When it comes to multiplatform, Leslie Moonves of CBS has a simple solution: watch more linear telly. According to this report in Ad Age, Moonves is adamant that content monetisation comes from linear and linear only. He sort of has a point and not all at the same time: if you follow his argument that online metrics are a bit wonky, it figures (Nielsen’s more accountable system won’t be in place until 2011) — but then it’s hardly as if linear TV measurement is that accountable.
The report belies a broader point, simply that while an increasing amount of ad spend is moving away from ‘traditional’ media and on to the web — hence why every major network is beefing up its online services — a smaller proportion is going in to online video advertising. Madison Avenue remains years behind the curve when it comes to online video ads, usually farming such work out to the plethora of boutique agencies which specialise in the area; but the spend is still peanuts compared to overall budgets.
Advertisers and networks listen: the web is where < 35s are. Social networks are grabbing their attention in a way TV — until now, the pre-eminent medium — cannot compete with. It’s not the end of TV, it’s the beginning of searchable TV.
The Beyondness of Things 