to see original and unique content: ad- supported webisodes (I officially announce the dropping of the quote marks) made available as well.
There is no bad here. The webisodes function as teasers that drive iTunes sales and bring the audience back to the couch when the episode is broadcast -which in turn leads them to seek out the next webisode where they are exposed to more advertising.
And as a much needed side effect, it would hopefully allay the networks' hysterical shrieking over content piracy. Share the webisodes among your friends! It will only make them more effective.
There is, however, some speculation that this is the first step in opening up podcasts to advertising.
Great! If this is done correctly then it could be a boon for end users and content suppliers. I have written elsewhere on this blog about the arrival of an Emmy category for cellphone or portable device content. At this moment this just means more back-patting for Lost and Desperate Housewives - one of these two programs is clearly going to win. But the introduction of advertising into this fledgling content medium is exactly the step it needs to see it grow into a whole new category of story telling.
In the coming months ABC is going to make several programs available to download for free. These programs will contain advertising that cannot be skipped. Even better news: NBC will roll out original 'webisodes' (how long before we get to drop the quote marks?) of The Office. This is not good news because I like the show -I don't. The US version is an appalling travesty compared to the original. It is good news because this is the new category of story telling I mentioned in the previous paragraph.
Now if only the major networks -or anyone else, for that matter- could combine these two strategies then we are in for exciting times. And I am not just talking about giving downloaders the option of paying for an ad-free episode or getting an ad-supported one at no charge -though that always remains an option.
Consider the narrative shape of a one-hour TV drama. How much backstory gets cut out? How much of the B plots and C plots don't make it into the final 44 minutes? This content -which is often shot during production anyway- is a perfectly saleable product that is currently only used for DVD extra features. I want to see this kind of content for the programs that I like. I seek it out.
Quoted in Ms Klaasen's article, J.P. Morgan analyst Spencer Wang estimates that the networks currently make $1.44 per iTunes episode sale compared with 57 cents in advertising revenue when that same episode is broadcast on television. That is good money but it once again misses the point. The argument should not be paid download versus ad-supported free download, there should be no argument at all.
By all means resell your broadcast content for a couple of bucks without the advertisements but I want to see original and unique content: ad- supported webisodes (I officially announce the dropping of the quote marks) made available as well.
There is no bad here. The webisodes function as teasers that drive iTunes sales and bring the audience back to the couch when the episode is broadcast -which in turn leads them to seek out the next webisode where they are exposed to more advertising.
And as a much needed side effect, it would hopefully allay the networks' hysterical shrieking over content piracy. Share the webisodes among your friends! It will only make them more effective.
posted by Gordon White at 1:21 pm
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