Day Two General Session – Digital Bread Crumbs

By
June 16, 2011
The Cable Show 2011

From left to right: Moderator: Maria Bartiromo (CNBC), Bill Tucker (MediaVest USA), Tim Spengler (Initiative) and Bill Koenigsberg (Horizon Media).

It’s always befuddled me a little how the worlds of cable ad sales and cable operations seem to sometimes run on parallel tracks.  I know I’ve had personal conversations with cable ad sales people here in Chicago, a Comcast town, in which I use the name “Brian Roberts,” only to find it draws some blank stares.

Similarly, some of the most powerful and important people in this industry – namely, the media buyers at some of the biggest agencies in the country– are sometimes unknown to the at-large cable population.

Today, I saw an example of this disconnect.  At the final segment of the Day Two General Session, CAB’s Sean Cunningham introduced a panel of three of the most important media buyers on the planet, Bill Koenigsberg of Horizon Media, Tim Spengler of Intiative and MediaVest’s Bill Tucker, along with moderator, Maria Bartiromo.

What I found most ironic was the fact that for two days I’d been hearing people speculating on how new technology, wireless devices and mobility might influence consumer behavior. Yet, by the time three guys took the stage  – key folks who are so good at what they do that advertisers give them significant dollars every quarter to invest on their behalf – some audience members had left.

It turned out to be my single most enlightening session of the show so far.

Among the highlights:

  • When asked, generally, where the money was headed, Tucker said it was clearly moving to cable, adding that a significant portion is also moving to digital.
  • Koenigsberg agreed, saying that during this year’s upfront, cable outperformed broadcast for the first time ever.  He then added that there’s also dollars being poured into online video and “the social bucket.”
  • Spengler said demand is up, so prices are up.
  • All three called for caution moving forward. For the second half of 2011 and early 2012, Tucker said there’s a “soft patch” in the road ahead and that consumers – and advertisers – will be cautious.
  • Koenigsberg said the jury’s still out on the second half of the year and that he sensed “fear in the scatter market.”  He added that while the auto sector is strong, job growth and unemployment remain a concern for advertisers.
  • He also said that while the ad market remains strong, that strength is relative to some major cutbacks that advertisers made a few years back.  What’s more, he said the upfront’s strength should not be mistaken for a barometer of the future, which remains a little hazy.
  • Tucker said that measurement is not keeping up with technology, and it needs to – especially in a three-screen world.  He also said social media must become embraced more fully by the measuring metrics.  “The digital bread crumbs are there,” he said.
  • Spengler said it’s not who’s watching, it’s who’s taking an action based on what they’re watching: “We’re investing heavily in trying to find that data.”
  • He also said that social media are helping define brands, and that those brands are now operating, as we all are, in a mobile and social world.
  • Koenigsberg called for a common social currency.  “What are we trading on?” he asked;  “In a world in which billions are being invested, we need consistency.”

America’s Second Lady, Jill Biden, Thanks Military Families & Cable

By
June 16, 2011
The Cable Show 2011

The Cable Show’s third day continues.  Following the Paula Zahn interview with Oprah Winfrey, America’s second lady, Jill Biden, addressed the general session. Biden, a blue star mother, has a family member serving in the military.  She has made the mobilization of support for military families a priority during her tenure as America’s number-two wife.

Biden related the story of a young girl who broke into tears in a classroom after hearing Ave Maria.  The song had been played at the funeral of her father who had been killed in combat.  Biden worked to create a program that helps teachers support the special needs of children from military families.

In addition, Biden, together with Michelle Obama, created Joining Forces, a community program for military families that helps with jobs, education and support services.

After highlighting several other programs to assist military families, she touted the Administration’s efforts in this area.

She closed with a note of thanks to the cable industry for the programming and philanthropy efforts that give back to the military and their loved ones.

Brian Roberts Demonstrates Gigabit Hybrid And Cloud Guide

By
June 16, 2011
The Cable Show 2011

Rumors have been swirling at The Cable Show about Brian Roberts’ keynote and the new initiative Comcast would be rolling out.  Roberts had several announcements to make and didn’t disappoint.

First, Roberts announced that the next step in Project Infinity is to take the information out of the set top box and put it in the cloud.

The traditional EPG is being replaced with a cloud based guide and an RF remote that no longer requires line of sight.  The new guide will allow you to use the numerical keys on your remote like a keyboard, so typing 426 will find HBO, so the user no longer needs to remember the channel number.  Searching 282 could yield search results for QVC, the movie Avatar, the Chicago Cubs, etc.

The guide also features a recommendation engine that will suggest programming across a variety of viewing options.

Comcast has also integrated Facebook into their guide allowing you to see shows that your friends like as a search for television.  It also allows you to Like programs from within the guide to share that information with your friends.

Saving the best for last, Roberts demonstrated the next stage in the evolution of the cable’s high-speed network.  Over 11 miles of cable plant in Chicago, Comcast is testing, over a fiber/coax hybrid network, speeds in excess of 1gbps.

To demonstrate that speed, Roberts downloaded an entire season of 30 Rock in HD in roughly a minute and a half.

Oprah Talks With Paula Zahn at the Cable Show

By
June 16, 2011
The Cable Show 2011

As the final day of the Cable Show gets underway, special guest Oprah Winfrey joined Paula Zahn for a discussion of what it is to be a brand and starting her own television network – the Oprah Winfrey Network.

Oprah says they understand the pulse of her audience, and focuses on nourishing that relationship with her viewers.  She said the Oprah show came out of the truth of who she is, and that is the reason for its success.

With this network, Oprah says she is not interested in throwing shows against a wall, but wants to create shows that open a “heartspace” with the viewer, such that when you leave them you feel better.

Having set a self-imposed three-year deadline to make her network successful, she says that a network is harder to do because she knows what she can do, but finds it hard to judge what other shows can do.  The secret she says, is finding your flow so you are not pushing against it.

Finding a show that resonates and serves the audience is her goal, and she says if she can do that the people will come.  The audience, she says, have sent her emails telling her they are looking for a sense of empowerment.  That is what she is striving for.

Asked who is on her wish list – who she would like to put on the air – she says that her new show, Oprah’s Next Chapter, will be like the magazine.  The magazine, she said, includes only interviews with people that she finds interesting.  She would like to interview Susan Smith not only because she murdered her children, but because of the racial tensions her lie created.  She would also like to interview O.J. Simpson because she has a dream that he will confess to her.

She says the fact that a young girl from a shotgun house in Mississippi can end up creating the OWN network makes that dream possible.

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Michael Turk is a Partner in CRAFT | Media / Digital, a full-spectrum communications agency.  Learn more about CRAFT at www.craftdc.com.

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