DigitalFirst

Netflix launched in the UK this month adding a competitor to the lacklustre LoveFilm services recently acquired by Amazon. The service, while not streaming the latest movies (or even the greatest movies), worked flawlessly and provided a crystal sharp picture on my iPad. Suffice to say I’m a fan of this sort of service and, … Continue reading “DigitalFirst”

Netflix launched in the UK this month adding a competitor to the lacklustre LoveFilm services recently acquired by Amazon. The service, while not streaming the latest movies (or even the greatest movies), worked flawlessly and provided a crystal sharp picture on my iPad. Suffice to say I’m a fan of this sort of service and, as a market disruptor, I’ve become something of a fan of Netflix. I wrote a little about this before.

THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 2011
Hi, Ted Sarandos, Netflix Chief Content Officer here. We’re delighted to tell you that in late 2012 Netflix will be bringing to our members in the U.S. and Canada exclusively “House of Cards,” the much-anticipated television series and political thriller from Executive Producer David Fincher and starring Kevin Spacey. We’ve committed to at least 26 episodes of the serialized drama, which is based on a BBC mini-series from the 1990s that’s been a favorite of Netflix members. – Netflix Blog

This presents a new opportunity for our local independent production houses faced with the uncertainty of whether the DQF framework will affect the Nations & Regions commissioning targets. (In essence, they may hit the target but if the pie is smaller, it’s a zero sum argument). This is partly why I have been unconvinced that the BBC represents a major force in local digital media and certainly questions the idea that it should be a leader in the local industry.

Traditionally, television has handled ‘digital’ poorly. We only have to look at the lack of understanding of YouTube to see how television IP owners balance along a wobbly line trying to to get their content onto YouTube without actually giving away their content. They’d kill it if they could. And it’s obvious from the lineup on Netflix that it is somewhat of a graveyard for television and film – content that they cannot commercialise or, at the very least, are willing to make pennies on as a loss leader to more premium content. This is why it contains only 4 series of the new Dr Who, none of the old Dr Who, the first National Treasure movie but not the second and a list of other properties that are just a little past their sell-by date.

So, what are the other possibilities?

Richard Desmond’s Channel 5 is to launch its own in-house production division and is developing formats including a cookery show fronted by Marco Pierre White.

The new department, called Channel 5 Productions, will be the first time in the broadcaster’s near 15-year history that it has made its own programmes. – Guardian

While getting a commission from the BBC might be like a being given a brand of Promethean fire, it’s hard for me to feel the same about Channel 5. It is plain to me that the entire business model of television is at odds with digital. It just seems weird to me. But the opportunities to get your work beamed into millions of homes for critical review must (despite the narcissistic validation) be an unmatched experience.

Meeting with Channel 4 earlier this week and then reading their commissioning guidelines this morning has my mind racing with possibilities. It was something said during the meeting (by Susie Wright, over from Channel 4 in Glasgow) that the company was searching for the Golden Fleece. The model for their multi platform commissions has traditionally been television-first and then digital. The concept of a property which is digital-first and then moves to television is exciting though I’ve not found anyone who can give me a concrete example of it. Would it be covered by an Angry Birds animated cartoon? Maybe the makers of Temple Run could make a television format akin to Total Wipeout and The Crystal Maze? (Actually, that last one is a great idea).

My dream is probably riskier, probably a little bit disruptive and probably a lot impossible.

If our short form content producers cannot get their creations viewed (never mind commercialised) then maybe it’s because a platform is missing. Where is the public access digital television channel? Distributed over the net, time sliced with adverts, advert- free with micropayments, using networks to their best advantage, distributed though a bit-torrent protocol, caching heavily and available on every platform. It would be the perfect platform for hyper-local television services.

This is a possibility for digital first as opposed to television first.

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