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MySpace Generation rewrites old media rules Cheaper broadband access is making it easier for people around the world to publish and share their own videos and photos via the web. The sharp rise in consumer-created content being posted on the internet is forcing established media companies to rethink their business models. And, with under-18s forming a third of the world's 6.5 billion population, the media are focusing on the youth market.
With young people spending millions of hours on these sites, media groups and investors are looking for ways to make money from them, through advertising or other revenue streams. Murdoch and Google must be confident of eventually turning a profit. News Corp reportedly plans to launch the MySpace brand in China, the world's largest media market with over 1.3 billion people. Online communities are where it's at In the UK, the regulator Ofcom reported in August that, on average, 15- to 24-year-olds watched TV for one hour less per day than the average viewer. And a smaller proportion of their time was spent viewing public service broadcasting channels - down from 74% of total viewing among this age group in 2001 to 58% today. With the internet playing a greater role in their lives, this group's radio listening and newspaper reading has declined too. TV channels, especially those aimed at the youth market, are aware that younger audiences are spending more time away from the TV screen. To retain their interest, they need to provide them with ways to contribute as well as consume. For the 成人快手, this means its long-term strategy has to be "to move beyond broadcasting, down the distribution chain into find, play, and share services," Ashley Highfield, 成人快手 Director of New Media and Technology, told this year's Edinburgh International Television Festival. Kumu Puri of Accenture describes it as a shift "from an appointment-to-view TV culture to a TV-on-my-terms one". This trend can only accelerate as the 'MySpace generation' grows up. |
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