DRM, On Demand Viewing and Measurable Advertising Makes for Lively Hollywood Debate

Santa Monica, CA (PRWEB) October 3, 2005

Follow the money if you want to understand an industry. Digital technology such as on demand viewing and digital rights management (DRM) is shaking up everyone's world, from the technologist, the content producers, and the service providers. Consequently, new money paths are forming amongst investors, ad agencies and the ultimate source of money -- brand managers and consumers.

Hollywood sees the writing on the wall, and so 1,950 devoted executives from multiple industries and around the world converged for the sixteenth year in southern California at the Digital Hollywood conference. Held just after the Emmy Awards, one of the major concerns on most people's minds was the impact of on demand viewing.

Believe it or not, the digital video recorder (DVR) was first introduced in 1999. That was the first wake up call for Hollywood. The second wake up call was the growing availability of video on demand (VOD) by digital cable service providers. Either way, the consumer is shifting their viewing habits to on demand viewing, skipping ads in the process.

Brand executives own DVRs and digital cable, too. They ask "why should I pay for ads I skip?" These same executives surf the web, and the ads they place there give them relatively precise measurements on "click through" and engagement. They ask "why can't television ads give me the same measurements?"

The ad agencies are getting the message. Money is now beginning to shift to on demand formats, video and interactive web ads, and captive audience theater ads. Meanwhile, television rating companies are feeling the heat from all sides.

The original bad-boy -- the DVR? Some in Hollywood have realized that they can't beat it, so they might as well take advantage of it. Besides, the DVR was not the original ad-skipping technology. The refrigerator, toilet and fast-forward buttons preceded it.

But, the real bad-boy is the pirate. Whether from peer-to-peer networks with ten times the choice of content, or professionals with integrated camcorders in their jackets, a new generation of consumers is growing.

Technology to the rescue

All these issues have been around long enough that companies are now finding solutions to these problems. The solutions come from the same place that gave birth to the problem -- technology. It's not just about ad placement.

Cable companies can do digital ad insertion on VOD programs. DVRs can store interactive ads. Television itself is getting interactive. The new Digital Cinema Initiative (DCI) specification calls for DRM that can trace a camcorder-pirated movie to the exact theater and showing. Secure Managed Copy and Digital Transmission Copy Protection are allowing new ways to keep and send movies where you want them. Portable means of measuring viewing habits are revealing surprises about the consumer.

So, while old business models are feeling rather unsettled these days, new exciting ones are popping up all over the place. The mood at Digital Hollywood was that of nervous excitement.

About DIGDIA

DIGDIA is a strategic analysis and consulting company that specializes in Digital Home markets, the Digital Entertainment value chain and related technologies. Our mission is to help companies find growth opportunities in the Digital Home markets where strategy and technology can make the difference. Reports on Digital Hollywood, Digital Cinema, Digital Cable Ready, Digital Consumer Electronics and other topics may be found at http://www.digdia.com.

Contact:

Gary Sasaki

DIGDIA

408-981-2288

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