Traditional Media Companies Should 'Experiment' With Digital Programming

How to get advertisers to buy in still remains biggest hurdle for online media

As consumption habits continue to evolve, traditional media companies need to start turning more attention to online and digital media.

"I think they will experiment more," said Vivi Zigler, president, Shine 360° and digital, Shine America. "I think they will have to."

That was one of the takeaways from the Hollywood Radio & Television Society's "Digital/New Media Luncheon held Tuesday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif.

"The future of TV is sitting in [consumer's] hands," said former Yahoo CEO Ross Levinsohn. "If the traditional media companies are smart, and we know they are, they're going to find their way to be experimenting right." 

Zigler said those who think digital media will go the way of other passing fads are mistaken. "I don't think it's a fad or a phase [consumers] are going through." She said the biggest thing for digital platforms is the ease of use. "If you make me go through too many hoops... I'm not going to go," she said. "That's where good tech and good storytelling has to hold hands."

Zigler said right now there are two camps: those who create the content and those who create the technology. "They don't speak the same language," she said. "They might as well be from different planets." She said that the schism has caused sort of an "emerging culture in the middle."
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