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  • Monetising the sports arena through Pay-TV

    Monetising the sports arena through Pay-TV

    GOA: After a fruitful day one of IDOS 2013, day two kicked off with a presentation by Media Partners Asia executive director Vivek Couto on ‘Sports and Pay TV: The path to value creation’. “The idea is to bring value to sports and to bring it to markets that have the passion for sports,” he said.

    The sports market is very different in the US and Australia as against Europe and Asia. The US and Australian markets have higher mark-up value and is a profitable proposition for the operators as the major part of the revenue is earned through subscription fees as against advertising revenue. But, the scenario is just reverse in case of European and Asian markets where advertising revenue drives the broadcasters.

    “The big difference in the markets is the availability of multi-platform rights from the broadcasters in the US and Australian markets which makes life easier for the operators,” Couto added.

    In the European and Asian markets, the problem is abstaining from providing better interactive services to the consumers rather than focusing on just raising advertising revenues. This has also resulted in the death of ESPN as a sport major in the European market as is the case in Asia (except India).

    One of the various reasons that have really driven ARPUs in the US and Australian markets is the focus on packaging rather than exclusivity. “The US market is very vertically integrated, so there is no exclusivity of ‘live’ event coverage and the focus is more on better production and packaging of content to attract the attention of the viewers and build a bigger and loyal fan base,” explained Couto.

    This is one of the biggest reasons for DirecTV having made such a big impact on viewers globally. The focus on this platform is on the kind of coverage given rather than just focus on exclusivity of the content carried. This has slowly encouraged all broadcasters to focus more on how they package and present their content to their viewers.

    The US market currently has a very profitable sports ecosystem, so much so that almost all the leading operators provide a good bouquet of sports channels right from the basic packs to the premium packs. With leading players like Comcast also adding sports channels to its basic packs only goes onto show the power of sports globally.

    Sports has really been a battering ram for both subscription and ARPUs, so what are the takeaways for the Indian market? “Well firstly, focus on, slowly making the move from SD-HD-HD ad free and finally take it to multi-screen availability. Also the ads need to move from CPRT to CPT to make the content more incentivised and finally give more access to the consumers by tying up with mobile and online services,” ended Couto.

    The way forward is certainly bright for the Indian market, but a lot more can be done by covering more of local sports and create greater traction with the local population by getting local cable operators to cover smaller events in a bigger way and promote more sports rather than being just a one sport nation.

  • Neil LaBute to create short films for DirecTV

    MUMBAI: DirecTV has entered into a partnership with the award-winning screenwriter Neil LaBute (The Shape of Things, In the Company of Men) to produce a set of ten short films that will air exclusively on the Audience Network.

     

    The pact sees LaBute writing, directing and producing ten stand-alone stories. Production is scheduled for this month and the films will begin airing later in the fall. This is DirecTV‘s second collaboration with LaBute, who previously wrote the upcoming limited series Full Circle.

    “I‘m very excited to move forward on this new project, and there is not a better home than DirecTV for an ambitious series like this,” said LaBute. “Although I am incredibly proud of my scripts for Full Circle, I was disappointed I was not available to be a part of the production. That fact drove home for me how important it is, from an artistic standpoint, to roll up my sleeves and immerse myself in all aspects of the creative process on television.”

     

    “We are thrilled to share these new films with our customers and are proud that Neil has chosen DirecTV as the first place to write, produce and direct his own material,” said DirecTV senior VP of original content and production Chris Long. “The films will be produced with a true auteur model; we‘re striving for the least possible distance between the artist‘s vision and the final product.”

  • ‘CBGB’ film to premiere on DirecTV ahead of theatrical release

    MUMBAI: CBGB, a film about the New York nightclub where US punk rock music was born, is to premiere on DirecTV, the satellite company announced recently.

     

    Directed by Randall Miller and starring Alan Rickman, Malin Akerman, Ashley Greene and Rupert Grint, the film will debut 5 September and air through 2 October, prior to its theatrical release set for 11 October.

    “By providing exclusive, premium content in an earlier window we can offer our customers an entertainment experience they can‘t find anywhere else,” said DirecTV VP marketing Alex Kaplan. “At the same time filmmakers have a new platform with 20 million viewers to distribute their work. We‘re excited to work with XLrator Media to give our customers an exclusive look atCBGB before it hits theaters.”

     

    “We are delighted to be working with DirecTV and applaud them for putting forth this innovative program for top independent films,” said XLrator Media CEO Barry Gordon.

     

    “Movie-watching habits have evolved, and consumers will always drive the market. DirecTV’s exclusive program is both consumer and filmmaker friendly. CBGB will have access to an enormous national platform coupled with massive marketing and promotional support, and consumers will have an opportunity to see a great movie before it hits theaters.”

     

    “This is totally punk,” Miller said. “We are excited to get the movie out in the most exciting way! 20 million people getting to talk about the film and enjoy it at home… I have one word, ‘awesome!‘”

  • Football on your phone by the Manning brothers

    Football on your phone by the Manning brothers

    NEW DELHI: As NFL fans gear up for football season, they will find an off-the-field distraction in “Football on Your Phone,” a new DirecTV spoof starring quarterback brothers Eli and Peyton Manning. Production company Butter, via Grey, are behind the 3:00 promo, which has already shot past six million hits on YouTube.

     

    The video rewinds to the 1990s, where an incredulous Peyton discovers his brother Eli watching NFL games on his cell phone. Decked out in ’90s gear and sporting that decade’s over-the-top haircuts, the two launch into an old-school hip-hop duet, backed up by brass hits, bass slides, chimes, and an MPC drum beat, not to mention a trio of black-clad songstresses. The video frolics from New Orleans’ French Quarter to high-end cocktail parties, taking shots at everyone from Alexander Graham Bell to a bystander using his “phone as a phone,” according to a report by the National Association of Broadcasters.

     

    Having just worked with Butter on a funny Dairy Queen spot, Grey Group CD Steven Fogel approached them to create a jingle from his agency’s rough outline and script. Butter created several treatments of the song, ultimately settling on a “football on your phone” hook that was appropriately raunchy and catchy.

     

    One of the project’s highlights was working with the Manning brothers. “Working with Peyton and Eli was amazing,” Butter EP Ian Jeffreys notes. “They are true professionals. They drove three hours to get to an eight-hour shoot, where they had to get into costume and makeup, shoot the ad, shoot a photo spread, record 19 radio scripts, and record the actual song, which they had never heard before. I was seriously impressed by their work ethic and stamina. There was no drama, no attitude – just get it done.”

     

    Butter showed up on shoot day to find that they were sharing an enormous room with the photo crew and two dozen others, creating a racket that would make it difficult to capture high-quality vocals. Accustomed to finding solutions on the fly, Butter made some phone calls. “Our saving grace was our rental company, Studio 101 NOLA,” Jeffreys recalls. “Our contact there, DJ Boudreaux, found a friend with a collapsible vocal booth. It was pricey, but it was our only shot to do this right – without clean vocals, the whole day would be wasted. So DJ shows up with what looks like a church confessional booth. Apparently, a dentist with a songwriting hobby had his cabinetmaker build a vocal booth in his basement, then sold it when he moved. It was a wacky contraption, but it saved our asses.”

  • TV industry targets heavy VOD buyers, TV valuable customer for commercials

    TV industry targets heavy VOD buyers, TV valuable customer for commercials

    NEW DELHI: Highly addressable advertising has been a long-standing plan for the TV business, which wants to rival the ad targeting available online, and the biggest beneficiary of addressable commercials so far may be the TV industry itself even as marketers want to make their spending more efficient.

    Cable networks like Starz and HBO have begun trying DirecTV’s addressable advertising platform to find specific viewers who they believe would actually be interested in their shows. Cable and satellite operators, meanwhile, are taking advantage of the system to more efficiently target specific customers and get current subscribers to upgrade.

    Such advertising could be most effective for the actual TV operators, said Visible World executive VP- marketing and research Claudio Marcus. Visible world provides targeting technology to Cablevision.

    According to the National Association of Broadcasters of the United States, this is partly because paid TV services do not want to waste sign-up ads on people who already shell out for the product. Other kinds of marketers have a greater interest in marketing to current customers, so they’ll stick with the brand for their next box of crackers or new smartphone.

    It can also be laborious to match specific households with the cars or packaged goods they buy but pay-TV operators like DirecTV know exactly which premium channels each of its households pays for.

    “People are telling us they have enough TV,” said Media Storm co-founder and managing partner Craig Woerz. Media Storm’s clients including WeTV and NFL Network use DirecTV’s addressable advertising. “We need to make it more personalised and break through the clutter. We don’t want to break through with everyone, just the right people, who will be highly engaged.”

    “Clients using addressable advertising are seeing a 20-40 per cent higher tune in rate than those not doing it,” informed Woerz.

    Addressable commercials let you plan a TV campaign the way you would plan digital, said Starz exec VP-marketing Nancy McGee, which has run two campaigns using DirecTV’s addressable system. “Addressable makes sense in light of how people are consuming TV, cherry-picking programming and networks,” she said.

    The premium cable channel tested a small campaign in March, urging viewers to add Starz, and followed up in June with a promotion for the premiere of the second season of “Magic City.”

    In the initial test, which ran over five days, Starz showed ads to non-subscribers who frequently bought movies on demand or who subscribed to other premium channels, groups that the network believed had a higher propensity to be won over.

    The network saw a 49 per cent higher jump in sales among viewers who saw the ads than in a control group, McGee said, adding that the system provides information on how many people were exposed to the campaign, how many watched it live and in playback, on which network they saw it and during which part of the day.

    HBO, too, has used the DirecTV system for a campaign pegged to Game of Thrones, showing commercials to consumers who met criteria such as frequent VOD orders, on the same logic that Starz applied. It will run a similar effort later this year for the return of Boardwalk Empire.

    HBO is still learning, according to HBO director, domestic network distribution Gina DeSantis. But the network intends to increase its investment in addressable ads next year, she said.

    Scripps Networks is early in its exploration of addressable advertising, using it to send programming messages to viewers based on geographic location, said VP, national accounts, content and marketing group Brent Scott.

    “There are so many shows and competitive networks, if you can pinpoint a specific customer you have a better chance of tune in,” he said. “Why advertise to DirecTV’s entire customer base of 20 million if 19 million of those have no interest. I’d rather reach a couple of hundred thousand that are interested.”

    “In a lot of ways what we are doing here is no different than what Spotify is doing, what Amazon has been doing for years,” said DirecTV exec VP- chief revenue and marketing officer Paul Guyardo. “They see what you like to purchase, they see the songs you like to listen to, and they serve up songs they think you might be interested in. We are only putting the commercials in homes of people that want to know more about new cars or a premiere of a particular show because it is a show they like to watch.”

    Auto, insurance and financial marketers have also been using the addressable technology, according to Guyardo, but the limits of the pay-TV systems’ reach have held back widespread adoption.

    Some in the TV business also worry about the impact of easy, highly targeted TV commercials. “There’s a fear factor,” said Marcus. “The concern is if media buys become more efficient, does money come out of the marketplace because advertisers can do more with less?”

    But the biggest challenge is educating the marketplace, with many media buyers and planners still thinking in traditional gross rating points, according to Guyardo.

    DirecTV is trying to overcome that by pitching directly to CMOs, especially those who are data-driven. “If they value and appreciate data and analytics and they have a good understanding of exactly who they want to target, the beauty of this addressable product is it provides all of the reach that they want without the waste,” Guyardo said.

  • Univision signs multi-year agreement with DirecTV

    Univision signs multi-year agreement with DirecTV

    MUMBAI: Univision Communications, the leading media company serving Hispanic America, has entered into a comprehensive multi-year agreement with the nation‘s leading satellite provider, DirecTV.

    The agreement includes carriage of Univision‘s owned and operated broadcast stations, as well as the network feeds for Univision and UniMás, and the leading Spanish-language cable network, Galavisión.

    In addition, DirecTV will launch Univision Deportes Network, the US home for Hispanic sports fans; Univision tlnovelas, home to the best telenovelas from Televisa 24-hours-a-day; and ForoTV, the round-the-clock cable news network where Hispanic America goes for an in-depth take on what‘s happening in Mexico and around the globe.

    DirecTV customers will also have access to thousands of hours of Univision‘s best content anywhere, anytime on their PC, tablet or mobile device, through the DirecTV Everywhere platform and UVideos, the bilingual digital network for Hispanic America.

    "Our Spanish-language customers have been anticipating the launch of these new channels and we are excited to provide them with even more of Univision‘s quality programming lineup," said DirecTV chief content officer Dan York.

    "With the addition of Univision Deportes, DirecTV now offers more soccer than any TV provider nationwide, delivering additional value to our customers and further solidifying our position as the leader in sports programming."

    "We are pleased to expand our relationship with DirecTV. This comprehensive agreement speaks to DirecTV‘s commitment to Hispanic audiences and the power of Univision‘s platforms to deliver subscriber growth," said Univision Content Distribution and Corporate Business Development President Tonia O‘Connor.

  • 3net reaches 40 mn households in two years

    3net reaches 40 mn households in two years

    MUMBAI: 3net, the joint venture 3D network from Discovery, Sony and Imax, has reached 40 million US households even as it approaches its second anniversary on 13 February

    3net is available across five programme distribution affiliates, including DirecTV, Comcast, Service Electric Cablevision and Netflix.

    In addition to the network‘s specials, concerts and one-off documentaries debuted over the past two years, February also marks a programming milestone for 3net, as the network premieres its 13th 3D series.

    3net said it has benefited significantly from the rise of 3D TV adoption, with 3D televisions currently in almost one quarter of all homes in the U.S. and industry forecasts for significant further growth in 2013. By contrast, HD television had achieved low single digit household penetration at the same point in its evolutionary cycle more than a decade ago.

    3net president, CEO Tom Cosgrove said, “With 3D televisions already in nearly 25 million US households – and industry predictions of dramatic in-home 3D growth this year – we celebrate our second anniversary with a continued commitment to meeting the ever-growing consumer appetite for high-quality, original 3D television content.

    “We‘re proud to make our unique brand of immersive, original 3D programming available to more than 40 million US homes, and we look forward to further growth in the in-home 3D market as more consumers embrace the format – particularly as the electronics industry continues to include 3D as a feature available in nearly all of the new television models available to consumers this year, including every UHD/4K set coming to market.”

    3net also recently launched 3net Studios, with an overarching mission to fuel not only the flagship US channel service, but also to make the highest quality native 3D and 4K content available to consumers around the globe through a broad array of international distribution partners.

    ‘Crazy Land‘ is a new original series which explores the great American subcultures and the unusual people who inhabit them. In the first episode, ‘Real Life Super Heroes‘, young people are donning masks and capes to create a new breed of true-life super heroes. These costumed crusaders are putting themselves on the front line, whether by confronting muggers, drug dealers or feeding the homeless.

  • Viacom in spat with Cablevision over fees

    Viacom in spat with Cablevision over fees

    MUMBAI: More than three million Cablevision customers may start 2013 without receiving 17 Viacom cable network channels as a result of the two parties‘ dispute over programming fees, The New York Post reported.

    The channel network and cable operator‘s five-year deal expires on 31 December and the former is now demanding an increase in fees in the renewed contract.
    Viacom‘s argument is that it accounts for 20 per cent of viewing but only eight per cent of Cablevision‘s overall programming fees, according to the publication.

    Earlier this year, Viacom was involved in a similar spat with DirecTV‘s which caused the operator‘s 20 million customers to lose Viacom‘s channels for nine days in July. The two parties were forced to reconcile after extensive discontent among viewers. Both sides suffered from the prolonged blackout, with Viacom losing ad revenue and DirecTV shedding subscribers. Its dispute over distribution fees with the Tribune Co. lasted more than two months and deprived customers in New York of local station WPIX 11.

    Viacom has been investing in programming to boost flagging ratings at its youth-oriented channels, home to popular shows such as "Teen Mom," "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "SpongeBob Squarepants."

  • Time Warner secures deal with DirecTV for Lakers channel

    Time Warner secures deal with DirecTV for Lakers channel

    MUMBAI: Leading US pay-TV platform DirecTV has entered into an agreement with the new Time Warner Cable SportsNet and Deportes to make the Lakers and other local teams available to Southern California customers.

    With this deal, Time Warner now has carriage agreements in place with several distributors including Cox Communications, Charter Communications, Verizon Communications Inc and AT&T. It is believed that Time Warner Cable has paid about $2 billion over 20 years for local broadcasting rights to Lakers‘ games.

    The two channels are the local TV homes for Los Angeles Lakers, LA Galaxy and Los Angeles Sparks games, as well as in-depth, dedicated, team-focused programming.

    Time Warner Cable SportsNet will be available for DirecTV customers on channel 691 throughout Southern California (Los Angeles, San Diego, Bakersfield and parts of Fresno) as well as Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, Las Vegas and Hawaii. Time Warner Cable Deportes will be available on channel 458.

    "DirecTV is pleased that Los Angeles Lakers, LA Galaxy and Los Angeles Sparks games and programming will now be seen by so many people whose loyalty remains the life‘s blood to each team," said DirecTV chief content officer Dan York. "We appreciate our customers’ patience and are happy to have arrived at an outcome that benefits everyone involved. We know that our customers will enjoy the great programming of these three franchises for many years to come.”

    “Our partners at DirecTV value Southern California sports as much as we do and we’re thrilled to work with them to bring Lakers, Galaxy and Sparks games and programming to our viewers,” said Time Warner Cable Sports SVP Dan Finnerty. “Time Warner Cable SportsNet and Time Warner Cable Deportes will help bring DirecTV customers closer to these teams than they have ever been before.”

  • TV ad spend in sports grows to $10.9 bn in the US: Nielsen

    TV ad spend in sports grows to $10.9 bn in the US: Nielsen

    MUMBAI: National TV sports in the US generated $10.9 billion in advertising expenditure last year, compared to $10.3 billion one year prior, according to Nielsen’s State of the Media: Year in Sports.

    Measuring ad spend during sporting events on network and cable TV from Q4 2010 through Q3 2011, Nielsen also saw that cable has an increasing share of those ad dollars—growing 37.3 per cent year over year compared to 5.9 per cent for sports ad spending in general.

    TV sports advertising is dominated by a few big spenders, with the top 10 led by AT&T, Bud Light, Verizon Wireless, McDonald’s and DirecTV—accounting for roughly a quarter (26 per cent) of the total spend during that time period.

    The increase in TV ad spend mirrors a similar increase in the amount of live TV sports content available on TV and cable. There were more than 42,500 hours of live sporting events on national broadcast and cable TV in 2011, a five per cent increase over 2010.