Fox News Does It Again

Fox News and Rupert Murdoch clearly have the "Midas Touch" and is seen in the results of virtually all of their business decisions. The latest brilliant stroke is their daily America's Election Headquarters programming that dominates much of the news day.

Initially I had my doubts. It was beginning to look like an election cycle destined to drag rather than light up. Than the most historically important election in years became one of the most exciting, thanks to the dramatic struggle between Clinton and Obama with a primary that simply won't end. I'm sure the other networks will expand their coverage, but they will likely appear to be seen as merely trying to catch up.

This is typical of News Corp. They always seem to be significantly ahead of the curve and are often found in the role of defining it. Fox's ratings are significantly higher than any of its competitors. This is because of the fact that it enjoys personality driven media, a unique philosophical view not found in other media, and they seem to have a crystal ball that appears to show what's next. It will be interesting to watch the network continue to go and grow.

For a copy of the free report, "Why Your Marketing Isn't Working," email Info@HoustonBusinessShow.com and put "marketing" in the subject line.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Welcome to Hulu!

Virtually every day I see another story about the media lines blurring. TV on the web. The web on TV. Radio everywhere. It is an incredibly exciting time to monitor media today. The latest addition to this change is a website called Hulu. I heard about it on the Today Show (and Hulu was created by its parent company, GE and News Corp, what a surprise).

Don't be fooled by the name, it has nothing to do with Hawaii or dancing (oh, that's hula), but it has a great deal to do about how people will get entertained. The site is a huge TV and movie treasure chest with full episodes of shows you typically can't find on TV. This includes Time Tunnel, Welcome Back Kotter, Dragnet, and more. I think I might be spending some time on it. The movie section is not nearly as interesting and is largely dominated by "B" flicks. However, on a slow TV night, some will watch them.

Many -- if not most -- of the the TV episodes and Movies are in their entirety, although there are also numerous clips. My gut tells me few will go for the clips because they can find much more at YouTube and Google video, but I do believe the site will be a hit. It is, again, one more example of how media is changing forever.

The site will be a work in progress and starting with a strange name like "Hulu" will do nothing to attract traffic in my opinion. But I think this site will likely be another benchmark in the move away from traditional media.

For a copy of the free report, "Why Your Marketing Isn't Working," email Info@HoustonBusinessShow.com and put "marketing" in the subject line.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.