Television is such a part of the political process that even slight changes in the business should be watched carefully.
But your average consultant has better things to do than follow New York Times media columnist Dave Carr’s musings. Or cogitate on whatever PaidContent has to say.
So here’s a Spot-On round up – hopefully a helpful one – on what’s been happening. Generally speaking, Team Spot-On thinks Carr’s overall thesis – that TV is undergoing the same sort of changes the print news business say 10 years ago – has legs and consequences for TV-oriented political media buyers and consultants. Which is why we keep talking this on Facebook and Twitter.
Think about it in these terms: Ten years ago, Amazon.com was a novel way to buy books. This month, its founder bought the Washington Post.
And since it’s always nice to have things in one place, here’s a round up of news stories that caught our eye. Pressure on traditional television is building.
First up, Aereo, a service that takes broadcast TV signals and sends them to your computer. In its fight with CBS, Time Warner is recommending that customers use Aereo’s service to access over-the-air channels. And a judge has refused to side with broadcasters who want to shut Aereo down.
Aereo’s not just a city service. They’re coming to Utah and a bunch of other states. Soon.
Aereo’s not the only service looking at TV. Apple is. So is Google.
And another judge says it’s okay for Dish Network to promote the idea of skipping commercials.
What does this all mean: It’s going to get harder and harder to get voter’s attention on television. Online ad placements are going to become a lot more sophisticated, better looking and more interactive. The future, it’s here. It’s just not evenly distributed quite yet.