Brand Beckham: Scheduled to Hit the U.S. in Summer 2007

Last week NBC announced that Victoria Beckham, former Spice Girl and wife to famous “footballer” David Beckham, will be starring in her own reality show coming this summer (the couple can be seen in this photo to the right). The television program will highlight her move from London to Los Angeles in six half-hour episodes, reported Michael Janofsky in Bloomberg. Producing the show is 19 Entertainment, a company run by American Idol creator and Beckham family manager Simon Fuller. Fuller is also a key negotiator in David’s $250 million deal with the Galaxy, Los Angeles’ Major League Soccer team. David is anticipated to start playing this July, conveniently close to Victoria’s expected reality television premier. “Brand Beckham,” as the pair is called in London, can arguably be considered Britain’s most watched celebrity couple, but are lesser known in the U.S. Victoria’s show offers the perfect introduction, not to mention being a tremendous marketing move for selling both the duo and Major League Soccer (MLS) in the states.

After a successful music career as “Posh Spice” in the 1990’s group The Spice Girls, Victoria is now focusing on clothing design, says People Magazine. Much of the star's show is expected to emphasize her break into the American fashion industry. The program will offer enormous publicity for Victoria's book released last October, That Extra Half an Inch: Hair, Heels and Everything in Between, as well as her fashion line DVB Style, which currently carries sunglasses, and perfume. March 1st, only a day after NBC’s announcement of the celebrity's show, DVB revealed that Victoria will be selling her own line of denim with pieces to hit stores in June 2007 and the entire collection to drop in September. Aaron O. Patrick quotes In Touch Magazine editor Michelle Lee in his Wall Street Journal article: “I imagine our coverage of Posh is definitely going to increases....She's maybe in once a month or every six weeks now. She's a very hot topic when it comes to her body.” Victoria, who is often criticized for being too skinny, is seen here with good friend Katie Holmes. Star power is a tremendous asset in the world of fashion, so entering the States with a bang is an incredibly smart decision. Six episodes all about Victoria will surely leave people wanting more, making the Beckhams the center of attention.

“Posh and Becks” are not the only ones benefiting from their star-studded entrance. The more attention they get, the more publicity there is for Major League Soccer. Some have said that the Galaxy paid too much money for Beckham, but what is the price of single handedly saving a sport? This is what MLS is hoping Beckham will do. Though it is the number one game in many parts of the world, soccer falls short in U.S. popularity; the website USA travel does not even mention it in their sports section. MLS is hoping Beckham will bring the game mainstream. He is the most known footballer for non-soccer enthusiasts in the States due to his celebrity marriage and the 2002 film Bend it Like Beckham (David is shown to the right in his Real Madrid uniform, with oldest son Brooklyn). People already interested in the sport will be drawn to witness the famous player in action, while others will be intrigued to see what the fuss is about, not to mention get a glimpse of Posh’s handsome husband.

Even before last week’s announcement of their reality television show, Beckham’s arrival has proven advantageous to MLS, says Grahame L. Jones of the Los Angeles Times. Since the news of his future arrival, season ticket sales for all MLS teams have spiked, not just the LA Galaxy, and for the first time in league history all soccer games will be televised, the majority of them nationally. The schedule has been set to make the most of the league's investment, ensuring nearly all the teams host the Galaxy at least once. MLS Commissioner Don Garber says in Patrick’s article “Having David play in the most commercially robust market in the world clearly is going to present a real opportunity to generate significant income.” The more America sees Beckham’s face, the more attention the league will receive. David has sponsorship deals with Adidas and Gillette and both are expected to use him in more U.S. advertisements. Having Beckham play for the Galaxy is like a celebrity endorsement. Paige Montgomery, of Paige Denim told USC students that having a star wear a pair of her jeans is worth millions of dollars in advertising. So perhaps having David play is like $250 million worth of promotion for Major League Soccer.

Coming this summer with a reality television show, endorsements, new fashion line and touring soccer star, the new kids on the block are set to put their stamp on the States. The British superpower known as “Brand Beckham” is entering an entirely new market, but with these incredible assets and friends like TomKat, one can expect that the pair will do just fine.

Media Violence: The Ever Present Controversy

Violence in the media is constantly at the center of public debate. Psychologists, educators, and television executives are incessantly in dialogue regarding the subject which has numerous research studies outlining its effects. This week, I decided to dive into the blogosphere to see what other online writers had to say on the topic. One entry discussed the recent New Yorker article regarding torturing depicted in the television drama 24 and how it is affecting the mentality of troops in Iraq. To the left is a production still from a torture scene in ABC’s hit series Lost, which was also criticized. Military officials and human rights activists went to executives of 24, asking that they portray torture more realistically, saying it is rarely successful and can take weeks or months to complete. You can read my thoughts below, or visit this link to view the whole blog and my comments. Another interesting blog summarized detailed research regarding media violence and its effects on children. My comments on this post can be found here along with the blog or directly after my thoughts on 24 below.

http://rightwingnuthouse.com/archives/2007/02/10/stranger-than-fiction-does-24-inspire-real-life-torture/

Television violence is often a subject of concern, but the notion of one hour dramas like Lost or 24 “trumping military training” (as stated in the New Yorker article) is ridiculous. Imagine a highly educated doctor throwing out all medical knowledge in order to do an operation Grey’s Anatomy style. These programs may inspire and galvanize viewers, but it is those committing the torturous crimes that are responsible for their actions. A lack of knowledge regarding reality reveals a flaw in military training, not a flaw in primetime television. These troops ought to be educated enough on torture tactics to realize that shows like 24 and Lost are not accurately depicting the situations. Television programs often bend the truth for viewing pleasure; do they seriously expect Jack Bauer to spend seven full seasons trying to get information out of one guy? It would seem that military officials are using 24 as a scapegoat for immoral procedures revealed in Iraq, while human rights activists jumped at an opportunity to criticize the controversial show.

http://nitawriter.wordpress.com/2007/02/12/why-some-kids-seem-immune-from-the-bad-effects-of-television-violence-and-violent-video-games/#respond

This blog raises the ever present question of media responsibility in censoring violent content. Germany took one route with its recent legislation hoping to outlaw overly aggressive video games entirely, while some countries prefer a more hands-off approach. With the extensive research conducted on the subject, to ignore the affects of this content on children would be both naive and careless. Yet still, the FCC cannot be expected to ban violence on television completely. The obligation lies once again with good parenting. Guardians are accountable for regulating a child’s media exposure, but how much do they know about the effects of television violence? Perhaps this is where media responsibility comes into play, in educating the public on these harms. Research like this should be more actively publicized. Harmful effects should be outlined in a warning before violent programming, something akin to the Surgeon General’s words on cigarettes. More needs to be done, more than just a TV14 in the corner, but without crossing into censorship.

Responding to DVR: The Next Phase for Broadcast Television

Advertisement supported broadcasting was introduced in the early 1920s with AT&T’s “toll broadcasting” for radio. It was the solution the industry had been looking for, offering the ability to support the new enterprise while still providing programming free to the public. Today, television broadcasting networks, such as ABC and CBS, are still supported by advertisements. So when TiVo’s digital video recorder (DVR), as shown to the right, was introduced at the turn of the 21st century, a panic struck the television industry. The ability to fast forward through commercials was seen as a threat to the infrastructure of network television. Today, the number of DVR users continues to expand, with an expected 65 million by 2010 according to Frank Ahrens' Washington Post article. As a result, advertisers and networks are becoming creative in adapting to the new technology. Though DVR was once considered a threat, changing technologies and new advertising solutions may actually prove more beneficial for all parties involved: the advertisers, the networks and their viewers.

Nielsen Media Research presented promising research results for network television in August 2006, according to Ahrens. After its first year of including DVR users in its extensive research, Nielsen Media Research found that 77 percent of shows recorded on DVR were network programs. Even more promising, Millward Brown marketing researchers found that 43 percent of DVR owners recalled specific brands from commercials they had seen, while only 42 percent of non-DVR owners could recall the brands. Normal commercial breaks are not as effective as advertisers may think. Viewers often go to the bathroom or tune the commercials out. It is believed that DVR owners may actually be paying more attention to commercials while fast forwarding than they otherwise would because they do not wish to miss their program.

Advertisers have begun using this to their advantage. Companies, such as Honda, have created five second commercial spots that air at the end of a commercial break, according to Laura Petrecca’s USA Today article. Marketers are trying to take advantage of many digital video recorders, such as TiVo, that rewind a few seconds after the viewer stops fast forwarding. Another creative solution, introduced in Ahrens’ article, is what advertisers are calling “logo bursts.” Advertisers are making commercials that keep the company logo up much longer so that it will still be apparent in fast forward and are also attempting to make more visually appealing commercials.

However, the new concept introduced by ABC last April seems most revolutionary for television. The network started streaming their most popular television shows for free online with fast forward proof commercial spots. This new idea offers the same benefits as DVR, allowing viewers to watch at their leisure and catch episodes of several different shows, all accessible through the World Wide Web. This new technology also opens the network up to a large amount of new viewers (people without televisions, cable and/or DVR) and seems to have a future with the new tech-savvy, on-the-go, iPod generation. After ABC’s trial stage last spring, the other major broadcasting networks followed suit in fall of 2006. According to David Goetzl’s MediaPost Publications’ article, both ABC and NBC sites are averaging almost 10 million unique viewers a month and this number is expected to continue growing.

ABC’s website is leading in online viewers according to Goetzl, with such popular shows as “Lost” and “Desperate Housewives.” Each episode is played through ABC’s specific media player, with the sponsoring company’s logo present at all times. An example of this can be seen with Allstate sponsoring an episode of “Grey’s Anatomy” in the picture above left. The sponsoring company has three 30 second spots, sometimes the same, sometimes different, that play during the program. Unlike DVR, the commercials cannot be fast forwarded, and unlike normal commercial breaks, 30 seconds is not necessarily long enough to go to the bathroom. Viewers may be more likely to actually sit through it. Many of the commercials also offer interactive spots, where the viewer can click on links to seek additional information on the product. Allstate’s commercial spot shown to the right offers a link to their website. Online television obviously offers significant benefits to the advertisers as well.

The DVR scare forced broadcasting networks to think outside the box and seems to have issued in a new generation of television, one where the viewer is in control. Online streaming of popular television shows is the perfect marriage between advertisers and consumers, while still opening up the industry to thousands of possibilities. Television will continue to change and improve with time and instead of fighting new technology, the industry is wise to embrace and manipulate it to their advantage.