My Notes from the NYNMA ITV SIG - 12/23/02

THESE ARE STILL A VERY ROUGH DRAFT - HG -12/24/02

NYNMA Panel - the Interactive Television Special Interest Group

Opening Remarks (by yours truly) : <Insert Opening Remarks Here>

Art Cohen of ACTV and Chairman of the Interactive TV alliance

< http://www.itvalliance.org/> : TV is a 60MM unaccountable media. ITV

can, by introducing accountability, change that.

Bart Feder - General Manager of the Feed room - -

Feed Room founded in 1999 bringing TV to the net, ultimately platform

agnostic - Plan to move to iTV when possible. TV experience will be

powerful. One of the top streamers in the world - 20MM ad supported

streams. Subscriptions up to 3MM streams a month.

Was recently asked why soap operas called such - reminder that TV is a

medium created for advertisers. Like Radio and print, the mediums are

created for marketers. Feedroom partners include NBC, Tribute, Miramax,

Playboy (subscription), Cisco, etc.

Won Ad-Tech award for innovative mktg platform for a Miramax campaign.

He believes the key to making an iTV industry in NY is NY should link

Mad Avenue to tech. Get the ad community bought in.

Jeffrey Graham, VP research at Dynamic Logic - founded in 1999 when

click through rates were best measure of online advertising. Web was

accountable - but most other media aren't measured in a specific way

like clicks. Web now trying to dig out from that trend of being a

direct-marketing medium only. Founded to help marketers understand how

advertising on web influences people's brand perception.

Doing cross-media integrated campaigns and doing metrics. ESPN and

Feedroom are clients.

Michael Tesoro- ESPN director of Broadband and iTV - He works with dot

com and streaming sides for ESPN broadband - extending relationship with

cable operators who provide broadband to help give them content, which

should drive their bb adoption.

Only if there is packaged compelling content from trusted brands will

you bring masses into new tech areas. As it was as cable developed in

the 80s.

On the TV side ESPN is developing iTV applications for where people can

interact with TV sets - different experience with same types of content.

Exciting time - people are investing and creating partnerships with

cable and satellite providers for Interactive services.

Simon Applebaum - MultiChannel news - follows the cable industry ,

networks, high speed data, marketing perspective, tech perspective, VC

perspective, diversity and marketing to people of color.

Believes that NY City can be a capital of ITV. By end of this year '02,

in many places people can get TW digital and Cablevision IO iTV

services. Some small percentage -

Cablevision IO has about 188k homes using.

 8-10MM homes a year having broadband

PVRs are gaining.

HighDef is back on the screen.

If your services provide value - they will work

Allison Green, VP biz dev at Gist - Small Interactive Developer - create

guides about what to watch - electronic version of TV grid. Help guide

you when you're faced with hundreds of options of what to watch.

Up till now - iTV has been tech focused- creative community. It will

take a handoff now - programmers and producers will need to take on and

learn about these services.

JR McKechie - CEO - Filter - niche consultancy for digital media market.

Focused on helping clients understand technologies and how they impact

the client's businesses.

Helping bring a financial discipline to the industry, move focus from

high end platforms to focus on what consumers will buy.

Helping cable ops, programmers, agencies, understand what ITV is. (He

kept asking other panelists to define iTV but never did himself).

Challenge for NYC as an ITV hub isn't whether the local operators will

deploy tech but whether the costs of being in NY will be too high to

deal with.

Moderator: What infrastructure is  needed to Make NY an ITV Capital?

Feedroom - major media companies want to make money without spending

money. How will 'we' help them do that?  Question - where the money is -

where will it be found?

Marketers will only support if they know where the money is - where the

return is.

One customer defines ITV as targeting. He believes branding with call to

action, offers that are actionable, is what marketers want.

Dynamic Logic- 60% - advertising, 30% sub - 10% direct purchasing:  is

the break down of TV revenue.

NY will help advertisers connect to their audiences.

He thinks making ITV into targeting is a pigeon-hole value proposition -

web trying to dig itself out of a direct-response mechanism and remake

as an ad medium.

Richness, depth, immersion of ITV will be what advertisers need.

ESPN - targeting can take place today, but it is not broadly distributed - ex -

ACTV offers targeting.

That will be a percentage of the ad market in ITV.

Ex- demographic marketing - denture ads - want viewers with no teeth -

TV in general gives a rough breakdown ie you get a large audience and only some small percentage is the no teeth demographic you wanted.

Ad market is wed to the 30' spot today. At some point in the future it

will go the way of the past.

The whole range of offerings of ads, richer media, longer form

programming, will take a Jurassic change in how the ad industry will

approach their markets.

Engineers have figured out way to cram info into set-top boxes - usually

fairly dumb - and there is a transition to smarter boxes.

Currently Cablevision I/O is distributing a "virtual channel" of ESPN interactive - with 188k possible subscribers moving to 3MM soon.

Interactivity will sell digital cable. Robust programming needed - can't

be funded unless you reach the people - consumers - who will help the biz model.

Top 10 advertisers testing the waters - they must be involved to help

shape what the industry will look like.

They've had good success upselling people to ESPN Magazine.

Simon -

VCs- he thinks they should start funding iTV applications. They've

funded cable infrastructure to expand - but they're not funding the

content and services like they did in the internet market.

VCs arguments - we got burned by net - we don't want to be burned again.

He says don't' jump to conclusions.

2. it's a media play - we don't' fund them

3. its' gotta be a hit - internet was many hits.

VCs are sadly undereducated about content.

Red Herring - it's time to start funding. Fund ones with business plans

-

Makes no sense to fund a pipe without applications.

Example - Nanotech alliance is helping get funding for nano in NY. Need

a similar alliance.

ITV - time to stop keeping it secret - start promoting it.

Cablevision IO Ads are great for showing basic stuff - but don't show

about ITV services. If you don't let people know it's there - how will

they use it.

Promote to people of color - are most interested in buying and using

these services.

Allison Green - startup costs are enormous - there are no standard

platforms.

Finger points around the room about where the revenue is  - and often

points to advertisers - but they wont' buy in - too many gaps - no

understanding.

NY has the funding, and has the programming. But the costs to start for

each cable system is millions per.

Jr /FILTER -

What needs to happen to make NYC a hub.

Figure out problems, and make NY an attractive place for a business to

operate in.

There are cable cos, content cos here - but services and programming cos

can't afford to be here - why paying higher taxes, employees paying

commuter taxes -

Why should a startup be in NY in ITV?

(still waiting for defining ITV)

Technologies for high speed makes it easy to operate remotely.

Tax breaks for using NY companies? Black and white business issues.

-         governmental involvement .

-         who is the industry that must be involved in getting the word

out

Michael - agrees with what JR said-

But havent' mentioned Failure is good. The building up and crumbling

down that will make the small biz successful.

Need the people who have worked for small companies, failed, and have

the experience - NY has the raw talent around.

Opportunity for a small business to work with the 8 top cable companies

-

JR - NYNMA, ITV alliance and other should be able to approach the

government

Simon - have itv companies as presenting companies in tech showcase

Show off small itv startups in NYC at programs

Ideal flow - program for coaching.

In next 2-5 years how can ITV become a source of revenue for NYC economy

and itv companies

Bart - media companies are ones who have most to gain.

They also have most to lose - they've had tough couple of years.

Reluctance to spend. VCs also had bad few years.

Media cos would love to see small ITV cos that they can eventually

swallow.

No one will green light plans that won't show short term revenue, and

exit strategy.

Jeff- from consumer point of view - avg person doesn't see value. Its

very fragmented, haven't found killer app - to drive adoption of

technology.

Email was internet app (funded by govt)

Porn was next -

Shopping

Napster and file stealing

Make people want broadband.

Apps for people - video games - controllers are already in many living

rooms - Video games are also ITV like environments - this may help drive

MICHael - Consumers don't understand ITV -

ESPN through direct TV 5mm households can click for scores, stats and

standings on the TV> can go to separate virtual channel distributed to

1MM hh through charter as well as 5mm satellite.

Users who have digital tv or have sat receivers - have some

interactivity.

ITV - is just about all this stuff - everything from interactive program

guide to stats and scores to anything that they can do to interact.

Program guides today are the way cable operators will justify

investments.

Allow users to request tix, sign up for more channels, etc, customized

home page type info on that screen.

Simon - consumers should drive industry - hopefully will find more than

1 killer app.

Allison - Education, convenience .

JR - over next 2-4 years - apps popular with cable operators will be the

ones that do least violent change to the standard viewing experience.

Things that are easy to understand with clear value props.

What consumers like, also they don't' always pay for.

Also what advertisers like - addressable advertising, etc,

High Def TV is on radar because it looks great.

Consmers aren't going to drive industry because they don't know what ITV

is, what they're missing, and what's available.

As ITV mkt define - webhas influcened how vcs view invensment.

How can ivt cos learn from web?

-         Banner ads didn't work -

-         Accountability - advertisers are looking for it. -

addressability is available in just the 100's of channels to start.

-         Offering up a free site to drive traffic as a way for long

term viabiligy - not a good model.

-         Going to VC community with idea plus a business model behind

it is critical.

Allison - revenue, and plan to get there.

Show how to distinguish yourself. Intenret blew credibility of many

firms

Simon - would love to see someone like bezos address cable industry and

tel them about cust service

Ebay, Google, Yahoo - could all be ITV services, brands, etc.

Try to encourage Napster type svcs

Java, linux, flash community - leverage their content into ITV.

Michael - lessons can be applied - but different medium - tv is a video

-centric media.

Not trying to replicate linear networks to broadband, and likewise not

tring to create web on TV.

People want interactivity - people want choice.they want it when they

want it.

Jefferey - easier to change behavior of consumers than advertisers

Bart - 500 channels and nothing on

hG question -panelist, like JR - don't assume it's like net

Simon - don't set limits -  that helped the net.

Alison  - standards come from equipment .

TV experience - not the web.

It's a different experience  - if you tie it to the net it will not win.

Whitepaper on NYNMA site  regarding PC and TV as companions.

Web was open - how to make ITV open so a thousand flowers can bloom.

MHP - platform in Europe

Question - hasn't heard anything that is a value

Simon - childrens entertainement, edutainment

Video butler

Interactive health care

Ticketing

Grocery shopping

Online election/voting

Simon

Bunim - not about bells and whistles - it's about storytelling

Game shows

Eurpoean networks farther along

ESPN - looking to expand, global economy.

NY could do stuff internationally.

We shouldn't just focus on TV

In Europe PC pentration not as deep so ITV had more opportunity

Storytelling - thye're spending time on this. - full length not cut

interviews, ability to track sports players , fantasy league.

If money ultimately comes from consumers - where will the money go?

Companies on web - got killed by cost of bandwidth -

Back end companies made money - backbones grew .

Is backbone an important variable

SIMON- it is  cable operators don't want to rebuild their plant over

again. Home networking, meter reading, alarm system, etc -

JR - question is more complex - when you talk about costs - one person

cost is another's revenue. Money in from ad, consumer, new investment -

In first instance goes to programmers and operators  -  a VOD play -

money passes back to Hollywood.

ART - iF the 7 networks, and the cable advertising bureau, don't'

support this kind of stuff - it won't happen.

There's lots of money to be made - coordinate with Felecia and Art.

Ability to target without latency is a killer app for advertisers.

Alan Brody asks:

Michael - what are people using in ESPN.?

Scores - stats standings, are most requested apps.  Weather.

Easy way to get what you want on demand.

Video clips -ESPN today of todays' sports reviews are the number one

features.  Short 3-5 min clips, plus 30 min programs.

Pick the score game.

Magrack - rainbow -

--- - if Email was killer app of internet  - also - chat, message

boards, web pages that people could publish.  Weblogs   people are

behind Email - other people . Where are the Other people in the models

everyone is discussing?

--costs of new platforms - million dollar startup costs  - seems like

the first problem to tackle.

-         Remember that people didn't want to develop for MSN's

blackbird, for AOL's proprietary tool, Prodigy and for the Web.

-         It turned out that the web and to a lesser extent AOL are the

only platforms left.

-         Simon encouraged flash and linux developers to develop for ITV

- how when platforms are proprietary.

© Copyright 2003 Howard Greenstein. Last update: 1/14/2003; 2:19:48 PM.