Gotta hand it to the fast growing DataSphere. The online solutions vendor has done deals with LocalTV LLC, Raycom and others. Could their offerings threaten WorldNow, Triton, and Emmis Interactive? Better yet, could their business model even hurt the local media partners they’re teaming up with?
Funded by Fisher Communications, DataSphere clearly saw local media still struggling with turning a web profit. (even after all these years)
Combine that with viewers and advertisers losing interest in typical local news sites, and ever lower cpm’s….. general managers everywhere are scrambling to keep corporate off their a** and to quickly accomplish the following:
- Have a half-decent website at the lowest possible cost
- Populate it with news, content & info, at the lowest possible cost
- Hit their new, mandatory web budget at the lowest possible cost
- Get it all done while not screwing up the primary business
DataSphere to the rescue. Here’s the deal: We’ll turn on a whole bunch of ez-to-operate neighborhood blogs for ya, then have our call centers auto-dial the local businesses in your town, close lot’s of deals, rinse, repeat. How’s that sound? Oh, we almost forgot. We’ll take a ridiculously high percentage of the deal and we’ll have a primary contact with the client too. But hey, just sit there and promote it. No need to lift a finger. Cool?
DataSphere Technologies, Inc. (http://www.DataSphere.com) is a Software as a Service (SaaS) Web technology and hyper-local ad sales company focused on generating online profits for media companies. DataSphere offers a range of turnkey solutions to rapidly improve site monetization and experience with minimal investment of time and money
I like that last line; “minimal investment of time and money”
As a local media manager, you’ll love how this easily puts web revenue on the books. But in reality, you did a deal with the devil. You just handed over the most valuable part of your business (realtionship with local advertiser) to an outside technology company/middle man.
Just for kicks, ask the Newspaper publisher in town how that deal with Yahoo has been working out for them.
Related posts:
- Meredith TV Hyper Local Fail. DataSphere Wins Again. Meredith TV admits they can’t sell local web. The broadcaster recently handed off one of the most critical pieces of their business to the crew of 20-somethings at DataSphere; the tech company/call center in Bellevue, Washington. WATCH VIDEO BELOW. Meredith Television joins the now infamous group of local media companies like Gannett, Raycom and Fisher Communications, all [...]...
- Gannett TV & DataSphere Gannett in Tampa just launched 40 hyper-local websites, supported by WTSP-TV News 10. In theory, that’s a good thing….since hyper-local is hot. But in reality, this move is quite questionable for Gannett local television. Why? The GM of 10 News allows their hyper-local vendor (DataSphere) to use a Seattle based phone room to cold call [...]...
- Gannett Web Fumble, Punts to DataSphere Gannett Broadcasting is putting some of their local web sales on auto pilot. The media titan announced they’ll join Raycom, LocalTV LLC and other digitally frustrated media properties in outsourcing some web efforts. No surprise, they’re punting to DataSphere; the master of call-center web sales and quickie blogs. Was this surrender by local media predicted many years ago? Yup. [...]...