360º commissioning
- Article 3 of 3
- Total Content + Media, July 2007
Cross-platform or 360º commissioning is now almost a given in any broadcast project. The days when a programme could get by without a companion web site are long gone, but increasingly commissioners also expect content for other platforms, such as mobile TV, to be part of the mix.
Network FX part-financed “Urban Legends” with two other broadcasters, but topped up the budget to create some bespoke content for the series. Says programming head, Dan Shires, “By having total ownership over this one element of the show, it opened up a wealth of marketing and publicity opportunities for the series across the whole spectrum of platforms. Moving towards much more ownership and control over that content, to be used across all media, is the only direction to go.”
For 360º commissioners, however, research isn’t promising. Knowledge Networks/SRI analysed the use of US network TV web sites. Less than 5% of users polled said they use podcasts and user-generated content. The US Arbitron/Edison Internet and Multimedia Study 2007 showed that only 13 per cent of people surveyed had ever listened to a podcast and only 11 per cent had watched a video podcast.
Certainly, early attempts at multi-platform content failed to generate interest. Fox’s 24, starring Kiefer Sutherland, had a series of ‘mobisodes’ that accompanied its 2005 season. However, audience figures were poor, totalling only 1.5 million downloads.
UK show ‘Doctor Who’ has offered podcasts, video podcasts, mobisodes, interactive TV and other content. But despite being one of the country’s most popular shows, getting six to eight million viewers each week, its mobisodes failed to attract more than 3,000 phone downloads per episode.
Nevertheless, there have been some successes. The US’s SciFi Channel released a series of ‘webisodes’ leading up to the premiere of the third season of ‘Battlestar Galactica’ last year. These garnered 5.5 million viewers, the show itself only managing 2.2 million. NBC’s 360º companion to its show ‘Heroes’, “Heroes360”, which includes message boards, synched cast commentaries and an interactive novel, had over 48 million page views, seven million unique visitors and over 27 million video streams in the first two months following its debut in January. Its companion WAP sites had 150,000 to 200,000 views.
The key to a successful 360º experience appears to be creating the right kind of content. 24’s mobisodes didn’t feature any of the main cast. Fox’s president of mobile content, Lucy Hood, in an interview with the LA Times, explained: “Frankly, people wanted to see Kiefer.” Doctor Who’s mobisodes suffered the same problem. Battlestar Galactica’s webisodes, however, starred many of the show’s main cast, their greater run-time gave them more scope for plot, and they acted as direct prequels to the next season.
Miles Jarvis, Leopard Films’ head of multi-platform programming, says that any 360º project needs to consider relevance, commercial viability and editorial viability before beginning. “There needs to be transparency and trust. If there isn’t, it won’t be sticky.” Indeed, says Jarvis, some programmes simply don’t warrant 360º content, since additional material on other platforms will add very little value. “You need to look at why people would want to consume something for more than x minutes on their mobile.”
Lee Hardman, head of Conker Media, produces multi-platform content, including podcasts, online video, mobile and SMS content, for youth-oriented UK soap opera Hollyoaks. Roughly one third of the show’s audience connect with its web site every month. He says that the audience wants to be engaged but also entertained. “It’s shouldn’t be an exam.” The online content should supplement the broadcast content and create a dialogue with the audience. “The thing that irritates me more than anything else is when you get a commission and then you get asked to create new media on the back end of it.”
Paul Fifield, co-founder of Guerrilla, has created podcasts, online video and other content for EMAP’s FHM.com and FHM TV, currently the UK’s most-watched mobile TV channel. He says that producers will often try to create online versions or ‘chopped up’ mobile content based on the show, rather than complementary or original material. “It makes my jaw drop”, he says. By contrast, the projects that have been a success for his company have involved original material, sometimes only loosely linked with the original concept, but which is better suited for the media in which they are served.
The key to success and revenue in 360º projects is in providing extra value to the consumer, not simply exploiting an existing brand and content. Without that extra value, companies can create as much multi-platform content as they like, but will invariably find it to be wasted time, effort and money.