Problems with the take up of Digital TV

This article (click on title above) neatly summarises just one of the problems surrounding the launch of Digital TV - lack of awareness, especially amongst older audiences. If you haven't converted by now, you should - the government will begin to switch off the analogue signal in 2008.

High Definition TV - another money spinner?

Sky are about to launch High Definition TV - at a cost. To receive it you will have to pay £299 for a new set top box and an extra £10 on your monthy subscription to Sky. And what exactly do you get for this? A better quality picture. This was also one of the main selling points for Digital TV. Are you starting to see a pattern in why new media technologies are so important to institutions? If I'm implying that it's profit that motivates the development of new technologies, why then is the BBC also launching HDTV? Well, they have to compete with the commercial channels for viewers and so need to keep up with the Jones. Two key drivers behind the growth of new technolgies: Profit and Competition. Click on the title above to read the full story on the BBC News site.

The Death of TV Advertising?

The Media Guardian has another great report on the future of advertising and traditional TV doesn't look likely to have a very big place within it. It discusses all the reasons for TV advertising decreasing effectiveness. These include the fact that under 25s are spending more time on the internet than watching TV and the increasing popularity of PVRs (TiVO and Sky+), which allow you to skip the ads and just watch your programme. However, TV is fighting back. KFC have launched an ad that encourages viewers with PVRs to slow down rather than fast forward ads. If they do so they get to see special offers others can't. Will this work? Is it a Sisyphean effort (look up Sisyphus)? You decide.... Go and read the article, it's really comprehensive and is structured almost like an exam essay should be.

The Web's Future As A Content Distributor

Thanks to Damien, who sent me this today. I haven't been able to listen to it yet (no speakers). However, I'm sure it's worth watching if Damien's billing is anything to go by.
Check this out (might be of interest to your students too)...
This webcast went out last week – the focus of which is the ‘web as platform’. This is billed as a Keynote by Bill Gates, but just fast forward to the good stuff - a great presentation from BBC online guy Ashley Highfield (after 39 mins approx) – who previews their new solution for content distribution via online platforms & Windows Vista.

The End Of DVD?

Universal Pictures are allowing people to download movies - provided they pay for them.

Internet, Social Networking, Teens - How Worried Should We Be?

This is a recurring debate in relation to new media technology - will they have a negative effect on us? In particular, will they have a negative impact on children and teenagers - who are traditionally the first to adopt new technologies. This article discusses one area concern - social networking sites like Bebo. It's feared that they may share too much personal information with strangers etc.

BBC and Digital TV

Sir Christopher Bland, former chairman of the BBC, says that is unfair that the BBC should have to use the licence fee to help promote digital television to the masses. This is important in relation to how new media technologies are adopted by the audience and how institutions encourage their take-up.

Advertisers Creating Content As Living, Breathing Adverts

I saw a report on Channel 4 News last night that I was hoping to find on their site this morning. Unfortunately, Cheryl Tweedy's status as Sexiest Footballer's Girlfriend was considered more important. In any case, it was all about the future of advertising in the digital age and reported on developments at advertising agencies like Satchi & Saatchi, where they are developing a girl band with the intention of selling them to companies as an advertising medium. This was linked with the wider fall in advertising revenue for traditional mass media like TV broadcasters and newspapers. A representative from Nike was interviewed to confirm that more and more of their advertising budget is being spent on things like viral and other internet advertising. You can find out more about how advertisers are reacting to the digital age at the Saatchi site (accessible through the link in the title of the post) provided you can get past the nonsense speak that is common to many in the industry.

The Internet And Advertising - A Viral Future?

Channel 4's Ideas Factory has an accessible article on the future of 'viral' marketing and advertising. Instead of advertising to the mass market through mass entertainment outlets like broadcast tv, viral marketing uses the combined power of the internet and bored office workers to spread the advertising message. Only those messages which are strong enough, 'infectious' enough, will survive and reach a useful audience. Wider access to broadband will of course increase its effectiveness as video messages can be the most infectious.

Key Concepts

Go to http://rssmedia.blogspot.com/2005/01/key-concepts.html for an excellent overview of the key concepts related to the new media unit of study.

Digital TV - what's in it for the Institutions?

It's from 2004 but the BBC News site has a good article on the launch of Sky's free to view digital service. It provides a decent if brief history of subscription TV and hints at how Digital provides a new way for institutions like Sky to increase their customer base.

Institutions Converge In Preparation For Convergence

The Media Guardian website has an interesting article, http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,,1735822,00.html, on the BBC getting together with major technology companies like Microsoft and Apple to make Internet TV a reality. As ever, the issue of the BBC and commercial interests looms large.