 Lesson for radio?: NBC's value today is in its cable channels ·Dec 3, 08:58 AM I’ve been brand-loyal to the NBC Television Network since I was a small child watching Bill Cullen host the original version of “The Price is Right,” Hugh Downs hosting “Concentration,” J. Fred Muggs co-hosting “The Today Show,” and Jack Parr and Steve Allen in their post-“Tonight Show” endeavors. That brand loyalty intensified during my format teenage years watching the globetrotting adventures of “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,” the galaxy-trotting adventures of the original “Star Trek,” and the classic treatise on entrepreneurialism, “Remington Steele,” and incorporated brand loyalty to the such non-prime time shows as the “NBC Nightly News” and even, And that brand loyalty continues today thanks to great shows like “The Office,” Conan O’Brien, and “30 Rock,” the latter of which actually takes place within the halls of NBC itself. Thus it’s eye-opening to learn that as Comcast is looking to acquire to NBC from General Electric, the value of the company is not in the NBC Television Network or its solid lineup of owned & operated broadcast stations in major markets. As the New York Times reports, “Most of NBC’s value is in its lucrative cable channels — USA, Bravo, SyFy, CNBC and MSNBC. The NBC network and Universal Studios will comprise only a small portion of the joint venture’s cash flow.” As Lt. Cmdr. Spock would say: “Fascinating.” WHAT ARE THE PARALLELS FOR RADIO?So what are the parallels for radio?First, I should acknowledge that those lucrative cable channels took 20 years or so to build. Meanwhile, most radio group operators are, perhaps by necessity, focusing almost all of their thinking on getting through the next couple of quarters. Nonetheless, it’s entirely possible that the real value in radio a decade from now will be not be local broadcast facilities but rather the radio industry version of TV cable networks. In other words, if Bonneville or Entercom or Greater Media or Cox Radio or their ilk are worth a billion dollars in, say, 2019, their value may be primarily due to their ownership of national (or global) personalizable brands of Internet radio like Pandora and its competitors that they launched in 2010 or 2011 (or acquired subsequently). I’m not suggesting that broadcast licenses will be valueless, any more than anyone is suggesting that NBC’s local O&Os are valueless. I’m just suggesting that, for the successful radio companies of the future, like for NBC today, that’s not where the heart of their future value may be. share: del.icio.us.  Reddit  Digg  Yahoo  Wink  Windows  Google  Newsvine 
Comment Other blog entries Book your TUESDAY travel to Washington, DC! Want to experiment with a new approach to drive times? Kurt's iPad review: Absolutely, astonishingly game-changing! Apple iPad: No Flash, no multitasking... yet What might the Apple tablet mean to online radio? Missing the obvious: NBC did. Are you too? Conan: Classiest, smartest guy in the whole NBC/ Leno imbroglio Lesson for radio?: NBC's value today is in its cable channels Internet radio is coming to your nightstand's clock-radio Best RAIN Summit ever? Maybe! Thanks to everyone |
generally, the news on my local 
