Tv Guide "Iguide"

Learning Team Case Study Two Ð'- TV Guide "iGuide"

Learning Team Case Study Two Ð'- TV Guide "iGuide"

Since 1955, TV Guide Magazine has been an integral part of the American television audiences. TV Guide has enjoyed a many years of success for the magazine. Today, the magazine is now considering offering an internet based product called iGuide.

The strategic marketing issue being addressed is based on the position of iGuide in the market. Should iGuide follow the same format of the past, viewing the internet as another distribution channel or should iGuide be positioned as an entirely new product and service?

The team recommends that TV Guide should position their iGuide as an entirely new product. This position will be supported by giving evidence of additional market segment opportunities that TV Guide can capture. Evidence will also be given on the decline of the same format type guide.

Technological advances in the television industry have occurred at a rapid pace since the first cable companies arrived on the scene in the late 1970's , early 1980s. . Today, cable companies and satellite television programming options are virtually worldwide. There are hundreds of channels to choose from and far too many programs for a printed guide. These vast choices cause a normal television program guide, such as TV Guide, to become severely confusing to the average user.

If consumers become confused with all the choices, they will no longer buy the magazine and advertisers for the magazine will move their business elsewhere. TV Guide must change with the times or be left behind. In addition, nearly every local newspaper publishes a television programming guide for their subscribers. This is eroding TV Guide's market share. Market conditions suggests iGuide be used as a new product and service.

Evidence of this statement is found in a 2002 article which noted that as TV Guide celebrates its 50th year of publishing, many analysts wondered whether the printed version of the magazine would survive to its centennial. The good news for TV Guide's owners: The publication is still the largest circulating weekly in the United States, while 100 million people use its listings and recommendations via TV Guide's Internet site, cable channel and digital service. The bad news: The competition for readers, viewers and users is so fierce that there will never be another day when TV Guide controls the market for television coverage the way it did in the 1970s. In those days, TV times and listings drove the publication's readership, which reached a peak of more than 40 million (Curiel, 2002).

With the advent of the internet, TV Guide can branch out to capture a larger market segment. Interactive television programming is the wave of the future. It is estimated that worldwide Interactive Program Guide market will achieve growth of nearly $1 Billion (US) during 2008 (Kaufhold, 2004).

In a 2002 interview TV Guide's senior TV critic Matt Roush was asked if the internet can make a difference for television viewers. "I'm not sure how successful it can be but I would never discourage anybody from trying," Roush said. "My feeling is the Internet makes the viewer feel more connected. It's a chance for them to bond together in a way they never had before." Roush also stated that the Internet is part of the evolution of fan letter-writing and phone campaigns dating back to the 1960s and "Star Trek." He also mentioned that fans of science fiction series would naturally be more technologically inclined and Internet-friendly (Miguel, 2002).

The internet has opened new world markets and these new geographic regions are becoming key growth opportunities for interactive programming guides. In addition, Consumer Electronics Products are becoming targets for embedded Interactive Program Guides that have program listings delivered using broadcast data casting services, or wireless broadband connection services. Competition has grown considerably with Microsoft and Tribune Media Services leading the way in interactive television concepts plus having the ability to drive the industry forward.

The advent of the digital age has been accompanied by an explosion of content choices and means of video distribution. TV iGuide will need to do more than simply informing consumers as to what is on and when. Today, consumers need more advanced tools