Blog

TV content growth brings urgency to IP protection

Valerie | 08 Oct 2009, 20:43

While the global recession is hitting the TV industry hard, the format business appears to be faring well, with new research unveiled by FRAPA  (Format Recognition and Protection Assn)  at the MIPCOM event in Cannes revealing that the volume of production on the back of traded formats has exploded into a €9.3bn industry from 2006-2008.

In total, 445 global original formats were exported from 2006 to 2008, with British formats accounting for 146 of these. The survey of the world’s 14 biggest format exporting countries identified the U.S., Denmark, Norway and Sweden as the biggest format exporters after the UK, driven by such formats as “Big Brother,“ “Hole in the Wall” and “Got Talent.“

Against a broader backdrop of significant structural changes, as the TV industry grapples with the challenge of convincing consumers to pay for new services, content production is expected to stay relatively stable. The US, currently ranked as the leading content producing nation today will retain this position over the next five years despite strong growth from UK and India, according to a separate international content trend survey by Global Media Consult.

As IPTV and internet-enabled devices start challenging the dominance of the traditional broadcast business model, an opportunity will be available for all players that are ready to act flexibly, creatively and to anticipate – and respond – to consumer demand. And the need for intellectual property protection will become all the clearer and greater.

Smaller creative businesses and individuals as well as global brands must fit into c&binet

C&binet | 08 Oct 2009, 11:50

C&binet comment: Ben Bradshaw, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

What do Lily Allen and Peter Mandelson have in common? They both featured in questions that I unfortunately didn’t have time to answer in my hour-long webchat on the Number 10 website last Monday.

At a rough average of four minutes for reading, thinking and typing time per question, I managed to respond to 13 questions – but that amounted to only a fraction of the number that came in.

My thanks to everyone who contributed – and my apologies to those that I didn’t have time for. Rest assured, the c&binet team have access to the log of questions and will feed them into the thinking for c&binetforum.

One thing that the webchat did forcefully remind me of, was how important it is we keep front-of-mind the interests of the individuals and small businesses that a make up the vast majority of the creative economic community.

C&binet is – and has to be – as much a forum for individual technicians, illustrators and musicians as it is for NBC Universal, Virgin Media or Google.

In clearing spectrum to make way for next generation mobile services, what are the consequences for the equipment used by sound engineers or small venues? How do we make the support structures of government less remote to small scale outfits – as Alan Mcglone asks in the comments to my earlier blog below?  How do we make sure we are weighing all the potential consequences – for creativity as well as revenue – when we look to modify rules for a changing world?

I for one don’t agree that pub rock is dying as a consequence of the smoking ban, as Mickey Flynn commented on my last posting – but Mickey, I do pay tribute - not just to your military service, but to your entrepreneurial use of this blog to promote your music!

UK online ad spend overtakes TV for the first time

Valerie | 02 Oct 2009, 16:46

The latest figures published by media agency Carat indicates that the UK ad market is not expected to recover until 2010.

Carat has significantly revised its March forecasts, which predicted a 7.1 per cent drop for the UK and a 5.8 per cent fall globally. The new forecast now predicts a decline of almost 12%. TV advertising will fall by 12% this year; radio by 12.6%; outdoor by 12.2%; and the newspaper and magazine sectors by 20% and 16% respectively.

This follows the news this week that the UK has become the first major economy where advertisers spend more on internet advertising than on television advertising, with a record £1.75bn online spend in the first six months of the year.

Whilst this may mark a milestone for the “embattled TV industry” as the leading ad medium in the UK for almost half a century, critics have pointed out that it is inaccurate to collate all the figures as if it is one single medium.

Despite the gloomy picture for the UK, Carat said it expects growth of 1% in 2010, driven by more stable conditions in the West and a recovery in developing markets, particularly China.  France, Canada and the U.K. Russia, and Japan were also cited as countries that will see a return to growth in advertising expenditure next year.

As the Wall Street Journal indicates, opinions vary among advertising executives as to when and to what extent growth will return to the advertising industry.

As E-consultancy notes, these are interesting times for advertisers, agencies and publishers/media companies, highlighting the questions that now remain about just how far online advertising can go and the main opportunities for growth going forwards – key issues for the future of the creative economy that will be addressed at the c&binet forum next month.

Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw live webchat on the changing face of the UK’s creative industries

Andrew | 30 Sep 2009, 11:28

C&binet comment: Ben Bradshaw, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

The creative economy is the subject of the next webchat to be hosted on the Number 10 website, and I’ll be answering questions live between 3 and 4pm next Monday afternoon (5th October).

The c&binet community are, of course, very welcome to submit questions – the Number 10 webchat is open to everyone – or you can do so through this blog. It’s vital we have the debate in full swing before we even start the first sessions of the c&binet forum event in just a few weeks time.  I see the Number 10 webchat as a particular chance to get a feel for the issues that are front of mind for a digital-savvy general public audience – whether that’s the future of the BBC, unlawful filesharing, local news or creative jobs. Whichever directions the questions come from, they will be a welcome part of the build up to the c&binet forum.

Videogames outperform Hollywood movies as talent and opportunities converge

Valerie | 30 Sep 2009, 07:55

An article in last weekend’s Observer provides a thought provoking reminder of how far video games have come from the early cathode ray tube-based games of the 1950s.

As Tom Chatfield explains, the sheer sophistication and modern production values of video games today is staggering. From the British-produced Grand Theft Auto IV which grossed $310m (£157m) to secure the title of the most successful entertainment release in history, to Halo 3, which sold 2m copies worldwide on its day of release and the multiplayer phenomenon of online gaming embodied by the World of Warcraft.

Unsurprising then that last year saw the UK video games industry become the country’s most valuable purchased entertainment market, hitting the $£4bn mark for the first time, overtaking DVD and music sales combined, and taking more than four times cinema box office takings. With advances in technology, games have started to transcend the demographic divide to appeal to a wider audience.

Chatfield argues however that we are yet to see the full economic potential of video games and that they are unlikely to become as ubiquitous as cinema, television and recorded music are today for another half century.

But in the meantime, the medium continues to attract new legions of fans – from television producers, writers and actors to directors, musicians and performance artists. There is certainly much buzz and optimism and the sense of innovation that is continuing to break new ground.

The recently published “50 most influential Britons in Technology’ rankings includes several gaming legends, such as c&binet ambassador and head of Microsoft’s Lionhead Studios Peter Molyneux, Electronic Art’s Peter Moore and brothers Sam and Dan Houser, the creative masterminds behind the Grand Theft auto franchise, who are widely acknowledged as among the most influential figures working in the creative industry today.

But clearly, more can be done to sustain this “melting pot of talents and new ideas”.  Despite growing at a spectacular rate over the past two decades, the recession poses significant challenges for the sector. But with consumer behaviour changing rapidly and as new platforms emerge, what analysts believe could become the dominant media channel over coming years may well hold true.

Creative Industries lead Iceland recovery

Valerie | 25 Sep 2009, 13:55

Iceland’s creative industries are vital to re-building the country’s economy, Iceland’s minister for Industry has told delegates in a welcome address at the country’s You Are In Control conference.

Now in its third year, YAIC explores the latest digital business developments and investment available in music, media and the arts, focusing on new business models, the impact of the digital revolution on in the creative industries and how today’s creatives can work together – all key areas that will be addressed at the c&binet forum next month.

According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OLED) Iceland’s economy is set for a slow but nascent recovery early next year. The OLED projects Iceland’s economic contraction at around 7 percent this year and has forecast a 0.8 percent contraction in GDP for 2010.

Having faced its deepest recession in decades and the complete collapse of its banking system, it is welcome news and demonstrates the economic potential of creative industries both in Iceland and in countries such as China and the UK, where creative sectors have become engines for regional economic development.

Iceland has long been famed for its natural beauty and in recent years its unusual landscape has attracted Hollywood movies and seen its profile grow in the international film industry, aided by films such as Stardust, Batman Begins and James Bond: Die Another Day, whilst the achievements of Björk and Sigur Ros have put Iceland firmly on the map of International Music.

Concluding his address, Katrín Júlíusdóttir, the Minister of Industry, Energy and Tourism said:

“We must get the message across that we are more than geysers, volcanos, waterfalls - and now fallen banks. Here you will also find creative people, culture and modern industries.
“... the government hopes (to) join forces with creative industries, the tourist industry and other important players to reshape the way we approach international marketing of Iceland as the source of culture, goods and services, as a destination and as a country to operate and invest in.”