BC Beat

September 7, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

Interesting article in Saturday's Wall Street Journal. Apparentley, a small cadre of economists using statistical analysis of societies concludes that watching TV is good for you, which breaks with decades of mostly contrary findings from medical and societal researchers.

The article says the economics found that “TV enabled an earlier generation of American children in non-English-speaking households to do better in school, helped rural Indian women to become more independent and contributed to lowering Brazil’s fertility rate.”

The economists found many examples of TV viewing making populations more pro-social, according to the Wall Street Journal. For example, when satellite TV was introduced to rural areas of India that previously lacked TV reception, women became more independent of men and the village cultures be...Read More

July 18, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

Does traditional media get to enjoy a little Schadenfreude now?

Cracks are suddenly appearing in the new media growth story. Google and Microsoft earnings released Thursday fell below analyst expectations. Some long-abused traditional media executives might be cheered that their high-flying rivals are experiencing some pain.

I think the tech media sector travails are more than a one-quarter anomaly. Consider that the century-old movie business experienced more revenue growth globally in one recent year than forecasts for the U.S. Web ad sector. Adams Media Research estimates that aggregate theatrical film revenue of the Hollywood majors climbed 13% in 2002, in a spurt from the DVD boom that itself has flattened.

Researcher eMarketer forecasts for U.S. Web display ad sales will grow at 13% or less starting in 2009, though other parts of the Web ad eco...Read More

July 7, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

We’re constantly deluged with customer service reports concluding that consumers are less satisfied with their subscription TV than with other product/service sectors. These reports typically include comparisons with banks, hotels, airlines, kitchen appliances, health care products and you-name-it.

That got me thinking. I wonder how many “truck rolls” banks have? Do they send over a repair technician to a customer’s house to fix a money market account that is on the fritz?

Pardon me for being a facetious, but you can see my point. Some of the industries that multichannel TV is compared to are really no comparison.

A bank customer’s money resides at the bank, which makes resolving issues easier than repairing a fixed wire system in a home. If a microwave oven doesn’t work, it’s no big deal for a store to cheer...Read More

June 16, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (1)