The Fourth Estate

Last Days of Disco

Along with Murdoch and Malone, Barry Diller was one of my longtime media mogul matinee idols. So it was with great anticipation that I sat down this week to hear him speak at the CASBAA convention in Hong Kong. It was a slow start, but things got interesting when he was asked what he thought was the future of the industry. This is what he said...

The Bundling Blindfold

Content ain’t king, cash is. And yet when it comes to digital media, the outlook for paid content looks at best contradictory, and at worst, bleak. Consumers will happily pay a small fortune for a downloadable ring tone, but consider 99c for an entire track from the iTunes store to be the height of generosity. The question left begging is vital for all media owners. Why does the choice of medium dictate not only the form of content but also its perceived value?