May 30, 2013

Many of the challenges and opportunities for engaging with the audience via second screen are well-known within the industry. Much of the debate is naturally led by the strategic and commercial questions around content, audiences, data and revenue. However, what is not often addressed is the elephant in the digital room that is the rights situation, and how to manage multiple sources of content. The Wiggin Digital Entertainment Survey confirms that there is currently consumer appetite for second screen engagement, but also significant engagement with unofficial content, or at least confusion as to whether a destination is official or not. I see three significant areas that need to be considered in order to maximise the value of this activity:

• Clearly there is complexity in how to define new types of rights, and to decide the best place in the value chain and audience touch points for these rights to be managed.  This place could be at the brand/producer level; at the channel level; or at an aggregated platform level (Sky/Virgin/BTVision).  Unless the rights are considered, managed and protected as appropriate, there is potential for a vacuum and for the unofficial opportunist aggregator or competitor to step in and divert attention, brand engagement and value.
• One brand can of course exist in multiple formats (broadcast, ondemand, DVD, books, merchandise), and multiple territories.  All of these official sources of content are likely to be controlled by a variety of rights holders.  Each will have a desire for a digital and social presence – for marketing or for fan engagement and data purposes. But in an internet world without boundaries, driven by search, unless these multiple sources are actively managed and coordinated, significant confusion can arise, and fan, community, cross referral/promotion and data value will be lost.
• Piracy clearly needs to be managed to protect the rights holders and the traditional value chains.  But more and more thought is being given by some to finding the right balance between simple legal enforcement and alternative forms of response.  Clearly full piracy compared to casual UGC usage has different drivers and impacts, but either way they show a passion and desire to engage in content that is not fully fulfilled by official sources. This demand led information should be invaluable for assessing options.

The key message across all three areas is to know what rights you control and to actively manage the exploitation and engagement points to best coordinate interaction with the fans and so maximise value. For more information, contact David Deakin, digital media legal consultant at Wiggin. david.deakin@wiggin.co.uk. 0207 7612 9612