The ROUNDTABLE 2013: Logan Molen

A First Look

at “First Look”

The Roundtable

Aug. 27, 2013

The Highlights

Simulcast radio-video show

delivers new audience and

revenue

Response has led to 5 new

webcasts launched in August.

Now have 23 hours of live

programming per week

Programming provides cost-

effective, multi-platform content

Extends our brand and positions

us for connected TVs, other

devices

Some Background

In 2011, we launched “Californian Radio” in partnership

with KERN, a separately owned AM newstalk station in

Bakersfield:

1 hour per day, Monday through Friday

Californian editors served as co-hosts

Ad inventory was split 50-50 with radio station.

Tinkered with two fixed webcams for raw simulcast.

Mixed Results

“Californian Radio” generated some revenue (about $50,000

annualized) but nearly all ad spots were bundled in “club”

packages. Our advertisers were not clamoring for radio

inventory and our print reps struggled with radio sales (and got

far less per spot than radio reps).

We were doing little cross-promotion to highlight news or

scoops from the show.

Webcams added little value.

Meanwhile ...

• We invested a little in streaming video gear and started

experimenting

Early Tests

• We used this low-fi

set-up to livestream:

Friday night prep highlights show

Live “infomercial” for local hockey team

Hard news: Obama speech, school shooting, community

forums

Election night analysis

Even 4 straight nights of on-track wrap-up from drag racing

event

Our Mindset

We do not want to mimic local TV; they’re good at what they

do.

Our small budget is one thing, but we purposely want to be a

little rough around the edges as we tackle niche programming

that is the antithesis of local TV.

We can steal TV ad spend by nibbling around the edges.

We can compete on mobile devices and connected TVs.

DON’T OVERTHINK the opportunity. Experiment and see

where it takes us.

Moving Quickly

Our experiments led to decision in mid-January to partner with

local radio group, and to simulcast a new radio show.

Goal was to go live before end of Q1 ratings book!

In 2 months, we transformed news conference room into a

studio at a minimum of cost and light polish.

Lots of “critical” details worked themselves out on the fly.

“First Look”

“First Look” is a 3-hour morning radio show from our newsroom

featuring a well-known local talk-show host.

Show is “radio first” and broadcast on 50,000-watt AM market

leader

Simulcast streaming HD video in prominent spot on

bakersfield.com, complemented by related B-roll, graphics, etc.

On-demand video highlights available on Bakersfield.com and

our YouTube channel.

We write stories from on-air interviews.

Prominent Position

Staffing

KERN pays for and

provides a host, a

newsreader and a

producer. We direct their

work but HR management

rests with KERN.

The Californian provides

day-to-day oversight, a

producer, breaking news

support (already in place to

feed our platforms) and

access to other Californian

staff.

Show Structure

7-8 a.m.: Traffic, weather, breaking news

8-9 a.m.: Scott Cox rants, chats with newsmakers, hot topics

9-10 a.m.: Specific Californian personalities host, interview

staffers and guests about the news of the day, major issues.

“Smart Talk without the yelling.”

The Californian drives the content in a tightly formatted show

that keeps moving, with an emphasis on breaking news, smart

talk and higher-quality interviews.

Added Benefit

With newsmakers in our studio

daily, we write stories when

appropriate.

Good exclusive content

Easy cross-promotion

Guests like the show because

they know our platforms extend

their reach

Two Show Streams

AM audio signal

broadcast over

50,000 watts

Live video and

B-Roll layered on

top of that signal.

Livestream

edited for later

on-demand

viewing

One Show = 3 Ad Layers

• 1) Audio stream: 16 30-second spots per hour on AM signal.

Newspaper receives 8 and radio station receives 40.

• 2) Live video and 3) on-demand video (The Californian

controls all of this inventory):

15-second preroll on all livestream views.

16 30-second video ads per hour run concurrently to audio

commercials. They can be completely different ads.

Pre-roll, mid-roll and post-roll opportunities in on-demand

video seegments posted later.

Naming Rights

• In addition, we sold naming rights to our studio:

“We’re coming to you from the Dignity Health Studios at

The Bakersfield Californian ...”

Sponsorship includes fixed audio intro coming back from

breaks, all pre-roll for livestreams, 2 30-second video ads

per hour for all shows emanating from the studio and

significant presence in all show marketing.

We anticipate naming rights to sizably increase in the

future.

A Taste of the Show

Metrics

On-demand views = about 80% of livestreams.

Office audience: Traffic picks up after 8 a.m., peaks 9-10 a.m.

Very strong reach into B2B businesses we traditionally have

struggled to reach (oil-field services, telecommunications

infrastructure)

Mobile is 17% of viewership.

After 100 shows:

Steady audience of

2,600 total/1,900

uniques per day (peaks

3,600/2,700)

Our

Costs

Four HD cameras cost $459 each; $2,000 switcher offers 6 video

views.

Graphics built using $20 Keynote software

Furniture, wall hangings can easily move to fit needs, other

shows.

We spent $36,000

on gear and to

conference room

renovation:

Flexible Set-up

Editorial board meetings.

On the road: Mobile studio easily fits into Ford Transit van. We

have produced three-camera livestreams from remote locations,

broadcasting with wireless cards.

We can easily adjust

the set design for:

Live performances

Audiences

Different news

shows

The Good

Audience numbers exceeded expectations

Newsroom studio draws “outsiders” into our building to share

and add to the buzz

Lots of staffers have appeared on camera

New revenue: We have toehold into political ads and we’ve

ID’d interesting B2B opportunities (fleet sales, telecom, for

example)

Great tool to cross-promote our brands

The Not So Good

Getting core reps to focus on $15 per-spot sales; we plan to

hire a FT video sales rep

Haven’t yet monetized on-demand pre-roll

No traction with differentiated long-form ad spots

Cost controls mean we cut corners (manual ad serving, limited

analytics)

Trouble with low-hanging fruit: Our HD stream is better than

local cable -- we’ve had difficulty transcoding standard-

definition TV ads for our shows.

Costs Moving Forward

We’re in a position to add new programming at minimal cost.

Base per hour costs for programming can be as low as $35

per hour (staff, streaming, utilities).

At the extreme, we want the program sponsor to cover our

operating costs so that additional ad spots are gravy.

Once we get consistent sales traction, we will upgrade

equipment and explore additional staff.

New Web-only Shows

B Varsity Live prep sports:

30-minute preview show Thursday afternoons

Livestream of Game of the Week on Friday nights

Friday night highlights show 11 p.m. -12:30 a.m.

Two internal brands:

B-Well Live: Weekly 1-hour spinoff of our

quarterly health magazine

“Pay-to-Play” Shows

Replaced longstanding show on local radio station

CSUB pays weekly fee for studio, production staff

CSUB provides turnkey show (host, guests, B-roll video)

We let them embed live and on-demand video

Split ad inventory: CSUB gets 6, we get 12-18

RoadRunner Rundown: Weekly web-only show produced by CSU

Bakersfield athletics contracted to run 42 weeks:

RoadRunner Rundown

Around the Corner

CondorsTown: Weekly show produced by local minor-league

hockey team

Chamber of Commerce: Weekly business show

Non-profit foundation: Weekly show on neat people who

just happen to donate to charities

Livestreaming local events

Video classifieds

Questions? Better Ideas?

Logan Molen, SVP and Chief Operating Officer

lmolen@bakersfield.com