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TV Outside the Box

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the watching-some-internets dept.

C|Net has a story up looking at ways TV stations are moving online. An event on the subject was held during the annual marketing conference sponsored by the Television Bureau of Advertising. From the article: "For the first time, the conference was devoted to a single topic: the importance of the 'multiplatform'--that is, offering content and advertising not only on local broadcast stations but also online, on cell phones and other wireless devices, through video on demand and video iPods. The sole topic was intended to underscore that 'advertisers and their agencies are increasingly demanding a multiplatform strategy from all their media partners,' said Christopher Rohrs, president of the bureau, in a speech he gave to almost 1,200 attendees to begin the conference. "

1 of 55 comments (clear)

  1. Sucks to be them by Y-Crate · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's unfortunate, but the iTunes Video Store has completely robbed me of whatever tolerance I had remaining for advertising. The picture quality isn't the best, I can't burn it to a non-data-only DVD, but for $2 I can get any episode of any show right now with no ads. I can watch it on my 20" LCD, or take it with me.

    If The History Channel and HBO sign deals (and I know for a fact HBO is interested in working with Apple) I'll be tempted to give up cable TV altogether.

    The response to this is natural and expected. The advertisers are trying to be more and more invasive with their product, and are moving it away from "Necessary Annoyance" to "Shove It Down Our Throats". They spend millions to research the most effective campaigns, but fail to see that having scripts written around their products, forcing their ads into our pockets or similar efforts will only alienate the public and increase the adoption of services that shut them out of our lives even more.

    They are in a bad spot with few clear strategies for turning things around, but saturating every aspect of our lives with advertising and making it utterly impossible to escape it cannot be a sustainable solution. You will likely see a telemarketing/spam-esque backlash arise as a consequence.