Big Media? Friend or Foe?

Amy Banse from Comcast, Quincy Smith from CBC Interactive were interviewed by Josh Quittner

His first question centred around two users Firstly, his brother-in-law, who’s just bought a 50-inch flat-panel monitor, to which he attached his mac, his xbox and his cable box. Then, there’s someone who gave up their cable service, got a super-fast broadband connection into his living room which gives him all his entertainment and telephony.

Past and future in one question – linked via IPTV and new technologies which are becoming more and more mainstream. So how do CBS and Comcast respond to this level of sophistication in the audience today?

Comcast, as largest ISP in the US right now, know that they have a way to create content gateways which they hope will appeal to these users but Amy thinks that cable TV is still here for some time to come.

Quincy, from CBS, feels that, if you do web content right, you can extend your brand and your content beyond borders. What people want to watch on their flat-sceen monitor and what they want online, though, is different. And CBS.com needs to appeal to both of these viewing trends and appeal to ‘new eyeballs’ at the same time.

He talked a little about You Tube and said that one of the most-watched clips there last week had been a chunk from CBS’s David Letterman Show, where he interviewed Paris Hilton. It wasn’t uploaded by CBS but by someone called Mangoface247, and got almost 4 million views. This is a real challenge for them. (No, really?)

Amy pointed out that online viewing has yet to cannibalise tv viewing and that people just want video. And they want to be able to access it seamlessly, regardless of what screen they view it on.

Josh asked about how each speaker was using social networks. Quincy talked about how the internet can help audiences talk about ‘watercooler moments’ from tv and how they need to facilitate this conversation in next generation tools and applications. In CBS’s case they’re either buying or partnering with companies to deliver these.

A question from the floor from an American living in London who challenged Quincy’s assertion that you can get your content beyond borders as he can’t access some CBS content. CBS Interactive network - Innertube - is offering clips and news on this, said Quincy, targeting the international market specifically. But they need to be careful not to jeopardise their international sales by offering full episodes. It’s a delicate balancing act, he said. And sees cross-border content as having marketing/teaser benefits, rather than duplicating the broadcast service.