Questions that Should Have Been Asked at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference

Key network and programming executives were divided in public when asked to counter advertising agency claims that the shift is on and will not be shortterm That robust debate came with growing awareness that cable and satellite videoondemand39s prime time is at hand fueled by the implementation of dynamic video advertising Plus there is little doubt that we39re in an age of exponentially expanding original scripted content that will continue unless broadcast and cable nets experience big advertising shortfallsCredit Doug Mitchelson the UBS analyst interviewing most of the TV royalty on stage with drawing all those points out and more While always getting the cream of the media executive crop Disney being a notable recent exception this event in recent years has suffered from questioning by analysts either unwilling to ask important topical questions or to follow up when newsy tidbits drop in their laps That wasnamp8217t the case with Mitchelson He listened carefully to his guests and heard what they said and asked appropriate follow ups rather than simply moving down a list of questions that had been prepared in advanceStill there were many questions for individual speakers that remained unasked when UBS wrapped up Here are several for discussion Your thoughts about them are welcome1 For those GroupM Magna Global and ZenithOptimedia representatives on the opening panel last Monday Why are your agencies shifting TV dollars to online2 For CBS Corp President and CEO Leslie Moonves and Chief Research Officer David Poltrack Your company is a big believer in VOD and the possibility that it will ultimately surpass DVRs in audience appeal Yet VOD can39t offer firstrun syndicated programming such as quotWheel of Fortuneamp8221 amp8220Jeopardyamp8221 and amp8220Judge Judyamp8221 syndicated through your distribution unit Is there any chance you39ll break the ice soon For the entire original syndication universe VOD could be a gold mine3 For Viacom President and CEO Philippe Dauman What39s up with original content on BET and Centric4 For Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos Clearly your company wants to be the world39s top original programmer sans commercials and without making ratings public Right now you order original series without making pilots Amazon Studios is making pilots and letting its audience choose which of them will become series Is there any chance you39ll let your following determine what new series you do based on their pitches5 For Starz CEO Chris Albrecht Without prompting you were one of the few UBS speakers open about encouraging diversity mentioning your success with amp8220Poweramp8221 and amp8220Survivor39s Remorseamp8221 that highlight AfricanAmericans Latinos you added are a key population to reach Is Starz working on a Latinogeared scripted series If not when will it And what about AsianAmericans6 For Tribune Media President and CEO Peter Ligouri Where39s is your multicast channel Antenna TV headed With so many rerun multicast nets out there This TV MeTV Retro etc is there any chance Antenna39s format may diversify7 For Time Warner President and CEO Jeff Bewkes Where are both CNN and HLN headed8 For UBS conference organizers Why so little discussion about the growth of smart TV sets and products that make TVs smart such as Roku Google Chromecast and Amazon Fire TV How about getting speakers from those set makers Roku Google Amazon etc on next December39s agenda Can we hear from Disney or NBC Universal And can we have a conference on one floor somewhere similar to what used to take place at the Grand Hyatt near Grand Central StationThe Top Five UBS conference quotes1 quotWhen Netflix tells you how many subs watch amp8216House of Cardsamp8217 I39ll tell you how many people watch CSB All Access overthetop venturequot Leslie Moonves2 quotYou ask me every year about CBS putting on too many procedurals and every year we put on a crime drama that works amp8216NCIS New Orleansamp8217 is a crime drama amp8216Scorpionamp8217 and amp8216Stalkeramp8217 are crime dramas amp8216Madam Secretaryamp8217 is a political drama and by nature a crime dramaquot Moonves again3 quotI hope you all have confidence in Nielsen39s current tracking Ratings are an irrelevant barometer of success for us Ratings are a destructive discussion going against the quality and the creative of TV It39s been horribleamp8221 Ted Sarandos4 quotIs the volume of original scripted content sustainable Everybody wants to be in TV production and we need to keep creating a magnet for storytellers to produce the best stories they39ve ever donequot James Murdoch 21st Century Fox CoChief Operating Officer5 quotThe programming is much more resonant with young people than ever The trick is to make it work with a powerful distribution systemquot Jeff BewkesUntil the next time stay well and stay tunedThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaBizBloggerscom management or associated bloggers MediaBizBloggers is an open thought leadership platform and readers may share their comments and opinions in response to all commentaries

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Questions that Should Have Been Asked at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference

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Questions that Should Have Been Asked at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference

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