Yesterday I heard a report on NPR about European TV Networks attempting to fight online piracy. The problem here is that TV shows from the states can take up to six months to make their way overseas. Some foreign networks depend on the American content for the bulk of their programming. Pirates are getting the shows subtitled and out on file sharing sites within minutes of the US broadcast, making for stiff competition for the traditional TV networks.
As one commentator in the report noted, this is obviously not a new problem. The music industry has been fighting piracy for over seven years. The difference here is we are talking about medium that the average person perceives as being free.
A perception shared by other mediums like the web and mobile. I think the issue of TV shows serves as an interesting parallel case study to other industries trying to make a buck online and the web in general.
The Great Menace
Each time I hear of the “threat” or “menace” of TV piracy, I become amazed at the enormous disconnect between the expectations of the business and the expectations of the user. The business, in this case the media companies and TV networks, expect to be paid for their content, like a character from Goodfellas, “Don’t like the last episode of Ugly Betty? F*** you. Pay me! The DRM on CSI doesn’t work on your Mac? F*** you. Pay me!”
However the user expects televised content to be free. This has been the case since its inception into our living rooms over 50 years ago. Sure there is cable and HBO, but the bulk of popular shows like The Office, Lost and Desperate Housewives are all broadcast over the “free” networks. Users feel an entitled ownership to the content having been freely available their entire lives.
No wonder TV piracy is able to proliferate around the world. However long the needs of these two groups are so far apart there will be people to try to fill the gap from Apple’s iTunes charging 99-cents per episode to EZTV a popular TV-torrent distribution group, distributing content for free over Bittorrent.
In addition, as methods of consuming content like TV shows increases, with products like AppleTV, video iPods and iPhones, the user is only going to become increasingly frustrated with overly complicated restrictions. If I buy an episode of Battlestar Gallactica, I might want to watch it on my iPhone on a flight AND on my TiVo, something I can’t legally do today. The more devices of convenience, the more frustration. The more frustration, the more apt people will be to seek out other means of acquiring content.
This “content protectionism” defies user expectations, is expensive to enforce, alienates consumers and therefore creates the digital black market that the media companies are trying so hard to defeat. This is simply a battle that the media companies can not win.
A Radical Idea: Give them a Choice
So I have a novel idea. In order for the media companies to compete this dire threat, why don’t they do something revolutionary, like listen to their users more and shareholders less. Provide their audiences with solutions that are inline with expectations first and then monetize the outcome.
Forgive the sarcasm here, but the solution seems so stupid simple. Give users the choice, allow them to make the decision of how, when and where they want to consume their content. Meet their expectations of providing content for free, but insert some commercials throughout the show, just as they have been for 50 years.
So what if the user can scan past them? I can scan past commercials on my TiVo today, just like I did with my VCR 10 years ago. Advertising that is of interest to me I stop and engage with, ignoring the rest. Advertising works when done right, when they speak to the user and address their needs. Is it such a sin when I want to skip over a commercial for the latest incontinence drug? Seriously?
So I think the media companies should do something radical. Just put advertising in their content, and distribute it freely to the masses. Go ahead seed Heroes via Bittorrent. Ditch the DRM and make it so simple for users to consume that they would have no need to download content through elicit means. I believe the math is simple, the easier content is to consume, the more people will consume it, the more consumption the more money to be made.
Look at a show like Jericho. A show with lackluster ratings during the original airing had a massive revival in post broadcast viewings through services iTunes and Bittorrent. So much so it prompted a grassroots campaign for its renewal, which ultimately succeeded. If video sharing were more mature during the initial run of Firefly, I’m sure we would be graced with more episodes today.
A satisfied user will always come back for more. If a bond between user and brand will be forged, they will become an important ally in future endeavors, making the cost to earning potential per user incredibly high. If users are forced to fill their needs from outside sources the opposite occurs. Users can build disdain for the brand for not listening nor filling their expectations.
This mistake applies to us all
While I obviously don’t expect to have a media company executive to read my ramblings and see the light, suddenly shifting their archaic policy of content protectionism. However I do think that the rest of us in other industries can learn from this cluster, especially the bigger content publishers.
Your content is NOT more important than people.
Remember basic market research: Listen to your users. Understand their expectations. Understand their needs then meet them. By showing respect for the user, you will be rewarded in countless ways. By boldly trying to oppose the known expectations of users one thing is certain, you will lose.
Well said folks.
Big media’s fear of piracy is the very thing that fuels the pirating of their video media.
Advertising? Pre-roll, post-roll, inter-content-insertion (i.e. traditional commercials)…today’s media consumers are used to it all — no matter the distribution method — and expect our “free” content to come with the “price” of advertising. Big Media needs to fight the piracy with content — by releasing their programming in, high-quality, easy to share formats (advertising intact) for us to consume as we see fit.
I support your idea.