Queen Distribution's Reign of Terror

How blissfully ignorant we were a mere two plus decades ago, during the incipient stage of the connected digital age. Thanks to the prescient Bill Gates we started to think about the notion of content being king back in 1996. That if we had good content (in that era, only text, photos and in some cases data), we'd be fine. All you needed to do was develop a cool web site, and then start promoting your "dot com." Your customers, blithely "surfing the net," would check you out, hopefully exclaim a few oohs and ahhs, and then come back for more, ideally at least once a month so they would qualify as highly coveted "unique visitors." No social media; no mobile; no streaming; no podcasting; no voice; no AI; no AR. In retrospect, digital publishing back in the day seems positively quaint.

When I was running NHL Digital 20 years ago, here's what we had to worry about:

Today? Queen Distribution rules, and it has become a bloody reign of chaos, complexity, and for many businesses, terror. Having stolen the pants from King Content, she rules without mercy, without forgiveness. She serves at the pleasure of her fickle, twitchy subjects: smartphone-carrying, cord-cutting, binge-watching, content-sharing, game-playing, podcast-listening, group-texting, meme-spreading digital media addicts. (In her recent Internet Trends report, Mary Meeker pointed out that we Americans spend 6.3 hours/day with digital media. ??)

You say you want a revolution? Well, you know, we're in the middle of one. As digital consumers, we all want what we want in media, and at this point in history, it's simple: we expect to get our content when, where, and how WE decide, and oh yeah. . . have a great user experience along the way. We are the customers, and we've never been more right. On the other side of the coin – the publishing side, it's a very different story. Those companies – media and otherwise – that can't deliver great experiences and provide well-designed digital products with a solid tech underpinning (translation: they work well and are reliable!) across a plethora of platforms and devices in our ever-expanding digital media world are doomed.

Sure, there's a long tail of content, but the long tail of distribution is what's making modern digital media so challenging. If you're running digital business today, you have to have super clear vision and a really smart digital product strategy, not to mention a strong stomach. (It's no coincidence that we've seen a big increase in the number of Chief Product Officers in corporate America in recent years; you could argue that if it's not already, a CPO position will be the "rock star" job of the 2020s.) 20 years ago you worried almost exclusively about one thing: your web site, Now, in addition to your (increasingly less important) web presence, you have to create and maintain great applications for a dizzying array of platforms and media environments. Major brands like ESPN and WWE are actively developing, maintaining and iterating applications on dozens of platforms and devices. Obviously not every company needs to be on every platform, but for big media-centric brands, (e.g. major entertainment businesses, sports leagues), it's close, especially if your audience or desired audience skews young. Simple example: how can any business ignore the Roku market that now exceeds 50 million? #mistake) Partial list:

• Apple-iOS smartphone, tablet, connected TV and watch apps
• Google-Android smartphone, tablet, connected TV and watch apps
• Connected TV apps, including ones for Roku and Amazon Fire TV
• Smart TV apps, including ones for Samsung, Vizio, etc.
• Gaming console apps, including ones for Xbox and Playstation
• Social: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok, Pinterest
• Video, including YouTube and Vimeo
• Audio, including podcasts and voice skills on various platforms
• Virtual, augmented and mixed reality products

So, where does that leave the royal relationship? While the King will remain King – content will always be the ultimate differentiator – the Queen's power has expanded in ways that no one, not even Bill Gates, could have imagined in the early days of digital transformation. And based on the way things are progressing in tech, her thirst for power and influence will only grow.

@ConvergenceTR / @mercury