Medien Forum closes with eye to int'l future
Confab offers high-tech access
During the three-day get-together, which welcomed more than 6,000 accredited guests, the subject of crossover -- the convergence of the Internet and traditional media -- dominated the discussion rounds, while the Cologne venue's hallways were, for the first time, lined with computer terminals offering online access.
While local politicians took the podium to bemoan Germany's backward stance in the multimedia world, declaring it way behind the U.S., Bertelsmann topper Thomas Middelhoff wasn't having any of it.
Bertelsmann boast
"No other company worldwide is better equipped for the multimedia future as Bertelsmann," Middelhoff said, reiterating ambitions to become the world's leading e-commerce company.
Both sides called for speedy deregulation of Germany's broadband cable to improve competition in the media market. Bertelsmann, Microsoft and others are in talks with cable gatekeeper Deutsche Telekom, which is in the process of spinning off its cable networks.
Addressing a wide range of issues concerning the future of the media were panels whose themes ranged from the effects of the digital age on light-entertainment programming to generating crossover business and the chances for and limits on cooperation between new and old forms of media.
Local analysts on hand urged players to realize that the changes will impact every sector of the business.
"German production companies are still half-asleep to the challenges of producing for the potential offered by the Internet," said Olaf Hofmann, managing director of research institute Skopos.
Besides television, film, radio, print and digital equipment fairs, programming sidebars and screenings on demand took place during the Cologne Conference, a separate but related event.
