How to defeat LifeNews?

Anticipating reproaches from the guards of the profession, I will say right away: this text is not about journalism, not about promotion, not about the links of some chain there and not about the problems of freedom of speech in our conditional authoritarian democracy. Nothing personal, I'm just about the strategy.

A little less than two months ago, a new Lifenews cable television channel was launched, literally from the first etheric events, demonstrating a serious, professional approach to the picture and the news. Despite the slogan “I don’t watch TV”, a channel that immediately received premium distribution in the analogue networks of Rostelecom and got into most TVs in Moscow, is much more like the usual television than the rain television channel in the summer of 2010. “I do not watch TV” - this is the next paraphrase of the rain “television is not our profession” (in the sense of “propaganda is not our profession” and “do not be afraid to turn on the TV”, do not seduce mud). In general, Lifenews informs the potential audience: “We are others”, trying, like “Rain”, to distance himself from our main competitors - federal television news.

The events in Biryulev brought the first glory to the TV channel - just as in 2010-2011, the lighting of the December events on Manezhnaya Square, the explosion at the Domodedovo airport and the beating of journalist Kashin brought the glory to the Rain television channel with very limited, unlike Lifenews , at that time distributed. An increase in the audience of news cable television channels in “special” moments is a global trend, everything is in order, only you can’t build a business on this. To acquire influence, or better, a profit (it is not clear that in Russia it is more expensive at the exit) to cable news television requires at least a request from an audience for a certain content or political position, building emotional relations with a target audience and, as a result, advertising budgets that can only be guaranteed (in Russia, however, not only) the venue of emotionally attached and) Preferably a solvent audience. Pay Wall , or subscription, is a direct monetization of emotional connections, it doesn’t matter what is based on: a request for information (there are a thousand ways to find it for free) or a need for a like -minded person (it works for sure).

I was forced to write this text by Andrei Miroshnichenko’s publication on Colta.ru, which recorded (the “three -year -old“ rain ”lost to a daring two -month beginner”) The beginning of a hard competition in a new, recently arising segment - private news cable TV in Russia. The rain television channel with just introduced paid subscription on the Internet, distributed on most cable and satellite platforms - against LifeNews , free on the Internet and from the first day broadcasting in the base of the Mostelecoma analog, where rain could not enter these three years. With the conclusions of the author, I partially agree, but partially not. The first thing that inspires and tones: this is the beginning of real competition in cable television, which means that the quality of the content and the efficiency of the work of both television channels will grow. And the audience of cable news television channels will grow. Employees will grow up - more advertising will come to this market segment. In general, everyone will be more interesting.

Content outside politics will never collect the required number of clicks, likes and reposts.

I do not believe in real balanced journalism on private cable television channels. I admit, I do not believe in a balanced journalism at all. Firstly, it is very expensive (especially on TV) and boring, and secondly, it does not bring the emotional attachment of the audience, which means that it does not motivate it to buy a subscription or connect the channel through the provider. A real balanced journalism migrates to non-profite sector around the world. This is the lot of BBC , PBS and other public television channels. A real balanced journalism could be engaged in Russian public television, if there was the will of the Kremlin. In the meantime, it is not there, the Fund for the fight against the corruption of Alexei Navalny will continue to collect the record for our country from private donors to continue their not quite journalistic, but very effective investigations. The most popular product in the cable is politics, political position, engagement. Content outside politics will never collect the required number of clicks, likes and reposts. Content outside the policy in the news cable does not exist at all! Moreover, politics here is a very broad concept, here the story about sports or culture cannot but be a reflection on the same topic. Conditional Botticelli can get 15 minutes of etheric time only if the forms of Femen activists were reminded of the audience “Spring”. And the fans of Zenit - only if they composed the next memorandum of the race of players.

If we talk about the competition of “rain” with Lifenews , you can only at first glance be afraid of the main Gabrelyanov talent-to talk about the murder through an actual mistress or housekeeper, suddenly the video from the surveillance cameras and exclusively from the police from somewhere. In the case of a separate premium audience of “rain”, a decrease in the bar and keyhole wells do not work. Another exclusive is needed here. The desire for a social and substantive bottom is an appeal to another area, yes, more mass, but less solvent, to the audience open for washing, and not to the liberal facebook layer. In the absence of a mass habit of receiving information on cable channels, with modest advertising budgets of this sector, with a shortage of money, professionals and technology, the most faithful, simple, cheap and quick way to create content and emotional involvement of the audience is to reduce the usual news content. The presentation of current events through comments, the multiplication of “talking heads” (there is nothing offensive in this term), opinions, debate, invitation of guests to the studio. Over the past five years, CNN , which has lost, due to its “balanced” extremely biased FoxNews and MSNBC , has reduced the number of familiar news and reports by half, from 49% to 24% in the prime time. And he loses anyway-only because of an attempt to be “over the fight”, and not with his audience.

The first thing that inspires and tones is the beginning of real competition in cable television.

Can Lifenews really take part of the audience from the "rain"? If Lifenews hires several liberal intractable journalists and let them work fully. If the rain will try to give a balanced picture and call on the air “The other side” - the conditional “Maximov Shevchenko”. If Lifenews gives on his air to Alexei Navalny, for example, that he is going to become president of Russia (in the Pack of Rostelecom! As they say, I will subscribe to comments). Here it is necessary to make a reservation that I am writing this without taking into account the participation of another player-the presidential administration, which has not yet interfered in the work of the rain in a large way.

I want to say that cable news television, like nothing, needs a polarized society. It doesn’t matter in what percentage, albeit 10 to 90. In the 2012 presidential election, about 6 million people voted for Mikhail Prokhorov. Obviously, if these 6 million became the core of the rain audience, and some of them subscribers, this would be enough for the success of the cable television channel. Moreover, we are talking about the premium, expensive for the advertiser (only for the brave, damn it, advertiser) of the audience.

Для сравнения: в среду, 16 октября, когда завершался американский shutdown («выключение» правительства из-за того, что демократы и республиканцы не могли договориться о выходе из бюджетного кризиса. — Ред. ) — событие из тех, которые собирают зрителей у телевизоров, — аудитория экстремально консервативного FoxNews , телевидения «Чайной партии» , в прайм-тайм amounted to 2 million 523 thousand people. This is more than the best reporter of America Anderson Cooper on CNN , and more than I received an MSNBC - an extremely liberal television channel, whose star is a Ratchel Medo - an open lesbian, and a real crusader of the democrats (there were 1 million 444 thousand with about 85% - FoxNews and MSNBC coating in America). What is this talking about? The audience of cable channels, even in the most successful in this segment of the United States, is not particularly great - despite the fact that the country's population is more than two times more than in Russia, and consumes news much more actively. Pretty modest figures in the prime time do not interfere, for example, MSNBC (cable, Paywall and advertising) have about 200 million profit per year with revenue of 442 million (data for 2012).

Let the federal channels and Russia-24 be afraid of Aram Ashotovich, and not Rain.

I do not want and cannot compare American business models with ours-I'm only talking about a strategy for working with the audience. The cable private news television ceased to mean “News”, as it was 10 years ago. Cable news television means “opinions”. Especially in a divided ideologically and socially society. It sells an audience a political position - this motivates the audience to pay. Why invest in the fight against Twitter, which is already ahead of any television news release? Lifenews is unlikely to fight with the uniqueness of the rain - even with their more professional and balanced news. I, the audience, want to know by the names of those who tell me about events in the evening. And by names I will only know those who speak their own voice and voiced their own thoughts. The formula “Do not tell me what you think, but say what you know” does not work on cable television. The leaders of Lifenews - those whom I managed to see - read the news rather professionally, and for sure, the level of their crafts above the one with which the rain started in 2010. But I, the viewer, have no desire to get to know them, I do not understand what they think there and to whom they are like -minded people. In order to take the audience from the “rain”, Mr. Gabrelyanov (if he has a plan to lead it) to imitate the involvement and indifference-the imitation on a close-up does not work. It is necessary to find the conditional “Philip Dzyadko”, read the white book from the process of Sinyavsky and Daniel, to join the Berlin concert of Gidon Kremer in support of the Russian Politicals.

Lifenews will increase the audience, and this will be another audience, different from the audience of Rain. Lifenews It will not be taken from the rain, but from federal channels - and teach it to watch news on the Internet or cable. It is this audience that will lead to cable TV large advertisers. If Lifenews becomes another “club” of the presidential administration, the ranks of the audience of Rain will grow. Only the “rain” should not be curtailed, not to be scared, to exclude self -censorship. Any change in the course, the destruction of this line will be a game on Lifenews . The real threat to the “rain” will arise only when another “liberal” player appears on the market, truly not indifferent to the development of civil society. But there are no premises to this yet. So let it be federal channels and “Russia-24” are afraid of Aram Ashotovich, and not “rain”.

Conditional Botticelli can get 15 minutes of etheric time only if the forms of Femen activists were reminded of the audience “Spring”.

Returning to the column of Andrei Miroshnichenko, I want to say about the competition of free ( Lifenews ) and paid ("rain"). The conversation about the “paid-payer” concerns only the Internet, since in a cable or satellite you, spectators, equally pay for content, in your monthly municipal account you will find a column of 135 rubles-this is your contribution for the Moscow cable, “Mostelecom”, where Lifenews got and did not go “rain”. But if Lifenews is pursuing a business price, then soon, when the channel wants to receive money from regional and international operators, he will have to close free content-you cannot sell the goods that lies on the Internet for free.

Now about Paywall , which uses rain. This is a difficult, long and ungrateful way - and for any media anywhere in the world. I met with the heads of almost all the largest American media over the past two months and I know that only the newspaper The New York Times (subscription costs about 180 dollars a year) and the Washington publication The Politico (about $ 2,000 per Pro version) boasts income from Paywall . Moreover, in April 2013, The New York Times suddenly canceled the subscription to her own video content. The main producer of the New York Times, Rich Tanner, explained to me this by changing the strategy, improving the quality of the video and the need to expand the audience. A year ago, only 6 newspaper journalists were engaged in video production, this year - already 20 (at 45 Final Cut installation stations!). They will build views - they will exhibit the wall again. This is not “local throwing”, as Andrei Miroshnichenko writes, this is normal tactics in the struggle for the subscriber. The opening of the wall at “special” moments (explosions, pogroms, etc.) or on holidays - part of this tactic, in these moments a special programming of the channel is required, which should be aimed at increasing the number of subscribers. Although the “rain” subscription is not quite full -fledged - the lion's share of content is still in the public domain, including news stories, and this may begin to annoy those who have already signed. Someone in Russia was to be the first to join the Paywall zone in television, and the one who does this before will begin to get to arrive. First, losses, and then profit (subject to the availability of content sold, of course). And-again-if Lifenews has a business ambitration, they can’t do without Paywall in the future either.

In Russia, news and political information historically are an instrument of government or shareholders, not citizens. The main challenge for the Rain TV channel is to make your own content with the need and instrument of citizens. Those without which the target viewer of the channel cannot live, work, make daily decisions. This is the most important and most difficult trick - to create your own content, and not try to compete with Lifenews . And the current political regime, oddly enough, creates the most favorable ground for the development of this new, necessary as air of content.