TiVo, music downloading and Jon Stewart may have little to do with one another, but they are all causing headaches for media executives these days.
Students learned about the problem firsthand from four industry leaders who took part in a jam-packed discussion last night in Houston Hall.
The talk included Comcast Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning Mark Coblitz, Columbia Business School professor Eli Noam, media consultant Tom Wolzien and NBC President of Research and Media Development Alan Wurtzel to debate several important issues facing the media.
One of those issues was the role of TiVo and other digital video recording devices, which have changed the way both networks and cable companies alike conduct business.
TiVo, which five years ago was virtually nonexistent, is now in use in six percent of American homes. Coblitz explained that cable companies have found it profitable to include the devices with their cable packages at a bargain price, allowing for TiVo to expand even more rapidly.
Networks are now afraid that the use of the machines, which allow consumers to watch television programs without commercials, will deter companies from spending money on advertisements.
It also makes it difficult for networks to introduce new shows, as viewers are not likely to TiVo a show with which they are not familiar.
"TiVo is just one big pain in [NBC's] butt," Wurtzel complained.
Still, it is not the end of television advertising, he cautioned.
"Until someone finds something better than a persuasive message for 30 seconds, commercials will always be around," he said.
Shifting to another technology that has caused headaches, the panel discussed the recent efforts of the music recording industry to litigate against illegal music downloading.
"The real issue is how greedy the copyright holders have become," Wurtzel said. "The recording industry started charging $17 to $18 for CDs with two songs worth listening to, and there was a backlash. The consumers know they ought to get something at a price that is fair."
The key, Noam said, is to come up with a way to embrace the new technology that makes both the industry and the consumer happy, just as Apple did with it's iTunes music player.
After the group finished its discussion, College senior Shannon Madden asked the four panelists about the role of news networks in informing the public, especially those in the 18 to 35 demographic.
Madden pointed out that Jon Stewart's The Daily Show is often the main source of information for many young adults, who ask why network news stations don't gear some of their programming towards that age group.
"There needs to be something that bridges the gap between Jon Stewart and the traditional, cut-and-dry news program," she said. "But Jon Stewart is better than nothing."
Wurtzel responded to Madden's comments, calling the initiative to give young people news "a losing battle."
"But more and more people are getting their news from Jon Stewart," he said. "Frankly, that scares me."
The panel agreed that Stewart's comic spin on traditional news stories was not the best way to inform audiences.
"People will only watch the news when there are consequences involved," Wolzien added. "When nothing's going to happen to you, you don't care. But if you wake up, and there's a [military] draft, and you're the one getting shot at, do you want Jon Stewart to be the person you're getting your info from?"
Attendees at the jam-packed event felt there had to be a way to get young people involved with today's news programs.
"The key points are relevance and engagement," Madden said. "We have to be motivated to get engaged, and these news programs have to keep us interested."
