2009: A Year in Review

As the year comes to a close, World Screen Newsflash takes a look back at the biggest stories of the year, and identifies some of the hot topics to watch in 2010.

The year kicked off with disputes and reconciliations; Viacom and Time Warner Cable clinched a new agreement following a very public spat over the terms of carriage for networks like MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central. Univision and Televisa, meanwhile, finally headed to court and resolved their long-running battle over the terms of the Mexican media giant’s program-supply contract with the U.S. Hispanic broadcaster.

Hanging over the industry’s head at the start of this year was the threat of a strike action by the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) in the U.S., leaving Hollywood—which had only just recovered from the Writers Guild strike—even more anxious about the future. After months of tense negotiations, SAG and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) finally approved a new two-year contract in April. The actors union ratified the deal in June.

The year also began with even more evidence that the entertainment landscape has changed for good. At the Consumer Electronics Show, Deloitte released a survey revealing that 14- to 25-year-olds view the computer as more of an entertainment device than the TV set. The increasingly prominent role of the Internet would be seen in coverage of the year’s biggest stories; President Barack Obama’s inauguration shattered online viewing records, while news of Michael Jackson’s death actually slowed down Internet traffic globally for several hours.

There was an abundance of research this year about new viewership trends. Early in the year, Knowledge Networks reported that 21 percent of Internet users aged 13 to 54 are watching full episodes of TV programs online, up from 10 percent in 2006. Nielsen’s latest Three Screen Report found that DVR usage in the U.S. is up by 21.1 percent since Q3 2008, while online video usage is up by 34.9 percent.

In light of numbers like that, it comes as no surprise that 2009 saw a flurry of broadcasters finding new ways to exploit their content on multiple platforms. Some of those next-generation platforms thrived; YouTube, Hulu (which attracted Disney as a new partner this year), the BBC’s iPlayer, iTunes and Germany’s maxdome are among the success stories. Others didn’t fare as well. Project Kangaroo, the proposed VOD venture from BBC Worldwide, ITV and Channel 4, was nixed by competition authorities, while Joost, which launched with much fanfare in 2007, said this June that it would license its technology out instead of trying to take on the big boys of the online video space, and six months later its assets were scooped up by the Adconion Media Group.

‘Reorganizing’ and ‘adjusting business models,’ were the mantras for most media companies this year as the ad downturn resulted in smaller profits, quite a few losses and numerous layoffs. But even in tough times, companies found ways to expand their activities. Sony Pictures Television acquired Michael Davies’ Embassy Row and a stake in Colombia’s Teleset, Lionsgate acquired a stake in the TV Guide Network, Endemol purchased Southern Star as well as IMG’s Tiger Aspect and Darlow Smithson, FremantleMedia took a majority interest in Thom Beers’ Original Productions, Time Warner invested in Central European Media Enterprises (CME), News Corporation upped its ownership in Germany’s Premiere (and soon rebranded it as Sky Deutschland), Shine Group purchased Nordic outfit Metronome Film & Television, AETN Television Networks took control of Lifetime Entertainment Services, Disney acquired Marvel Entertainment, Banijay scooped up Nordisk Film’s TV division, Scripps Networks took over Travel Channel and invested in NDTV Lifestyle in India… The year ends with the media sector’s biggest transaction in years: Comcast Corporation’s joint venture with GE that will encompass NBC Universal as well as Comcast’s portfolio of popular cable networks.

Nonetheless, it was a challenging year for international distributors, as the ad downturn put the squeeze on broadcasters’ commissioning and acquisitions budgets. There was certainly a downcast mood at MIPTV in April, during which news broke of debt-laden Entertainment Rights’ new ownership. (On April 1, Eric Ellenbogen and John Engelman, who had sold Classic Media to ER in 2007, bought the kids’ content provider through their Boomerang Media outfit, in conjunction with private-equity firm GTCR.) The low-key atmosphere at MIPTV—where year-on-year attendance was down by 14 percent—continued throughout much of the year, but by MIPCOM in October, distributors were beginning to feel guardedly optimistic for the future.

New platforms and the continued DTT rollouts worldwide are creating room for new channels, all of which are going to need quality content to survive in an increasingly competitive landscape. In 29 countries in Europe alone, there are more than 5,600 channels available, the European Audiovisual Observatory said earlier this year. Asia is set to see tremendous growth; pay-TV broadcasters in the region will achieve revenues of $20 billion by 2013, Media Partners Asia said.

On the cusp of a new channels boom, Asia will undoubtedly be a region to watch in 2010. Not every channel that has promised to expand in the region will survive the year, but expect to see a lot of new faces popping up on the newly available slots on platforms that have finally migrated to digital. IPTV is also becoming a viable pay-TV model in several Asian markets, and that trend is likely to continue.

In the U.S., meanwhile, expect more multiplatform deals as content owners explore all the options available to them online and on demand; these new consumption trends prompted the launch this year of the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement by a group of media companies and advertising firms.

The industry will also be closely watching the proposed Comcast/GE joint venture, which is likely to continue generating headlines through early 2010 as the partners seek regulatory approval. All eyes will also be on the NBC broadcast network as it works to get back on top of the ratings table after its gamble on Jay Leno in the 10 p.m. slot. New ownership for MGM is also likely in 2010.

Across the pond in the U.K., there will be continued debate about public-service broadcasting and the role of the BBC, which was very much in the news this year after James Murdoch’s controversial tirade against the organization in August.

Elsewhere in Europe, hot topics will include SKY Italia’s continued assault on the free-TV landscape and the prospects for News Corporation’s Cielo network, the shake-out from the elimination of advertising on public broadcasting in France, consolidation in Spain and the prospects for Sky Deutschland in Germany. Plus, much of the region (and the rest of the globe) will be tuned in as World Cup fever takes root in June, with the highly anticipated event airing live from South Africa.

In Latin America, there will be the shakeout from the new media legislation in Argentina, while much focus will be on Brazil, which is set to host the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016, and is also expected to become a major economic driver in the years ahead.

International distributors, meanwhile, will be waiting expectantly for the much-needed ad recovery that ZenithOptimedia, GroupM and others have been predicting as of late. The year certainly comes to a close on a positive note. People are watching more TV than ever, and all signs point to an ad rebound beginning in the first quarter of 2010. Nonetheless, everyone in the media business will be adjusting to the new realities of 2010; from exploring innovative co-production and financing partnerships to get projects off the ground to seeking viable business models for exploiting content on multiple platforms. We’ll be addressing all of these issues and more in print, online and on video throughout the year. To catch up on any news that you may have missed, visit WorldScreen.com.