PART 3 — TV IS CRUMBLING FROM THE INSIDE OUT

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What business are we in?

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There was a time when a television salesperson primarily sold television.

They understood ratings. Programming. Pricing. Inventory. Reach. Frequency. Negotiation.

They specialized in their product.

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Today, local television stations increasingly position themselves as multimedia companies.

Their sellers may cover linear television, CTV, streaming, digital, search, social, display, and sometimes third-party products.

I understand why. Advertisers want more options, and TV stations need new revenue sources.

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Diversification isn't the problem. Losing specialization is.

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Advertising has become increasingly complex, and each product requires a different level of expertise.

CTV isn't linear television. Search isn't social; social isn't display…Selling all of them doesn't necessarily mean specializing in any of them.

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Another consequence deserves more attention.

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The core product has become an afterthought. TV sellers don't sell TV; it is really that simple.

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When the people selling television begin to devalue their core product, advertisers soon follow.

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The best opportunity for advertisers may increasingly be working with specialists in individual products rather than expecting one salesperson to be an expert in everything.

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That doesn't mean television stations shouldn't diversify.

They probably have to. But keep this in mind:

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‍diversification and specialization are very different.

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And that raises a much larger strategic question:

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In trying to be everything to advertisers, are television stations losing focus on what they were uniquely positioned to do best?

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That's really what this three-part series has been about.

The people.

The product.

The sales model.

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Streaming, cord-cutting, fragmentation, and changing consumer behavior are all very real challenges.

But not every problem facing local television is coming from outside the building.

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Some are self-inflicted.

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And those may ultimately be the hardest ones to fix.

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