Guest blog post by Arka Sengupta, President and CEO of Unrendered Motion Picture Company:
An old boss once said of his primary hiring criteria: “I hire the guy who solves the most problems”. The same can be said of development executives. By and large, networks commit to projects that solve the most problems for them. And nowadays, they have many problems. For producers it is not only important to understand what networks are looking for from a creative standpoint, but to understand their larger pain points, and to articulate how your show can help.
Of course, a show has to fit what the network is looking for creatively, first and foremost. Subject matter, format, talent all need to feel germane to the network’s programming grid. And of course, the network needs to feel it will help (or at the very least, not hurt) ratings. But the difference between winning the pick-up season derby and winning the runner-up (booby) prize may be how your show can help the network in other ways.
The pain points depend on the network. And as I said, they are numerous. But by and large, the biggest pain point networks face is delivering content to advertisers that is engaging and multi-platform. The business of ad supported cable and broadcast TV is changing rapidly because we are in the midst of a generational shift in how marketing works.
Why? Audiences are fracturing. We started in an era of three networks and a handful of radio stations. We witnessed the explosion of tier 1 and tier 2 cable. We lived through the Internet boom, and are now in the midst of a social media revolution. With only so much time in the day, audiences are splintering viewership across all these platforms, and are often multi-tasking between them.
To put this fragmentation into perspective, in 1983 there were 30 networks. That year, 60% of households watched the series finale of M*A*S*H. The very next year, the Cable Act was enacted. By 1989 there were 80 networks. In 2002 that number was 280. 1983 was the last time we have ever seen a share north of 50%. In recent years, the only shows to break the top 50 in terms of viewership are Super Bowl telecasts. And that is precisely why it is the most expensive 30 seconds you can buy.
The cost of reaching a household via an ad is increasing every year. The total amount of money committed to the TV upfronts each year by advertisers is growing. But CPM’s demanded by the networks are growing faster. Which means the aggregate reach being bought by advertisers is diminishing. It is classic supply and demand at play.
What does this mean for advertisers? Every year, more advertisers are getting priced out of the reach market. Most brands were priced out of vehicles like American Idol and X Factor years ago. Nowadays, many are finding it hard to advertise on networks like USA, TNT and even Bravo and A&E. For brands, the question is how to do more with less audience. For many the answer seems to lie in pushing that audience online, and engaging them more. Each time you engage a person in a conversation (earned media), you create an additional opportunity to expose that person to your brand, at minimal additional cost. As paid media is becoming more expensive, brands are shifting focus to earned media opportunities.
What does this mean for networks? They can attract more advertisers (and charge higher CPM’s) if the shows they feature have significant online presence, and if it engages audiences in organic ways. Each year, digital media represents a greater percentage of total upfront spending. Over 90% of that digital media spend is directly tied to a TV show. Advertisers love shows that drive audiences to do stuff online.
What does this mean for producers? It means you are a multi-platform content creator whether you like it or not. Chances are, the network will HAVE to figure out how your show manifests itself online. If you can preemptively provide some solutions, so much the better. This can be as simple as developing strategies for producing extra “digital only” footage. But over time, as the demand for “engagement” increases, content creators will need to develop more organic ways to make their show ideas engaging, digital and social. Can you crowd source certain elements? Can you create hooks that get the audience involved? How does your show work on Facebook? How do you integrate Twitter?
In the current climate, creative synergies and the ability to rate are the most important factors that go into selling a show. But over time, the need for networks to engage and drive audiences online will only grow. As advertisers become more sophisticated, they will demand more organic and more authentic ways to do this. Your show’s ability to deliver on this will become more and more important as the industry continues to evolve.
Arka Sengupta is the President and CEO of Unrendered Motion Picture Company. He is a producer specializing in multi-platform content and branded entertainment. He has produced content for networks like MTV, SPIKE, Sundance, VEVO and others. He has produced some of the largest branded entertainment projects on TV and online for brands like Smirnoff, Subway and Barnes & Noble. Prior to producing content, Arka spent almost a decade in digital and traditional advertising.
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