The+Rise+of+Narrowcasting

== =Narrowcasting=

toc Narrowcasting is loosely defined as the dissemination of information (usually by radio or television) to a narrow audience, not to the general public. (Wikipedia) Narrowcasting occurs when the producer of such television programming assumes that a specific demographic group is interested in a particular subject matter that appeals directly to them. Today most programming is geared toward the general mass audience but many major networks are increasingly involved in narrowcasting. Program genres such as reality tv, sports, drama, comedy, just to name a few are all content and viewer specific. Networks have segmented these programs that appeal to particular groups into specific time slots, usually back to back.

The terms multicast and narrowcast are often used interchangeably, although narrowcast usually refers to the business model whereas multicast refers to the actual technology used to transmit the data (Inernet.com).

Example
CHUM Media is great example of narrowcasting as it delivers demographically targeted audio and video programs. CHUM owns 21 specialty channels. BookTelevision, CourtTV Canada, Drive-In Classics, FashionTelevisionChannel, MuchLOUD, MuchMoreRetro, MuchVibe, PunchMuch, Razer, SexTV: The Channel and TV Land are jsut a few TV stations. CHUM goes as far as Podcasting; morning show with Roger, Rick & Marilyn is now downloadable in a handy mp3 version.

=The Rise of Narrowcasting=

However, there are many media implications that contribute to the rise of narrowcasting. One such implication is that of TiVo which is similar to PVR (Personal Video Recorder). TiVo allows users to capture television programming into an internal hard disk for later viewing. This device appeals to the wider audiece as it allows the user to specify which programs to record by time, by program title or by genre.

Other such examples of narrowcasting is evident in music downloads where the user has the ability to acquire and compile music specific to his or her particular taste. Up and coming radio stations like XM or [|Digitaly Imported] are disecting their audiences into defined genres and boasts satellite quality sound and escapes annoying ads. Music television such as MTV and VH1 is also popular and genre specific.

Narrowcasting allows access to content to be specific and clearly defined to a particular audience. The internet if not seen already as being narrowcasted has tremendous media implicaitons affecting many social systems. Webblogs are prime examples of how content can be specific to a particular audience. Whether biased, opinionated or false, bloggers essentially blog on a //specific// topic. Blogs have reshaped the web in a way that could not have been predicted. They have had tremendous impact on politics, journalism, culture and have given millions of people a voice to connect with others.

Concerns/Impacts
The advancement of technology and the shift from industrial to information society has demassified production. Marketers are interested to satisfy the individual needs of each person as opposed to the need of society. In the filed of media this new trend of segmentation leads to narrowcasting. Narrowcasting acts as the binary opposite to the conventional (mass-audience) broadcasting. The three major broadcasting networks (ABC, NBC and CBS avoided programming content that might appeal only to a small segment of the mass population and succeeded in their goal by reaching nearly 90% (combined) of the television viewing audience on a regular basis (Massey, 2001 ). With the invention of narrowcasting individuals are able to view, read and listen to information that interests their personal needs and taste. Narrowcasting also enables marketers to categorize and target their advertisement easily to the specified demographic audience. While both consumers and producers seem to benefit from this new trend, narrowcasting has the tendency to weaken the perspective of individuals.

When media forms broadcast they tend to cover variety of topics and since the audience is general the information covered remains broad. However, the nature and aim of narrowcasting is to deliver the information that satisfies the targeted group’s interests. In relation to music distribution, many radio and TV stations focus on specific genres of music. MTV or Much Music are an example; however Much Music is again segmented even further to Much Loud, Much Vibe, Much More Music and many more music stations. The argument here is that people can enjoy their favorite music without listening to music that they do not like. But narrowcasting other forms of information such as news becomes problematic.

News is delivered through newspaper, radio, TV and internet. However when news becomes targeted to specified group, the group receives the ideologies of the sender (media corporations). Distribution of news can be bias and subjective; thus, variety of sources is needed in order to obtain the truth and objectivity regarding an event. For instance, MSNBC provides the news that they know will interest their target group. As a result the information transmitted through MSNBC is the kind of information that attracts the audience’s taste. However, that may not be a significant event or in some cases some issues will get obscured in order to please the audience.Narrowcasting offers choice but constrains people to observe and explore the world from a narrow perspective.

=Is Narrowcasting Fading?=

Narrowcasting appears to be the popular choice for most broadcasters. People are continuing to be fed content completely specified to them. While this may be true it is not entirely. Ultimately someone is still deciding what a person should watch based on their demographic, lifestyle, family cycle, and etc. Networks produce shows for certain demographics thinking that that is what we want. To a large extent it appeases us. However, something is changing, the era of Egocasting has arrived.

Egocasting essentially gives power to the consumer. This concept works on the principle that the consumer chooses what he/she wants and in return recieves that. In the realm of broadcasting this has taken form of [|Rogers On Demand] and hardware appliactions like Tivo. The user chooses when to watch what program and also has the ability to start, pause, rewind and fast forward at the touch of a button. This form of consumer consumption is turning out to be extremely popular and as a result may indeed be the next form of broadcasting.

=Advantages of Narrowcasting=


 * It reaches target audiences in a cost effective manner
 * Reduce the production and distribution cost
 * It is managed through the internet
 * Enables real time response to changes
 * Attracts attention through high definition content on large format LCD and plasma screen technology

=Works Cited=

Kimberly Massey. __Narrowcasting.__ 2001. Accessed February 21, 2006  also see: egocasting and podcasting

Internet.com. Narrowcast. Accessed February 20, 2006. [|]


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 * "Narrowcasting," Softwareage. [|]