Can TV producers survive in this YouTube age?

A day doesn't go by without another TV production company announcing their latest plan to "get into" online or mobile. What's this all about and will it work?

For all TV producers, in some way shape or form it's an attempt to move their business from what they see as a declining medium (TV) to a growing one (online and mobile). Some do it to be seen to be doing something (oh no... those days are back) but most are genuinely looking to either extend distribution of their existing IP and content, build up their own digital channels (essentially competing against the likes of AtomFilms), or create new IP for web and mobile. Some decide to go it alone, most hire in from outside or acquire, and only a few partner.

To understand which strategy has the highest likelihood of success, we need to recognise that for all of these businesses, television is still (and will continue to be for quite some time) their dominant medium. TV broadcasters at the end of the day hold the big production budgets, offer massive reach and are still the key to unlocking that lucrative licensing deal. We also need to understand that the television business works at a different pace. The industry is just not used to taking (relatively) small gambles quickly.

"Getting into" online and mobile is therefore more than a press release. It's about moving a business from a big, known and comfortable space into one that is small, unknown and ever changing.

• Size Matters - The size point is not unique to this area but it's an important one when it comes to managing change. Investment into online and mobile will be riskier and realistically offer less short term return. After the first couple of false-starts and when the initial excitement has died down, future investment will be assessed against the less risky and more short term opportunities of hiring another licensing guy, making that TV pilot for CBBC or keeping the DVD business afloat, and before you know it you're trying to compete in a new area with one hand tied behind your back.
• It's Not The Same -  The assumption that online or mobile is "just like TV" we all know to be false. Everyone recognises that it's a different medium. Great. Problem is that most think it simply means shorter video and more close-ups. The reality is that most great online video content (i.e. the stuff that makes the rounds and people talk about) is either hilariously funny or "out there" (or adult) such as Odd Todd,  Joe Cartoon or The Lion Sleeps Tonight...
  

  Lion Sleeps Tonight
  ...and that video ain't everthing, especially when you want people to share your brand with their mates and engage for more than 3 minutes illustrated by success of I Am Emo or Club Penguin. That means a lot of video-based ideas simply won't work and that producers need to think interactive in it's widest sense. Another problem is that many TV production companies are still of the "build it and they'll come" school of thought and perhaps don't appreciate the amount of skill, time and effort that goes into cutting through online, where consumers have SO MUCH choice. The success of happytreefriends.com didn't just happen. Princess Natasha is the same... they took her to where the audience is (i.e. AOL) rather than build it themselves. For us at Digital Outlook it will be the same when we launch Viva Voodoo in Feb.

• Kiss Me Quick - The online "world" is constantly changing and requires businesses to experiment and move quickly. That's just not how it works in a more established industry such as television. Although I'm sure most TV producers recognise this, how many can actually work in that way? It's a change-thing again. The idea is great but when it requires people to work in way that they're not used to...?

For all of these reasons (and plenty others), the more you see TV producers moving away from their core competencies (which I see as creative, financing and licensing for a linear sit-back medium) and the more independently they do it, the less likley I believe they are to succeed. Even hiring or acquiring is a risky strategy when you don't know who you're paying to deliver what.

I therefore believe that, yes, TV producers can survive and actually have masses to offer in this "new world", but at this early stage, as they take their first real steps into this area, they need to make sure they simply "know what they know (and stick to it) and know what they don't know (and partner)".