Post by linedrive on Feb 28, 2006 22:38:01 GMT -5
Canadian Business Online, February 17, 2006
The digital gold rush hardly has traditional media companies shaking
in their boots. After all, most of the big players, such as CHUM,
Astral Communications and even the CBC, have invested a few million
or so into digital (what the CRTC calls "Category 2") television or
satellite radio stations. And why not? Despite initial skepticism
that sub-dividing consumers into ever-narrower niches would ever pay
off, it's becoming clear that there is not only an audience willing
to pay a few extra bucks to get more of whatever their current audio
obsession is, but also an advertising community that sees the value
of knowing pretty much who's watching.
Take the Fight Network. In the pre-digital era, dominated by a
handful of networks and a few specialty cable channels, a television
station with the tagline "All fights all the time" wouldn't have made
a lot of sense. High start-up costs combined with a limited viewing
audience would have kayoed anyone foolhardy enough to do it. But in
the on-demand digital universe, with entire stations dedicated to
horror, books and pets, it's a wonder no one launched something like
Fight Network before last October, when the fledgling station hit the
air. Fighting fans are rabid about their chosen sport — be it boxing,
wrestling or mixed martial arts (a catch-all that includes everything
from Thai kickboxing to "ultimate" fighting). And they're a pretty
homogeneous bunch of guys — although Mike Garrow, the Gloucester
Ont.-born entrepreneur behind the station, says it might surprise
people how many women are into the sports as well.
Fight may not have the rights to major events such as World Wrestling
Entertainment (commonly known as the WWE) or heavyweight boxing
championships, but it does boast a fairly impressive lineup,
including Pride Fighting Championship, K1 kickboxing and Showtime
Championship Boxing — three properties Garrow believes are the fight
world's equivalent of having the NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball.
"We're the source for everything to do with combatant sports," says
Garrow. "We're not a digital retread. We're showing programs that
haven't been seen before in Canada."
Advertisers seem to like it, too, says Garrow. Sure, the station's
main corporate fans are specialty product companies like Xyience
(energy supplements), Fairtex (fighting apparel) and Cobra Energy
Drink, but Molson Coors Brewing Co. and Sony Pictures are also on
board. Part of the appeal is knowing who's watching. In this case,
viewers are primarily 18-to-44-year-old males — a pretty lucrative
demographic for any media outlet to lay claim to. But Garrow says
digital channels are less restricted in what else they can offer
aside from the standard 30-second spot. For example, Xyience sponsors
the Knockout of the week, Fairtex has a calendar listing that is
integrated with the Fight Network's web site, and quick Cobra ads pop
up into regular programming — something that might offend regular
television viewers. The trick for stations such as Fight, says
Garrow, is "you have to offer compelling content to keep viewers
interested and then come up with creative ways to help the adv
ertisers."
But Fight isn't a one-punch platform. It also has a talk radio show
called Live Audio Wrestling: No Holds Barred!, which is syndicated
across the country through Broadcast News. And, like most media,
Fight uses its web site to cross-promote its programs and offer
related information and clips, but it also has three premium web
service that costs subscribers $5 to get a look at behind the scenes
interviews, profile reports, online chats and interactive games. So
far 3,000 people have signed up for the premium web content.
The company won't divulge current subscriber numbers for the network,
but chairman Sandy Winick believes Fight could capture 20% of the
digital market in five years. If it had that level of penetration
today, Fight would have roughly one million viewers, given that
nearly 5 million people are now hooked into either digital cable or
satellite offerings. "There are a lot of different revenue options
available to us," says Winick. "We're not just stuck with the linear
television model."
That's probably a good thing. While Fight has built-in options to
show roughly 80% of its content in the United States, it wouldn't be
a surprise if someone with bigger pockets came along and tried to
emulate the station's business model. Armed with the content and a
deal with Canadian Satellite Communications Inc. that gives them
access to all cable, satellite and telco providers throughout North
America, Garrow has plans to take Fight south before that happens.
Imagine that? A Canadian media company fighting the good fight in the
south. It could happen, but only because the technology allows it to.
Courtesy of Canadian Business Online, by writer Andy Holloway
The digital gold rush hardly has traditional media companies shaking
in their boots. After all, most of the big players, such as CHUM,
Astral Communications and even the CBC, have invested a few million
or so into digital (what the CRTC calls "Category 2") television or
satellite radio stations. And why not? Despite initial skepticism
that sub-dividing consumers into ever-narrower niches would ever pay
off, it's becoming clear that there is not only an audience willing
to pay a few extra bucks to get more of whatever their current audio
obsession is, but also an advertising community that sees the value
of knowing pretty much who's watching.
Take the Fight Network. In the pre-digital era, dominated by a
handful of networks and a few specialty cable channels, a television
station with the tagline "All fights all the time" wouldn't have made
a lot of sense. High start-up costs combined with a limited viewing
audience would have kayoed anyone foolhardy enough to do it. But in
the on-demand digital universe, with entire stations dedicated to
horror, books and pets, it's a wonder no one launched something like
Fight Network before last October, when the fledgling station hit the
air. Fighting fans are rabid about their chosen sport — be it boxing,
wrestling or mixed martial arts (a catch-all that includes everything
from Thai kickboxing to "ultimate" fighting). And they're a pretty
homogeneous bunch of guys — although Mike Garrow, the Gloucester
Ont.-born entrepreneur behind the station, says it might surprise
people how many women are into the sports as well.
Fight may not have the rights to major events such as World Wrestling
Entertainment (commonly known as the WWE) or heavyweight boxing
championships, but it does boast a fairly impressive lineup,
including Pride Fighting Championship, K1 kickboxing and Showtime
Championship Boxing — three properties Garrow believes are the fight
world's equivalent of having the NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball.
"We're the source for everything to do with combatant sports," says
Garrow. "We're not a digital retread. We're showing programs that
haven't been seen before in Canada."
Advertisers seem to like it, too, says Garrow. Sure, the station's
main corporate fans are specialty product companies like Xyience
(energy supplements), Fairtex (fighting apparel) and Cobra Energy
Drink, but Molson Coors Brewing Co. and Sony Pictures are also on
board. Part of the appeal is knowing who's watching. In this case,
viewers are primarily 18-to-44-year-old males — a pretty lucrative
demographic for any media outlet to lay claim to. But Garrow says
digital channels are less restricted in what else they can offer
aside from the standard 30-second spot. For example, Xyience sponsors
the Knockout of the week, Fairtex has a calendar listing that is
integrated with the Fight Network's web site, and quick Cobra ads pop
up into regular programming — something that might offend regular
television viewers. The trick for stations such as Fight, says
Garrow, is "you have to offer compelling content to keep viewers
interested and then come up with creative ways to help the adv
ertisers."
But Fight isn't a one-punch platform. It also has a talk radio show
called Live Audio Wrestling: No Holds Barred!, which is syndicated
across the country through Broadcast News. And, like most media,
Fight uses its web site to cross-promote its programs and offer
related information and clips, but it also has three premium web
service that costs subscribers $5 to get a look at behind the scenes
interviews, profile reports, online chats and interactive games. So
far 3,000 people have signed up for the premium web content.
The company won't divulge current subscriber numbers for the network,
but chairman Sandy Winick believes Fight could capture 20% of the
digital market in five years. If it had that level of penetration
today, Fight would have roughly one million viewers, given that
nearly 5 million people are now hooked into either digital cable or
satellite offerings. "There are a lot of different revenue options
available to us," says Winick. "We're not just stuck with the linear
television model."
That's probably a good thing. While Fight has built-in options to
show roughly 80% of its content in the United States, it wouldn't be
a surprise if someone with bigger pockets came along and tried to
emulate the station's business model. Armed with the content and a
deal with Canadian Satellite Communications Inc. that gives them
access to all cable, satellite and telco providers throughout North
America, Garrow has plans to take Fight south before that happens.
Imagine that? A Canadian media company fighting the good fight in the
south. It could happen, but only because the technology allows it to.
Courtesy of Canadian Business Online, by writer Andy Holloway