The buzz is that 2007 is the year of video on the web; it will come of age. No doubt there's a ton of video out there, but a revenue-generating model hasn't been proven.
Heck, You Tube sold for millions but is in the red.
So what makes me think QNN has a fighting chance?
As Cameron Olthuis foretells in his Predictions for 2007,
2. Niche. As more people get comfortable with social media, social sites for every little niche will popup. They’ll gain enough adoption to sustain themselves and we’ll all live happily ever after.
I'll buy that. Seriously, enthusiast group sites are a good bet for the success of video on the Internet. Why? Because visitors have an interest, a motive, in spending time there. Their purpose isn't just entertainment; they want to learn something. And because these sites serve an established enthusiast group, they bring with them the added bonus of built-in community.
As for whether people will watch video on the web Fred Wilson's comment in his blog entry 2007: Broadband Internet Video hit it right on the head:
I think people consistently overestimate the "quality" and "screensize" issues in the IPTV debate and underestimate the issues of convenience and ubiquity of content. I have found that time and time again, ubiquitous content of poor quality wins over a narrow selection of high quality.
Convenience and selection, yes, and access. We air nearly all of the quilting series ever available on TV. In any market maybe two of these would be available. So not only is QNN a convenient quilting channel collecting all the shows (and adding many more seen nowhere else) but we also provide unprecedented access. Just ask the 30% of our viewers who are from outside the U.S. and who have never before been able to see a sinlge quilting program before QNNtv launched.
Regarding quality, with a special interest group looking for how-to content is what matters. In our case, clearly showing what the presenter is doing is the fundamental imperative. For example, I have received several emails about one segment Andrea Bishop and I did for Electric Quilt. (Fantastic quilt design software now in its sixth version.) Each e-mail read along the lines of, "While you and Andrea are lovely to look at, I am watching to see what you are doing, not your pretty faces." Not that quality doesn't matter, just that we aren't talking production values for Emmys here. It's how-to afterall!
What about making money? Bradley Werner of Sixth Generation in his article Video Trends for 2007 writes:
In the near future, the key to effective and profitable digital video will be the relevant targeting and contextual association between the advertising and the content. Targeting methods and media planning services that ensure pre-roll, mid-roll and post-roll ads are highly relevant to the content they play around will make those products more effective and more tolerable to users. Adding companion banners and interactive capabilities goes without saying because the internet was built for that, but it will be the marriage of ads to complimentary content in context that will ensure the success of digital video results.
In the past six months we have launched our first "how-to-mercials." I suppose in another venue they'd be called "infomericals." The difference is that these short shows are presented by the author of a book, designer of a quilt pattern, manufacturer of a tool, etc. This isn't like selling a ginga knife to the masses. We have an audience that wants to see the new products, so product placement and even these low-key commericials are welcome. The advertising is part of the programming.
My bet is that when we roll out major brand advertisers in the forms Bradley describes, our viewers won't protest. For one we'll let them know the advertisers are paying the bills. For another, viewers want the content and won't be easily induced to channel-hopping when an ad plays. Plus, we have a highly targeted audience, so ads can be directed to their needs and sensibilities.
We are the only niche network I know of addressing a special interest audience by aggregating made-for TV content, airing shows made for the channel and producing our own. Perhaps the business model that we are unrolling this year will be the one that'll work for us. And better yet, a road map for others. Bring on 2007!
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