Television Industry Websites

1. Television Industry Websites HGTV: www.hgtv.com MTV: www.mtv.com Comedy Central: www.comedycentral.com Travel Channel: www.travelchannel.com Kaitlyn Deutsch Rebecca Thompson Jordan Wright Joe Yosten

2. Purpose Inspire homeowners- “Start at Home” motto Give home and gardening decorating ideas Promote TV shows Buying tips and links to where items can be bought Viewer interaction with the TV hosts and giveaways Geared toward homeowners of all ages and genders Content Eleven category toolbar: Decorating, Home Improvement, Landscaping, Crafts, Organizing, Dream Home, Holidays, Kitchens, Bathrooms, on TV, and Shop HGTV’s Dream Home, GMC Terrain, and $500,000 A lot of information on homepage, but easy to navigate and appeasing to the eye www.HGTV.com

3. Blogs Message Boards Categorized by topics Strict on keeping these categorized Available for public to make comments and ask questions Answers from TV hosts Blogs on “Designs Happen” Designers post blogs about once a day Decorating ideas with pictures Public can make comments Social Networking Facebook HGTV fan page: 200,000 fans and counting Includes polls, “chance to win,” and pictures Twitter 23,061 followers Daily Tweets Show updates: “Tonight: All-new ‘Bang for your Buck’ with Vern Yip. 9:30/8:30c” Dream Home giveaway reminders LinkedIN VP Creative Director Design Assistants TV show designers

4. Purpose Generate a plethora of information Watch the latest music videos and get up to date information on celebrity and music news Increase brand awareness toward the adolescent and young adult target audience Content First stop for fans who want to voice their opinions Celebrity news/gossip in an informal blogger fashion Comparable to a teen magazine Information provided on how to be on MTV shows like Real World and True Life www.MTV.com

5. Blogging Celebrity news, concert updates, and product reviews Professional bloggers, but does not provide a forum for views to voice their opinions Add a refreshing personal voice to the corporate website Social Networking Facebook 1,187,736 fans Links and mini video clips found on the website too Twitter Most up to date information of all the online media News flashes, to the minute, on when shows are going to play New television shows are heavily promoted

6. Purpose A place where viewers can experience ‘extras’ Jokes Games Old episodes and previews Interviews Interaction Attract new viewers Content Programming information Full episodes and previews Online games Online shop ‘Flux’ Message Boards Appearance Great navigation bar Cluttered Confusing Search bar www.ComedyCentral.com

7. Blogging Twitter, Facebook, My Yahoo, Newsgator, Bloglines, Video and text media ‘Comedy Central Insider Blog’ Linked to show’s home pages Daily Show with Jon Stewart Colbert Report Tosh.0 Social Networking Facebook Approaching 80,000 ‘fans’ Linked to 9 other Comedy Central sponsored pages ‘Facebook Connect’ Twitter Follow ‘Comedy Central USA’ About 10,000 followers Inform and update Communicate Feedback Interaction All congruent with each other

8. Purpose To attract and maintain traffic through content Existing viewers seeking additional programming features Non-viewers seeking travel information Increased viewership = Increased and higher quality sponsors $$$ Content Programming information Schedule, upcoming specials, individual show landing pages General travel information Highlighted travel destinations, information about certain areas of the world (interactive ‘globe’) Advertising Cruise ships, airlines, clothing www.TravelChannel.com

9. Blogging Show-specific blogging Each show’s landing page has blog/vlog written by host General travel blogs Various travel blogs with contributions from an array of employees Executives, camera crew Linked blogs A number of links to travel blogs not associated with The Travel Channel AOL travel blog, culinary travel blog Social Networking Facebook 33,000 fans Higher focus on Travel Channel itself Links to Travel Channel clothing, iTunes and Amazon show purchasing Twitter 26,000 followers Periodic updates on upcoming shows, general travel information, and links to show Twitter pages LinkedIN Much more of a corporate focus Median age: 34 ‘Producer’ predominant job title

10. Comparison of Networks • Similarities • Similar focuses, different content • Successful at promoting television networks • Busy, colorful, and busy (especially MTV.com) • Helpful tool bar for navigation at top of home page • Use of blogging • Differences • MTV has a more narrow focus (young teens to young adults) vs the other three sites appeal to most ages. • HGTV is the only website that you cannot directly link to any social networking sites • HGTV offers the most information for the related topic (home and gardening), while the other focus more the television shows • MTV has largest presence on Facebook (1,187,000 fans) and Twitter (471,000 followers) • The Travel Channel easiest to navigate

11. Recommendations for the Industry • All networks should take advantage of Websites • Relatively cheap • Increase brand awareness • More traffic will increase advertising to support the site • Blogging and Social Networking • Sites such as Twitter and Facebook are free- so use them! • Offer substantial information without getting conjested • Responsibility rather than an option • A must-have in order to compete within the industry