The Lessons From Retail And Never Resting In The Shade

Michael Hedges April 18, 2016 Follow on Twitter

The digital age has changed everything; trite, now, but still true. Broadcasting and publishing are so last century, when engaging each individual customer was considered déclassé. The media sphere is now strictly retail; apps as aisles, clicks and swipes the points-of-purchase. Stars are now showcases, changing regularly, and headlines point to the check-out line. It’s a different business every day.

The Netflix crew came to Paris last week, media watchers rolling out the red carpets. Their two day PR event closely followed the MipTV buyers spree in Cannes so it wasn’t like they needed to take the Concorde from Hollywood. Wait; the Concorde no longer flies. This century’s symbol of high flying, as TV people understand, is Netflix.

On the first day of their Paris show CEO Reed Hastings and content chief Ted Sarandos thrilled the crowd of 300 European TV writers in the Hollywood tradition with big name stars, the biggest being House of Cards lead Kevin Spacey. For fans excited about Netflix first French series Marseille, Gérard Depardieu and Benoît Magimel were on hand. Marseille will hit the screens in early May. The up coming season of House of Cards will migrate for French fans from pay-TV platform Canal+ to the Netflix service. Sky Italia, principally controlled by 21st Century Fox, holds Italian rights to House of Cards.

Other European-flavored series are coming soon to Netflix. The Crown - “the coveted world of power and privilege and behind locked doors in Westminster and Buckingham Palace” - will arrive in early November, 10 episodes available for holiday bingeing. The first Netflix original series in German, 10 episode supernatural thriller Dark, goes into production this year for release in 2017. Likewise, the first original Spanish series - yet untitled 1920’s drama piece in 16 episodes set in Madrid - will arrive next year. The second season of Italian-produced period drama Marco Polo will be available this July.

Day two was given up to the motorheads. Netflix has a not-quite-new deal with UK public broadcaster BBC to distribute the British version of Top Gear worldwide. With a whole new cast, reported in scrupulous detail over the past year, Top Gear will begin anew in May on BBC2, followed sometime thereafter on Netflix. As a matter of convenience, certainly, distribution arm BBC Worldwide has agreements with Netflix, Hulu and Amazon.

“Theoretically it should follow the deal of the old format where Top Gear is still under the terms of the old deal,” explained Mr. Sarandos, quoted by the Guardian (April 12). “The show is very popular on Netflix, as you can imagine. There’s a change in format but people definitely prefer the British Top Gear over the local Top Gear in almost every country in the world.”

Amazon Prime has a dog in that hunt, acquiring the services last year of several Top Gear cast and crew after the BBC exited the employment contract of main host Jeremy Clarkson. It was something about punching a producer who didn’t bring a hot meal for the star. There were other issues, hubris notwithstanding.

The new yet-untitled motorhead show is costing Amazon US$250 million over three years, reported the Financial Times (July 30, 2015). For Amazon it’s about ramping up UK subscribers who were particularly attached to Mr. Clarkson. It’s “very, very, very expensive,” said Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, quoted by the Telegraph (August 17, 2015).

The motorhead shows cast members - UK radio and TV personality Chris Evans and former sit-com Friends star Matt LeBlanc for Top Gear and former Top Gear host Mr.Clarkson - have done their seasoned best to collect headlines while the fans wait.

Attention to Netflix and Amazon Prime has not been limited to potential subscription video on demand (SVoD) customers. Broadcasters in the traditional frame recognize there’s no time like the present to ward-off these competitors, bringing the subject to every conference and meeting in the last two years. “Netflix and Amazon have woken up the marketplace whether through their entry into markets or the fear of their entry into various markets,” said CBS Global Distribution Group president Armando Nunez at MipTV, quoted by Variety (April 7).

The recent Vivendi-Mediaset transaction, acquisition of pay-TV subsidiary Mediaset Premium as well as non-specific content collaboration, is intended to create a single premium French-Italian-Spanish TV provider. “We often see this kind of reaction in market where operators feel threatened by our arrival,” shrugged Mr. Hastings in Paris, quoted by BFM TV (April 11). “It never affects us. In the US, there are new services every day. We’re focused on the quality of our content.”

As the Netflix crew dazzled Paris, Vivendi chairman Vincent Bolloré took at 15% stake in French retailer FNAC, collaboration being part of the deal. FNAC CEO Alexandre Bompard - a certified Millennial - has re-tooled the brick-and-mortar book, CD and video game stores for the onslaught from online retailers, notably Amazon. Prior to joining FNAC in 2011, M.Bompard was an executive at Canal+ and chief executive of French national radio channel Europe 1 for Lagardère Active. Adding to those verticals, Vivendi principally owns music publisher Universal Music and FNAC owns the France Billet event ticket outlets.

Competing with the SVoD services of Netflix and Amazon is an existential challenge for broadcasters wed to distribution networks and ad sales, exercises in wholesale exchange. Neither Netflix nor Amazon are based in that world. They are retailers more adept at point-of-purchase marketing and keen understanding of retail-level digital technologies. House of Cards and Top Gear serve as end-aisle showcases in the digital space.

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