Digital milestone

Digital milestone
B&T Magazine
By B&T Magazine



If you take a close look at the SMI data for November, you will see that a small but very symbolic milestone was reached. For the first time, monthly digital advertising spend overtook that of newspapers.

This won’t be a surprise to anyone, but given that digital revenues were half that of print in April 2010, it is evident that this has happened very quickly. While it shows a shift away from what we consider “old media” channels, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the money is going to totally new places. Companies such as Fairfax and News still get a large portion of the digital revenue, regardless of what the naysayers will have us believe. It is easy to be critical of these companies, but both have made concerted efforts to change their business models to meet changing market dynamics.

The next milestone in the growth of digital will be when revenues exceed those delivered by television. This is still a long way off as digital revenues account for about 30% of their TV counterparts, according to the same SMI data. But smart TVs are already here, and with the NBN on its way, the next structural shift is on the horizon. As anyone who has Apple TV on a superfast broadband plan will tell you, this will revolutionise the way we consume TV. The thought of waiting to tune in to Packed to the Rafters at 8:30pm on a Tuesday night will seem as archaic as, say, waiting for tomorrow to read today’s news.

Video on demand has been discussed for a long time, but will soon become a reality for all Australians. This fundamentally changes the distribution rules for content developers, and therefore the distributors of it. Historically, TV Networks have fought each other for the very best content and the revenue that goes with it. But in a new model their competitors become everyone from YouTube to the AFL and, ironically, the likes of old media companies like News and Fairfax. Very quickly revenue will start to shift towards a long tail of video suppliers.

We certainly have a long way to go before we hit this milestone, but in the meantime it will be interesting to see how the TV networks react. Let’s hope they follow News and Fairfax’s lead in trying to deal with the structural change that is coming their way.

Ian Perrin is CEO of ZenithOptimedia




Please login with linkedin to comment

Latest News

Sydney Comedy Festival: Taking The City & Social Media By Storm
  • Media

Sydney Comedy Festival: Taking The City & Social Media By Storm

Sydney Comedy Festival 2024 is live and ready to rumble, showing the best of international and homegrown talent at a host of venues around town. As usual, it’s hot on the heels of its big sister, the giant that is the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, picking up some acts as they continue on their own […]

Global Marketers Descend For AANA’s RESET For Growth
  • Advertising

Global Marketers Descend For AANA’s RESET For Growth

The Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) has announced the final epic lineup of local and global marketing powerhouses for RESET for Growth 2024. Lead image: Josh Faulks, chief executive officer, AANA  Back in 2000, a woman with no business experience opened her first juice bar in Adelaide. The idea was brilliantly simple: make healthy […]