The Guardian Nigeria, one of the most renowned newspaper houses in Nigeria, has just announced the launch of its online TV platform, Guardian TV. Below is an excerpt from the Press Release:
Guardian TV will provide exclusive video interviews, as well as up-to-the-minute videos from across the world, and will be available on virtually any device that has an internet connection, including personal computers, tablets, smartphones, and Smart TVs.
Guardian TV has partnered with some of the world’s top online news and video outlets in order to provide it’s viewers with the best in news entertainment and sport. Partners include Al Jazeera, AFP, Reuters, CNBC Africa, Bloomberg, Forbes Africa TV and France 24. The list also includes Blustar Entertainment, Ebony Life TV, Ovation TV, Frontera, Channels TV, and Omnisport, the world’s number one sports content provider.
The service is being launched in partnership with Ventra Media Group a full-service digital marketing and rights agency whose range of services includes digital strategy, growing social media audiences and planning, as well as buying digital media for brands and content owners. The outfit also specialises in platform development and monetisation for content owners such as The Guardian.
Here’s what the ‘Online TV’ platform looks like:
It looks more to me like an aggregator of videos from multiple sources than ‘Online TV’. According to Guardian’s Executive Director, Toke Alex Ibru, the idea is to provide a platform for content providers to “reach out to larger audiences and demographics, both locally and internationally”. I just scrolled up again to checkout the list of content providers they are partnering with. It looks to me like the Guardian needs these guys more than they need them.
At best, this is a desperate attempt by a traditional media house, that has thrived in that space for decades, to enter the new media party, albeit very late. This is in spite of the obstacles, like stable and cheap internet, that might affect consumption by the potential target audience.
This begs the question; are traditional media dead or dying, or do they still play an instrumental role in business and society?
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