1. THE NEW SCHOOL UNIVERSITY | TYLER BABER | TIFFANY JACKSON | SOFYA YAMPOLSKYoverviewanalysis + recommendations

2. OVERVIEW| BUSINESS PLAN | ANALYSIS | RECOMMENDATIONS Overview Video Pod Click to view an introduction to Current, created and produced by the team. 3. OVERVIEW | BUSINESS PLAN | ANALYSIS | RECOMMENDATIONS general information + Media Segment: Television Broadcasting/Online Content customers Analysis Target: Current MediaCurrent Media is an independent media company founded in 2005 by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and Joel Hyatt. Current value chain Media operates a television network and website that feature original internally developed programming as well as content created by viewers/users. Programming and viewer-created content is generally news and culture related. business +General Information: product model Current Media operates a television network and website distributing original and acquired programming as well as viewer-created original content. Viewers can post videos to the Current.TV website. Viewer-posted videos are ranked and commented on by the revenue model community, with popular videos more likely to be broadcast through the Current TV network. Current Media is aimed at the 18-34 year- old demographic and styled its viewer-participation approach in an effort to address this demographics habits and demands. The Current TV network is available in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy through afliates such as DirecTV, Comcast, EchoStar, Time Warner, AT&T, BSkyB, Virgin Media, Sky Italia, and to Canada through a partnership with the CBC. The sales model Current TV network reaches more than 50 million households worldwide, and Current Media derives most of its revenue from television and web advertising and from afliate fees paid by cable and satellite providers based on the number of subscriber households.sources Customers:The Current TV network reaches over 50 million households, and the Current.TV website has an Alexa ranking in the top 5000 sites in the world. Current Media markets its network and website to the 18-34 year-old demographic and encourages viewer participation by allowing site users to create proles, post original content, comment on other posts, and rank programming. Viewers are also invited to take part in contests, including contests to create advertising messages for advertisers and post the messages on the website. 4. OVERVIEW | BUSINESS PLAN | ANALYSIS | RECOMMENDATIONS general information + customers value chain business + product model revenue model sales model sources 5. OVERVIEW | BUSINESS PLAN | ANALYSIS | RECOMMENDATIONS general information + Current Media's Place in the Larger Industry Value Chain customers Current Media falls within three industry value chains: the TV network chain, the cable/satellite TV provider chain, and the Internet value chain. value chain Current Media's television network is in many ways similar to the traditional value chain for cable- and satellite-television networks, acquiring, producing, and distributing an increasing percentage of its content according to the traditional models. The viewer-controlled aspect of Current Media's value chain in some ways points toward emerging trends in the traditional television network value chain, as business +more networks nd ways to make content available through the Web or encourage viewers to comment on or provide new content using product model social media technologies. While Current Media's initial approach was to put as much emphasis on its website as its television network, and to derive most of its television content from viewer videos posted on the website, the company was not able to effectively translate this approach to increased revenue and has begun to follow the traditional industry value chain more closely. revenue model As an independent television network distributed internationally through cable- and satellite-television providers, Current Media ts into the cable/satellite provider value chain as a content source to be acquired and distributed by providers. Cable and satellite providers pay a fee Current Media to distribute the network's content to subscriber households. sales model Because much of its website content is posted by users, Current.TV is largely a content distributor that connects web users to content produced for its site by other users through Internet Service Providers. sources 6. OVERVIEW | BUSINESS PLAN | ANALYSIS | RECOMMENDATIONS general information + Business/Product Model: customers Current Medias business model is built upon a goal of incorporating viewer participation into television programming and web content production. CurrentTV obtains its media content through three means, and distributes it on two platformsweb and broadcast. value chain First, by taking advantage of the trend in crowdsourcing, CurrentTV solicits and collects viewer-created video content (known as VC2) on its website. This content is available for free on the site and, until recently it also formed approximately 25% of its televised broadcast1,2,. Users whose short format videos, called Pods, are selected for broadcast on the Current TV network can be eligible for business +payment up to $10,000. In addition to encouraging viewers to create programming content, Current Media also has partnerships with product model sponsors that encourage users to make Viewer-Created Ad Messages (VCAMs), with sponsors, producers, and site viewers selecting VCAMs to be aired on the television network in exchange for payment or prizes for the creator. revenue model Current Media also produces its own original news, documentary, and entertainment programming, using in-house staff of hosts, producers, editors, critics, journalists, and other traditional television programming staff. Some of Currents most popular original programming content include the Rotten Tomatoes Show, a movie review show that airs viewer reviews posted on Current.TV and the Rotten Tomatoes lm review aggregation website, and SuperNews, an animated comedy program. Current TVs news journalism and sales model documentary content rose to national attention when in March of 2009 two American Vanguard journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling, were detained for allegedly crossing the North Korea border while shooting a piece in China. They were found guilty of hostile act and sentenced to twelve years in forced labor camp, and were released and pardoned after a visit from former President Bill Clinton. sources Current recently announced it will begin acquiring content from outside producers3. In addition to its video news content, Current allows its site users to aggregate online-print news and rank it in a format similar to Digg.com. This allows the website to augment the televised broadcast and generate additional value to the viewers and users. The Current.TV site is broken up by topic and by group, allowing for online community building and participation. 7. OVERVIEW | BUSINESS PLAN | ANALYSIS | RECOMMENDATIONS general information + Revenue Model: customers Current Media's revenue comes from afliate fees and advertising. Current Media's television station, Current TV, receives afliate fees on distribution agreements with cable and satellite providers per subscriber household. Current TV has distribution agreements with all cable and satellite television providers in the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, and Canada and reaches an estimated 70 value chain million subscriber households4. Current Media reported that afliate fees accounted for over 80% of the company's revenue for 20075.Current Media also receives advertising revenue for ads displayed on the television station and website. In 2007 the company reported business +that its television network had revenue of approximately $64 million and losses of $9.9 million6. product model In January 2008 Current Media led for a $100 million Initial Public Offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission, but withdrew the ling in April 2009 posting a net loss of $7.5 million for the rst quarter of 20087. The company has announced no plans revenue model regarding whether they will pursue an IPO in the future.Current Media is exploring ways to translate the website's API into a revenue stream by sourcing user-generated content to other media companies and websites8. sales model sources 8. OVERVIEW | BUSINESS PLAN | ANALYSIS | RECOMMENDATIONS general information + Sales Model: customers Current Media derived approximately 20% of its revenue from advertising in 2007 and the rst 3 months of 2008 (the last time such information was reported), and a small core group of advertisers, including Toyota, Geico, L'Oreal, General Electric, T-Mobile, and Johnson & Johnson constituted 8% of the advertising revenue in the same period. Current Media attracts sponsors through their innovative VCAM value chain program, where advertisers sponsor both the Current.TV website and television network programming by asking viewers to create short video messages related to the sponsored product or brand. By offering VCAMs prizes and payment based on popularity or sponsor selection, Current Media creates incentives for viewers to provide ad content to sponsors. business + product model Current Media has announced considerations to sell interfaces that would allow other content providers to embed Current Media-owned content into their sites, but has yet to ofcially implement this plan.revenue model sales model sources 9. OVERVIEW | BUSINESS PLAN | ANALYSIS | RECOMMENDATIONS general information + Sources Cited: customers [1] Tomich, Steve. Current TV: Think Outside, Get Inside the Box. December 28 2005. http://www.dv.com/article/9428 (Accessed December 3 2009)[2] In 2009, Mark Rosenthal, the new CEO of CurrentTV's privately-held parent company, Current Media, began a scale-back of user-generated short-form video content as well as value chainscrapping three of the original programs produced by CurrentTV.http://www.latimes.com/business/la--ct-current12-2009nov12,0,6721489.story?track=rss[3] Joe Flint and Meg James. Current TV to shift from Video Format. Los Angeles Times. November 12 2009. Available at business + product modelhttp://www.latimes.com/business/la--ct-current12-2009nov12,0,6721489.story?track=rss (Accessed December 3 2009)[4] http://www.current.comrevenue model [5] Current Media, Inc. "Amendment No. 4 to Form S-1 Registration Statement Under the Securities Act of 1933." p. 1 (Available athttp://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1424470/000104746908006807/a2183128zs-1a.htm[6] Flint, Joe and Meg James. "Current TV to shift from video format."Los Angeles Times. November 12 2009. sales model [7] Tartakoff, Joseph. "Gore-Backed Current TV Pulls Plug on IPO." paidContent.org, April 10 2009.http://paidcontent.org/article/419-current-tv-pulls-plug-on-ipo/ (Accessed December 2 2009). sources [8] "API's are Essential for Content Creators, CurrentTV's Robin Sloan." Beet.TV. April 5 2009. http://www.beet.tv/2009/04/turmoil-means-big-opportunity-for-emerging-news-organizations-currenttvs-robin-sloan.html(Accessed December 2 2009). 10. OVERVIEW | BUSINESS PLAN | ANALYSIS | RECOMMENDATIONSSWOT analysisS strengthsW weaknesses O opportunitiesT threatsLeaders in community participation and development of user-generated content {Current has a well-integrated system of content delivery and augmentation across platforms Unique ad sales opportunities and new advertising modelViewer-created advertising presents advertising partners with unique positioning opportunitiesQuality Journalism and Experienced TeamCompetitive journalistic content ensures a wide variety of both topical and in-depth coverage, aided by professionalprogramming that establishes credibility among competitorsExpanding Database of Archived Short-Form ContentArchive may allow for expanded revenue opportunitiesStrong Company Identity and Signicant Infrastructure InvestmentStrong brand presence ensures relevance for user demographic, and infrastructure impedes new entrants into marketOpen-source APIPromotes greater access to brand and expanded opportunities for advertising through widely-accessed platform 11. OVERVIEW | BUSINESS PLAN | ANALYSIS | RECOMMENDATIONSSWOT analysisS strengths W weaknessesO opportunitiesT threats Limited visibility due to poor social media accessibility+{Limited social networking presence leads to missed opportunities to attract new site usersLimited ability to attract and retain viewers+Demographic limits users to certain ages, excludes interactivity from those not perpetually connected to webConstantly changing content requires constant research for, and updating of, information+Original programming is expensive and can be a signicant toll on revenueHigh-paced, high-demand work environment requires dedicated staff+Qualied staff necessary to produce quality programming and editing incurs high costsHigh operating expenses, expensive infrastructure, maintenance, and operations.+Twenty-four hour broadcast and webcast require extensive operations, maintenance and overheadPotential for security and technical breaches+Infrastructure is vulnerable to technical outages and web users data security is can never be fully protected 12. OVERVIEW | BUSINESS PLAN | ANALYSIS | RECOMMENDATIONSSWOT analysisS strengthsW weaknessesO opportunitiesTthreatseconomic | social | technological { Economic downturn may mean more customers turning to free sources of news online, thus increasing revenue of online ads Users spend more time consuming low-cost news, or participating in rewarding VCAM opportunities Economic downturn trends generally nd more people going after education, an opportunity to expand educational offerings, bringing additional revenue and avenues for "freemium" services Current production school may be used to offer greater range of services, some at a cost, or to offertraining modules to existing educational programs or professional development programs Economic recovery may mean higher discretionary spending on things like cable, with increased ad revenue on that platform Matching ad sales to best-performing platform, based on subscriber rates and user-click statistics 13. OVERVIEW | BUSINESS PLAN | ANALYSIS | RECOMMENDATIONSSWOT analysisS strengthsW weaknessesO opportunities Tthreatseconomic | social | technological{ Trends away from traditional media will drive more trafc to the site As newspapers and magazines lose popularity, users increasingly rely on internet content Younger generation of media-savvy pre-teens create an opportunity for younger-market initiatives As users outside the 18-34 demographic begin to acquire advanced internet capability, Current can expand its market Additional demographic changes in news consumption that open up the tail of the market, especially the 'long-tail' opportunities to monetize even marginal news content As the cost of carrying and archiving content drops, opportunities arise of offer every possible topic of news andinformation, creating a long-tail for both viewers and advertising partners 14. OVERVIEW | BUSINESS PLAN | ANALYSIS | RECOMMENDATIONSSWOT analysis S strengths W weaknesses O opportunitiesTthreatseconomic | social | technological { Better integration of broadcast and internet, becoming a seamless portal of delivery, means increased viewer attention to one medium and signicantly lowered distribution costs As lines between platforms blur, users will have one dedicated portal and one powerful medium for advertisingCheaper video production, already a trend, enables a larger base for viewer-created content As more users gain access to advanced video and audio production equipment and suites, more viewers will be able to generate high-quality content Partnerships with existing and emerging digital media innovators to stay on top of changes to internet ecology, including new social networking services, personal management tools, user- generated interactive content New methods for delivery and new demands by web users provide an opportunity to be a continuous leader in adapting new technologies as they emerge, like full integration in RSS and social networking websites 15. OVERVIEW | BUSINESS PLAN | ANALYSIS | RECOMMENDATIONSSWOT analysisS strengthsW weaknessesOopportunities T threatseconomic | social | technological{Economic downturn drives down advertising rates, budgets of major advertising partners, distribution+arrangements (current and potential) and diminishes subscriber base Danger of the dotcom problem as businesses struggle to identify ways to monetize web content when advertising is insufcient Loss of advertising sales if new entrants into market threaten business model and leech users away from Current+ Current must contend with competitors with signicant user bases, such as Facebook or YouTube, who may enter into the news media market with a similar interactive modelSignicant increases in cost of acquiring third-party content+Potential changes in price of creating or acquiring original programming impinges on revenue Changes in distribution agreements among broadcast industry as a whole, or loss of distribution agreements+currently in place with CurrentChanges in distribution agreements, and potential shrinking of subscriber base, lead to loss of advertising revenue 16. OVERVIEW | BUSINESS PLAN | ANALYSIS | RECOMMENDATIONSSWOT analysisS strengthsW weaknessesO opportunitiesT threatseconomic | social | technological {Backlash against viewer-created content and amateur journalism drives users away from site and advertising+ Online news content may fail to replace printed media and will remain difcult to monetize. Competition from social networking sites like Twitter, which offers free and instant access to currentevents, without Currents production costs+ Prohibitive production costs will enable competitors with streamlined aggregation to meet the needs of online news consumers to have instant information in an even shorter format than short-form video. Currently, www.twitter.com/currenttv has 1,294 followers and has not tweeted since September. There is also little activity on the Facebook Fan page. Advertising model is rejected by internet users and does not lead to signicant revenue+ Intrusive, frequent, or inappropriate advertising discourages users from spending signicant time on Currents site or channel. 17. OVERVIEW | BUSINESS PLAN | ANALYSIS | RECOMMENDATIONSSWOT analysis Sstrengths W weaknessesO opportunitiesTthreatseconomic | social | technological {Economic downturn limits availability of R&D funds to develop or acquire new technologies+With rapidly advancing changes in technology, signicant funds must be expended in maintaining relevant offerings and infrastructure Slow development of broadcast/internet convergence makes hybrid model less appealing to viewers+Clumsy or irrelevant connection between broadcast and web content would see users preferring a single-platform approach No signicant innovation in ways to monetize internet trafc+Precarious situation wherein health of company is dependent entirely on advertising sales Changes in the cost of soliciting, storing, and streaming user-generated content+Though unlikely, increased costs in handling of video content would impede the archiving and creation of viewer content 18. OVERVIEW | BUSINESS PLAN | ANALYSIS | RECOMMENDATIONSRecommendations+ SEND A RECOMMENDATIONIncrease their brand and reach through active participation in social media websites { like Twitter and Facebook, and through viral marketing.Extend revenue streams by adding paid incentives for web site users, such as tiered membership with additional functions for a fee, or paid access to archival materials Expand into market by offering alternate or supplementary content for broader demographic (outside 18-34 yrs.) and the content long tail. Provide internal production training to lower production costs, and develop training modules for external education and professional development. Reinforce brand and by leveraging and monetizing the API through partnerships with other media outlets, such as the Hufngton Post or CNN. 19. brought to you by:SHARKS