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March

30 2017

Linear TV through YouTube: the millennials are back!

Lately, there is an increasing debate about the future of linear television. But is there a growing number of viewers choosing to exchange old fashioned linear television for VOD services as Netflix and YouTube as often claimed? And is linear TV perceived as old-fashioned by millennials?

Nielsen research (2016) revealed that only 11% of the viewers in Europe pay for broadcasts or VOD services. And in countries like The Netherlands and The United Kingdom paid VOD services are only used at an average of 15 minutes a day. Still the Dutch viewers watch at an average of 183 minutes (2016) linear TV per day. The British even watch more TV: at an average of 240 minutes per day. So the share of paid VOD viewing compared to linear TV viewing is limited. Television is still a mass medium.

That’s why vloggers go multiscreen. The Dutch online Katwalk format – about fashion, beauty and entertainment – was first distributed on Dutch RTL Multi Channel Network in 2016 and later on was launched at one of RTL’s commercial TV channels (RTL5). But not only local players are attracted to linear TV distribution. Also international players like to distribute their video content via linear TV. This year (2017) Facebook announced to distribute video content in an app at cable’s set top boxes, and video platform Vice already offers linear programming at the American and Dutch cable systems.

However, also a reverse trend is observable. A growing number of traditional TV channels are distributing their content through online platforms. Earlier this year CBS announced to offer television subscriptions in co-operation with Google. Comparable deals are planned with the FOX sports FX and National Geographic Channel. Also YouTube announced the launch of YouTube Unplugged, a service which will distribute several traditional American networks like CBS, ABC and ESPN. This could also be a new opportunity for Dutch networks to appeal to a younger audience. But the networks have chosen to distribute their channels through their own catch-up online platforms.

The online distribution of the Dutch channels through international platforms could interest millennials in linear viewing. Certainly, because many new online TV channels are distributing premium (linear) content. A video platform as Crackle offers high quality programmes as Comedian in cars getting coffee and action series like Cleaners (about a professional trained team of hit men). AOL originals even created a talk show format – Parkbench – in which Steve Buscemi follows various famous friends in New York. The show won (2016) an Emmy award for best short-form variety series on Sunday.

It is striking that even online channels exist, which are linear watched. Channels like Twitch (gaming) and the channel Spongebob are examples of this.

It has been a recurring theme among media experts that millennials have rejected linear TV. Probably this is due to the old-fashioned image of the traditional way of viewing (terrestrial and cable TV) and especially when one takes into account the rise of all types of linear online channels. So, European broadcasters in general and Dutch broadcasters in particular should think about distributing their linear channels through YouTube. Distributing channels through YouTube could imply that millennials massively will watch ‘linear TV’, but only online.

Charles Vaneker

Senior Research and Media consultant

Posted by Klapper | 0 Comment | in Geen categorie, Multi Channel Network, Nederlandse kijker, Nederlandse televisie, Netflix, NL Ziet, online video, online video formats, RTL MCN, RTL Nederland

December

30 2016

The most bizarre, extreme and innovative TV formats

Television channel distribution in 2017 will be challenged by all kind of streaming services that will deliver standard digital and satellite TV packages over the internet to phone, television, and tablet. This will not only revolutionise creativity (fusion of data analysis and creativity development) but also helps advertisers to get insights in what is working. Although OTT and digital will grow, OTT services like Netflix and Amazon probably will focus on the development of fiction. So traditional television still will be a significant factor for the development of non-fiction like reality, talk, gameshows, and creating reach for advertisers. A report of Strategy Analytics Digital Media Strategies (DMS) service – Top Ten Digital Media Predictions for 2017 – supports this. American brands will re-evaluate the importance of reach and will be selling television advertising based upon total audience ratings in 2017. So traditional television is and will be an important factor in creating reach by the development of new creative formats.

So in this blog I would like to look back in 2016 on the most extreme and innovative formats. One of the most remarkable formats was Resurrection Makeover made by Fiji TV. The programme revives a deceased person by use of high tech make-over techniques, so a dead loved person can be re-united with a family member. The format clip shows a wife – who lost her husband (died of cancer) – encountering a look-alike actor at the house door and singing the wife beloved song.

Another remarkable format shown on Sky 1 was Dogs might fly. The show deals with 12 dogs that were picked from dog care centers across the United Kingdom to undergo all sorts of challenges, from a puppetry performance to a drum lesson, a speedboat ride, a rock performance to a drum lesson. The best performing dogs were trained to fly a plane.

The National Geographic programme Mygration gave an innovative twist to the well-known survivor format. The series follow 20 elite men and women who try to survive a six week journey across the African plains, and trace the paths of the African wildlife.

The last worthwhile tv-format to mention, is Stars of Science. The format was initiated by the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, an important innovation platform in the region. It is a Pan-Arab edutainment reality format that challenges 12 science and technology entrepreneurs to collaborate with industry leading mentors developing all sort of innovative products. At the end a jury supported by public voting decides upon the four winners of the challenge, who take a share in a $600.000 prize.

I wonder which extreme and innovative formats will appear in 2017.

Charles Vaneker
Senior Media and Research consultant

Posted by Klapper | 0 Comment | in : tv-trend, Dogs might fly, Mygration, Netflix, NL Ziet, Resurrection Makeover, Stars of Science, tv-format

July

13 2016

Will television survive the competition?

Gary Carter – former COO of Fremantle media – pointed out at the MPJC congress in 2012 that successful television formats travel in as many countries as possible. But with the arrival of social media as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube this is no longer the case.

Today format producers can monetize video productions in different ways. Amazon Video Direct – launched in May 2016 – offers producers a 55% share in advertisement revenues and YouTube offers a 68% share. A video as Gangam Style distributed by YouTube and reaching a billion views in 2013, yielded almost 8 million dollars of revenue.

It is one of the main reasons why traditional TV networks all around the world invest in the their own online distribution platforms or platforms as YouTube. This year Rupert’s Murdoch 21^st Century FOX and Sky invested 15 million dollar in its own online streaming service FuboTV. A subscription to the service costs 10 US dollars per month, and the service offers different sport channels, series, documentaries in Portuguese, Spanish and English. A major player in the Dutch market RTL Nederland now provides a MCN, distributing Dutch spoken web series, celebrity video content and regular TV-content. The company also owns a majority stake in the MCNs Divimove and Stylehaul. The digital strategy of the organization is aimed at creating reach, content production and distribution of content.

Especially traditional TV-networks can’t hang back due to severe competition from different new media companies. On the one hand because a large international player as Netflix globalizes and distributes films and series in more than 130 territories including the major Asian markets as China, India and Korea. According to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings – keynote speaker at the Consumer Technology Assocation (2016) – this will continue in the coming years. On the other hand Netflix is also investing in the production of local fiction and non-fiction as series like Crown (UK), Marseille (France) and Suburra (Italy).

But also private video platforms like the Dutch Makers Channel (beauty, comedy and cooking etc.) and Belgiam WeZooZ (animal, recipes, mobility etc.) compete with traditional TV networks by producing their own content. And we not even mentioned important global players as YouTube and Apple Music, that produce their own web series. This year Apple Music (March) launched the Score, a docu series that explores local music scenes around the world like a new hip-hop style originating from the Ojibwa tribe living in the Minnesota’s Red Lake reservation. And Apple Music announced the launch of a six-episode drama – Vital Signs – produced by none other than Dr. Dre.

Even branded video channels of Burberry challenge traditional TV networks by debuting on Apple TV. The channel spotlights its fashion collections and offers beauty tutorials from make-up artist Wendy Rowe and shows original movies from Burberry’s Acoustic musicians.

The result of the emergence of new video platforms is that even the licensing of video formats is no longer the exclusive domain of traditional TV networks, producers and distributors. The American Fine Brothers Entertainment – owner of the famous YouTube REACT channel – started licensing various shows to other video channels. Shows included are the video formats Kids React, Teens React, Elders React, Adults React, React Gaming, Do They Know It, People Vs. Food, Lyric Breakdown, Try Not to Smile or Laugh, Opinions and People Vs Technology videos. The most well known format is ‘React format’. In Kids React one can see reactions of kids to a video game viewed at the Mine Cart channel, followed by clips of children reacting to questions as why they are watching or not watching the Mine Cart channel. The adult version of the ‘React format’ shows adults reacting to performances of the famous singer Prince.

But are traditional TV networks no longer suited to monetize on TV formats? Perhaps it is not so bad at all, because many video platforms like to bring their video formats to television. In 2015 the US video platform Vice announced to produce 37 news specials for the American pay channel HBO and the Dutch MCN Social 1nfluencers distributes its content of well known vloggers (the video format Nice friends/ Fijne Vrienden) at the lineair SBS channel Veronica and the SBS’s internet channel S1.tv.

Probably traditional TV networks can limit the damage of diminishing revenues by following a multi screen digital strategy.

Charles Vaneker

Senior Research and Media Consultant

Posted by Klapper | 0 Comment | in Amazon Video Direct, Crown, Divimove, FuboTV, Makers Channel, Marseille, Netflix, React Channel, RTL MCN, RTL Nederland, SBS, social media, Stylehaul, Suburra, Vice.

November

05 2014

Neemt lineair tv-kijken vooral af bij fictie?

Televisieprogramma’s kijken op een ander moment dan uitgezonden door de zender, wordt aangeduid als niet-lineair tv-kijken, waaronder het uitgesteld kijken (UGK). Uit het SPOT jaarrapport van 2013 kan men constateren dat in de periode van 2010-2013 het niet-lineair kijken is toegenomen, vooral het uitgesteld kijken. Het UGK is toegenomen van 2,1% van de totale tv-kijktijd in 2010 (191 min./dag) tot 4,6% van de totale kijktijd in 2013 (195 min./dag).

De conclusie die vaak wordt getrokken is dat mensen steeds minder lineair tv-kijken, dus niet meer één op één een tv-programma bekijken. Maar niet alleen het uitgesteld kijken neemt toe, ook andere vormen van niet-lineair kijken snoepen tijd af van het lineair tv-kijken. Hierbij gaat het om het bekijken van opgenomen programma’s op DVD- of HD-recorders, dat ook is toegenomen van 4,2% van de totale kijktijd in 2010 tot 5,6% in 2013. En daarnaast wordt er ook online video op platforms gekeken als Netflix, HBO Go en NL Ziet, en kijkt men ook van een DVD-box.

Media columnisten stellen vaak de vraag of er nog wel een rol is weggelegd voor het lineair tv-kijken in de toekomst. Gaan we niet allemaal online kijken en wordt video in de toekomst alleen nog maar aangeboden door online platforms waardoor de omroepen ten dode zijn opgeschreven?

Wellicht is er toch iets anders aan de hand met het kijkgedrag. Fictie series worden vaak anders bekeken dan non-fictie programma’s (studio shows, reality, magazines, spelletjes en informatie- en praatprogramma’s). De vraag is of het niet vooral fictie is dat in de toekomst via online platforms bekeken gaat worden.
Wat betreft fictie series worden de afleveringen de laatste jaren steeds meer achter elkaar gekeken. Vanaf 2001 startte de Amerikaanse networks met de ‘double bill’-programmering, wat betekende dat steeds 2 afleveringen achter elkaar werden uitgezonden van wekelijkse uur-durende afleveringen van hit series (en later zelfs driedubbele uitzendingen). De omroepen in Europese landen namen dit langzamerhand over en hierdoor raakten kijkers gewend aan een kijktijd van 2 of 3 uur fictie aaneen, net zoveel als een blockbuster film.

Vooral fictie zou wel eens het genre kunnen zijn dat voor kijkers aantrekkelijk is om niet-lineair te bekijken. Fictie maakt veelal gebruik van cliffhangers en soaps geven de kijker de mogelijkheid om de volgende dag door te kijken, maar met wekelijkse crime- en actieseries is dat lastiger. Daarom worden hit series zoals Penoza, Dexter, House of Cards, Borgen, Breaking Bad, 24, Mad Men, etc. door kijkers (jong en ouder) veelal via streaming sites als Netflix gekeken of op DVD box. Je hoeft niet meer te wachten op de volgende, maar men bepaalt zelf hoeveel afleveringen men achter elkaar kijkt.
Het kijken naar meerdere afleveringen achter elkaar – in het lineaire kijken jargon ‘marathon’-programmering genoemd – is trouwens niet helemaal nieuw. De Britse BBC gebruikte in de jaren ‘90 de zg. ‘omnibus’- programmering door op zondagmiddag alle afleveringen van afgelopen week van de soap Eastenders achter elkaar uit te zenden. En in Nederland zond de VPRO in 1992 de 2e serie van de Duitse cult-serie Heimat uit in een 25 uur durende marathon programmering. De serie portretteerde een groep film- en muziekstudenten in de woelige jaren ‘60 in München.

Het niet-lineair kijken zal ongetwijfeld nog toenemen, maar het geldt waarschijnlijk niet voor alle genres in dezelfde mate. Het zou kunnen zijn dat fictie in de toekomst vooral niet-lineair bekeken gaat worden, en dat voor andere non-fictie genres een rol blijft weggelegd voor traditioneel lineair tv-kijken.

Charles Vaneker
Agnes Dijker

Posted by Klapper | 0 Comment | in 24, Borgen, Breaking Bad, double-bill-programmering, DVD Box, fictie, HBO Go en NL Ziet, House of Cards, Hulu, lineair tv-kijken, Mad Men, marathon-programmering, Netflix, non-fictie, omnibus, uitgesteld kijken