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THE VIODI VIEW
by Ken Pyle ([email protected]), Viodi, LLC
In this Issue: Election Endorsement, Stern VOD, Gamey….
October 20th, 2004 Issue
- IP Video @ Telecom04 Wrap-up – Kind of
- My TV
- Local Advertising
- Stern on VOD, Why Not?
- Election Endorsement
- The Korner: – Time for Krazy Ken’s Questions
David Lee Roth, the former frontman for the heavy metal group Van Halen, once said there were three kinds of people; those who do the action, those who watch the action, and those who wonder what the heck happened. Ok, so even though Roth used a bit saltier language, I often feel like I am in that third group. I had the good fortune to co-produce the IP Video @ Telecom 04 conference with USTA last week and I am still wondering what happened during that day and a half learning fun-fest.
IP Video @ Telecom04 was a separate conference within the overall Telecom 04 conference. Telecom 04 is growing at a fast clip as it had a reported 5,300 attendees and something like 75% more exhibit space than in 2003. Its growing significance as a conference that transcends the various segments of the telecommunications industry was exemplified by the keynote speeches from Brian Roberts of Comcast and Ivan Seidenberg of Verizon.
Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to see Roberts and Seidenberg, but people who attended their session said that they were collegial and in agreement of the need to create a regulatory framework in which the government ensures a level playing field and does not put up in unnecessary roadblocks to a ubiquitous broadband future. I echoed these thoughts in my opening comments of the IP Video @ Telecom 04 conference, when I suggested that it is important for the different parts of the telecommunications industry to work together to ensure that the United States doesn’t become an also-ran when it comes to universal broadband deployment.
John Abel, Vice President of Membership, Marketing & Business Development for USTA opened up the IP Video @ Telecom conference by suggesting that Internet Protocol is a way to leap frog over previous ways of communicating. Abel’s background in broadcast television gives him a different perspective than most of in viewing the impact of IP. He suggested that mixing IP with television allows a much more personalized experience; a sort of “My TV” or television to the Personal Digital Assistant becomes a reality.
I have about ten pages of notes from the conference that I have yet to go through and which I plan on reporting on in the next issue. Even better than my notes, Hank Magnuski of Ncast used his company’s box to record the sessions. I picked up the presentations with synchronized audio files yesterday and they sound great. Over the next few weeks, we will decide how to make these available (e.g. via DVD or Download). Please let me know if you have any preferences as to the best format.
One more speaker that I will mention in this issue is Kevin Schaff of Thought Equity. Kevin discussed Thought Equity’s library of pre-made commercials and other stock media. Many of these commercials were built by top agencies as spec and have become available for licensing in other markets. Thought Equity repurposes these commercials, by customizing them for new applications. The upshot is that an independent telco can effectively produce custom advertising content for themselves or their customers at a fraction of the original production cost. Click on the picture to the right to see a humorous example of their offering.
It is now old news that Howard Stern is escaping the wrath of the FCC by moving to the pay-radio service, Sirius [for those who missed the news, this New York-based shock-jock will get paid $100 million per year to move his national broadcast to satellite radio]. Some pundits are suggesting that his stature will put satellite radio on the map. Reports indicate that Sirius needs to gain one million subscribers to make this worth the effort. This number seems like a reasonable target given that equates to only approximately five to ten percent of Stern’s current audience.
What does this have to do with video?
It would not be surprising if one of the fledgling content download, service companies, discussed in the previous issue of the Viodi View [e.g., Akimbo, VWB, etc.], struck a deal with Howard Stern for a video version of his radio show. Granted, E! probably has all of the current Howard Stern television broadcast rights, but Stern is a smart guy and he may still own the Video on-Demand rights to his show. It is not too hard to imagine Stern taking an equity piece in, for example, Akimbo in exchange for exclusive on-demand carriage.
Stern or some other star-power could be the very thing needed to raise the visibility of these hard-drive set-tops from geeks to the mainstream. Interestingly, Video Without Boundries just announced a content deal with the King Biscuit Flower Hour, a radio show that has been around for more than 30 years. Of course, this week’s announcement of Microsoft’s latest version of its Windows Media Center and associated Extenders (i.e., set-top boxes) will further legitimize the market.
The Viodi View’s Election Endorsement
My big political endorsement for the 2004 election is……..
Jim McFarlane for Moreland School District School Board in Campbell, California. Ok, so this may not be the endorsement you were expecting and it is not relevant for the 99 percent of the Viodi View readers who are outside of his district. Jim has already done a great deal of volunteer work with his daughter’s school and has proved his ability to get things done through his years in management at Handspring/Palm.
So, what does my endorsement of a school board candidate have to do with independent telcos? Actually, quite a bit if you believe the old adage that says, “that all politics is local.” As mentioned in the last issue of the Viodi View, one way an independent telco can help its community is by televising the candidates who are running for local office. The Video Voter project is intended to do just that, by helping public access channels produce video content that is non-partisan, while providing another media for local candidates to connect with the electorate.
The latest Video Voter project will appeal to California’s Independent Telcos. This project consists of videos describing the 16 ballot initiatives. These videos use the words of the non-partisan Legislative Analysts. The Video Voter project will make these available to any independent telco, who wishes to run these on their cable system or, conceivably on their web portal. Betsy Rosenfeld is the contact at [email protected].
We will be looking at some of the Video Voter initiatives in depth in the latest version of the Local Content Workshop. Speaking of which, Viodi will be holding the next workshop next week as part of NeoNova’s User Group Meeting. That will be followed up by a November 3rd date in Portsmouth, NH. Pannaway Technologies has generously offered up their facilities to make this one day workshop a reality.
P.S. I hope my endorsement doesn’t hurt Jim’s campaign…..
The Korner – It’s Time for Krazy Ken’s Questions
If someone asked me what keeps me awake at night, I would have to say, besides sleeping in the back of my car, it is deciding what material goes into the Korner. About two days before the last conference, I was inspired, in the middle of the night, to create a “game show” as a fun way to introduce the panel on gaming.
The theme was the legitimate use of peer to peer technology for gaming and any other use. The questions were based on Heart’s song “Oldest Story in the World” [available for legitimate download by following this link], which is downloadable via the Internet through a service called Weed.
A big thank you to everyone who helped make this rather unorthodox panel introduction a success. Justyn Miller worked the “special effects” and introduced the concept. Our judges, Gabe Zichermann, Marty Lafferty and Shailesh Shukla, provide impartial rulings as to the winners. Dick Jones did a great Vanna White/Ed McMahon impression as he announced the prizes.
And the prizes were outstanding! USTA gave away a very useful roller-briefcase. Zhone Technologies and Bigband Networks provided classy portfolios. Befitting the season, Redback Networks donated a baseball jersey and cap. Tut and Thomson offered up two, 27-inch televisions and free shipping to the lucky winners.
To get a glimpse of the silliness you may have missed and to find out why I never will be hired as a game show host, please click on the image to the right. Remember when you are viewing the clip that the editing took place in the passenger seat of my car at one in the morning in the suburbs of Las Vegas. That is a whole another story. This clip only has the beginning and end of the game show.
And thank you once again to all those who attended, spoke, or sponsored the IP Video @ Telecom 04 conference.
Oh yeah, and Happy Birthday Dutch!
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Mission of the Viodi View:
In this on-line publication, we share our analysis, opinions and direction on the interactive television news and views that we believe will be of interest and use to our friends associated directly or indirectly with independent telephone companies. For more information as to the various ways Viodi works with independent telephone companies, please go to http://www.viodi.com/alliance/
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Job Board
This is something we will be experimenting with a bit to help match jobs with Viodi View readers. Not certain how it will evolve, but here goes.
The first opportunity is for a telco that needs a dynamic VP of Marketing. This person was recommended to me from a telco friend who I respect a great deal and is, himself, a VP of Marketing at an independent telco. Please send an an email to [email protected] if your company might be interested in meeting this candidate. Viodi will then put the parties together.
The second opportunity is for an ad sales position. Actually, this will be more of a partnership as opposed to a job as it is a ground floor opportunity and the company is looking for someone who is willing to work on 100% commission, at least initially. Interested parties can send an email to [email protected].
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