MIPCOM 7.-10.10.2013 report
2nd screen activity is rising
Second screen is still on experimental stage but it continues to gain foothold in the television business. The final day of the Mipcom market in Cannes took a close look at the content and business models of the second screen.
According to a recent study amazing 87 % of the American TV viewers used other devices, such as smart phones and tablets while watching broadcast television. Now media companies as well as advetisers are starting to wake up to the opportunities presented by the second screen. The first examples of second screen content are play along applications to a game show, multicamera views and ways how the audience can influence a program by voting or commenting on the events on the screen. Various social platforms where viewers share thoughts about a program also are important.
The final episode of Breaking Bad drew 10,5 milloin viewers in the USA. Facebook recorded three milloin posts of Breaking Bad which means over 30 % of the viewing audience commented it on Facebook, and another 600 000 people tweeted 1.2 milloin tweets about the show. It is no wonder braodcasters are starting to tap into this audience engagement. But the main question still remains: how to monetise the reach?
French broadcaster M6 aired Master Chef and produced additional online advertisements, synchronized with the program’s ad breaks. It also provided cooking tips and recipies and produced a separate web series to the program. In oder to achieve all this, M6 established a task force, which combined the various deprtaments of editorial, advertising and production sectors. The expert panel at Mipcom concluded that second screen is a process of continuous education for boradcasters as well as for advertisers.
Second screen can also rejuvenate program’s audience, as was the case with Dutch consumer program Kassa. Kassa has been on air for over 20 years and its audience had aged along with the series, averaging 58 years. The producers introduced an audience panel who could test products and express their opinions about the show. Kassa panel currently has over 100 000 members and the audience age is scewing considerably younger.
Another example of a successful second screen ad campaing also comes from Holland where a drama series Divorce got Volkswagen as a sponsor. Over the course of the series, viewers could download an application and every time a set of Volswagen car keyes appeared in the series, viewer would tap the application and ”collect” keys. Five keys enabled the player to enter a draw with a VW Beetle as the main price. Both broadcaster and the sponsor were very happy with the campaign.
Film commissions rely on incentives
This year several international film commmissions were present at Mipcom. Commissioner’s panel from six countries told TV producers that they are happy to serve also television productions, not only films. Kristy Officer from Australian Film Commission said that Australia’s main focus is on television and they have expanded their generous financial incentives to cover television, animation, and post production, for which Australia offers 30 % rebate. The same 30 % cash rebate is also offered by all production spend in Abu Dhabi and many other countries.
It is evident that film commissions no longer offer just empty locations but attempt to facilitate a full 360-degree production. This is where various media hubs also enter the picture. Malaysia is a prime example of atrracting foreign investment but this Mipcom also unveiled South Korea’s project, where the sixt largest city Gwangju is positioning itself as Asia’s cultural hub. The hub’s zones cover CGI, animation, video games, tourism and live events. The financial initiative for the period 2010 to 2023 is 135 million dollars. Qualifying international productions are offered tax incentives worth of 16,8 million dollars.
Random notes
Facebook revealed at Mipcom new partnerships for its software tool, which enables broadcasters to measure conversations around their programs. Keyword Insight is a software that allows broadcaters to track and analyse Facebook chats which take place around specific keywords.
Public Feed API is a software that tells the total number of Facebook chats in real time. Broadcasters who have signed for the partnership with Facebook include Canal+, French TF1 and UK’s Channel 4.
Amazon studios is a concept which will give consumers the power of develop programming. Amazon studios receives scripts for pilots and then asks its clients for further ideas on how to develop the the scripts. Amazon has received over 5000 scripts from over a hundred countries. The final series remain to be seen on the screens.
Mipcom showed new vigour in its offerings and confirmed that TV business is slowly picking up again. Unfortunately, the vigour didn’t last with the French air controllers who decided to go on a strike the last day of the market. Nice airport was chaotic; several flights were cancelled and delayed. Lots of unhappy travellers!
Timoteuksella on yli kolmen vuosikymmenen kokemus liikkuvan kuvan liiketoiminnasta kaikilla jakelualustoilla. Digitaalisten sisältöjen tuottaminen ja jakelu ovat Timoteuksen erikoisosaamista, ja hänellä on syvä ymmärrys kuluttajien valintamotiiveista ja käyttäjäkokemuksen merkityksestä sisältöliiketoiminnassa. Timoteus on johtanut startupeille suunnattua yrityskiihdyttämöä ja valmentanut kymmenien erikokoisten yritysten tuote- ja liiketoimintakehitystä.