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March 2011

Turning Down the Radio, Slice by Budgetary Slice

[Commentary] These are frenzied days in Washington DC. They are also particularly dangerous ones for publicly-supported institutions that Republican politicians happen to dislike. With the threat of a complete government shut-down as their ultimate weapon, House Republicans are entering this year's budget round with some very clear targets in mind. High on that list of targets is the $445 million federal subsidy to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

The President's 2011 budget proposed to increase that subsidy by a meager $6 million. By contrast, the finance bill passed by the Republican-controlled House in February proposed the entire elimination of the subsidy by 2013. The sums involved are minute, given the size of the federal budget as a whole. They amount to roughly $1.39 per American per year: so removing the entire $445 million from the federal accounts will affect the overall budget arithmetic hardly at all. But for the Republicans, if not for the Democrats, there is more than money at stake here. For Republicans, the budget provides an opportunity, rather than a reason: a cover under which to deal finally and decisively with a target that has long loomed large in conservative demonology. The danger before us therefore is that - in the give and take of this year's torrid budget round, with negotiators caught between a call for a modest increase and one for total elimination - the Administration will give and the Republicans will take, and will take totally. We need to stop them.

NPR President Makes Public Plea Not To Have Federal Funds Cut

In a rare move, National Public Radio President and CEO Vivian Schiller appeared at the National Press Club to make a public case against Republican efforts to cut federal funding for public broadcasting. The NPR chief executive not only argued that her outlet fills a void left by a wave of cuts to private media companies, she claimed that public-radio listeners in rural areas would have no other access to news if their stations stopped broadcasts. As for the bottom line, Schiller noted that while government funding is just one source of revenue -- approximately 10 percent, she said -- it is a “critical cornerstone” and its removal would seriously hamper the outlet’s operations.

Google Controls 97 Percent Of Mobile Paid Search: Report

Almost 5 percent of paid search spending in the US is now in mobile, according to a report released last week from banking and investment firm Macquarie Group, using Efficient Frontier data. That mobile search spend could double to almost 10 percent by the end of this year if growth continues at an aggressive pace. Using some very rough math that would mean US mobile paid search could be worth approximately $1.1 billion (at least) by the end of 2011. And almost all that money would be Google’s.

The Missed Opportunity With Mobile

Most marketers look to the mobile channel as a way to connect with their consumers who are on the go. It's a way to stay connected with their audience 24/7, regardless of their location. You can reach them while they're in your store. You can hit them while they're waiting for the bus. Or while they're in line at the coffee shop. Or while they're at the playground sneaking a look at the gossip sites while the children frolic. And that's smart. Mobile is good at that. In many scenarios, mobile fills a void. It reaches people in certain situations that used to be completely free of marketing messages. As long as all sides of the ecosystem (publisher and advertiser) remain focused on delivering value to people in those scenarios, then the sudden appearance of marketing messages may not be a bad thing. In fact, it may be welcomed by many consumers.

To address this "on-the-go" consumer, content producers, app developers, and marketers tend to pursue two key categories:

  1. Utilities: Things like communication (speech to text, for example), social networking, maps, weather, movie times, restaurant reviews, location-relevant coupons/offers, and so on.
  2. Snack-sized entertainment: Video clips, news, sports scores, games, e-reading, music, camera fun (you know you love IncrediBooth and Hipstamatic), etc.

Again, that's smart. These are the kinds of things people need when they're on the go. But, here is an important note of caution: to focus entirely on that "out and about" consumer misses a significant opportunity. It turns out that nearly 40 percent of time spent on the mobile Internet happens at home. And another nearly 20 percent happens at work. In other words, almost 60 percent of time spent on the mobile Internet happens when there's presumably a Web-connected PC available. Yet, people are choosing to go to mobile first, foregoing the PC in favor of the small form factor and convenience of the mobile device.

Investing to Keep America’s Economy Strong ­- Broadband Performs

[Commentary] A just released New America Foundation report called the “Costs of the Infrastructure Deficit” examines the impacts of under-investing in infrastructure and the costs to households, businesses and the government due to increased maintenance expenditures, the waste of time due to poor infrastructure and the loss of efficiencies to the economy. The study looks at major infrastructures all supported in large measure by government funds and estimates the efficiency losses to the economy due to the failure to invest adequately in each type of infrastructure. The total efficiency losses to the economy each year due to poor, inadequately maintained and modernized infrastructure is $195 billion. These are all major areas of infrastructure that are the responsibility largely of government. A recent assessment by the American Association of Civil Engineers gives governments at all levels a “D” on average when it comes to supporting modernization and upgrading of infrastructure. Efficiency and productivity are important elements of successful competition in the global economy and this is why these numbers are cause for worry.

Broadband technology is another major platform which the economy depends on. In fact, in the “knowledge economy” of today which Robert Shapiro and others have studied, it is a critical underpinning of our economy’s ability to grow and out produce other nations. While some criticize the broadband sector in the U. S., the vast majority of work looking at the productivity impacts of broadband networks on the economy has overwhelmingly found that it greatly enhances the efficiency of our economy. One big reason this is so is that investment in broadband networks has continued to remain at very high annual levels for many years. One recent study commissioned by the Federal Communications Commission, for example, found that counting from 2007, a cumulative total of over $450 billion was expected to be invested by broadband providers by 2015. $244 billion of that was broadband capex as opposed to other expenditures for maintenance and the like. Another reason is the highly innovative, dynamic ecosystem that has been created around broadband networks, applications, software, devices and operating systems.


March 17-19, 2011
Washington, DC
http://www.nten.org/ntc


Broadcasting Board of Governors

Friday, March 11, 2011
11am
Radio and TV Martí
Miami, Florida
www.bbg.gov


With Fairy Tales and Alternate Realities, TV Pilots Go High Concept

This spring, US television networks are testing out unusual -- and even bizarre -- ideas for TV shows as the networks look for ways to stand out from a growing deluge of entertainment options.

The five biggest English-language TV networks are starting production on roughly 80 pilot episodes for new scripted shows. By mid-May, each network will select anywhere from a handful to a dozen of the pilots to make into TV series for its fall lineup. But after turning up few big hits last season, some TV executives say they are working on a larger number of "noisy" -- industry jargon for conspicuous or atypical -- ideas in an effort to be noticed. A rebounding ad market also is making TV executive more bullish about taking risks. There are at least five pilots set decades, even more than a century, in the past. Over a dozen potential shows involve magic, fairy tales or explore an alternate reality. And a handful started with crude titles. Hits have become harder to find in recent years as the broadcast-TV audience continues to drift to cable. The five biggest English-language networks averaged 5.8 % fewer viewers for their prime-time shows through Feb. 27 this season than they did a year earlier, according to Nielsen Co. The rise of Internet video can make it even harder to stand out.

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