March 22nd, 2007
NBC Universal/News Corp Online Video Deal Demonstrates That The Content Creation Business Is Dying
Did NBC Universal and News Corp cut a deal to create content for the web? New production capabilities? New armies of web-only content creators? No. This is about creating a platform for aggregating and distributing existing content, which they already have too much of.
You’re looking at the new media business. It’s not longer about creating content — we’re drowning in content. No, it’s about creating platforms for content on the network, then letting the network do its thing.
Everyone is of course focusing on whether NBC and News Corp are going to allow “user-generated content” or just “premium content” — but the reality is, IT DOESN’T MATTER. It’s just one big mass of content along a spectrum from great to crappy. And there’s more of it than anyone knows what to do with.
No, the business here is about platforms and distribution.
From the conference call:
Extending offer to other distribution partners, wants to work with everyone.
we want ubiquitous distribution
this is a web distribution venture
When there’s an overabundance of content and not enough consumer attention to go around, the value creation opportunity is in connecting consumers with content — it’s in aggregation, distribution, and filtering. Google gets it. The big media companies get it.
So when I say the content business is dying, I don’t mean you can’t make money off of content creation anymore. I just mean you can’t make a lot of money.
Want to see the future of media? Follow the money.
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[…] Karp at Publishing 2.0 says the news is an admission that the content-creation business is dying, and he could be right. To me, the tone of the press release […]
Hi Scott,
If you don’t own the content you cannot monetize it. Big networks have decades of content users are interested in AND can monetize them freely. User generated content is harder to monetize as most of it is copyright related.
“Want to see the future of media? Follow the money.” - Exactly right, and from monetization POV, it isn’t user generated content.
Sahar,
How much content does Google own?
How much content which youtube doesn’t own can they monetize? Google spent 1.6B on a platform which they cannot monetize the majoroty of content within it. While I’m sure they have their reasons, we’re yet to see it make sense.
The points from the conference call you listed are unique to NBC/News Corp. Without owning the content, the distribution wouldn’t be of such a high value.
Is there a business model building distribution platforms? You bet there is. But to say the content business is dying? Not by a long shot.
[IMG] Scott Karp / Publishing 2.0: NBC Universal/News Corp Online Video Deal Demonstrates That The …
[…] you can’t make money off of content creation anymore. I just mean you can’t make a lot of money.” –Publishing 2.0 “My friend Paul Kedrosky thinks that NewTube could be successful enough that it and YouTube could […]
NBC Universal/News Corp Online Video Deal Demonstrates That The Content Creation Business Is Dying
“The points from the conference call you listed are unique to NBC/News Corp. Without owning the content, the distribution wouldn’t be of such a high value.”
Every search engine’s business model is predicated on the idea that *not* creating or owning the content, but driving people to other people’s content - has terrifically high value.
NBC Universal/News Corp Online Video Deal Demonstrates That The Content Creation Business Is Dying Posted 7 minutes ago Did NBC Universal and News Corp cut a deal to create content for the web? New production capabilities? New armies … [Link]
Sahar,
The problem with YouTube is less about content ownership and more about the systemic struggle with online video advertising format (i.e. it’s not pre-roll, but that’s all we’ve figured out), as well as the problem of trust. The NYT can run YouTube-like low-production-value videos and still get advertising because advertisers trust the brand. Google gets so much advertising on its platform, without owning or controlling any content, because advertisers trust that Google properly manage the context.
The content creation business dying, shrinking, whatever is about increasing competition around high quality content. You’ll notice how much emphasis was made by NBC and News Corp around PREMIUM content — the problem is, cats flushing toilets aside, these companies no longer have a monopoly on high quality content.
[…] just curious. Scott Karp – March 23rd, 2007 | Email This | Print | Link | Del.icio.us Bookmark […]
& * AlterNet: EnviroHealth: Why Having More No Longer Makes Us Happy * Change Hair Color - Only Photoshop Tutorials * Michael Moritz Will Not Seek Re-Election to Google’s Board of Directors * NBC Universal/News Corp Online Video Deal Demonstrates That The …
You’re off the mark on this one.
Setting up the online distribution is an important step for the networks, and it’s something they had to do with television many years ago. Big networks brokered deals with small affiliates, and much money was exchanged hands.
Once the distribution is in place, the big networks can then sell the ad space, which they are very good at doing.
Once the serious ad money rolls in, the serious content creators will create web specific content for it.
Let’s get it clear - the money that is made other media - from movies to television to radio dwarfs what is made on the net by the media companies. And that’s because so far they’ve handed over distribution to the search engines.
Well, not anymore.
See here: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/25/business/yourmoney/25frenzy.html
I’d love to hear your thoughts. What do you think need to happen for online video to realize greater potential and resume its climb up the growth curve? Clown Co round-up: PC Magazine, Advertising Age, LA Times, TechCrunch, Scott Karp, Charlene Li, CenterNetworks, Fred Wilson, Jeff Jarvis, Mark Cuban (and I’m sure I’ve missed plenty of others.)
Sales of Music, Long in Decline, Plunge Sharply - WSJ.com [del.icio.us] 5 days ago via Matt McAlister CDs have become little more than advertisements for more-lucrative goods like concert tickets… [IMG Collapsed]NBC Universal/News Corp Online Video Deal Demonstrates That The Content Creation Business Is Dying 5 days ago via Publishing 2.0 Did NBC Universal and News Corp cut a deal to create content for the web? New production capa… [IMG Collapsed]SF Chronicle in Trouble? 4 days ago via O’Reilly Radar
will evolve, blend, mesh into something more accepting and engaging. One of the most constantly imaginative bloggers is Scott Karp of publishing 2.0 blog is constantly questioning the validity of the current models in all kinds of content and media. Here he basically says music should be given away free and we should pay a premium to watch music live and buy the brand merchandise. This makes so much sense. If one person (all it takes is one tech kid) to download a song and what’s he going to do with it? He’s going to share it with all his friends.
, many of whom want to build businesses providing content of one kind or another. So I gave my gloomy look at the content creation business, pointing to Monday’s supply squeeze at ITN, and Scott Karp’s post on NBC Universal/News Corp deal, and Jon Hagel’s take on Google vs. Viacom. And generally suggesting that scaling a business out of content supply was madness. They seemed remarkably undepressed.
and which Google is gearing up to distribute content alongside ads). Why Google Needs Viacom There’s a reason why the big media companies are aligning themselves around video distribution and not video content creation — distribution is all that matters. The battle for control of the digital video market is essentially a race to figure out how to efficiently allocate consumer attention, both through search and browsing/discovery. Google search is the greatest platform for efficient allocation of
and which Google is gearing up to distribute content alongside ads). Why Google Needs Viacom There’s a reason why the big media companies are aligning themselves around video distribution and not video content creation — distribution is all that matters. The battle for control of the digital video market is essentially a race to figure out how to efficiently allocate consumer attention, both through search and browsing/discovery. Google search is the greatest platform for efficient allocation of
t been worried about the YouTube copyright brouhaha — it’s just a side show. Once media companies understand what’s going on, it’s likely that there will be a dramatic shift in the disposition towards YouTube. News Corp and NBC Universal can try competing with YouTube, but they still need their content to be found. The distribution deals will help, but like everything else, videos will be found primarily through search. And if your video is not on a Google platform, or one that Google includes in the Video PlusBox
[…] News Corp and NBC Universal can try competing with YouTube, but they still need their content to be found. The distribution deals will help, but like everything else, videos will be found primarily through search. And if your video is not on a Google platform, or one that Google includes in the Video PlusBox features, then you’re out of luck. […]
[…] companies are aligning themselves around video distribution and not video content creation — distribution is all that matters. The battle for control of the digital video market is essentially a race to figure out how to […]