Michael Eisner has some interesting things to say on the state of online media:
”The fact of the matter is that it’s not easy to write, direct and cast. … How many times can you watch a kid get hit in the groin? YouTube can be indiscriminate about how bad it can be.” There’s still a need for big-pocketed people to find and fund talent. Big companies aren’t going away. Rupert et al aren’t stupid troglodytes. “You’re going to need someone to bring it together. Everybody can’t do it, it is about talent.”
Via PaidContent.org.
I don’t want to speak on behalf of Veoh, a company Eisner invested in. Anyway, I don’t want to speak on behalf of Veoh because it’s one of our distribution partners at WatchMojo.com, but I think because of his involvement in Veoh, he understands that UGC vs. professional content debate better than many, and let’s face it, even YouTube is trying hard to move away from UGC. But connect the dots to something else Eisner said:
“Insanity.” “There’s all of this rhetoric by the media companies about this ‘great new digital business’, which is a small, growing business that will one day be dominant (but it isn’t, yet there’s no money there yet.” Because all of the entertainment folks are talking up digital, the writers assume there’s a lot of money there. Take Prom Queen: “We made history, but we didn’t make money. … I’m doing it because I think it’s fun; I think it’s the future. … For a writer to give up today’s money for a piece in three years is stupid.” The studios can’t give in because there’s nothing to give. “The studios deserve what they’re getting, because they’ve been announcing how great it is.” But it’s only great in theory. ”They made deals with Steve Jobs, who takes them to the cleaners. Who’s making money? Apple.” Entertainment executives can’t admit that they’re not making money. Writers should be striking in Cupertino. (Hard not to see this as a slam on Disney successor Bob Iger, who cut the first video deal with iTunes.)
Well, one reason why there is little money in it now, frankly, is because TV companies are stingy and protective with their content, and high traffic sites like YouTube and Veoh are full of UGCrap, not professional content. That’s one reason why we’ve had a lot of success with those sites, but I tend to agree, unless there is more players like WatchMojo.com, advertisers will be slow to migrate ad budgets online.
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