HBO on your PC? It could happen sooner than you think.
Wary of the growing number of consumers watching TV shows online for free – and yet reluctant to upset viewers by yanking shows from the Internet – the nation’s largest cable operators are in talks with media conglomerates to take back control. They would create a platform to release cable TV shows online, but exclusively for paying subscribers.
It’s a delicate dance for those involved, which include Comcast Corp., Time Warner Cable Inc., Cox Communications Inc., Cablevision Systems Corp., General Electric Co.’s NBC Universal, News Corp., Viacom Inc. and Time Warner Inc.
Cable networks considering the project include Time Warner’s HBO, Viacom’s MTV, Discovery Communications Inc., owners of Discovery channel, TLC, Animal Planet and others; Cablevision’s Rainbow Media Holdings, the owner of AMC, IFC and Sundance; Turner Broadcasting, owner of CNN, TBS and TNT; as well a s Scripps Networks, owner of Food Network and HGTV.
Potentially at stake is the business model of cable TV operators. They pay networks a per-subscriber fee each month for the right to carry channels. But the cable companies have groused that they are paying for content that programmers are giving away for free on the Web.
Jeff Gaspin, president of NBC’s Universal Television Group, said the idea of collaborating with cable operators on online video has been floated for a while but talks began in earnest this year.
“There’s pressure on all of us,” he said, referring to TV networks. “We get paid quite a bit of money from cable operators. … It’s important we find ways to do business that protects that business model.”
At the same time, “consumers want content where they want it and when they want it,” Gaspin added. If the networks don’t provide it, “they’ll get it any way they can.”
Gaspin and others familiar with the project said the new service likely will be free to cable TV subscribers. But it’s also possible a small fee might be assessed.
Sam Schwartz, executive vice president of Comcast Interactive Media, said the company isn’t looking at the effort as “some enormous new revenue opportunity” but wants to add value that will keep customers from leaving. Comcast calls its initiative “On Demand Online.”
One model being discussed is for Philadelphia-based Comcast to expand its lineup of cable shows on Fancast.com, its Web site that aggregates TV shows and movies for free viewing, much like Hulu.com. But only subscribers could access the shows. It’s not yet clear how subscribers would be authenticated; it would be easier if the customer also buys high-speed Internet service from the cable company.
The other cable operators wouldn’t create a new Web site, but they would steer subscribers to the cable networks’ Web sites, such as HBO.com, where they would be able to see an expanded array of shows.
These plans could still change because negotiations are preliminary.
Denise Denson, MTV Networks’ executive vice president of content distribution and marketing, called the discussions “a new and necessary testing ground for the industry.”
Cable operators and the networks have to walk a fine line between preserving their business without standing in the way of the online video revolution.
About 34 percent of adults who go online at home watch videos over the Internet at least every week, up from 25 percent two years ago, said a survey released Monday by Leichtman Research Group.
People aren’t yet cutting the cord en masse – the Leichtman survey found that people who watch recent TV shows online every week are not more likely to give up TV service than other people. But the industry is heading off what could end up as a troubling trend. After all, the availability of free content online has befuddled other media industries, from music to newspaper s.
Hulu, a joint venture between NBC and Fox that streams free TV shows and movies, already has felt pressure from content providers. It recently ended access to its shows from Boxee, a startup’s free program that lets viewers watch online shows easily on their TV sets. Industry executives say Hulu is losing money, but Hulu declined to comment on its financial status.
The cable companies and others involved in the talks for a TV service said their goal isn’t to kill the online video goose, but to work out a plan that keeps everyone’s business intact.
“A TV-everywhere solution could give consumers more for their money while also helping to preserve the current business model that is generating and delivering popular branded shows viewers want,” said Keith Cocozza, a spokesman for Time Warner Inc.
Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey Launch Production House 34North
Executive producers Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey have teamed to launch 34North. The shop opens with a roster which includes accomplished directors Jan Wentz, Ben Nakamura Whitehouse, David Edwards and Mario Feil, as well as such up-and-coming filmmakers as Glenn Stewart and Chris Fowles. Nakamura Whitehouse, Edwards, Feil and Fowles come over from CoMPANY Films, the production company for which Cicero served as an EP for the past nearly five years. Director Wentz had most recently been with production house Skunk while Stewart now gains his first U.S. representation. EP Clancey was freelance producing prior to the formation of 34North. He and Cicero have known each other for some 25 years, recently reconnecting on a job directed by Fowles. Cicero said that he and Clancey “want to keep a highly focused roster where talent management can be one on one--where we all share in the directors’ success together.” Clancey also brings an agency pedigree to the new venture. “I started at Campbell Ewald in accounts, no less,” said Clancey. “I saw firsthand how much work agencies put in before we even see a script. You have to respect that investment. These agency experiences really shaped my approach to production--it’s about empathy, listening between the lines, and ultimately making the process seamless.” 34North represents a meeting point--both literally and creatively. Named after the latitude of Malibu, Calif., where the idea for the company was born, it also embraces the power of storytelling. “34North118West was the first GPS-enabled narrative,” Cicero explained. “That blend of art and technology, to captivate an audience, mirrors what we do here--create compelling work, with talented people, harnessing state-of-the-art... Read More