IP: Web presence of publishers

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

------ Forwarded Message
From: Esther Dyson <edyson () edventure com>
Date: Thu, 07 Mar 2002 04:00:46 -0500
To: farber () cis upenn edu
Subject: Fwd: Web presence of publishers


for IP  (perhaps bolstering the argument below!)

> Media chiefs reject internet business model
> By Maija Pesola at the FT New Media and Broadcasting conference in London
> Published: March 4 2002 14:04 | Last Updated: March 4 2002 14:15
>
> The death-knell of the internet as a commercial media vehicle was sounded
> at the FT New Media and Broadcasting conference, as for-profit
> broadcasters dismissed the medium as an impossible business model.
>
> Peter Chernin, president and chief operating officer of News Corporation
> said that there was "no viable business model that works" for the
> internet, and said he saw the sites run by the company's UK newspapers
> such as the Sun and Times as nothing more than adjunct, promotional
> vehicles for the newspaper.
>
> The company has already aggressively cut back on its staff, and Mr Chernin
> said these reductions were likely to be enough, although the company would
> continue to review the business.
>
> Similarly, Juergen von Schwerin, chief finance officer of SBS, the
> pan-European television broadcaster, said his company had sold out of its
> intenet activities, as these were "not feasible" for the company.
>
> The only enthusiasm for the internet as a medium came from the public
> service broadcasters, with Cindy Johanson, senior vice president of
> interactive and digital content planning at the US's PBS pointing out that
> seven years after launching its internet offerings, these sites were now
> reaching an audience as large as that reached through broadcasts.
>
> Viewing figures for broadcasts were falling, Ms Johanson said, while the
> internet audience was growing, particularly in terms of children logging
> on to sites related to programmes such as PBS's long-running Sesame Street.

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