Monday's New York Times discussed the largely successful evolution of MTV -- parent company: Viacom (NYSE:VIA) -- from its beginnings as "Music Television" to its current role as a few music videos and a bunch of hit programs like "Real World," "Cribs," and, my current favorite "Juvies," which showcases real-life troubled teens serving time at a juvenile detention center.
With music downloads, stream-able music videos on the internet, YouTube, and such prominent acts as The Black-Eyed Peas, Britney Spears and Nickelback sporting their own Myspaces, the role of MTV as a hit-maker is changing. Bands like OK Go are gaining fame through music videos -- by posting them on YouTube. So, no longer able to make ends meet as "music television," the network is improvising, acquiring websites like iFilm and Xfire, and shifting to teen-oriented reality TV shows.
The changes that MTV is going through remind me of a similar change at NPR. As many jazz fans know, NPR has been drastically reducing the amount of jazz that it plays (in favor of news programming), much as MTV has cut down on music videos. While it's tempting to lament the decline in the popularity of America's Music, NPR's decision may actually have nothing to do with that. According to this interview on NPR, National Public Radio is just providing listeners with content that they can't get anywhere else. NPR's John Mcdonough said "Who is under-served by radio? In a complicated world, recorded music is cheap and available. Smart and civil discourse on public policy and culture is what's rare."
If someone had said 20 years ago that MTV Radio would today be considered the old media, they would have been laughed out of the room. But that's exactly what has happened. If old media outlets like television stations, newspapers, print publications, and the radio are to survive, they will do so by finding answers to the one question that counts: What can they provide that the new media doesn't?
The New York Times also profiled VG, Norway's biggest tabloid, which is making the evolution from an old media company to new media company seamlessly. The company has invested heavily in becoming an internet news outlet, buying up advertising companies and transitioning them to the web. But it has also expanded its print business, now offering news in France and Spain. It is also now offering a free newspaper, which seems smart. I think that many readers get their news on the internet because it is free but, all other things being equal, would prefer a print source if that is free too. The company's recognition of its need to adapt also helped. According to the article, Kjell Aamot, chief executive of Schibsted, said the company recognized more than a decade ago that "being a traditional Norwegian newspaper company would not be sustainable over time."
I've previously written that many newspaper companies may be undervalued right now, as evidenced by the action in private equity and offers from the likes of Jack Welch for stalwarts like The Boston Globe. Here are a couple of my previous pieces on newspapers:
http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/02/the-decline-and-fall-of-newspapers/
http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/07/are-newspapers-the-new-railroads/
http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/02/01/new-york-times-bullish-on-the-globe/
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-19-2007 @ 9:14PM
Nagel said...
NPR is one of the few MSM outlets to provide good information.
2-19-2007 @ 9:42PM
Chris said...
MTV has been a network on the decline for at least a decade now. With so few musical acts with any kind of staying power, they have to recycle their reality stars for "new" shows, over and over again. While I hate to say this, MTV was one of my favorite networks 20 years, it's time to put it to bed, as its usefulness has run its course.