CompuServe Messages

Mike: >Now the $64,000 dollar question on all of this is, how are advertisers going to handel this vast aray of channels???< Oh, that's easy–they'll just jam in more home shopping and pay-per-view channels! <g> >But on the other hand if you sell a product that appeals to the mass market ( for instance automobiles or furniture ) I wounder how those folks will deal with the massive spread out of market share over say a 500 channel system?? If anyone has any ideas on this one I would love to hear them.< I don't think that general interest channels will completely subside–in fact, given what's happening now, I think we'll have more of 'em than ever (i.e., USA Network, TBS, TNT, UPN, WB Network, etc., etc., etc.)! Also, even a "mass market" product like a car has a specific niche–f'instance, you wouldn't sell a Jag on USA Network, which appeals to a mostly working-class audience, nor would you sell a Hyundai on A&E, with an educated upper-middle-class audience. To carry it further, you wouldn't sell household products on MTV (the audience couldn't care less about cleaning house <g>), or rap CDs on The Family Channel ;), or kid's breakfast cereals on ESPN. The increasing "narrowcasting" will allow advertisers to target specific markets where their products will do well (as a friend of mine used to say, "shooting w/a rifle instead of a shotgun"). Best, Tim