Media on trial - Telegraph TV - The Business Show

Media Week

13/03/2007

Adam Pace, Account Director, i-level

Website: Telegraph TV - The Business Show
Publisher: Telegraph Media Group

UK entertainment companies have been slow to harness the power of the internet, fearing an attack on their business models. Thankfully, media companies have taken a different view, jumping into the digital space with gusto: The Guardian, BBC and Channel 4 are good examples. The latest "traditional" media owner to blur the lines between media channels is the Telegraph.

In its first stab at TV broadcasting, Telegraph TV (a joint venture with ITN) is essentially a five-minute, news-overview, lunchtime broadcast, sitting in the business section of the Telegraph's website and imaginatively called The Business Show.

The broadcast looks a bit amateurish (BBC and Sky have set high benchmarks in this field). Presumably as ad revenues roll in, some budget can be allocated to production values. BA, Land Rover, Microsoft and a raft of financial institutions were on the site in the usual advertising formats (banners, an MPU, skyscrapers). Advertisers love affluent, time-poor businessmen - so they will be all over this. The broadcast can also feature pre-rolls, opening up more advertising opportunities for clients.

Overall, the idea is good, but the implementation flawed. The content doesn't warrant sitting in the business section - it's not new news. From I-Level's research, we know people get their business and world news in the morning with their first cup of coffee, then an entertainment and gossip fix at lunchtime or mid-afternoon. This is broadcast too late in the day and took too long to load up.

However, the sentiment is right. This is, after all, a newspaper publisher broadcasting news via the internet. We used to think of convergence as a new thing, now it's the norm. The Telegraph needs to catch up with The Guardian and News International if it is to compete in this space, and it's made a start.