ANALOG TO ANYTIME: THE TRADITIONAL BROADCAST ERA IS ENDING David B. Liroff VP/CTO - WGBH Boston

Principal Drivers of Change Computer processing power continues to double every 18 months (Moores Law) at no increase in price. The cost of digital storage drops 50% every 10 months. Advances in compression facilitate squeezing increasing amounts of data down same-sized pipes In cable, analog-to-digital conversion results in 8-fold increase in channel capacity In TV broadcasting, analog-to-digital conversion results in 4-fold increase in standard definition channel capacity

Principal Drivers of Change In radio broadcasting, analog-to-digital conversion results in at least two- fold increase in program service capacity per station Satellite distribution of audio, video and data to end-users increases choice. Digital file formats facilitate delivery of content to various devices, ranging from large screen HDTVs to iPods to cell phones to portable videogame consoles. Bandwidth to homes, schools, businesses continues to increase. Shift from wired to wireless technologies leads to omnipresent connectivity.

Principal Drivers of Change Videogames emerging as content platforms for education and training, as well as gateways to the Internet and on-line connectivity New media which ignore geography (e.g. Internet, satellite, wireless) erode traditional geographic market boundaries, exacerbate battles between wholesalers and retailers over who delivers services directly to consumers. One-way mass communications media provoke two-way and peer-to-peer communications, prompting emergence of self-selecting communities of interest as well as geographic communities.

Principal Drivers of Change Increasingly sophisticated database management enables personalization, customization of media experiences Collaborative filtering, recommender systems, relationships engines assist end-users in sorting through ever-increasing choice (others who bought this book also bought...) Search engines (Google, Yahoo! et al) emerge as principal drivers to connect users with content in which they are interested, provide new business models for monetizing Internet traffic

Principal Drivers of Change Declining cost of production equipment lowers threshold to entry for content creators, and increases number of voices in the marketplace. Increasing availability of devices and services which facilitate time- shifting: TiVo/DVRs; cable and broadband video on demand; iPods and video iPods; DVDs; on-demand audio and video to cell phones Increasing choice accelerates audience segmentation, fragmentation.

Principal Drivers of Change Accuracy, relevance of legacy audience measurement systems challenged by viewers and listeners increasingly complex media use behaviors, prompting need to develop better understanding of how media are being used, by whom, and for what purposes Sample-based measurement being challenged by technologies enabled by two-way connections between distributors and consumers (e.g. cable settop boxes, TiVo)

But who is watching out for the public interest, to assure that these technologies are employed to address the most critical needs of our society?

THE DFI REPORT RECOMMENDS: Public Broadcasting needs to reconstitute itself as Public Service Media

THE REPORT IDENTIFIES FOUR TRANSFORMING TRENDS 1. The shift from scheduled programming to my time viewing and listening

2. Storage and distribution costs continue to decline, enabling extended shelf life and services to small, special interest audiences.

3. - The role of search and informing choice Public Broadcasters are trusted intelligent agents Branding assumes ever-more importance in a cluttered marketplace of ideas Key role to be played by collaborative filtering, recommender systems

4. - The Internet can leverage traditional program content into a multimedia experience.

Three recent illustrative examples of public broadcasting new media initiatives: - Public Service Publisher - Podcasting - Forum Networks

THE PUBLIC SERVICE PUBLISHER INITIATIVE - a process through which public broadcasters and independent producers will provide content to a growing audience of listeners and viewers who are adopting on-demand technologies - aims to address the need to distribute public service content through a system which optimizes on-line search results - aims to develop revenue streams based on new media applications without undermining current system revenues - now in beta at

PUBLIC BROADCASTING PODCASTS - audio and video designed to be downloaded automatically (RSS) and on- demand to computers and MP3 players (e.g. to iPods and video iPods) - (Tuesday, 12/13) - 16 of Apple iTunes top 100 subscribed podcasts were from public broadcasting, including NPR 7AM ET News Summary; NewsHour with Jim Lehrer; NOVA e=mc2; KCRWs Morning Becomes Eclectic; NOVA ScienceNow; Washington Week; Now with David Brancaccio; NPR Science Friday iTunes public broadcasting category offered 84 podcast choices

THE WGBH FORUM NETWORK - on-line audio and video streaming - curates and serves live and on-demand lectures by scholars, authors, artists, scientists, policy makers and community leaders hosted by cultural and educational institutions in the Greater Boston area. - 40% of users are from outside the U.S.; and from more than 1,000 academic institutions worldwide - now being joined by public broadcasters in Cleveland, New York, Atlanta, and Portland (OR), who add lectures from their cities to the pool

ANALOG TO ANYTIME: THE TRADITIONAL BROADCAST ERA IS ENDING David B. Liroff VP/CTO - WGBH Boston