News Corp., CBS Spin-off Could Break Ground In Content Creation And Distribution

The traditional television content-distribution economy is being challenged by changes in technology, corporate structures and needs. Diane Mermigas wanders through the thicket of licensing and distribution deals and sees potential for disruption from a stand-alone CBS and a Fox Entertainment Group that will be able to offer News Corp.’s DirecTV as an alternative.
At the same time, predictions call for consumer consumption of TV to flatten and start to decline. She notes: “The one factor muting that gloomy prediction is the willingness and adeptness of legacy companies (such as Fox, ABC, NBC, CBS and their parent companies) to leverage what they do best in new higher-growth areas. There have been encouraging signs, led by News Corp.’s $2 billion Internet spending spree, that these media giants are heightening their commitment to translating their must-have content to all digital wireless broadband platforms. Video games, cell phones and streaming Internet sites are part of the new lucrative syndication frontier, as long as they are willing to play by new rules.”
She also can’t resist suggesting a CBS cable net as a branded companion to the internet strategy,a way to add cable to the expanded platform mix already in the works. I think CBS is trying to accomplish similar goals without the added cost of a cable start-up but you never know.

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