Video Killed the Radio Star (Now It's Happening to TV)

So, you’ve been to Circuit City, bought that new HD ready TV, and shelled out for the surround sound (after all, it’s all on sale, they’re going out of business). You have satellite radio in your car, an IPod, and a smart phone. If you don’t, you soon will. Broadcast Radio and TV is going away. The entire industry is changing. Hulu, Youtube, Twitter, Facebook, and Google are taking over mass media. If the huge corporations that run the TV and Radio business today are going to keep up, they’re going to have to invest in ‘social media’ and become more interactive. People don’t want to wait for Monday at 8 PM anymore. They want to watch on their time and they want to talk to others online about what they’re watching.

This is a problem for broadcasters. All of our money comes from advertisers. Now, because of DVRs, TIVOs, and internet streaming sites, advertisers can’t be guaranteed that their commercial will reach people in a set timeframe. For instance, Target’s Dollar Days have all coke products on sale for this week only, if you TIVO the program and see the commercial next week, Target’s ad lost its effectiveness. Also, why are you watching the ad? You TIVO’d it! You’re fast forwarding through the ads. Advertisers see this happening and they’re pulling their dollars.

TV ratings mean nothing anymore. Because so many programs are being watched online and TIVO’d, the ratings aren’t catching a true number. TV ratings are what broadcasters use to set ad prices, so the advertisers that are sticking with TV are paying less.

Broadcasters are going out of business. The question is, will the TV get better or worse?