Tectonic Shifts in Digital Media

Thank you to Eleanor Haas of The Calyx Group LLC for a great writeup about our breakfast this morning (Dec 17, 2008).

More later this week!

“Tectonic” - pertaining to changes in the earth’s crust. “Tectonic shift” was something George Kliavkoff said at least three times in the course of his NYMIEG interview on December 17th. Probably not surprising from the Chief Digital Officer at NBC Universal at this moment in media history. And those three were only a few of many implied.

The first shift he mentioned was the shift of media and advertising to digital platforms as ROI becomes increasingly important to marketers. At the moment, he commented, some pockets of advertising will slow but overall, we can expect to see a flight to quality - to premium content, such as NBC’s www.hulu.com. Read more

NY Times: YouTube Pales Next to Hulu’s Spiffy Multiplex

For those of you who weren’t aware, our December guest speaker, NBC Universal Chief Technology Officer, George Kliavkoff is our guest speaker. George is the architect behind Hulu, website that offers free, advertiser supported streaming video of TV shows and movies from NBC, FOX and many other networks and studios.

I found the following article from today NY Times “Technology” section of special interest
YouTube Pales Next to Hulu’s Spiffy Multiplex
By Saul Hansell

There are deals for show and deals for business. So far, YouTube’s arrangements to host professional video content are more for show, to signal it intends to be serious in that market eventually. Read more

Happy Birthday Hulu!

Timing is everything. Today marks the 1st anniversary of the official launch of Hulu. Hulu,  founded in March 2007 by NBC Universal and News Corp as a destination to help people find and enjoy the world’s premium video content when, where and how they want it.

Ironically, our upcoming December guest speaker, George Kliavkoff, Chief Digital Officer at NBC Universal,  was the first CEO of Hulu, where he is still a board member. Kliavkoff launched the site before hiring Jason Kilar as his replacement and secured $100 million in funding from private equity group Providence Equity Partners. Read more