Cable Can Regain the Youth Vote

By Greg Selkoe -- Multichannel News, 7/26/2010 12:01:00 AM

“The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” Mark Twain made this statement 100 years ago. It’s one that also perfectly captures the equally misinformed banter about the state of cable and its appeal to the young influencers who are one key to its future.

As a member of Generation Internet and an entrepreneur who built his fortunes in the online world, I am extremely enthusiastic about television and its ability to connect with young people.

Why? Because I am led by the facts and the input from millions of young consumers, not the naysayers. The press and venture capitalists alike love to throw their respective weight behind a good, bleeding edge tech story — the new way of doing things that makes the old obsolete. That’s just not the case, as I see it, with cable.

Cable is an evolving industry and technology, one that’s perhaps even more relevant and well-positioned than it has ever been. Over 100 million American households have set-top boxes which stand at the epicenter of their entertainment and information universe, their gateway to the multiplatform world and all that interactivity has to offer. According to Nielsen, 2008 saw the highest TV viewing levels in history, a trend that has continued for men, women, children and teens alike.

Mercury Media’s “The Power of Television” adds more perspective: “Considering that TV viewership remains at hundreds of hours per month while viewership of broadband and mobile video remains in low single digits, it is reckless to proclaim that any great revolution is taking place.”

One reason the revolution is running late is the viewing experience itself. Today, and for the near future, the wide screen, HDTV and coming 3D experiences powered by cable will continue to trump the computer and its still glitchy connect ivit y to our new screens and home theater systems. The other reason, which I’ll return to later, is quality.

While cable never threw in the towel as it relates to its core business, it seems to have succumbed to the headlines about its ability to reclaim and grow the loyalty of young people, especially the key influencer demo. One thing I’ve heard repeatedly from cable executives is the lament that we’re losing the young people and can’t get them back; that they “just want to watch You- Tube!”

For all the YouTube and online video watching, I can assure you that the millions of young people we hear from each month don’t just want to consume their video in three-minute online or mobile chunks.

More than ever, they crave wel l thought out telev ision programs that speak to their interests, ones which are ever wider and sophisticated, thanks to the global influences they are exposed to daily via the Web. When it’s done well, with something like Adult Swim for instance, they can be won over, especially the young cultural creative male demographic.

A cable name, a cable brand, still means quality that rises above — even to this curiously attired, tech-savvy group that you keep at arm’s length.

For a channel to gain entry on the cable dial demonstrates that it is of superior quality, even to hip young consumers. It says that there’s real gravitas to the production, that it’s several cuts above what can be snared on the Web.

To reclaim this audience, you need to provide the right kind of stories and content, ones that embrace their interests today, which range from perennial youth staples like music, movies, fashion and sports to new passions that may seem a bit alien, such as graphic novels and street art.

At present, there is no MTV for this generation, the MTV of the Eighties, which was edgy, cool, unique and artsy — a daily must-see that defined a generation. I think part of this reason is that the cable industry convinced itself that it was going to lose this young key infl uencer group to the computer, so why bother?

In my own work, I see both hard data and strong anecdotal evidence that these young influencers want a place on cable and in the hearts and minds of its programming architects.

With this in mind, I think time once again for the cable industry to reclaim its “lost” — but not really lost at all — generation of young people.

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Greg Selkoe is CEO of e-commmerce site Karmaloop.com and cable network Karmaloop TV.