TVloop Blog

There’s a great post today over at NewTeeVee about whether the Web hurts guilty pleasure TV shows because a significant number of viewers watch the show online rather than during its normal broadcast time slot.  That of course impacts Neilsen ratings which in turn impacts advertising rates which impacts advertising revenue and so on and so on.  The net result could be what we’re currently seeing with Lipstick Jungle.  NBC can’t seem to make up it’s mind about whether it’s going to axe the series mid-season or let the original 13 episodes run as planned while fans of the show are up in arms about its fate.  Now the show’s creators are saying that because of the number of streams online that the show is much more popular than originally thought.  The same can be said for Gossip Girl as CW has repeatedly tried to get a clear picture on exactly how many viewers it has for the show. From a TVLoop perspective, it’s one of our most popular applications with over 360,000 users of the application and over half a million quizzes taken to date.  TVLoop users just can’t seem to get enough of Blair, Serena, Nate and Chuck no matter how annoying and absurd the plotlines become.  Who wears red pants? No, I’m not a fan. But I digress.

If the question is whether networks should allow their viewers to stream these shows online, the answer should be a resounding YES.  In fact, it amazes me that the question could even be asked at all given the strides online video has made over the last couple of years especially as it relates to professional content from the major networks.  Today’s consumer wants to be in control of their television-viewing experience and the networks can either embrace them or combat them, but either way it’s going to happen in some form or fashion.  The smart thing to do is to continue working through the various models to give consumers what they want in a way that also provides a beneficial business outcome to the networks.  Online video does not have to mean lower revenue.  In fact, the opportunity available to networks with regards to online viewers is limitless if only they would look beyond the pre-roll and post-roll.  For instance, at TVLoop, we currently have full-length episodes of shows from ABC and Hulu (FOX, NBC, and FX).  At the same time, we have 16 million engaged TV fans that come to our social networking applications to interact with other fans around their favorite shows, answer trivia questions, play games, etc.  To really drive online revenue, the networks need to be more proactive about diversifying their advertising opportunities by working with partners such as TVLoop on integrated campaigns that span across video and the sites that are hosting them.

For instance, imagine watching a full episode of Grey’s Anatomy on TVLoop that contains an ad for the new James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace.  Not only would you be viewing a complete skin/takeover of the TVLoop page, when you’re finished watching the episode you would be greeted with an interstitial touting the movie and inviting you to watch the trailer.  And while answering Grey’s trivia questions (our most popular feature), five questions in you’re presented with a bonus question sponsored by Quantum of Solace and accompanied by some exclusive behind the scenes footage.  All said and done, you would be exposed to the Quantum of Solace brand message no less than 5-8 times during your 60 minute visit to the applicaiton.  That makes a lot more sense than seeing one lousy pre-roll that keeps you from getting to the content you’re really trying to watch.  A combined campaign not only increases frequency, but it has the potential to drive serious engagement with the brand message.  Hopefully the networks will come around and view online video as another component to online campaigns rather than the only component.