Adaptive Medias Inc (fka ADTM)

[newelong]

Content Syndication and our Fragmented Audience

July 29, 2014

As we look across the video content space, many top producers are augmenting traditional distribution with direct-to-consumer strategies. A key example of this is NBC providing streaming of shows like Last Comic Standing and Community directly through NBC.com or the NBC app. EPIX is another great example. Their popular content is available through their cable channels and their online EPIX HD subscription service. In these cases, audiences can access content during regularly scheduled TV times or directly from producers online and on demand. Does direct-to-consumer distribution mean that producers no longer need to syndicate to other publishers? Definitely not. Users are viewing content on multiple devices, at various times and in various locations.

According to research from nScreenMedia, the online site most frequented by broadband users is YouTube (92%). Over 52% of broadband users say they use Netflix, followed by 35% who use Hulu/Hulu Plus, and 26% who use Amazon Prime. These services enable audiences to view large selections of content from many producers. Audiences have proven that they want to consume content wherever they happen to be. Syndication has become even more meaningful in light of this change in user behavior and is critical for both producers and publishers. Premium content producers must adapt to those behaviors by creating a multi-pronged syndication strategy that includes large and small publishing platforms, plus their own portals.

This multi-pronged content syndication plan should be part of an overall strategy for producers and publishers for several reasons:

1. Audience Extension–Publishers can offer producers the ability to reach beyond their existing audience base, gaining more exposure while earning incremental revenue from assets the producers have already paid for.

2. Brand Recognition – When you watch Dora The Explorer on Netflix, you see the Nickelodeon bumper. Even though the show is streamed on Netflix, Nickelodeon has the potential to earn more audiences for their other distribution points every time its logo is displayed.

3. Audience Expectations – Viewing audiences are more demanding than ever. They want what they want, when they want it. For example, audiences that want to watch American Horror Story aren’t likely to search for an app from FX, wait for the download, then open the app and browse through it for the show. Producers need to expand their reach by making it easy for their audiences to find them.

4. Content Begets Content –Syndicating to more places introduces the opportunity to make more content. By utilizing data and relationships from your syndication efforts, content producers are able to identify audience demand and monetization opportunities. There’s also the chance that larger publishers (e.g., Amazon and Netflix) could purchase exclusive rights to your content.

Audiences have a wide spectrum of viewing channels and devices to choose from: cable, broadcast, IPTV, websites, smart TV apps, computers, phones, tablets, game consoles, and OTT devices. It’s because of this that producers need to make their content available everywhere. A comprehensive syndication strategy is the key to making this a reality. The premium content can still live in a subscription-based environment, but make the teasers available where the most relevant audiences are. If you have a presence everywhere, audiences will be sure to follow.

Posted by: Qayed Shareef

https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140729192423-12361098-content-syndication-and-our-fragmented-audience?trk=hb_ntf_MEGAPHONE_ARTICLE_POST

If anyone denies Mr. Shareef's knowledge, experience and standing in the ad tech business environment, you might just want to give that more due consideration ... and just because he posted this on Linkedin, does that really lead one to be suspicious and call into question all of the above ??? Surely not me, for what it's worth.

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