Information Externalities and the Maginot Line

There is an age-old debate concerning the importance of content and distribution of media products. Sumner Redstone, Chairman of Viacom, famously said: “content is king”. Others claim that distribution can bring exposure and success even to mediocre content while letting good content go unnoticed. What will be the most important success factor for media companies in the coming decade: the control of content or the control of distribution? In this digital era where content is widely available and distribution is easy, who is to be crowned king?

Executives in old media companies will be quick to point out that the audience is at the heart of every decision making process, although one look at market reports and audience ratings will show how dehumanised and prejudistic these reports are in their categorization of people. Marketing reduces us to a very low common denominator, it is bad enough being reduced to a composite portrait; it is worse to be told that at that level we can be manipulated like ants following a pheromone path.