Redbean - One of the common themes we hear after dominant players in any industry suddenly lose the plot is that their leaders were getting just the advice they wanted to hear - but not the advice they needed. When bosses in the car industry surround themselves with BIG car people they invariably make more BIG cars regardless of what the market wants.
And so it seems with News Ltd. Richard Freudenstein, CEO of News Digtital Media, was quoted in this week’s press as saying “For a lot of the things people want to do, the broadband we have now is probably quick enough to allow that to happen… it will just be an extension of what is already happening.” (20090730 - SMH - Broadband revolution fails to excite News)
For me this rates right up there with the lack of foresight, denial and other bad predictions of the visionless. You wonder whether these people actually use the services they sell. Or maybe it is just the vested interests talking, seeing that Fraudenstein is also a director of the pay TV operator Foxtel?
Pay TV and free to air TV are both under threat from increased broadband speeds and using denial of that fact as a strategy doesn’t sound too smart to me.
Note to Mr. Murdoch. I am available to advise you at exorbitant rates of pay but there is a caveat - I may not tell you what you want to hear.