Online Digital Video Expanding as Traditional TV Shrinks
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Online Digital Video Expanding as Traditional TV Shrinks

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by Chris Smith
Online Digital Video Expanding as Traditional TV Shrinks

Online digital video continues to expand at a rapid pace, and the rise of digital video is impacting traditional television. A recent announcement by the news network Al Jazeera is representative of what is occurring across the TV landscape as viewers shift to online digital video. The network has announced a major restructuring of their TV and online properties, expanding their digital video and online presence, while completely closing one of their cable TV stations. The TV network being closed and replaced by online digital video is the old Current TV which was purchased for $500 million earlier this decade. The online property is focused on an international news operation, and part of an English language website showcasing news and information.

Consumers shifting from TV to online digital consumption

Once reliant on TV and cable for news and information, an increasing number of consumers are cutting cable TV and relying entirely on Internet-based sources for news and video. While other TV providers may not take such an extreme step as shutting down their television operations in favor of digital, this is likely to be the first of many media organizations emphasizing digital video over TV. In the case of Al Jazeera, their online news sites have received more than two billion online views of their content since their inception 15 months ago. Along with this shift many news organizations are turning to Premiere Pro courses and Final Cut training for their news teams to quickly and effectively edit digital video. Both national and local media outlets are making efforts to improve motion graphics and animations by having their video professionals learn After Effects.

Expanding digital video consumption one part of network's decline

While consumer’s shift to digital video certainly impacted the TV operations of Al Jazeera America, it wasn’t the only source of problems for the network. The network limited advertising to six minutes per hour, reducing income opportunities. The network also attempted to avoid any hint of bias, steering clear of sharing any opinions. The level of caution in an effort to avoid offending users caused it to become a generic news outlet that garnered few viewers, many of whom looked to sites such as FOX News, CNN, and MSNBC that all have both strong TV and online digital presence.

 

About the author

Christopher Smith is president of American Graphics Institute. He is the co-author of Adobe Creative Cloud for Dummies and more than 10 other books on design and digital publishing. He served as publisher and editor of the Digital Classroom book series, which has sold more than one million books on topics relating to InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, Premiere Pro and other Creative Cloud apps. At American Graphics Institute, he provides strategic technology consulting to marketing professionals, publishers designers, and large technology companies including Google, Apple, Microsoft, and HP. An expert on web analytics and digital marketing, he also delivers Google Analytics classes along with workshops on digital marketing topics. Christopher did his undergraduate studies the at the University of Minnesota, and then worked for Quark, Inc. prior to joining American Graphics Institute where he has worked for more than 20 years.