Net connections: media companies make strategic partnerships with online social networks to gain market reach

Black Enterprise, July, 2008 by Anthony S. Calypso

THE VALUE OF INTERNET-BASED SOCIAL NETWORKS appears to be on the rise as media companies recalculate strategies for delivering products to consumers, Recently, Byron Allen's company' Entertainment Studios Inc., formed a partnership with the online social network MySpace to become the single largest provider of video content to the MySpaceTV Web portal.

Entertainment Studios is providing several hours of original video content per week on MySpaceTV Web channels. Users can receive regular updates from the channels and share episodes by using blogs and adding videos to their profiles. Full terms of the partnership were not disclosed.

Such portals claim millions of members--MySpace boasts more than 110 million users--which can provide both Radio One and Entertainment Studios with access to a larger pool of ears and eyes. Another benefit, besides added visibility, is gaining access to registered members and their information.

By all measures, the number of people watching videos on the Internet continues to grow. More than 10 billion videos were viewed online in February, an increase of 66% from the same period last year, according to market research company comScore.

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There are about 19.6 million African Americans online, according to a recent study by the Minnesota-based cultural research firm Iconoculture Inc. Lawrence Ross, senior director and consumer strategist for African American markets at the company, believes that African American media companies have been looking at the way the community is engaged with various forms of media in order to recalibrate a blueprint for remaining competitive in the marketplace.

"In some ways, black consumers integrate media seamlessly into their lives and value the notion that hyperconnectivity provides different satisfying experiences," Ross says. "If black media companies want to be partners in this consumer experience, they're going to have to diversify into as many media areas as possible. You can even expect to see forward-thinking black media companies moving into new media areas.... This isn't an investment in the future, but an investment in the here and now."