There is no silver bullet to win in the golden age of TV, according to Fox International Channels president and CEO Hernan Lopez, but with increased competition, the formula for success has changed.
Lopez was speaking at the ASTRA conference about the challenges of operating in a new media landscape in what is being dubbed the “golden age of television”.
He said the numbers of scripted TV shows produced in the US has jumped from 136 in 2000 to 400 this year.
However, while he said the old adage of “content is king” or “distribution is king” might still hold weight in the industry, he doesn't believe putting either front and centre will cut through in the modern media landscape.
“Content obviously comes before brand, a brand without content is like an empty vessel, it is like a castle without a king,” Lopez said.
“But a king, even the most powerful king one day will be gone, yet the castle or the brand if you build it right, if you maintain it, will be around for generations.”
Lopez said that when consumers look to subscription television for the first time, they seldom ask for specific show, but instead ask for brands – National Geographic or Fox – as the brands have been around for longer, are easier to name and resonate stronger.
He said that for this reason, FX, Fox and National Geographic are focusing on brand as a way to compete.
“For a brand to sustain its worth in this increasing world of competition, they really have to stand for something,” Lopez said.
“This is why we are embracing the world of fewer, bigger and better.”
Lopez said this means a focus on fewer franchisers, but with the aim of turning them into global cultural events, like it has done with TV sensation The Walking Dead.
Further, while a focus on content, distribution and brand might have been enough two years ago, increasingly UX is coming into the picture.
“So lets say that you do have distribution, you do have content and you do have brand, that used to be enough up until maybe two years ago, it won’t be enough in the future if you don’t have a great UX,” Lopez said.
“At Fox International Channels we have been using UX designers for many years now, first to help us devise our mobile and online applications, but eventually UX became weaved into the thinking of our entire company starting with our linear channels.”
Lopez pointed to the use of UX in the decision to simultaneously launch TV shows across the globe such as The Walking Dead.
But he added that while those elements are necessary in the modern TV landscape, they’re not a silver bullet.
“So content, distribution, brand and UX, each of them has to be either good or great and get constantly better,” Lopez said.
“You don’t have do all of them or have all of them in-house. But you do have to be in a position to have all of these things at a price that allows you to have a product and sustain a product.”
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