Streaming television shows and other content has been spruiked for years as the trend that will change media consumption. Now it is finally catching up to those claims, with people increasingly logging on to get their entertainment fixes.
While Australian television catch-up services have been offered online since 2008, it is only in the last couple of years that advertisers and other stakeholders have realised how valuable they are.
For instance, last year the ABC’s iView service made international headlines when it released a new episode of Doctor Who hours after it aired in the UK. The move was partly designed to stop illegal streaming of the show but it also brought in a big success story for the ABC, with 75,900 plays in less than 24 hours. It also generated international media discussions around how legalised content can help steer viewers clear of illegal services.
When the World TV PC Blog reported the news of iView’s Doctor Who success, it found that independent copyright organisations like Intercept Media were already investigating ways to make legal streaming more appealing.
“We very much believe that if there are viable alternatives that do not punish the consumer then users will inherently gravitate towards them…if [primetime content] isn’t being provided on-demand, for free, in high-quality, then it’s the fault of the distribution pipelines – a common rationalisation for pirates,” Intercept Media’s chief executive Anton Andreacchio said.
Locally, Screen Australia has reported more people now watch official catch-up television services than unofficial options like BitTorrent and advertisers have begun to take online media more seriously as a result. The latest Online Advertising Expenditure Report (OAER) from IAB found online advertising investments reached $910.8 million for the March 2013 quarter. The OAER results more specifically show that video advertising was worth $27.6 million for the quarter, an increase of $8.8 million (or 46.8%) since March 2012.
Making Online TV Part of the Package
As online media consumption becomes more lucrative, broadcasters and production companies are faced with new decisions on how to transmit their shows.
In Andreacchio’s interview mentioned above, he noted that there was still a lot of risks surrounding these decisions.
“We really are at a fork in the road to different end points; one is to a monitored, rigid internet that prioritises the distributor over the consumer…the other is towards a more open media landscape, that prioritises the consumer over the distributor and encourages competitive ideas to capture the attention of the audience.” Andreacchio’s latter prediction seems to be coming true in 2013, particular in the US where streaming has become more established.
The dedicated online broadcaster Netflix is a shining example of online streaming success. Not only does it offer access to content from television channels, but also a range of newly commissioned shows.
The Netflix revival of previously-popular television show Arrested Development, for example, drew in old and new fans alike earlier in 2013, while other original shows the company has commissioned, like Orange Is The New Black are off to promising starts.
But the shining success for Netflix is undoubtedly its adaptation of BBC series House Of Cards, which received nine Primetime Emmy Award nominations in 2013. Both Arrested Development and Hemlock Grove also scored Emmy nods, giving Netflix a total of 14 nominations.
“We are overwhelmed with 14 nominations and honored (sic) by a warm welcome which confirms what we have always believed, that great television is great television regardless of where, when and how it is enjoyed,” Ted Sarandos, Netflix Chief Content Officer, said in response to the nominations.
Meanwhile, more traditional television shows are also getting a second wind online.
The CBS-commissioned series Under The Dome, for example, has increased its audience and profits through a lucrative streaming deal with Amazon that was set up before the show aired earlier this year.
While 13.6 million US viewers watched the first episode via traditional broadcasting options, the total number of views was boosted to over 20 million when delayed and streamed viewing figures came in.
As the LA Times explained in a feature about the show’s success, CBS had worked hard to create a new business model that focused heavily on the Amazon deal. “CBS designed the sci-fi drama — which costs nearly $3.5 million an episode to produce — to be profitable from Day One,” the LA Times said. “Key to the arrangement was a deal that CBS struck with Amazon.com four months before “Under the Dome” debuted in late June. The network agreed to make episodes available exclusively to Amazon.com subscribers a few days after they aired on CBS — substantially compressing broadcast TV’s exclusive window.”
CBS and Under The Dome – which is based on a Stephen King novel by the same name – have paved the way for similar broadcasting deals that work towards bridging the gaps between traditional and online entertainment options. But the move has been helped further by Nielsen’s decision in February 2013 to finally start measuring broadband audience numbers.
Close to all homes in the US had televisions that received service through broadcast, cable or satellite signals for years, but the number of homes without these services is now at 4.2% and growing every year.
Nielsen has estimated around three-quarters of those homes still have televisions, with their owners watching programming through game consoles or services like Netflix and Amazon.
From September, Nielsen will have meters that can monitor viewership in those homes, which means more accurate audience numbers and more appeal for advertisers on board with cross-platform productions.
While it may be a while before the numbers start to hit home, or for Australia to get its own version of Netflix, the changes in 2013 set the stage for a bright broadcasting future online.
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