In Every Race Winners Have The Best View - March 9, 2019
Brand leaders always get lots of attention. Superior products and services are worthy of accolades, not to forget happy and loyal customers. These are traditional market forces, price serving to mediate enthusiasm. Bugatti’s US$18.9 million one-of-a-kind Voiture Noire (Black Car), sold in one day, does not a brand make. Competitors need a plan.

High Fliers And Large Parachutes - June 19, 2018
Telecoms know one thing better than everybody else: billing. These giants of telecommunications, once known colloquially as telephone companies, have perfected this skill over generations. Of course, services provided have adapted to evolving customer interests. Wires are out. Clouds are in. Billing never changes. This has made telecoms masters of the universe.

Mergers And The Bluster Of Bigness, Badness - November 21, 2017
Nobody in business, media or otherwise, wants to be the little guy. Hence, all executives are schooled in thinking big. Their bankers tell them to think big because the paper work for a big deal is just the same as a small deal. There is no incentive to be anything but big.

Security In Scale Brings Opportunities, Insecurity Brings The For-Sale Sign - November 7, 2017
Strong news brands, by and large, have discovered two things recently. Number one is the fragility, to be generous, of advertising revenues, digital and otherwise. Second and just as important is the rise of subscription revenue for big news brands like the New York Times and the Guardian. In addition, though most significantly in the US market, is the Trump Effect, passionate foes and fans of US president Donald Trump are paying to see what they want to see.

Synergies Apply To The Known - December 14, 2016
The digital age has made one factor more important than all others: scale. To thrive, if not only survive, media operators view consolidation as primary business strategy. Shareholders and stock traders agree; other insecurities pale. Above all, what is familiar is favored.

Blinking Is A Nervous Tick And Bad For Business - October 24, 2016
Executives are much happier exploring new opportunities than tackling headaches arising from the normal course of business. Shareholders are only happy when profits and dividends flow. The most successful - and thriving - management strategies keep sharp attention on happiness. When throbbing headaches invade the spirit pain relief becomes an object. Holidays are helpful.

Makeovers, Takeovers And Much More Fun - Hurray For Hollywood - March 14, 2016
The great digital dividend has opened vast new opportunities for film and television productions, not to forget animation, games and live events. And the demand for all that is creating more demand, a cycle, perhaps virtuous, maybe silly. Shareholders have their demands, too; sometimes not in synch with anything else. With so much fun - and money - available nobody seems to want to share.

See also in ftm Knowledge

Television News - Bright Lights, Big Coverage

The global reach of television news has never been greater. The digital age has expanded that reach to satellite channels and the Web but it has also forced television news to mature. This ftm Knowledge file shows the gains and the pains. 99 pages PDF (October 2013)

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