In recent months, I have put up several posts that covered the upcoming “Streaming Wars” in the video world. There will, I assure you, be more to come. In one of the posts, I talked about how a major threat to Netflix would be if Disney and Apple formed some kind of alliance. Perhaps, they would produce content on a joint venture basis. Or, Apple, with their deep $200 billion + in cash at certain times, would take a minority position in Disney (5-15%) which could backstop the Mouse House if the launch of Disney + was rocky for a few years. Well, on Friday, the 13th of September (sic), Disney CEO Bob Iger, resigned from the Apple board of directors. The business press cited conflict of interest as Disney + would be competing directly with Apple TV +.
If I were Reed Hastings at Netflix or players at Comcast, Amazon or Hulu, I would be breathing a large sign of relief. An Apple/ Disney alliance of any kind would be beyond formidable.
So, where does leave us? As mentioned above, I will put up some posts on this topic in the weeks and months to come. As it looks now, I would say that Apple could be the short term loser in this scenario. They are getting lots of press regarding their new series with Jennifer Aniston, Renee Zellweger and Steve Carell and Steven Spielberg’s commitment to Apple TV +. Yet, developing a wide array of fresh content will take some time (they have the money!). So, by not joining forces with Disney, Apple is passing on the leader in video content globally. Disney has several platforms and franchises that cannot be replicated or developed overnight.
So, as I write, I would say that Apple TV+ will have pretty tough sledding for a while. If they are committed for several years, they may get it right and there is no question that they have the financial resources to ride out early losses. Also, their $4.99 per month subscription fee undercuts both Disney and Netflix nicely which should generate some early trial. The danger is that if there is not enough good content at launch some people may walk away saying that it is not worth $4.99.
The games are about to begin before Thanksgiving. We will be in for very interesting times in the media world.
If you would like to contact Don Cole directly, you may reach him at doncolemedia@gmail.com
Monday, September 23, 2019
Friday, September 13, 2019
Accentuate The Positive
Today, I was. surprised to receive a phone call from someone whom I have not heard from in years. It was great to catch up. He is a broadcaster in a medium sized market, said he had been reading MR for several years and had some questions. When I agreed, he plunged right in to the issue. In recent years, as is true of many in TV and Radio, his property had been struggling. The beancounters at headquarters pressured him constantly for more money. Despite some what he described as “herculean efforts” by station personnel, the billing for his property would probably only be up 1-2% this year. His ownership wanted seven and were very difficult when monthly conference calls took place.
His main issue was how to keep from getting discouraged in front of his hard working team and how to motivate them. Also, he said he and senior staff all were in great fear of the next recession. I quote: “Even a modest downturn, nothing like 2008, will hit us very hard. I will be gone for sure as will some senior sales and on air people.”
Well. Part of it is the sign of the times. We have all seen the shift away from advertiser supported broadcast. What to do?
How about taking a deep breath and expressing a bit of gratitude? Theresa Glomb is a professor at the Carlton School of Management at The University of Minnesota. She is a leading expert on work environments and organizations. Reading some of her research, I came across a wonderfully insightful observation. She wrote: “Good things are about three to five times more frequent than bad things at work, but bad events have about five to 10 times the impact as good things.”
My long time acquaintance grumbled for a moment and then laughed saying, “that is oh so true!”
He then went on to tell me that he had lasted in the business for nearly four decades and it had been one hell of a ride for a kid from a rural area who hated school but had the gift of gab. Life had worked out well for him and his family.
I gave him this advice. There have to be good things that happen every day. Stop to savor them and share them with your team. The long haul picture for your station is not positive. Yet, daily some good things happen. Yes, your team will never have the career that you did in terms of fun, longevity, or probably financial reward. You can still, however, give everyone constant encouragement. If people learn how to sell, be good marketers or broadcasters, they can surely transfer those skills in to other avenues when the ax falls.
Finally, I suggested that he take a day every now and then away from social media and business news. It can be discouraging if you see a 29 year old with a backwards baseball cap selling his tech startup for $2 billion while you are fighting for a nice share of this month’s local Ford dealer’s billing.
I am not encouraging false optimism. The die is cast and we are not going to return to broadcast’s golden age. Yet civility, a sense of humor and savoring small victories can make the waning years palatable.
If you would like to contact Don Cole directly, you may reach him at doncolemedia@gmail.com
His main issue was how to keep from getting discouraged in front of his hard working team and how to motivate them. Also, he said he and senior staff all were in great fear of the next recession. I quote: “Even a modest downturn, nothing like 2008, will hit us very hard. I will be gone for sure as will some senior sales and on air people.”
Well. Part of it is the sign of the times. We have all seen the shift away from advertiser supported broadcast. What to do?
How about taking a deep breath and expressing a bit of gratitude? Theresa Glomb is a professor at the Carlton School of Management at The University of Minnesota. She is a leading expert on work environments and organizations. Reading some of her research, I came across a wonderfully insightful observation. She wrote: “Good things are about three to five times more frequent than bad things at work, but bad events have about five to 10 times the impact as good things.”
My long time acquaintance grumbled for a moment and then laughed saying, “that is oh so true!”
He then went on to tell me that he had lasted in the business for nearly four decades and it had been one hell of a ride for a kid from a rural area who hated school but had the gift of gab. Life had worked out well for him and his family.
I gave him this advice. There have to be good things that happen every day. Stop to savor them and share them with your team. The long haul picture for your station is not positive. Yet, daily some good things happen. Yes, your team will never have the career that you did in terms of fun, longevity, or probably financial reward. You can still, however, give everyone constant encouragement. If people learn how to sell, be good marketers or broadcasters, they can surely transfer those skills in to other avenues when the ax falls.
Finally, I suggested that he take a day every now and then away from social media and business news. It can be discouraging if you see a 29 year old with a backwards baseball cap selling his tech startup for $2 billion while you are fighting for a nice share of this month’s local Ford dealer’s billing.
I am not encouraging false optimism. The die is cast and we are not going to return to broadcast’s golden age. Yet civility, a sense of humor and savoring small victories can make the waning years palatable.
If you would like to contact Don Cole directly, you may reach him at doncolemedia@gmail.com
Tuesday, September 3, 2019
Dreams and Skills
Ludwig von Mises was one of the most prominent economists of the first half of the 20th century. He was the leader of the Austrian School of Economics (strong free market orientation). Mises escaped Vienna before Hitler marched in and spent the last few decades of his life teaching a seminar at NYU.
Legend has it that one day after class an earnest young student approached and complimented him on that evening's lecture. Mises was gracious in response and the young man asked if he could recommend any books so that he could explore the topic more closely. The great man said of course and wrote down a few titles on a piece of paper and handed it to the young man.
After glancing at it, the student said, "but professor, one book is in French and the other is in German". Mises allegedly asked, "Do you wish to be a scholar, young man?" "Oh yes, professor." "Then learn them", said Mises and he left the room.
Did it really happen? Not sure. However, it makes the entire point of this post. Over the years, I have met a number of people in the media business whose dreams far exceed their skills. They want to be the man or woman in charge but they lack the skills to get there AND do not want to make the sacrifice required be a leader.
I vividly recall a young sales rep who would always be pestering me about certain aspects of different media types. It was flattering but he never seemed to read the material that I sent or handed to him. Once, I offered to meet with him on a Saturday to review a topic that he was struggling with before a major client presentation. He was aghast. "Meet on Saturday, Don? I don't work on weekends." I held my breath and said that I was willing to give up a few hours of my free time to assist him. He said no way and I did not see much of him after that. The guy left the business a couple of years later and was a very bitter young man.
He missed something very big that Mises was trying to get across to his budding economist. It is fine to have dreams that are far greater than your skills BUT if you want to reach your dreams you have to change and upgrade your skills. Successful and ambitious people seem to understand this intuitively and never stop learning or improving no matter what their age.
If you would like to contact Don Cole directly, you may reach him at doncolemedia@gmail.com or leave a message on the blog.
Legend has it that one day after class an earnest young student approached and complimented him on that evening's lecture. Mises was gracious in response and the young man asked if he could recommend any books so that he could explore the topic more closely. The great man said of course and wrote down a few titles on a piece of paper and handed it to the young man.
After glancing at it, the student said, "but professor, one book is in French and the other is in German". Mises allegedly asked, "Do you wish to be a scholar, young man?" "Oh yes, professor." "Then learn them", said Mises and he left the room.
Did it really happen? Not sure. However, it makes the entire point of this post. Over the years, I have met a number of people in the media business whose dreams far exceed their skills. They want to be the man or woman in charge but they lack the skills to get there AND do not want to make the sacrifice required be a leader.
I vividly recall a young sales rep who would always be pestering me about certain aspects of different media types. It was flattering but he never seemed to read the material that I sent or handed to him. Once, I offered to meet with him on a Saturday to review a topic that he was struggling with before a major client presentation. He was aghast. "Meet on Saturday, Don? I don't work on weekends." I held my breath and said that I was willing to give up a few hours of my free time to assist him. He said no way and I did not see much of him after that. The guy left the business a couple of years later and was a very bitter young man.
He missed something very big that Mises was trying to get across to his budding economist. It is fine to have dreams that are far greater than your skills BUT if you want to reach your dreams you have to change and upgrade your skills. Successful and ambitious people seem to understand this intuitively and never stop learning or improving no matter what their age.
If you would like to contact Don Cole directly, you may reach him at doncolemedia@gmail.com or leave a message on the blog.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
