Innovation in College Media

The Business Beat

I first caught wind of the troubles facing local affiliates after talking with Lost Remote's Steven Safran. I was doing an interview with him outside the NAB show in New York last fall.

Safran basically said local TV better start doing more local TV. Their studios that remain unused the vast majority of the day should be cranking out local content 24/7.

I started talking to other local TV GMs and news directors who expressed concern that the networks no longer needed their big expensive towers to reach audiences. I asked for an example and the first mentioned was Katie Couric on-demand (not sure why anyone would demand Katie, but I digress).

Now CBS has cut distribution deals for its programming with 10 other companies. Offering CSI and Letterman online will impact local TV news. It's no secret that many of us couch potatoes watch the local news because of the national programming leading into and out of local TV news. What happens when we watch CSI online at 8:00? Bye bye news audience, or at least part of it.

Now, rather than restricting its programming to one branded hub, fans of CBS shows--including "CSI," "Late Show with David Letterman," "Survivor," "CBS Evening News with Katie Couric"--will now have their pick of online venues. Spreading the wealth, CBS's other distribution partners include CNET Networks, Joost, Bebo, Brightcove, Netvibes, Sling Media, Veoh, and Akamai Technologies.

"It's really all about the user," said Quincy Smith, president of CBS Interactive. "In remaining open to all online distributors and community builders--big and small--we can learn more about our existing audience, be exposed to new ones, and flexibly cater to their changing consumption habits."

What you didn't see mentioned in that list was CBS local affiliates and I believe that spells big-time trouble for local stations and local news, althought I hope not.

But here's another basic problem: Newspapers have stolen TV's platinum sword -- video -- and are chipping away at what was once the sole domain of TV.

Lots of newspapers doing great video. The Time, WaPo and the list goes on and there doesn't seem to be a newspaper anywhere that's not getting in on the fun.

Gannett, as they move from their newsroom to their "Information Centers" claim to have already trained almost 400 new video journalists.

And now radio, YES RADIO, is doing video news. (Thanks for the tip Cyberjournalist peoples).

So does this spell trouble for TV? If I was a betting man, and I am, I'd bet $100 most local GMs have a few concerns that will soon become very public (keep in mind, I'm a school teacher and $100 is a lot of money to me).