Broadcasters Consider Profitability of New Media

Formulating tactics to make local and national broadcasters’ increased use of new-media ventures - like cell phone text alerts - profitable was a key topic of discussion during two recent industry events in Las Vegas: the Radio-Television News Directors Association conference (RTNDA) and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) convention, writes Broadcasting & Cable.

Companies are both interested and fearful of exploring new media platforms. Although news directors are eager to develop new products, they don’t know how to manage the increased workload development would bring to newsrooms. General managers and station owners want to enter the internet sales market but feel challenged by non-traditional advertisers and interactive agencies.

As TV viewing declines, increasing internet and mobile revenue and usage figures have caught the attention of station executives. Noting this trend, local broadcasters at the Las Vegas events urged industry players to hire salespeople exclusively for the internet, rather than combine online and TV sales responsibilities.

Following the trend set by national broadcasters like NBC and ABC who are taking their content online, local broadcasters are increasingly reaching out to smaller screens, developing content for computers, cell phones and personal digital assistants in order to attract viewers and generate new revenue.