Competitor Analysis - Channel4 v The World

The Brief: Pick a competitor who has video content and is doing something interesting and noteworthy trend-wise that we can learn from.

PART ONE – “OVER THERE”

Scott: As a starting point, we chose to look at the key US broadcast networks which show the same programmes as Channel 4, to highlight the similarities and, more importantly, the differences in the way shows are promoted, marketed and the service that is provided for users. Although we’re a world apart on a business level (it’s estimated that NBC has access to 103,624,370 viewers in the US), the programme support by ‘us’ and ‘them’ is still in the basic ‘showcard’ format.

We each analysed ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox, between them showing Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, The Simpsons, Without a Trace, Big Brother, ER, Deal or No Deal, My Name Is Earl, Scrubs, Studio 60, The IT Crowd, Supernanny, Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives. In this study, we looked at originality and diversity of content, design, commercial opportunities, on-air continuity, user experience, technical reliability and promotional priorities.

Classing these broadcasters/websites as our competitors is based on the notion that UK viewers/users will turn to our US counterparts for content and information if we fail to provide it (even though not all video content will be available to them).

Narrowing our analysis to NBC.com, we made several key observations about their content which we believe could be applied beneficially to Channel4.com and our home grown programmes. Excerpts from our main study are posted on our blog page.

• The US sites have similar page structure (Gallery, About the Show, Cast etc) but the content is more varied, current, thorough and of a higher quality – especially their video content. Although we cannot necessarily compete with assets from US acquisitions, we could apply this model to UK shows like Peep Show or The IT Crowd by becoming more involved at the commissioning stage.
• They promote what is ‘Coming Up’ rather than what has been on NBC the night before. Although our stats might show that C4.com users come to the site the day after a programme transmits, the forward- rather than backward-looking approach gives NBC.com a sense of anticipation and it is directing users towards the programmes as well as the online content (working with, not apart from, the channel, which should be seen as the site’s most powerful asset).
• Video content is pretty much integrated with the rest of the content. There is far less of the fragmentation we see on C4.com (Watch Online, Unmissable Clips, Simulcast, 4oD, V2 Player, embedded players etc).
• US sites have a greater sense of community and user involvement. They understand the power of their fans networking. They are online support to the network, but they also have web exclusives, wikis, online previews, mp3 soundtrack downloads, comment & rating options and ‘link to it’ or ‘send to a friend' tools, buddy icons, newsletters, mobile downloads, boards (forums) & blogs and the spin-off games. If we involve the user, rather than just dump content on them, we will see fans marketing our content for us.

Next up: 'Over here' The UK perspective...