Hot topics click link for more
Coronavirus lockdowns in many countries have included schools. Yep, the kids are sitting around at home, bored to tears, missing their pals and, perhaps, lessons. Radio and television broadcasters, cable companies and streaming services have jumped to the rescue. Sometimes the fare offered is entertaining, sufficient for distraction. Sometimes it is educational, seriously. There’s a dark side.
All-Ukraine Online School project was launched this week by the Ministry of Education and Science to keep children up to speed on their lessons. Schools in the country have been closed since mid-March, the lockdown expected to effectively continue through this school year. Real teachers are presenting material daily on public broadcaster UA: Suspilne, the Ministry of Education’s YouTube channel and other channels. Each grade level is served by a distinct channel, each following prescribed lesson plans. (See more about media in Ukraine here)
Several Ukraine media watchers, including Detector Media, the Independent Media Council and Internews-Ukraine, looked askance at the awkward inclusion of channels NewsOne, 112 and ZiK, all very pro-Russian. "This decision will significantly damage the information security of Ukraine and information hygiene of the society, because it will significantly expand the influence of Russian and pro-Russian propaganda, in particular on the younger generation,” said their statement, quoted by Telekritika (April 7). The TV channels in question have previously been sanctioned by the media regulator for broadcasting pro-Russian propaganda. The Lviv school system has recommended parents not allow their kids to view programs on those channels.
As expected, ZiK began one broadcast with a message from pro-Russian Opposition Platform - For Life political party leader Viktor Medvedchuk. Another featured a counting exercise with mobile phones. Another told the 7th graders to watch a political talk show. The channel was then warned not to include political subjects.
Television broadcasters have long fought monumental legal battles with certain public establishments over performance rights fees. Bar owners have always lost. Times have changed, somewhat. In many countries sports bars are closed due to coronavirus distancing regulations. Where still allowed to serve their customers, football fans in particular, these establishments face a new dilemma: no football on TV.
In Germany at least, pay TV operator Sky feels the sports bar owners pain. Until the Bundesliga matches return to the airwaves, the monthly rights fee, typically a percentage of the beer sales, has been suspended. In a letter to the bar owners, reported by Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ - April 8), Sky is suspending rights payments "retroactively from 14 March 2020 until we can again deliver an adequate live sports TV program.” (See more about sports rights here)
Sky Deutschland is a subsidiary of US-based telecom Comcast and offers satellite-distributed television channels in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein. In 2016 Sky UK was awarded legal fees but not damages in a lawsuit against Dublin, Ireland bar Joxer Daly’s for showing English Premier League matches without paying the appropriate license fee. At the time of that lawsuit Sky UK - a well as Sky Deutschland - were owned by 21st Century Fox, principally controlled by the Murdoch family.
Leveraging reader access has always been an important part of the publishing business. In ancient times access to a newspaper or magazine came with a charge, either from subscriptions or newsstand sales. Even after advertising revenues overtook those sources, publishers had every incentive to maintain subscriptions. Every publisher learned that readers paying even a small bit felt more attached to the brands than those who did not. Within a few years the joy of online publishing led to the black hole of print advertising. Digital transition was only a pause.
Highly respected and award-winning US publisher McClatchy Company dropped paywalls for coronavirus-related material on its news sites in March, reported Mediapost (March 23). Many publishers around the world did the same. Allowing new readers into the garden, goes the business theory, is good marketing.
“We see this as an important part of our public-service mission,” wrote chief executive Craig Forman in an op-ed (March 20) appearing across all the company’s titles. “In times of crisis, news can be as important as the most basic utility, and we will stand shoulder to shoulder with vital community organizations and services to do our part.” (See more about paywalls here)
But the experiment in good citizenship was short lived. The paywalls are back up, reported Sara Fischer for Axios (March 31). “With a lower paywall, we’re missing opportunities to convert drive-by readers into subscribers,” explained McClatchy VP/News Kristin Roberts in a note to staff. “Since our coronavirus coverage began, 13% of views were by people who would have been stopped by the paywall if it had been up. If we converted even a tiny fraction of those people, we would have generated more in subscription revenue than we are earning on the per-pageview (advertising) revenue.”
"So much has been done up to this point to set ourselves up to be in a place to not topple over when the first wind blows,” added Ms Roberts. McClatchy and its 54 subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February to protect itself from creditors, including pension plans. The 30 newsrooms continue working.
|
