Sky isn't falling for old media segment
Updated: 2007-08-22 10:20
For instance, despite a decline in television revenue in many developed countries, people trying to watch programs on other platforms are still in the minority.
"In the UK, one of the most advanced countries, the percentage is about 18 percent. There are still people buying big screens and family thea-ters. Maybe there are people downloading programs from the Internet to their cell phones, but they are not watching them because people are not used to watching TV on small screens," Colussi said.
He cited recent research from the UK that showed people watching TV programs on their mobile phones for 24 minutes, compared with 4 hours on traditional screens.
"Don't exaggerate the changes. They can't alter the nature of people," he said.
He estimated that by 2015, the percentage of people watching traditional television will still exceed 80 percent, with the rest watching TV on other platforms.
In China, the percentage might be higher. That explains why the company will increase its investment to 500 million yuan in China by 2008.
Old media gurus are not sitting idle either. They are taking measures to fend off the competition from new media forms.
A podcasting website, www.radio.cn, set up in July 2005, raised $9 million from Softbank and $1 million from WI Harper Group, leaving China National Radio with the controlling stake of 51 percent.
Last year, CCTV launched its Internet protocol television (IPTV) service. Shanghai Media Group got an IPTV license a year before CCTV, delivering television programing to households via broadband connection using Internet protocols.
Old media are also expanding aggressively by taking advantage of the platforms provided by their new competitors.
"Palm TV" made its long-awaited debut this July in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong Province.
A cooperation project between Guangzhou-based Southern Media Corporation and iRiver, a South Korean digital products maker, the service allows handheld device owners to watch TV on their cell phone or MP4.
It's estimated 5.05 million people currently subscribe to palm TV services in China, worth an estimated $236.84 million in annual subscription revenue based on a monthly fee of $3.95 per device.
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