TV
or not TV?
Did anyone ask the question?
I’m
intrigued!!! A few weeks ago Visit London announced they were launching a new
TV channel.
London TV.
As
the press release said, “designed to provide information,
inspiration and entertainment, London TV is dedicated to what to
do and where to go in the world’s most exciting city. The
channel provides bite-sized entertainment to inspire Londoners
to explore their own city and help visitors to make the most of
their stay”.
It’s a great idea, providing viewers do act on their inspirational
content and don’t just sit in their rooms watching it. Now
that London TV is on Sky 24 hours a day a potentially enormous
number of viewers could see it.
The
programming looks interesting and well thought through and it
will probably
be a great TV station. Even the Evening Standard’s
normally hyper-critical Victor Lewis Smith recently said he thought
it’s good. I did note that the Evening Standard will receive
some of Visit London’s advertising spend to promote the new
channel, but Victor’s review did sound genuinely positive.
But
there is a nagging thought that I can’t quite dismiss.
Surely TV costs quite a bit? Even if advertising revenue will eventually
off-set some of the cost and there’s the chance to flog some
of the programmes to other channels.
And then just as I was getting used to the idea of a forward thinking
tourist board with a big budget, I saw news of another London television
channel.
LondonTelevision.
Another
TV channel with a subtly different name but similar aims. According
to their press release, it “explores the city through
a remarkable collection of painstakingly researched and beautifully
shot films, designed with the visitor in mind. This unique programming
is available for free in hotel rooms across London”. It’s
brought to you by LondonTelevision Broadcasting Limited, promoted
by LondonMarketing.com ltd the company behind LondonTown.com.
LondonTelevision
is described as, “the first dedicated channel
for business and leisure visitors to London”.
Visit
London describe London TV as “the first channel of
its kind anywhere in the world”.
TV reviewer Victor comments that most American cities have had
such dedicated channels for decades, and wonders why they are only
just catching on here now.
But
clearly they are – we’ve gone from none to two
pretty quickly! Two dedicated channels to promote London’s
many charms. That has to be a good thing?
I’m intrigued about what’s
happening and the lack of debate or comment about it.
The TV channels are an exciting development. But a costly one
that is apparently without debate or consultation.
Unless the cash has come from another source, Visit London has
used either public and/or partners’ money to launch the channel.
Should
public funding be used for an initiative that a private sector
company
is clearly willing to pay for? Were Visit London
partners asked if this is how they wanted their subscriptions to
be spent? I wasn’t but then my subscription is pretty small
compared to many.
Would it have been better to combine the forces of London TV and
LondonTelevision? Or is competition a good thing?
Are
hotel rooms the right place for TV? Can TV in hotel rooms persuade
people
to visit London’s attractions and extend
their stay or should they be persuaded to do so before they leave
their home? Are Sky TV viewers the right target market? Would it
have been better to use the funding for London TV to persuade other
TV channels to give more coverage to London, or perhaps for completely
different promotional activities?
My
criticism isn’t of Visit London or LondonMarketing.com’s
initiative. I don’t know enough about TV marketing to comment
and haven’t got the full facts about these two new channels.
I think it would be good if Visit London had communicated their
rationale to a greater degree. But at least they are thinking about
new ideas and springing into action, and have the funding to do
so.
The
real issue is – why isn’t the tourism industry
discussing this important new issue? Don’t we care how money
is spent? Don’t we want to find out how the new initiative
is working?
Is the industry passively accepting whatever Visit London does
without any debate or comment, whether positive or negative?
Why are we not clamouring to learn more, to find out how this
new medium (for London) is working and how we can benefit? Or maybe
some of you are?
What do YOU think?
For more information about the two channels visit
www.visitlondon.com and
www.visitlondon.com/corporate
www.londontown.com
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