Barnako.com

Why bloggers and podcasters should be happy about a Comcast/NBC deal

The report that Comcast has been discussing a deal to buy 51% of NBC Universal is good news for bloggers and podcasters.

It is evidence that a company with wires into hundreds of thousands of households sees the future online.  Comcast saw its broadband sign ups last quarter nearly double from a year ago as people turn to the Internet for more and more of their information and entertainment.

You might argue that getting a lock on NBC programming is a defensive move.  Even though the network’s audience has been shrinking ever since Seinfeld had his last cup of coffee at Monk’s Cafe (aka Tom’s Restaurant in real life), NBC shows attract millions of viewers a night.  Consider like ‘30 Rock’ and ‘Trauma’ as loss leaders to build foot traffic for Comcast’s other programming, its owned cable channels.  They include the Golf Channel, E!, and lots of sports.  NBC, on the other hand has cable, too, including Bravo, CNBC, and USA Networks.  (Photo courtesy of Flickr.)

A few decades ago, the Big Three networks owned it all.  Now, cable channels targeting cooks, gardeners, gays, farmers, and gamers are vacuuming up advertising dollars.  And, soon, the Internet.  In the UK, Net advertising already eclipses TV ad dollars.

While the average TV household watches ‘only’ 17 of the several hundred channels available, that's 500% more than when there were just NBC, ABC, and CBS. The growth has come from special interest programming.

And what is online audio and video? Nothing but special interest programming.  You offer me high-protein programming about Macintoshes, digital photography, and start-up investing opportunities, and I’m there.  Goodbye CBS shows or, at least, get me a DVR that records three shows at the same time for later viewing.

The point is that there are more than 125,000 podcasts available on iTunes.  Many could be aggregated into special interest channels, and programmed into a 24/7 wheel of audio or video.

If Comcast or any cable company is going to grow, the challenge it faces is to bring more people into the tent at the same time that those people have more narrow interests in content. 

I think Comcast is recognizing that tomorrow’s cable channels are today's Netcasts.  By adding NBC’s mass appeal programming and niche channels, the number one cable company’s strategy is to grow its subscriber numbers by constantly promoting of its ‘old’ cable channels and to fertilize the green shoots of a thousand more 'new' flowering programmers.

Vonage founder: next big thing is Net video

Jeff Pulver is moving on after missing the gold ring. 

A company he founded 8 years ago grew into Vonage, after Jeffrey Citron joined as CEO.  It did its IPO last month.  But Pulver had exited the company, selling most of his shares years ago. 

He's on to the next thing which he thinks is Internet video, he told the Wall Street Journal. The 43-year-old one-time software designer is now at work developing an Internet TV show and picking among Net TV companies which are seeking investors.  "The same DNA that disrupted the telecom industry is well on its way to totally revolutionizing the TV, film, and broadcast industries," he told the newspaper.

Pulver was into Voice Over IP long ago.  Then, it was called "Internet Telephony."  His "Voice on the Net" conferences have grown into major events. He stages them in the US internationally.  Boston will be the site of Fall 2006 VON.

Jeff's an intense guy, a self-described visionary, and a blogger.  Whatever happened at the company-which-became-Vonage was, for him, unfortunate.  He's still got time to grab for another brass ring.  Maybe it was Citron's big-money background and connections which made him attractive to the scrappy geek-startup-guy with glasses.  Odds are Pulver won’t be easily impressed again.

Of course, Net TV is also a different challenge.  While the tech to do it is cheap, there are lots of content-rich players in the game.  Knowing how to DO Net video, as Pulver does, is quite a different thing from having content people want to watch.  The tools become commodities. It's programming which differentiates. 

If Pulver wants to grow his trade show, and exhibitors' and attendees registration fee income, that's one thing.  Being a little guy among content giants is quite another.  Read the WSJ story.

CBS News: produce once, repeat often

CBS has launched its second Web site in less than a month.  In mid-May, it was Innertube, made up of video clips and some original program content. 

Today, it's Showbuzz (www.theshowbuzz.com), a one-stop site for recycled CBS News' entertainment coverage as well as for purchasing items including books, Broadway and movie tickets, and music. Ad sales in the entertainment section were so strong, CBS decided to create another standalone site to take advantage of the sponsor demand. Showbuzz features on-demand video news clips, maps, and blogs.

"The future of media companies, the future of the Web is about finding additional revenue streams for content you already have or to support the people who create that content," explained Larry Kramer, chief of CBS Digital, in comments to USA TODAY.

The risk in aggregating archival content into a supposedly 24/7 live Web site is obvious in Showbuzz's debut.  The Music page's lead item is a n almost 3-month old story about Billy Joel checking into rehab.  The story is also sourced from AP.  That's a sour note.

An analyst with Forrester Research is encouraging CBS in the idea of being a content and marketing site.  "There's definitely an opportunity, especially if it cuts across entertainment,"  Josh Bernoff told USAT.

In line with CBS's mantra, produce and report once, and reuse frequently, don't be surprised to see other "verticals" soon for Politics (it's an election year) and Health. 

Disclaimer: I own shares of CBS.