Fast Track
By Staff -- Broadcasting & Cable, 9/9/2007 8:00:00 PM
|
Items:
Cable, Broadcast Launching PSAs For DTV Transition TVB Expects Up to 10% Rise in 2008 Spot TV Revenue Ski Channel in VOD Deal Sony Launches New Comedy Site Correction |
Items:
Cable, Broadcast Launching PSAs For DTV Transition
TVB Expects Up to 10% Rise in 2008 Spot TV Revenue
Ski Channel in VOD Deal
Sony Launches New Comedy Site
Correction
Cable, Broadcast Launching PSAs For DTV Transition
By John Eggerton
The cable and broadcast industries, in constant battle over regulatory issues, jumped on the same page last week in launching PSA campaigns to let viewers know sooner rather than later about the DTV switch.
Hours after the National Cable & Telecommunications Association announced plans to help consumers with the transition, the National Association of Broadcasters told B&C that it would start running its own multimillion-dollar national PSA campaign by the end of the month.
Broadcasters had at one time been talking about not launching the campaign until 2008, then said it would happen by December. Jonathan Collegio, who is heading up the DTV education campaign for the NAB, said that the first PSAs “will likely be distributed to broadcast stations by the end of September.”
For its part, the cable industry pledged $200 million in airtime for spots in both Spanish and English. The spots are tailored to cable viewers, saying that their cable company will handle the transition for them with beautiful digital pictures to boot. That message irked the NAB, which continues to spar with the NCTA over cable's digital carriage obligations (see “Washington Watch,” page 10).
Both industries have been under pressure from Capitol Hill to start their campaigns, with less than four months to go before viewers can start applying for DTV-to-analog converter boxes for their broadcast-only sets, and less than 18 months before the deadline for broadcasters to go all-digital.
Key legislators praised the NCTA's announcement and said they hoped others would follow. NAB had not made an official announcement of its launch date.
Collegio, VP of the digital television transition for NAB, also pointed out that a number of individual stations have already started airing their own PSAs (notably Capitol Broadcasting), and that the general education campaign is already underway with the creation of a speaker's bureau, a national DTV “road show” and a “variety of grass-roots initiatives.”
“This is exactly the cooperation needed to help the public become more aware of their options for transitioning way in advance,” Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez said of the CTA announcement. The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration has been charged with overseeing the DTV-to-analog converter box program.
TVB Expects Up to 10% Rise in 2008 Spot TV Revenue
The Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB) is expecting total spot television revenues to surge 9%-10% in 2008.
At its annual Forecast Conference Thursday in New York, the TVB—a trade association of local television broadcasters—said it expects revenue growth to be driven by a 14%-16% increase in national spot and a 5%-6% rise in local spot revenue over 2007 levels.
The TVB sees network revenues rising 4%-6%, syndication rising 3%-4%, network cable rising 5%-7% and local cable rising 5%-7%.
The wide-open political race and the Olympic Games are catalysts for growth. But according to the association, other factors impacting the 2008 market include the effect of the credit crunch on the consumer economy, the reshaped automotive category and the growth of new media.
Station Website advertising revenue is expected to grow 40%-50% and station wireless 50%-70%.
Station Websites and wireless are expected to continue the growth trend in 2009, rising 35%-45% and 50%-75%, respectively.
The TVB's estimates are culled from estimates by financial analysts, station representative firms and TVB research. —Jon Hemingway
Ski Channel in VOD Deal
The Ski Channel has struck its first episodic TV deal as the ad-supported VOD channel ramps up for a run at the mountain sports audience.
According to Channel Chairman Steve Bellamy, the former Tennis Channel founder who has traded in his racket for a snowshoe, Ski Channel has grabbed rights to Ride Guide TV's library of skiing and mountain bike shows (300 shows over 11 seasons), thousands of hours of clip footage, and joint production on new programming.
Calgary, Alberta-based Ride Guide will produce 26 new episodes a year of Ride Guide TV for the channel right out of the gate, with information on where and how to have the “ultimate ride” on a ski, snowboard or bike.
The show had been running on VOD cable network, Havoc TV, but Ride Guide founder Kevin Pennock said in announcing the move that Ski Channel was “more in tune with what we are doing.”
Ski Channel will target an upscale audience with programming on everything from skiing and snowboarding to mountain biking, hiking and climbing. It has a carriage deal with Time Warner Cable, and has lined up charter advertisers including Panasonic, Mirage Resorts and Fender Guitars.
The network is planning an early 2008 launch. —John Eggerton
Sony Launches New Comedy Site
Sony's online streaming entertainment network Crackle (formerly Grouper) is rolling out a new comedy channel entitled “Moving Targets” on Sept. 10.
The channel will feature content created by professionals such as Jerry Zucker (Airplane! and Naked Gun), as well as being open to user-generated content.
“The Internet is an empowering medium, and we want to let artists tell their stories without interfering with their creative process; you can't do that on television,” said Sean Carey, senior executive vice president of Sony Pictures.
Among the sketch, musical and animated comedy projects are Zucker's National Banana and Starz Presents: 30-Second Bunnies Theatre.
Crackle also produces original programs under the banner Crackle Studios. —Ben Grossman
Correction
The late-news leader was misidentified in the Charleston-Huntington, W. Va., “Market Eye” profile (Aug. 27). It is WSAZ.
No related content found.
-
No Top Articles
VIEW ALL GALLERIES
