![]()
Had a chance to chat with Jean-Briac Perrette — better known as J.B. — Tuesday following the announcement of his promotion to president of digital distribution for NBC Universal. Perrette’s appointment and the new structure that follows David Zaslav departure for Discovery signal a shift in thinking for NBC Universal. (Zaslav added new media duties just last May.) Prior to this, product distribution and product management were treated separately; the former by the cable side, the latter by the network. Now it’s what Perrette calls a “one-stop shop for digital content.” Perrette has some cable-centric responsibilities (strategic partnerships and managing cable investments) but his digital role is comprehensive. It’s the natural next step in a series of digital organization moves that started with the appointment of Beth Comstock this time last year and the elevation of digital to top-line priority. Comstock hired George Kliavkoff away from MLBAM over the summer, coinciding with efforts to centralize as much of the digital operations as made sense. For instance, the web properties are still managed within their respective business units but the technology — video players, search engines, etc. — is centralized.
On consolidation: Perrette says the change should simplify the process for NBCU wireless and digital internet customers. “It helps to put all the assets under one umbrella — network content or cable content, Hispanic or local.” Unifying distribution and products particularly helps in the new spaces where the platforms are nascent, he said. He offered electronic sell-through as an example: making the deal to sell shows on iTunes, then managing the product category — what content, when will it be released, what are the price points, bonus materials, etc.
On working with the networks: “We’re working with them to understand what they’d like to do and marrying it up with our sense.” They have to mesh three aspects: our view of what works for the product, the content owner’s desires and the costumer’s view. Take “Monk” — the team at USA wanted the show on iTunes so that deal was made. The cable side wanted to include the show in the Comcast free-on-demand package and the network agreed. “Eventually we’ll have the same discussions about other platforms.”
On the road map: Asked about his priorities for the next few months, Perrette replied: “There’s not necessarily a clear road map and I think you don’t want to get stuck on what is the road map.” The goal is to use the new structure to push innovation and distribution of NBCU content on all platforms. At the same time, he knows some experimentation won’t pan out.
On linear television and the future of content delivery: For all the work Perrette’s group is putting into new platforms, he’s not tossing out old models. “I think linear television still — despite increased access to on-demand content — is not going anywhere.” But you can’t ignore the new methods, either. I asked about the likely announcement at CES of TV sets that will be able to receive programming with set-tops or multichannel distributors. He didn’t address that specifically but talked about Apple’s “simple and seamless” iPod/iTunes ecosystem. Services that are “simple and seamless to the consumer will be the winners and that will evolve .. If someone can do that with a service next year, I think it will be a very compelling service.”
Subscriber content
?
Subscriber content comes from Gigaom Research, bridging the gap between breaking news and long-tail research. Visit any of our reports to learn more and subscribe.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Comments have been disabled for this post