From series to sports to theatricals to podcasts, everyone is seeking out content that will allow them to define themselves, said programming leaders from TCL, Vice TV, Cineverse and Cox Media Group at TVNewsCheck’s Programming Everywhere last week.
LAS VEGAS — As content providers launch literally hundreds of channels of content, everyone is still looking for key pieces of original content that will allow them to break out and find their place in the ever-expanding video ecosystem. The trick is to do that on an ongoing basis while remaining on budget.
“The marketplace differentiator is original content. The challenge for FAST and AVOD and all the OEMs and players out there in that space is to really build their brands,” said Chris Regina, chief content officer, TCL America, during a panel at TVNewsCheck’s Programming Everywhere conference at NAB here last week.
“There’s so much ubiquitous programming, and you’ve got the same 500 channels everywhere,” Regina continued. “But realistically, what is the draw for that environment? Everyone still needs that one thing that can make it a destination and break out and create a brand.”
“I would add that local news is a differentiator,” said Marian Pittman, president of content, Cox Media Group. “A couple of years ago we couldn’t get the attention of a FAST platform, now there’s been a turnaround and we have FAST channels approaching us. Whatever your unique value proposition is, that’s what differentiates you.”
Beyond local news, the challenge is exacerbated for local broadcasters because they are not only feeling the budget pinch on the advertising side due to declining linear ratings, but because their affiliated broadcast networks are constantly upping the ante on the reverse compensation that stations are forced to pay to remain network affiliates.
“You might think we’re paying less for programming now, but in reality, we pay more fees to the network, while the networks protect their quality content and put it on their streaming services,” Pittman said. “Where the network used to provide must-see TV or hit programs like Scandal, a lot of that is bypassing the networks, therefore hurting the local broadcasters and going straight to streaming.
“It’s really detrimental to the local business and therefore to the local communities, because we can’t provide the content that the streamers are providing,” she added. “There’s a definite opportunity to pull all of that together and help one another, but we don’t see much of that right now. We see the networks really hoarding their quality content and putting out their streaming services as they build those businesses.”
Live Sports As An Audience Driver
Live events tend to be a good way to drive ratings so many content providers, including local broadcasters, are diving into the business of sports. Vice TV, which is sort of a phoenix brand on cable, has recently launched Vice Sports and intends to use its brand voice to fill a certain niche in the marketplace.
“Vice has a well-earned reputation of telling fearless, authentic and independent stories. We’re leaning into that in ways where maybe other places can’t or won’t tell those stories,” said Trevor Gill, VP of sports development and executive producer, Vice TV.
For example, Gill said, Vice Sports has just produced two college basketball documentary series. One was produced in collaboration with Peyton and Eli Manning’s Omaha Productions and followed Coach John Calipari in his first year as coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks. The other followed Coach Rick Pitino at St. John’s University in Queens, New York. This season, Pitino was named coach of the year, and St. John’s basketball had its best season in 25-plus years.
“Both of those stories are examples of independent, fearless coaches, and the access that we got was great,” Gill said. “We had this clip of Patino in the locker room after a game in December go really viral. It had 100 million-plus impressions and ended up on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Just that media alone was a huge announcement of Vice Sports being in the marketplace.
“We’re working with all sorts of major sports production companies and documentarians are coming at us with ideas in terms of docu series, formatted TV shows and unscripted shows around big sports without necessarily having the major league rights,” he noted. “We also have some rights to live sports. We’re doing arena football, bare-knuckle boxing, emerging live properties and we’re looking to build on that.”
When Content Breaks Out
Cineverse was founded as a home entertainment company and has evolved to become a channel aggregator. Today, it owns and operates such FAST, AVOD and SVOD services as horror channel Bloody Disgusting, Robert Rodriguez’ El Rey Channel, faith-based The Dove Channel and more.
But Cineverse also maintained a theatrical business. Last fall, it released super-budget horror flick Terrifier 3 and surprised everyone when it became a huge box-office hit. Produced for just $2 million and marketed on an ultra-slim budget of $500,000, Terrifier 3, featuring a very scary clown, went on to make more than $90 million at the global box office.
Those are the kinds of risks that Tony Huidor, Cineverse COO and CTO, says platforms need to be taking.
“That really kind of reset the company’s focus, and we’re back in the theatrical business,” Huidor said.
It’s also an example of how the right content allows companies to take advantage of their media operations.
“That’s an area where we have the ability to acquire original content that we released, theatrically,” Huidor said. “We own all the rights, and then we put it through the traditional release window — theatrical, physical, transactional and eventually it makes its way to subscription and AVOD. We’re a little unique in that space.
Podcasting As Brand Extension
Content companies are finding that it makes sense to fold podcasting into the mix because podcasts are an efficient way to both build up a library of content as well as to create fandom.
“Podcasts are a really fast-growing part of our business,” Huidor said. “Two years ago, we had six podcasts. Today, we have 60 and we’re a top-10 podcast network. That’s another area where we’re able to expand into areas where we see opportunity. We’re able to invest and move quickly.”
One advantage of having podcasts is that it’s another platform on which advertising can live. Platforms like Cineverse are set up to take advantage of advertising from end to end.
“Connected TV is still a challenge,” Huidor said. “A lot of the big ad buyers and a lot of the big brands still don’t understand CTV. But one area where we’ve seen pretty rapid adoption has been in ad sales for podcasts.
“Now what we’ve done is when we create a package or a campaign. we do web takeovers and we do mobile, social, podcast and connected TV, and that’s where we’ve had really a lot of success, that’s where podcasts become part of an overall package when you’re trying to sell a campaign,” he added. “There aren’t a lot of companies out there that have the ability to package different types of media across all the different touch points that advertisers are looking for.”
Vice TV also is working in the podcast space, which Gill notes is a lighter production lift than TV.
There are a few different ways we see podcasts as part of the strategy,” Gill said. “One is in supporting our TV shows and using podcasts as a marketing vehicle. They are also a way for us to work with more talent and to develop talent overall.”
It All Still Needs To Be Monetized
Once media companies have that original content, they need to figure out how best to monetize it. Part of that equation is windowing it across platforms, whether their own or other companies’ outlets. While windowing is becoming more common as platforms proliferate, its exact equation for profitability remains a work in progress.
“On a high level, you’re really talking about exclusivity and what is the new model of exclusivity,” Regina said. “You’re seeing it from theatricals, where they’re shortening their windows and where those negotiations are happening. But the question remains of what is affordable and what makes sense across all these platforms. There needs to be a cost structure in place that’s going to actually be successful for both the buyer and the seller.”
