Did Google’s acuisition of dMarc broadcasting last week start the countdown clock on the remaining lifespan of our friendly neighborhood media buyer’s cut on every transaction?

I’ve got nothing against media buyers. Some of my best friends are media buyers. But they might want to start reengineering their businesses to discover new ways to add value to the process of placing an ad buy.

The days of justifying commissions primarily on access to software, access to audience measurement knowledge and access to favored relationships with broadcast sales executives appear to be dwindling. Ideas and strategies are going to be more important than ever. Won’t most any business owner with at least a room temp iq soon be able to accomplish the mechanics of placing a relatively efficient targeted ad buy without any additional carbon based help?
The dynamics of that relationship can’t help but change with more leverage going to the newly empowered client.

Forecasts of this transformation have been around for a while and dMarc had started this process on their own, but now with Google ingesting dMarc, it is hard not to see it reaching critical mass much sooner. Almost immediately.

Today, if you’re savvy enough to be running your own business, you are likely savvy enough to place your web (wired and wireless) and radio ad buy without the help of the middleman. How many tomorrows until the TV ad buy is a more complete part of that mix?

So it is likely down to another example of when, not if. The good buyers who truly add value for their clients can turn this into a sustaining technology and make it work for the buyer and the client. For the others, the impact will likely be more disruptive in nature. And for my colleagues and friends who fall in that category, I worry.

tags: dmarc;advertising; disruptive technology;

Screenshot from ad running during Fox affiliate’s local break on 24 last night.

Digital cable, phone, and broadband from Time Warner for $79.90?

Thanks AT&T!

tags: iptv;

from wsj

…AT&T Inc. has started offering its much-anticipated Internet-based television service to customers in San Antonio. The company began marketing the service yesterday to several hundred consumers in its corporate hometown through direct mail.

So far, my snail mailbox is lonely. Did I accidently throw out my invitation with the Val-Pak envelope and Little Caesars insert?

…For now, AT&T will offer 200 channels, though it expects to offer 1,000 or more channels when it expands the service to other markets in about six months. Its channel lineup already includes major networks as well as ESPN, HBO, the Discovery Channel, the Disney Channel, MTV, the History Channel, USA, CNN, National Geographic and others. Several hundred video-on-demand movies are being offered.

…AT&T’s initial TV service lacks features such as high-definition channels, which are commonly offered by cable companies. The company won’t reveal the price of its service but said it was competitive with other cable-TV offerings in the area.

Wow. ESPN and HBO. Let me catch my breath.

Be bold AT&T. You can do it.

tags: at&t; iptv;

tags: miners; newspapers;

New document from Center for Social Media spells out best practices on fair use copyright issues for the documentarian.

Discussion about it on Silicon Valley Media Law blog.

Excerpt from Bob Wright Op-Ed in WSJ

…findings indicate that IP-based industries account for nearly 20% of the total private-industry contribution to GDP. In addition, because these industries are growing faster than the overall economy, they account for 40% of our real economic growth; and because they depend on highly skilled workers, they pay, on average, 40% more than the average compensation paid to U.S. workers.