I’ve ranted in past blog posts about the inconvenience of Ticketmaster’s paperless tickets and have even called them the highway to ticket hell (a nod to AC/DC’s paperless tickets use). I’m in a ranting mood again today, particularly when I was thinking about how they’d frustrate a Christmas gift to my parents for a play or show (my parents love attending concerts & theater).
Ticketmaster may call it innovation, but I call it frustration. You can resell your townhouse, Toyota, or textbooks online. But there’s one product, that thanks to new technology, can’t be bought and resold–“paperless tickets“.
That almost anything can be bought and resold is a benefit to consumers, particularly in tough economic times. But with paperless tickets, instead of getting a paper ticket (or an email that you print up at home) you have to present 1) the credit card used to purchase the tickets, and 2) a government-issued photo identification for admittance. Paperless tickets have been used throughout the recent Miley Cyrus tour this year. She performed at the Verizon Center last month in Washington, DC and a local news story reported on the hardship it created for many fans:
A photo ID is also required, meaning Talia Levin couldn’t just take her mom’s credit card to the concert. Her mom had to swipe her through. “If you are older, then you can go by yourself, so it’s hard to have to go with your parents,” stated Talia Levin. “I refuse to buy into any artist who does this ever again,” said Talia’s mom, Melanie Levin. “I won’t do it.”
So what if I wanted to go online to buy concert tickets for my parents as a Christmas Gift? Would I have to go down to the arena to get them in–down in Atlanta?? Continue reading →
In her latest column, Media Post media market guru Diane Mermigas wonders how long it will be before we see a traditional over-the-air (OTA) broadcast TV network (like ABC, NBC, CBS, or Fox) dump their old broadcast business altogether and just move all their properties to cable and satellite TV. And, in response to Mermigas, Cory Bergman of Lost Remote argues, as I did last week, “the real future of TV is not linear cable, but non-linear video delivered seamlessly via IP to multiple devices, including your TV set. But mass adoption of this approach is still several years away.”
Bergman is right. It would be foolish to think any traditional network is going to rely exclusively on IP-based distribution any time soon; they see it as more of a compliment (or another product window). But Mermigas may be on to something in predicting that broadcast networks may soon be looking to get out of the OTA television business altogether and essentially become “a glorified general entertainment cable network.”
The strain on their dysfunctional paradigm is emanating from a devastating recession and the ongoing digital revolution. Both are permanently altering the rules of play for the networks. A case can be made for at least one of the Big 4 broadcast networks emerging as a glorified general entertainment cable network within the next several years. The economic advantages: more steady ad revenues and consistent subscriber fees as content is distributed cross-platform.
It would be a bold move that a free-spirited company such as News Corp. might already be contemplating for its Fox Broadcast TV Network, or NBC Universal for its peacock network. Industry analysts increasingly wonder how an independent CBS can prattle on under the crumbling old rules. In a world of exploding access and choices, the prime-time ratings (even with Live plus 3 configurations) spell diminishing returns. For Disney, ABC’s general entertainment status is on par with ESPN in sports; the new multi-platform model is in place except for formally moving the ABC TV Network to the cable side of the ledger.
Continue reading →
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