CTAM CABLE MARKETING EUROSUMMIT – BARCELONA. User Generated Content may be one of the hottest topics of the moment, but it was far from clear to delegates as to whether operators and broadcasters are getting the returns they were hoping for.
I’ve got to understand why we have to do it, and whether it’s something people want to,” said Richard Melman, channel director, AETN International. “People who watch for 15 minutes is not much good to me, as a broadcaster I want people to watch for a lot longer. Melman explained that the high production values of The History Channel contrasted with the ability for virtually anyone to post their own content. Time had to be spent checking whether the posts were factually accurate.
For the operators, Judit Grorz, executive director, marketing and sales, UPC Hungary, said the cablenet had been experimenting with UGC for a number of years. “You can always go local and as an ISP you can always develop more features, like instant commenting. You can also integrate your cable content and later VOD services.” However, she admitted that UPC did not make money from the service, but was able to use it to extend and develop the brand.
Graeme Packman, principal consultant, Understanding & Solutions, pointed out that there was evidence that internet usage was already eating into TV viewing time, a loss of 3% in the UK, but UGC could still be used for good. Packman cited figures from CBS in the United States that was able to grow the audience for the David Letterman talk show by 5% when previews had been posted on YouTube.
