IRIS videotext study

Survey:
Videotext Services
First Report
Prepared by IRIS Media
Mannheim/Berlin
Videotext:
I. Yes
ARD (incl. 1 plus)
Euronews*
MTV Europe*
Premiere
RTL plus
SAT 1
ZDF (incl. 3 SAT)
II.No
CNN International*
DKK (Kabelkanal)
Deutsches Sportfernsehen
MUVI
PRIBAG (SAT 1 Wirtschafts...)
PRO 7 (in spite of VIDEODAT)
III. No Reply
ARTE*( )
Eurosport( )
Lifestyle*( )
Sportkanal ( )
Super Channel*( )
VOX()
)
Later: Yes
CNN International
* Non-German language programs (included because some German text in
their service)
( ) We could check if they have videotext or not
(c) 1993 Mannheim/Berlin IRIS Media, Member of the VISION Consultancy Group Page 2
Responses (by group):
Group 1:
ARD: Our fax was answered by WDR. We received a contact person and
background information .
EURONEWS: We received 2 contacts, one by mail and the other by phone.
o
The reaction was positive - willing to talk with us and give out
information.
MTV Europe: The office in Munich referred us to a contact person in London.
o
The reaction was sceptical: "Do we want to seil anything?" was asked
several times spanning several phone calls. After reassuring them that we
are gathering information and are then handing it over to PKI, contact person
was given.
PREMIERE: Very quick response. lnterested in speaking with us.
RTL plus: We received a contact person by mail.
SAT 1: After receiving no written reply, we did get a positive response per
telephone. Spoke with contact person directly, set up telephone interview
right away.
o
The reaction was of interest, but reserved and professional.
ZDF: Received contact person by mail, as well as background information.
o
Contact person a little sceptical, or maybe just curious - as to why we
really want the information. Requested background information an IRIS.
Group 11:
CNN International: We received no reaction to first fax. Sent second fax (this
time translated into English), and received a same-day answer. (See fax).
DKK: Quick response. No interest now or in the near future to use videotext.
Deutsches Sportfernsehen:
Quick written response. Taking over as of
01.01.93 from TELE5; therefore, very busy and don't have time for
interviews. Also, only interested in videotext offer giving them full editorial
control.
MUVI: No response to fax. Follow-up phone call: "Muvi is an advertising
station for young people. We filed the fax, as videotext plays no role at all
here".
(c) 1993 Mannheim/Berlin IRIS Media, Member of the VISION Consultancy Group Page 3
PRIBAG (SAT 1 Wirtschaftsprogramm): No response to fax. Follow-up phone
call to Marketing director: "Videotext plays absolutely no role here".
o
Reaction was quite aggressive. They apparently felt we were trying to
sell something.
PRO 7: No response to fax. Follow-up phone call: Videotext does not play a
role there. If it does sometime in the future, they will contact us.
VOX: No response to fax. Follow-up phone call: They wanted to track down
the fax and get back to us; however, even with a second follow-up call, they
were not willing or able to give me a contact person.
o
IRIS" personal opinion, "feeling"
Group III:
Please let us know:
if you would like us to insist an an answer
if you want us to check if they deliver (or plan to deliver) a videotext service.
(c) 1993 Mannheim/Berlin IRIS Media, Member of the VISION Consultancy Group Page 4
"The Videotext Talks"
R TL :
Spoke with Mr. Hoenisch, Head of External Relations. However, he informed us
that he is not the proper contact for videotext at RTL and gave us another name
and phone number of an external consultant. On such short notice, our "new"
contact has not been available. Therefore, the telephone interview results will
follow later.
SAT 1:
Discussion with Mr. Schultz, (Leiter Unternehmungsplanung)
Background about SAT 1 videotext:
SAT 1 does measure the number of times the videotext service is activated
each day:
Daily audience:
400,000 - 500,000 in Western Germany
190,000
in the East German states
98 % of the audience uses videotext at home. Mr. Schultz believes that there is a
potential in private communication. Businesses have different needs...the
consumer branch is much stronger.
Videotext: Why?
SAT 1 works with SPRINGER on the videotext service. SAT 1 is still
responsible for the programming. Included in videotext are advertisements. For
more information about this, Mr. Schultz referred us to Ms. Heil at SPRINGER
in Hamburg.
Mr. Schultz: "The name of the market is leisure time and recreation, not
television. The audience should be actively involved." The possibilities lie in
interactive offers, which are currently being tested on the market. They have also
been offered to SAT 1: not by firms in advertising but rather by software
developers, firms involved in new technologies.
What about audiotext? SAT 1 is getting into the market. Currently RTL is the
only station doing it in a regional market. There is potential here for future
development. Right now: audiotext is not that big yet, but SAT 1 wants to make
it nationally available.
(c) 1993 Mannheim/Berlin IRIS Media, Member of the VISION Consultancy Group Page 5
Technical Problems:
Most details about user friendliness of the service, customer wishes, etc.
were referred to Ms. Heil; however, we did find out that SAT 1 customers
often complain about the long wait in set-up time when tuning into videotext.
The interview with Ms. Heil will follow later.
WDR:
Mr. Burike touched an the following during the telephone interview:
WDR was one of the first stations to develop and use videotext ten years
ago.
They did not know about their 10-year-celebration. lt was brought to their
attention through IRIS' letter, at which time WDR made an announcement.
The press showed little interest in it.
In general: in the early days of TV, the press (BDZV = Bund Deutscher
Zeitungsverleger) fought against its development; that is, until the chance
arose to go into business for itself - particularly with SAT 1 and RTL plus.
WDR has received feedback from the audience about videotext, but mostly
when it was something the people did not like. The station has not carried
out any studies an how many people use the videotext servie or how often,
etc. They have noted, however, high usage of online databanks (airports,
traffic reports, etc.).
There are a few limitations:
According to the law (Landesmediengesetz), they are not allowed to carry
advertisments over videotext (although SAT 1 Text is running in NordrheinWestfalen!).
The pilot projects were victims of budget cuts, and unfortunately there is no
money for new pilots. Example: a video print trial was cut.
(c) 1993 Mannheim/Berlin IRIS Media, Member of the VISION Consultancy Group Page 6
First Conclusions
The subject: Extended value-added services via TV are not yet available an
all television screens; however, their development is being intensively
discussed at the top level in many cases.
A variety of pilot projects, as well as a variety of service providers striving for
collaberative efforts, already exist. More and more are offering these at their
own expense and risk: outsourcing is in! - this is particularly true in the rase of
joint efforts with the private program providers. Here alliances with specific
publishing houses are quite evident.
For PKI, three possible "alliance areas" have grown out of the talks:
with large publishing houses which are already established and active (e.g.
SPRINGER)
with other publishing houses showing interest (e.g. BURDA)
with program providers who are involved in "publishing-like activities" (e.g.
WDR)
In the final report, we will use all of this information in forming concrete
suggestions for PKI.
(c) 1993 Mannheim/Berlin IRIS Media, Member of the VISION Consultancy Group Page 8