An Example of Broadcast Stations Not Getting It

What’s wrong with traditional broadcast companies? One of the big debates in the world of technology today is the role of media — copyright issues, revenue from online content, etc. Traditional broadcasters pull stunts left and right to try and make sure viewers turn on their televisions at a certain day and time to watch a program and sit through the commercials. This business model is already dead. If DVRs and sites like Hulu weren’t enough, the world of podcasting and direct-to-internet programming (a la Diggnation, The Guild, or Dr. Horrible) are increasingly profitable. One of the web’s most profitable broadcasters, Leo Laporte, has said he’s had to turn down numerous offers by sponsors to advertise on his show “This Week in Tech.” So why can’t traditional broadcasters draw in the same kind of advertising fervor?

Well, the truth is, they could — if they bothered to understand the point of new media or the kind of person who consumes it. If today you downloaded the podcast version of the NBC Nightly News (a podcast which I subscribe to), you’d see a clear example of the ineffective use of this medium. During the program’s commercial breaks, NBC has chosen to place ads for its own broadcast shows, such as the Today Show’s Toyota Concert Series, airing on television only; or the Rachel Maddow show, airing on MSNBC weeknights at 9pm.

Traditional broadcast media fundamentally doesn’t understand the nature of new media. I’m watching the NBC Nightly News on a podcast because I don’t want to slog through watching sub-par, low-cost, high ad revenue concerts on television hogging air time (but hey, at least they’re not advertising reality TV). Why choose to advertise this kind of programming to an audience that clearly isn’t interested? However, it’s the Rachel Maddow advertisement that’s the most ironic, considering that the entire show is available via download in podcast form. Why not advertise that? If I can’t be bothered to sit down for the half-hour duration of the nightly news, what makes NBC think I’d be eager to do so for an hour-long program that airs during prime time (when I’m usually watching Netflix anyway)?

For that matter, why not place a real advertisement in the podcast? The reason traditional broadcast companies are finding it difficult to make money in online media is because they aren’t even trying. Profitable podcasts don’t have advertising spots for their other podcasts — truly interested parties will take the time to find those projects on their own. Instead, profitable podcasts use their viewership to (revolutionarily) sell advertising space. I bought Michelob because they advertised on Diggnation, and I looked into Squarespace and Audible because of their spots on TWiT. Online media advertising works, in part because it’s dynamic and well-targeted. That’s something even tradition television advertising can’t seem to do well.

Broadcast media needs to wake up and see that their traditional business models are breaking down just as much as the music industry’s. I watch podcasts and record my television to watch it when I want to watch it. Spending your valuable advertising space trying to drive me to sit down in front of my television at a certain time of day is folly — that’s not how television works anymore, and it’s time to move on.