PricewaterhouseCooper’s address to MIPCOM :
Overall, PWC delivered an “okay” panel. It lacked progressive discussion as the same topics have been repeated over the last few years. No massive buttons were pushed. I was hoping for a larger discussion on the effects of the credit crash on digital media…that didn’t happen. Basically they said that TV is not dead, just different (how many times is this question asked on conferences around the globe???) ; they said to be nimble, not complacent (be proactive NOT reactive); they said now more than ever we must collaborate, not compete. I cannot agree more with the latter messages.
The Panel was composed of Luis Fernandez (president and chairman , RTVE Corporation), Ben Pyne (president, global distribution, Disney -ABC worldwide television and Disney media networks ), Rajesh Sawhney (president Reliance Entertainment ), and Patrick Walker (director, video partnerships EMEA, Google ).
The Panel began with a video clip from PricewaterhouseCoopers in which people “from the street” were interviewed and asked how they consume video and how they use the internet. Bluntly, the video felt a bit forced and lubricious. Its focus was that we (media and advertisingertising companies) should listen to the consumer. Yet those interviewed seemed more like media/business students and spoke in a lexicon including words and phrases like ‘convergence’, ‘bandwidth capacity’, and ‘anytime, anywhere’. Do consumers really speak like that? It’s mootable, but they are fairly common industry phrases. Whether or not the video was disingenuous or not the underlying point—that the ‘Net Generation’ is experiencing media in an entirely different way, without geographical, temporal or technological boundaries—was conveyed.
The moderator from PricewaterhouseCoopers, Marcel Fenex (Global Managing Partner, Entertainment and Media Practice) introduced the panel with a selection of statistics and a report of where to the media world, confronted with the perpetual infusion of media technology into common life, is heading. (for a account of his report see the preceding flypaper.tv headline, “Marcel Fenex & PricewaterhouseCoopers Examine Today’s Market” )
The economy and the market?
The first point of conversation was the one everyone is constantly pondering: what is the impact of the economy on the media market? Pyne opened by stating that “it’s a bit early to figure out what the exact impact will be – we don’t know yet how the advertising market will be affected.” Which is fair enough. The exact implications of the current global market are a complete unknown. Sawhneyesh interjected that he doesn’t “think any economy [will] not…be unaffected. [There is] tremendous growth in India, a bit of a slow-down, but still growing. Our financial markets are linked to the rest of the world but the basis is sound. My hope and wish is we will a tiny slow down but still looking up.” Walker commented that now more than ever there is a grave reliance on advertising with “measureable results…From [a] consumer perspective, YouTube and Google is FREE, and broadband penetration is increasing, so [we] should affect consumers with our product.” Fernandez remains optimistic about the future, which he says is “content and talent”.
How are generational differences contributing?
Fenex posed an interesting question about whether it right to say that youth are the influencers and won’t turn into their parents? The discussion turned into a perlustration of topics of age and technological influence in different generations.
Pyne: “I have two sons, they text and watch HD tv and their computer is on all the time. I think that on the one hand the net generation, like all new generations, rebel against the generation before. But as they get older and settle down they come back a little bit like the way their parents watch entertainment. After all, people still go the movies! Technology is advancing at such a pace that opportunities arise everywhere, High Def is also changing the way we consume content. Technology is facilitating consumption of content in new and different ways…
…Will traditional TV die? No, its has not lost its appeal ”
Walker made an interesting addition by stating that as long as there is high quality content “out there” people will continue to watch TV and attend the cinema. Contemporaneously people like to interact with the content and “communicate around it — from Facebook to YouTube. They want to give feedback, whether blogging or via parody videos. You need to recognize that phenomenon so that your traditional media company embraces the user in a more interactive way.” His statement redounds the widest possible one that people are making about media, namely that it is a social activity and resource. He also made a distinction about how people still watch long-form content (and probably always will) but how they watch it (small Vs large screen) is different and generations are split on how they prefer consumption (older generations preferring larger immobile screens; younger mobile screens).
The generational conversation concluded with comments about how younger generations want their content here and now, as soon as it is available. The pervading question is, of course, “is TV dead because it is not an immediate resource?” Unanimously, the panel agreed that it is not. Fernandez stated that “if you have good stories to tell, you have the next generation. It’s all about the content. (Pyne) Absolutely linear channels still have legs. The good news is that the power of content is critical. No matter how it’s consumed. Yes they are impatient so bypass infrastructure. But you can also create opportunities to open up other windows of business and flexible programming.”
Threats. Who or what do you fear most in next 5 years?
Comments about fears were differing. Sawhneyesh felt that the biggest challenge for him is the unknown and living in a world of constant uncertainty. Pyne expressed concern over the loss of intellectual property via increasingly intelligent modes of piracy . “We should all be concerned about this if we want to make money. Internal complacency is another fear… We need to respond quickly, not be complacent.” Fears about content also were expressed. Content must continuously reinvent itself or else “it’s been done before” and is dead. Fernandez notes that “our problem is not the budget. Our problem is to be competitive in talent and content.” To which Walker added that “finding the next big idea is scary – you live and die from that – HITS are what you are after.”
Add the flypaper.tv gadget to your iGoogle page:
Share this story:
October 16th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
I found your site on technorati and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed to my Google News Reader. Looking forward to reading more from you down the road!
October 16th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
[...] If you want to see more Flypaper coverage then go to latest news or check our articles on PricewaterhouseCooper’s panel discussion or non-traditional [...]
October 30th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
[...] mobile broadband user statistics MIPCOM: PricewaterhouseCooper’s panel discussion [...]
January 26th, 2010 at 8:17 am
I like your blog post, kudos to you for it and keep up the good work blogging. I really love the way you take time to get it done right.
Anyhow, this is just a kudo from another secret admirer who’s an Otaku. I promise I’ll keep reading. 