Conde Nast Entertainment Chief Compares Internet TV to Early Cable

By David Tobia
November 16, 2012

Internet television is similar to the early days of cable television, according to Dawn Ostroff, head of Conde Nast’s new Entertainment Group.
Current Internet television is largely low budget and caters to niche markets, much like cable television before people fully figured out how to fill the new channels with content.
Ostroff likes the YouTube channels WIGS and AwesomenessTV, which have 17 million and 43 million views respectively, but notes that the production quality is not on par with traditional television.
Internet television could grow as online video advertising is projected to rise from $3 billion to $9 billion by 2017, reports The Verge. As this happens, the length and production quality could rise, according to Ostroff.
“I think ultimately, you will see a lot of this digital content become full-length content,” said Ostroff. “It’s going to stay short for a while, but I think the production quality is going to get better.”
Internet television will need to shift away from niche markets if it wishes to grow, argues Ostroff.
“There will be more focus on more niche shows in order to carve up the audience even further, but I think there will continue to need to be big events,” she said. “You’re never going to be able to get a big audience, a wide audience, by doing niche content.”

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