The new DTT, on a reduced scale

It has been a year and a half since the analog television switch-off occurred, that historic milestone that was going to revitalize the audiovisual sector and boost the activity of television networks and production companies. However, as explained by Mª Ángeles Martín Pérez, Director of Operations at 13Tv, this Tribune focuses on this plural scenario, full of offers, improvements, interactivity and accessibility, but which perhaps has not met the expectations of either the industry or the viewer.

The development of this new television market as a result of the emergence of DTT has been weakened by an overwhelming and voracious threat of global crisis: global economic, advertising investment, grps, competition, audiences, creativity,...

The most obvious and direct consequence of the failure of the DTT market is reflected in the closures (occurred or announced) of various television channels: CNN+, Veo7 (temporarily resurrected), La10, TPA, RTVM,..., without mentioning the local channels, whose unfortunate situation would deserve a separate study.

However, today no operator can take its continuity for granted, neither large nor small, neither public nor private. The exercise of television activity is going through one of the most critical moments in its history, in which words such as “crisis”, “hypercompetition”, “segmentation” or “Internet” take center stage.

However, the viability of the audiovisual exercise must be found and achieved through the establishment of a realistic business plan in accordance with achievable objectives and an attitude of cost savings, multifunctionality and, above all, effort. In this sense, new operators cannot emulate either the model or the resources of traditional operators.

Using the recurring football simile, within the first division of professional football the teams compete for certain positions, some will play in the Champions League, others in UEFA, others in relegation and others will have a discreet role that only allows them to remain in the competition. In this sense, it is evident that not all national television networks should set the same business objectives or the same paths to achieve them.

The exercise of television activity requires a global vision and, at least, in the medium term. The market has multiplied its offer by eight and the operators that emerge as a result of this opening, more than a sprint, have a long-distance race ahead of them in which little by little they have to attract the public.

In Spain, the development of these new offers has come hand in hand with either new channels exploited by traditional networks or new broadcasters born at the initiative of communication groups practically inexperienced in audiovisual communication, that is, Veo7, Intereconomía, La10 and 13Tv.

If the former opted for theming the offers, the latter, these new actors, opted to copy the generalist models of the traditional chains with similar grills but extremely smaller budgets. The differentiation in terms of content is, therefore, relegated to ideological nuances that are based on the needs of targeting niches that did not explicitly include the existing offers.

Without questioning the audience measurement system, it is those controversial data that scare us every morning that continue to determine the viability of broadcasts. Various studies and audits point out the share percentage point as the barrier to profitability, but reality has shown chains like Intereconomía and Veo7 that this is not enough.

The gearing of these new companies that emerged at the dawn of DTT must be broadcast but realistic, flexible, versatile and scalable and that same philosophy must be implemented in all areas.

In the case of these channels, the adaptation of technical and human resources to business dimensions is even more relevant, using an in-depth study of current and future needs.

Changing structures

The trend established in the networks is to reduce their business structure, both technical and personnel, and put both the creativity and development of their programs and the technical services in the hands of production companies (the networks – even the public ones – reduce their own productions to the maximum and outsource a large part of their services, an example of this is the outsourcing recently carried out in Antena 3 Television in the areas of Broadcasting; Makeup, Hairdressing, Tailoring and Styling; Post-production Operators; Documentation and others (some of which are pending ruling by the Superior Court of Justice of Madrid). The creation of a reduced business network must be drastic in these new channels. The organization charts have to differ from those of traditional chains in the simplification of the structure (at all levels), which implies fewer people who cover more skills and are less specialized. The human factor will continue to be the driving force of the organization's evolution and the protagonist of its competitiveness, but it will be based on the combination of experienced employees with others. young, prepared, with great learning capacity and a broad profile to develop multiple functions. The number of employees that private operators had five years ago was over a thousand, while the workforce of these new channels does not usually exceed a hundred workers.

The technical project must also be tailored to the strategic positions and organizational and functional processes of the television channel. The acquisition of cutting-edge technology is displaced by versatile, mid-range and scalable equipment, that is, its power can be increased and improved in future investments if the project requires it.

But for greater complications, these small-scale projects must allow chains to overcome the same and even more challenges and difficulties than traditional chains. They are not exempt from suffering the reduction in advertising revenue, audience leaks to other media, legislative obligations regarding accessibility and interactivity, and frequency changes imposed by the assumption of the digital dividend. And they should not stop participating in innovative technological projects, such as the hybridization of television through HbbTv or the presence on the Internet through streaming.

These are complex business models, adjusted but flexible, modest but demanding, which need to be supported by strong and realistic projects to survive in this competitive and uncertain scenario and not disappear under the mantle of the offers of traditional operators or the content of the large majors (Disney, Sony, Viacom, Televisa, Fox, Discovery) who at bargain prices and with offers that are not very attractive cover the spaces that broadcasters are incapable of managing.