A look inside the endless debate between traditional and digital media. For more information write to Joshua Gardner, Vice President & North American Lead, Global Energy Practice, MSL | joshua.gardner@mslgroup.com

1. AT&T Dares to
“Rethink Possible”
A Look Inside the Endless Debate Between Traditional and
Digital Media

2. 2
AT&T Dares to “Rethink Possible”
In 2016, Americans spent 40% more time online
than on TV. That’s about two hours online for
every hour they spent watching TV. And Americans
watch a lot of TV – nearly five hours on average
per day.
Think about that.
Americans know that digital platforms deliver far
more convenience than traditional media. Digital
empowers them to find the precise information
and facts they're seeking. They decide the search
terms, the content, the time, the length, and …
well, everything else.
It feels like we’re trapped in an endless debate
between traditional and digital, but let’s be clear:
it’s not a zero-sum game. Whether you’re running
for office or introducing a new product line, TV
continues to play an important role. But as
Americans move through the decision-making
process – for whom to vote or which product to
buy – digital plays an increasingly important role.
The fact is, Americans believe TV provides too
much spin and too few details. Just ask anyone
who’s ever written an ad script: you can only fit
about 76 words in a 30-second spot. That’s simply
not enough time, and Americans have taken
notice. They demand more, and if you won’t
provide it then they’ll find it online.
For communicators and marketers, this means
engaging people where they are, not where you
hope they’ll be.
So, where are they? Likely on their smartphone –
in fact, nearly 55% of news reading happens via
mobile device. Need more proof? Almost 60% of
elections-related searches in 2016 year came from
mobile devices – that’s up nearly 3x since the last
presidential election cycle.
Americans are staying up-to-date with the world
around them, fact-checking everything they hear
and see, and communicating with each other via
their mobile devices. These second-screen
moments deliver incredible opportunities to tell a
story across all channels and meet people when
they are in their most active, information-seeking
mode.
But engaging with Americans means more than
just having a digital presence. You must capture
their attention with new and different content, and
in ways that matter to them. On the internet, for
example, your audiences give you license to ignore
the traditional guidelines that are often associated
with traditional content. It's not just the 15-
second, the 30-second, or the 60-second ad. It
could be a two-minute, a six-minute, or even an
eight-minute video. It could be a meme, a gif, a
cluster of emojis. It’s whatever you want it to be.
This is precisely the thinking behind AT&T’s
acquisition of Time Warner.
In 2016, Americans spent 40%
more time online than on TV.
That’s about two hours online
for every hour they spent
watching TV. And Americans
watch a lot of TV – nearly five
hours on average per day.

3. 3
Every company wants to be on every platform. It
wasn’t that long ago when people watched TV on
TV; today’s users – including their kids – are
streaming on tablets, phones, and computers,
watching Netflix, Hulu, YouTube and everything in
between, and using Sling TV and Alexa and all sorts
of means to project content across different rooms
and on the road.
The cross-merger between AT&T and Time Warner
– a merger of content, tech, and platform – means
AT&T can use its reach to offer sweeter deals to its
own customers. Imagine the email offer to bundle
HBO, 4GB of wireless data, DirecTV Now, and
Digital Life home security for just $249 a month.
Deals like that could persuade would-be cord
cutters to pay AT&T for its content the way Netflix
has persuaded more than 100 million consumers
to subscribe to its platform.
AT&T can also better target ads based on what you
watch on TV and view online. It has a gigantic data
analytics business, including a marketing service
for corporate customers; it also has about 100
million wireless subscribers who use their phones
for everything. Imagine a future in which AT&T
knows you watch basketball on TNT, read Bleacher
Report on your phone, bought tickets to “Space
Jam 2”, and notices you're near a Dick's Sporting
Goods. Suddenly you have a sponsored notification
for a coupon on your phone.
The possibilities are endless, but they speak to an
ever-growing demand by consumers to get what
they want, when they want – even if that means
greater consolidation and fewer actual choices.
We're living in an on-demand world and most
companies have responded accordingly. Comcast
bought NBCUniversal from General Electric in
2009, which gave the cable company USA
Network, CNBC, and NBC, among others. Comcast
also recently announced a bidding war for 21st
Nearly 55% of news reading
happens via mobile device.

4. 4
Century Fox’s film and television assets. Amazon
could buy a movie studio like Lion’s Gate. Apple,
Facebook, and Google are dipping into producing
video and can acquire more assets for that
endeavor. Sprint has already announced a deal
with T-Mobile, which has a partnership with
Netflix. Sinclair Broadcasting is morphing into an
indomitable giant at the local news level. Verizon,
the other big distribution network, waits in the
wings.
Regardless of which merger happens next, the fact
remains: mergers like the AT&T and Time Warner
one are creating a new type of media environment
where content exclusivity is the rule rather than
the exception. Indeed, a stated goal of AT&T’s deal
was to compete with the tech platforms in a war
for our attention. Now, any content firm – a big
tech company (Netflix), a movie studio (Disney), or
a TV network (CBS All Access) – can become a
provider of both content and delivery through
streaming.
This may be what consumers demand today; it’s
anyone’s guess what they’ll want tomorrow.
Joshua Gardner
Vice President & North American Lead,
Global Energy Practice
Almost 60% of elections-
related searches in 2016 year
came from mobile devices