Thursday, January 1, 2009

Daisy Whitney's New Media Minute: 2009 Predictions and Cutting The Cord

In this final episode of the New Media Minute for 2008, Daisy Whitney offers her 5 predictions for online video in 2009. She says cellphone advertising will take off, Netflix is a company that should be watched, web producers will go international with their web shows, for the Grey's Anatomy fans (which excludes me) George will get boot and, the new trend of cutting the cord will grow as more people get rid of cable and digital satellite to watch video online.

This last prediction may be more likely as Daisy points out in her article, Column: TV Cord-Cutters Are Not the Enemy - TVWeek - News, "Media companies are painfully aware that they need to adapt to the changing consumer. While cord-cutters might be the avant-garde today, they’ll be mainstream when our kids grow up. A better understanding of what they want, how they watch TV and whether they skip ads can help networks, studios, even cable and satellite operators stay relevant, and maybe even a step ahead."

She's made it her mission in 2009 to help media companies better understand why consumers are cutting the cord and shifting their views to broadband-powered video. She's enlisted her Twitter friends and followers to develop a 2009 online video wish list and said on Twitter yesterday, "My cable-free army could be growing soon! Liz Shannon Miller may take the cord-cutting plunge next no thanks to Via-TWC: http://bit.ly/147F" .

Although a deal was reached between Viacom and Time Warner, who had been in a contract dispute in which Viacom threatened to pull 19 of its cable channels, including Nickelodeon, MTV, VH-1 and Comedy Central, we could see more disruption in the future with other contract disputes of this scale. NewTeevee has a cheat sheet to tell you where to watch your favorite Viacom-owned shows online if you're ready to cut the cord.



Daisy was also interviewed by Sam Bradley on the blog Communication & Cognition - New Media Expert Advises: Build Brand You — Communication & Cognition, where she expands on her 2009 predictions, how she got started in new media and her advise for college students interested in this field.

Watch Daisy's other episodes about what's in store for 2009: