Industry News
SELECTED ITEMS OF INTEREST TO THE MEDIA COMMUNITY
Has the Cable News Business Lost Its Lustre?
Many media businesses have long had cultural influence that outpaced significant financial success. According to a story in The Rebooting, that era may be coming to a close for the cable news sector, as it's estimated that in just a few years only about one-third of Americans will have cable. Factors contributing to the decline of cable news influence and economic viability include:
- An aging audience, which is less attractive to advertisers.
- The decreasing popularity and profitability of cable bundling, especially as more live sports programming goes direct.
- The increasing popularity of YouTube and other non-cable platforms.
- Turmoil around personalities, including Tucker Carlson at FOX and Chris Licht at CNN, has also contributed to a decline in cable viewership.
Read more of The Rebooting story here.
#media #strategy #consulting
Is the Retail Media Network boom here to stay?
A McKinsey & Company report has found that even as U.S. companies cut marketing budgets and spend less overall amid economic uncertainty, retail marketing networks (RMNs) are attracting a larger share of advertising expenditures. But to capture, drive, and retain those advertising dollars, RMNs must provide superior performance, give access to otherwise inaccessible audiences, and offer transparency. Other findings in the report include:
- Advertisers favor channels with on-site display and video advertising, which provide the highest rate of return.
- Paid social media is also critical. Almost one-fifth of advertisers surveyed cited it as their first choice, tied with on-site display advertising.
- Most advertisers are willing to spend as much as 10 percent more for additional features that help them make better-informed and more timely decisions about how they allot their marketing budgets.
Read more of the McKinsey report here.
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“Community” comes at a price
As affiliation with religious institutions and availability of other accessible, affordable gathering places has declined, inaccessible and expensive activities have increasingly become the basis for community. That trend is also evident where media and news products attempt to engage their readers and users by creating "community" around their stories and content, with the most engaged communities built around niche products and special interests.
In an interview with Vox, an academic says the "privatization of community" has led to a dramatic divide in the social connectedness of the rich and the isolation of the poor. Other findings by Harvard Kennedy School Fellow Sam Pressler include:
- During the past 50 years, the proportion of families living in poor or affluent neighborhoods doubled, while the proportion living in middle-income neighborhoods declined by more than one-third.
- In affluent neighborhoods of well-educated people with disposable income, an abundance of "pay-to-play" activities such as SoulCycle, pottery studios, and pricey cafés and bars offer the promise of community -- for a price.
- There has been a concurrent dramatic decline in availability of free or low-cost accessible spaces and institutions in poor neighborhoods. Even team sports in school have moved from being free to often requiring fees, which in many cases are beyond the means of parents.
Pressler also suggests that having large groups of people disconnected from community may also be a contributing factor in a rise of authoritarianism.
Go here to read the complete Vox interview.
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