Disney honcho Bob Iger asked News Corp.'s Jonathan Miller what happened to MySpace.
Once-hot social network MySpace forgot to reinvent itself over time, News Corp. chief digital officer Jonathan Miller told a gathering of industry execs Tuesday.
Kicking off the Hollywood Radio and TV Society's "newsmaker luncheon" series with a gathering of digital heavyweights, Disney CEO Bob Iger asked Miller point blank: What happened?
Miller dismissed Iger's theory that it was a "next best thing" issue -- that it wasn't fickle consumers moving on to hotter sites like Facebook and Twitter. Instead, he called it a "product issue."
"(MySpace) began to forget one of the rules -- a continual need for reinvention," he said. "The trick of that is you've got to do it in a way where you don't lose sight of who you are."
In the case of MySpace, Miller said the site needs to restore its focus on what made it popular in the first place, an emphasis on entertainment culture.
"You can't play catch-up," he said. "You'll never catch up. The market keeps moving. You have to stay ahead of the curve, almost like surfing."
Iger -- who moderated the panel that also featured Hulu chief Jason Kilar, YouTube's Chad Hurley and Wired's Chris Anderson -- admitted that he was a "huge naysayer" against online video service Hulu at first, but obviously turned around earlier this year, becoming a full-fledged partner on the site.
Still, Iger wanted to know how Hulu, YouTube or any site, for that matter, will ultimately be able to monetize its audience. Will the Internet ever concoct an ad model that rivals the power of TV's 30-second spot?
Not surprisingly, Kilar said yes -- and argued that it has already arrived.
According to third-party measurement, spots on Hulu already provoke better recall and intent to purchase among users vs. TV, he noted.
"You make a conscious point to watch a show on Hulu, and you're more engaged from the start," he said. (To which Iger quipped, "Would I understand the plot of 'Lost' if I watched online?")
Kilar also cited the reduced commercial load on the Internet -- and said the number of ads on online video is a throwback to the Golden Age of Television, when half-hour TV programs ran for 26 minutes (today, increased ad time has reduced that number to 22).
As for what model will work best in monetizing content, the panelists agreed that the ad-supported model will provide the largest market -- but as YouTube CEO Hurley noted, different content will lead to different models. (YouTube is in the midst of developing a range of rental and subscription options for premium content.)
Hurley said he's constantly thinking about the small upstarts that now have YouTube trained in their targets -- and is constantly asking himself, "What would we do to destroy ourselves?"
Wired magazine's Chris Anderson, meanwhile, noted that everything can pretty much be found free on the Web -- including pay restricted content from the Wall Street Journal, which he helpfully noted could be found via a crafty Google search. But some users, he said, will be willing to pay in order for the convenience of easily finding content. He cited iTunes as proof.
"Music is free," he said. "(iTunes) is not really selling music. They're selling convenience, they're selling time -- you get your time back by using iTunes."
In response, Iger said, "I'm mildly encouraged by that. Not giddy, but mildly encouraged." Iger later asked the audience whether they'd be willing to pay for additional online content, but few hands were raised.
Of course, remarked Miller, "I don't think this room pays for anything."
With all this talk of how to generate revenue, Miller said the congloms will also have to look long and hard at their cost structures -- and may eventually have to make some tough decisions.
"This affects everyone's business practice," he said.
Meanwhile, asked about what has changed their game as of late, Kilar said he obsessively checks Twitter's search engine every 20 minutes to see how users are reacting to Hulu features.
"We make changes to our service based on search.twitter.com," he said.
Iger said he's had a mixed personal reaction to social media: Among the 117 videos on YouTube that cite Iger, one refers to him as the "worst Disney villain ever." But a Twitter user spotted Iger buying Subway sandwiches for his kids -- and surmised that the mogul must not be that bad of a guy as a result.
Separately, HRTS announced the addition of six more execs to its board: ABC's Jeff Bader, MGM's Gary Marenzi, Oprah Winfrey Network's Christina Norman, USA's Jeff Wachtel, ICM's Greg Lipstone and Initiative's Tim Spangler.
Contact Michael Schneider at
mike.schneider@variety.com