SpectatorBytes

In an effort to increase TV audiences, the CW network has decided to stop streaming new episodes of Gossip Girl on the Web. To some extent, this decision seems to ignore evolving consumer media habits and appears to be founded on the hope that the traditional television model still works. While I understand the economic [...]

Last week, Paramount announced that they are forming a new venture with MGM and Lionsgate to launch a new pay for TV and VOD network (see here). This meant that Paramount opted for not renewing its distribution deal with Showtime Networks. While most of the discussion on this event has been focused on alleged animosity [...]

For content producers and providers, the Web is bound to create significant value in the middle. Much has been said about the Web’s long-tail over the past few years, and certainly many companies are focused on the “head” since most offline models have been built around the “head”. However, the middle – which some call [...]

Microsoft’s control over Yahoo has reminded me about the importance of “religion” to succeed in technology. I believe “religion” is one of the key underlying reasons why Yahoo’s management and board has resisted Microsoft’s overture. Digital media companies are founded and scaled around a particular “set of beliefs.” These beliefs reflect a particular way to [...]

Much is being written today about the imminent downturn in the economy and how it has started to impact overall business activity (see here). This has gotten me thinking about what are the potential implications for the digital media community over the next 18-24 months. Realities: – Consumers’ online usage will continue to increase at [...]

A couple of days ago, Fred Wilson posted an interesting note on the future of the music business (see here). Fred’s main point was that streaming will likely emerged as the new model for music online. Fred posits that given the increased availability of connectivity and portable connected devices, streaming will eventually prove to be [...]

Today’s major news headline is NewsCorp’s FIM sales reorganization (see here). While internal politics have been blamed for the changes in the blogosphere, in an strategic sense, I would expect the move to further help FIM built its brand advertising revenues. Here are some of the reasons why: – Increases focus on creating “scalable” custom [...]

Much has been said about Web 1.0 companies struggling to adapt to the current dynamics of the Web. No need to call it Web 2.0. The Web has simply evolved and conditions changed. The list of changes is pretty evident: – Broadband penetration has reached full scale – Product development costs have fallen dramatically – [...]