Update PBS Digital Initiatives

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Update PBS Digital Initiatives

• Deron Triff
• Vice President, Digital Ventures
• PBS

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Overview

• Market Realities
• PBS Response/Measures of Success
• Key PBS Digital Content Initiatives
• PBS.org and Station.org
• PBS Kids Video-on-Demand
• PBS Cached Broadcast Specials
• PBS HD Channel
• Realigned PBS Kids Channel
• PBS Digital Classroom
• QA

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What keeps us awake at night?

• How will PBS/stations negotiate digital
  distribution on cable?
• The power of bundling and/or cable investment
  interest
• Comcast, Disney, News Corp., Time Warner, Viacom
  control access
• Consolidation, vertical integration, brand - the
  name of the game
• PBS.org needs to deliver more than
  record-breaking traffic, localization,
  e-membership, and tools to the membership.
• PBS.org - 3 billion page views in 2003 an
  increase of 55 from 2002

If youre not playing with the big boys, or at
least playing their game, youre not in the
major leaguesand you may not even be on the
field at some point.
We need to place a few toll booths on the Web to
harvest the full economic potential of PBS.org
and reinvest Internet revenue into the NPS
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What keeps us awake at night?

• How does PBS cume reach/ratings/impact through
  on-demand?
• Digital technology such as search and storage
  (not scheduling) is driving usage patterns.
• How do you, as programmers, influence DVR, VOD,
  Internet, wireless
• How will PBS reach into the classroom, PBSs last
  citadel, without a digital service to replace the
  AV Push Cart model?
• Classroom access to multimedia content through
  Digital, the Internet, and on DVD is supplanting
  traditional library media formats like VHS

Convenience may be as important as compelling.
If PBS fails to migrate from cassettes to
digital disk and server delivery, well be
Atari in a world of X-Box.
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PBS Interactive raison detre
Amass
Engage
Convert
Rich Educational Content Experience
Financial Strategic Transactions
Targeted Platform Extensions
Amass audience at the time and on the platform of
their choosing
Convert PBS service line extensions into direct
and indirect revenue generating strategic
contributions to the system
Earn our audience loyalty and investment with
quality content, personal relevance, trusting
relationship
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PBS Pursuing Digital Hybrid Model
Two buckets of digital services

• NPS
• PBS HD Channel
• PBS You
• Cached Broadcast
• Station Services

• PBS Kids on Demand
• PBS Kids Channel (new plan)
• Digital Classroom

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PBSs Digital Line Extensions
LINEAR

• Schedule X/XP/XD
• PBS HD Channel
• PBS Kids Channel (working on a new
  market-aligned model)

• PBS You Channel
• RD New Public Affairs Channel

NON-LINEAR

• Internet
• pbs.org
• pbskids.org
• pbsparents.org
• pbsteachersource.org
• pbsteacherline.org
• pbscampus.org
• shopPBS.org
• station localization and plug-n-play modules

• MSO-Headend
• PBS Kids on Demand
• Station cached broadcast specials
• Digital STBs and Locally-Hosted Systems
• DVR optimization
• Digital classroom proposal

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Measures of Success
Reach/Impact
Financial
Station Importance/Satisfaction
Grow Audience
Transact Membership
Retain Audience
Generate Shop Sales
Diversify Reachthrough New Platforms
Streamline/Reduce System Online Costs
Align Service Creation w/ Gatekeeper Priorities
Create New SponsorshipOpportunities
Break New Ground With Local/National
Develop Digital Premium Revenue Services
Quantify Impact of Mission
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PBS.org
PBS.org generates more PageViews each day than we
did our entire first year of operation.
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PBS.org
UNIQUES (000)
PBS.org and PBSKids.org rate in Top 5 with major
competitors in standard Web measures.
CHANNEL
RANK
CBS BBCi PBS.org Discovery NBC
1 2 3 4 5
6,873 5,450 5,192 4,157 3,451
PAGE VIEWS (000)
CHANNEL
RANK
Nick PBS.org CBS BBCi ABC.com
184,744 165,399 84,691 72,484 64,671
1 2 3 4 5
TIME SPENT (Minec)
CHANNEL
RANK
1 2 3 4 5
Univision.com Nick CourtTV.com PBS.org ABC.com
4210 3156 2704 2019 1300
In 1000s, 7/03 12/03
Sources Nielsen NetRatings 7/03 - 12/03, monthly
statistics PBS.org includes roll-up with
pbskids.org
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PBSs Commitment to Station.org

• FY03 Member Services Survey
• Most Important PBS.org moved into the top ten
  (4.11)
• Most Satisfied PBS.org was ranked 3rd out of 33
  PBS services (4.22)

• Best practice reports
• Station site modules
• Google search engine
• TV schedule data
• Digital TV data coming!
• E-newsletter software
• Page templates
• PBS.org promo links
• Usability testing
• Usage reports
• Professional dev seminars

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• PBS.org FY05 Headlines
• PBS.org is now prime for revenue conversion rev
  up ecommerce contextualization and revisit
  sponsorship, e-membership, and potentially pay
  services to help the system harvest greater
  financial/strategic reward from loyal audiences.
  
• Aggregate resources to gain scale build out a
  back-end hosting model for stations to consider
• PBS.org proves investment in quality drives
  audience In FY05, well launch bridge kids and
  hone our content investment and retention
  strategies.

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Video-on-Demand
Source Kagan Broadband Cable Financial
Databook
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PBS KIDS ON DEMAND 10-Point VOD Strategy

• Secure broad penetration across MSOs during
  pilot, making product indispensable to cable
  operators.
• Hold VOD market share against early VOD moves by
  Nick, Disney, Cartoon Network.
• Aggregate producers who control VOD rights into
  PBS Kids branded VOD offering as a promotional
  tool for backend merchandising and home video
  businesses.
• Position VOD as a non-linear kids channel,
  allowing for long-term differentiating, windowing
  opportunities.
• Acclimate cable to paying license fees for PBS
  KIDS ON DEMAND and flip model to a per digital
  sub/per month.

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PBS KIDS ON DEMAND 10-Point VOD Strategy

• Convince cable to use PBS KIDS ON DEMAND in paid
  media as a driver of digital cable subscriptions.
• Co-brand with single local PBS station per
  market, to create perceived station service
  with no station resources required.
• Bookend each VOD episode with station membership
  support messaging.
• Provide stations a VOD role by clearing select
  prime time programs for cached broadcast VOD
  free to cable.
• Over time, build a significant revenue generating
  business around VOD that complements home video
  and differentiates PBS KIDS ON DEMAND from NPS
  Kids.

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PBS KIDS ON DEMAND Limited Content Offering for
Pilot

• Only 40 hours (80 episodes) of PBS Kids offered
  in pilot.
• Typically 10-12 episodes offered each month.
• 25 of episodes refreshed monthly.

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PBS KIDS ON DEMAND MSO Promotions/Paid Media
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PBS KIDS ON DEMAND Launch Status
Met FY 04 Subscriber Targets

TOTAL 145 Systems 6,623,723 Households
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PBS KIDS ON DEMAND Estimated 1.6 Million Episodes
Viewed/Month
Sample Size of 1.8 million Comcast VOD
Households used to extrapolate total monthly views
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PBS KIDS ON DEMAND 400-800 PM Most Popular Time
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PBS KIDS ON DEMAND Competing Against 30 VOD
Offerings
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PBS KIDS ON DEMAND Popularity Across VOD Services
VOD Categories
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PBS KIDS ON DEMAND Loyalty Across VOD Services
VOD Categories
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Video on Demand FY 05

• Establish PBS KIDS ON DEMAND as a non-linear
  channel, positioned for L/T differentiation
• Expand service offering in Fall 2004 target 15
  million homes
• Increase cable license fees and move to per
  sub/month
• Work with stations to co-brand based on advances
  in STB technology
• Provide stations NPS titles cleared for cached
  broadcast cable time shifted/head-end PVR
  service.

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Station Cached Broadcast Specials

• Time-shifted VOD offering for stations to offer
  on digital cable
• MSO captures targeted programs via station
  broadcast and makes content available to digital
  VOD subscribers (7-days)
• Many stations are offering local programs to MSOs
• Thanks to WGBH/WNET for working with PBS to clear
  programming
• Refining criteria
• Impact on revenue generating businesses
  (Video/VOD)
• Info about NPS programs cleared for cached
  broadcast will be included on PBS Program Info
  sheet
• See recent CURRENT article for more background

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PBS HD Channel

• Launched March 1, 2004
• 97 station licensees
• Future-proofing the NPS with HD and W/S content
• Interstitial strategy for this channel and other
  PBS-packaged feeds under Board review
• In FY 05 the PBS HD Channel
• aggregates content and
• builds on the relationship with local cable
  operators to solidify a place for PBS stations in
  the digital future.

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Proposed RealignmentPBS KIDS Channel

• Due increases do not provide enough capital to
  invest in a strong Kids position on NPS for
  stations over-the-air broadcast
• PBS Kids current model is significantly out of
  touch with market, leaving millions of revenue on
  the table
• Plans to move PBS Kids Channel to a license fee
  model on cable (like satellite)
• Not a subscription service, rather a operator
  license fee
• Requires direct to cable feed by PBS to
  circumvent retrans, but exploring how co-branding
  and interstitial insertion could occur at cable
  head-end.
• Progressively differentiate PBS KIDS Channel from
  NPS Kids
• Expand to 2-platform, focus on core ages, start
  w/ pre-school
• Seek exclusive station retailer
• No overlap redundant kids channels that MSOs
  wont tolerate
• Plan will be reviewed by PBS Board

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PBS Digital Classroom

• State-of-the-art station distributed K-12 service
  
• Extensive RD by PBS WGBH
• Top-shelf NPS premium content from 3rd
  parties
• Market-aligned business plan financial pro
  forma validated by outside evaluator
• Significant capital requirement (19M) with 5-yr
  payback

Service endorsed by PBS Education Committee
under review by Business Committee
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QA
Thanks! Any questions not answered
todaydtriff_at_pbs.org(703) 739-8630