Satellite TV homogenization competition is so fierce, why is it difficult to implement channel specialization and niche?

popular supplies have been monopolized by first-line strong satellite TV, and the Matthew effect has become. Although satellite TV lags behind to seek differentiation, its voice is weak and difficult to become a climate.

if mass products are already surplus and unprofitable, and there is a gap in minority demand, why not turn comprehensive media to niche markets?

first, the media is subjectively unwilling to give up the mass market, and decades of development has formed "path dependence". The mass market is the safest, even if there is no exorbitant profits, at least there will always be a harvest, and managers do not believe that niche markets can make profits.

secondly, policy does not allow it. According to the regulations of the General Administration, in addition to broadcasting CCTV's "News Network" every night, provincial satellite TV stations must have two self-run news programs from 18:00 to 23:30, and there must be a half-hour documentary from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. every day. There must be an average of half an hour of children's programs or cartoons every day, and the proportion of eight types of public welfare programs, such as news, children, agriculture and living services, must not be less than 30%.

it can be seen that comprehensive positioning is also a policy requirement. Provincial satellite channels can have personality, but specialization is not allowed.

popular supplies have been monopolized by first-line strong satellite TV, and the Matthew effect has become. Although satellite TV lags behind to seek differentiation, its voice is weak and difficult to become a climate.

< strong > "Channel specialization is the trend of the times." Why didn't it come true? < / strong >

as early as the 1970s, Alvin Toffler, a famous American futurist, predicted that the media would face the trend of compartmentalization and niche in the future.

around the year 2000, a round of discussion on "channel specialization" has sprung up in the academic and industry circles. At that time, the provincial satellite TV had just appeared on the star, and the number of channels increased suddenly.

Scholars are aware of the problem of homogenization of provincial satellite TV stations and put forward that "channel specialization is the general trend", but more than a decade later, this sentence has not come true. The reason is that scholars at that time only saw the trend, not the motive.

at that time, the smoke of gunpowder did not rise, and the pattern of satellite TV was still in the original "reclamation period". Out of the instinct of mass media to pursue economies of scale, no satellite TV is willing to give up the mainstream market.

more than ten years later, satellite TV went to war with each other and broke their heads. A small number of strong satellite TV set up market barriers with "high input and high income", carving up the mainstream market. The satellite TV at the bottom of the list is gradually marginalized, so that it is eliminated in the minds of the audience.

channels have the motivation to cater to the interests of non-mainstream audiences only when the number of channels is so large that the profits available from homogenization competition are exhausted, so that the profitability of producing non-mainstream programs is the same as that of mainstream programs.

once we enter the surplus economy, the profits are diluted, and the weak satellite TV cannot make ends meet, the time for channel specialization will really come. To differentiate professional categories from the mainstream market and become a strong brand in a niche market, it is possible to regain some share and regain vitality. Unfortunately, there are not many media that recognize and grasp this opportunity.

< strong > professional channels must cover the whole country, and the demand for "long tail" must reach a certain scale < / strong >

at present, most of the professional channels in our country are local pay channels. Professional channels are originally oriented to the minority and are in a "long tail". If they are then limited to the regional market, the very small audience will certainly not be able to support the channel operation, which is the reason for the general depression of the current professional channels.

so, it's not that the audience doesn't like professional content, but that there is no connection between supply and demand-the audience who can see it may not like it, and those who like it may not be able to see it. Professional channels must cover the whole country so that everyone can see that the demand for "long tail" reaches a certain scale in order to cross the tipping point of profit and loss.

our current concept of TV professional channel construction is to a certain extent the product of "administrative integration" under specific circumstances, rather than the natural formation of marketization. How to match the preferences, interests and desires of the audience is also a problem in the development of professional channels.

Professional channels are usually focused on function and practical value, and the audience will choose what they need for a specific purpose, such as documentary channel, movie channel, car channel, technology channel, game channel, food channel. "being the opposite of a leading brand" is a strategy of brand positioning.

if the provincial satellite TV can differentiate into a wide range of professional channels, and each satellite TV becomes the first brand in a market segment, using "professional" against "synthesis", bypassing barriers and forming an encirclement, can comprehensive and strong satellite TV maintain its "mainstream" position?

it takes courage and wisdom to give up the mainstream market-you may get more after giving up.

do not want to die, can only subdivide.

Edit: yvonne