Radio's future can be even better than its past. Making Waves, the new book by Mark Ramsey, can help any broadcaster navigate a world of endless competition. An action plan for the future plus expert advice from Seth Godin, Douglas Rushkoff, Joe Jaffe, and many more. Read the Smart Buzz from the creator of "Law and Order"
Here's a lesson in Buzz, courtesy of Dick Wolf, creator of TV's "Law and Order."
NBC is debuting Wolf's newest TV series "Conviction"...
...online! For free!
As noted in this article, the premiere of Conviction is available on iTunes.
What a brilliant buzz-starter!
There's no doubt that further episodes will not be available gratis, but nobody's going to pay for the content until they sample it first for free, either on the big tube or the little one.
Introduce for free, charge a fee later.
There's a lesson in that.
One that avid Seth Godin readers have heard many times before.
UPDATE: Seth followed my post with one of his own and made this comment:
It's hard to see this is a one-time temporary stunt. As iTunes gets crowded, promotions will increase and prices will drop. Getting people to PAY attention is enough for most media companies.
Certainly he's right that promotions of this type will increase. As for a drop in prices, I don't know. A couple bucks for a TV show doesn't strike me as expensive. Not when people pay $20 or $30 for a full season on DVD and have to stand in line at Best Buy or wait for an Amazon delivery to get it.
For new shows, however, free is the only way to go. Attention is the commodity of most value, and nothing buys attention like "free."
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Speaking as one who just bought an iPod on Friday, I'm looking for content to fill those long airplane flights. At last count I had four careers (including family) so watching episodic TV at the same time each week is near impossible. But I've seen the promos for this show and I'm willing to give it a shot by downloading it. I would not have done that if it wasn't free. (Remember, the "pig in a poke.")
Posted by: Glenn | February 22, 2006 at 06:41 AM
shame it's only available to you yanks!
can't get it in the aussie itunes store :(
Posted by: mikey | February 22, 2006 at 02:56 PM
Of course the real innovation will a hit show that is only ever available through iTunes. Or will we always need TV?
Posted by: Tim Clague | February 25, 2006 at 09:26 AM