The Second Coming of Video: Publishers Finally Get It Right

The infamous “pivot to video” debacle of the 2010s serves as a cautionary tale for media circles, illustrating the dangers of chasing trendy formats. However, with the landscape continuing to shift, it’s clear that publishers are now embracing video with greater success.

The New York Times’ executive editor Joe Kahn has been instrumental in driving this push, framing it as a transformation on par with the shift from print to digital. This sentiment may seem tone-deaf given the chaos of 2015, when Vice and BuzzFeed hastily abandoned text-based content for video. However, in hindsight, these pioneers were simply ahead of their time.

The key difference between now and then lies not with the platforms but with the audience itself. In 2016, Nielsen reports showed that video consumption was indeed skyrocketing – primarily on TV sets, where cable and broadcast networks dominated. YouTube, Facebook, and Meerkat were relegated to laptops, tablets, and smartphones.

Fast-forward to today, and the landscape has changed significantly. The proliferation of streaming services and devices capable of consuming video content have loosened TV’s grip on this medium. According to Nielsen, by 2026, video consumption will spread across multiple screens – including TVs.

This shift presents both opportunities and challenges for traditional media outlets. On one hand, they can finally compete with digital upstarts on equal footing; on the other, it offers an opportunity for publishers to reclaim their lost audience. The Atlantic’s Rose Horowitch provocatively argued in a recent cover story that “the literate era will prove to be a brief interlude between the oral and digital ages.” While this might be an exaggeration, it’s undeniable that consumers are increasingly gravitating towards video content.

Kahn’s optimism seems justified as The New York Times is poised to tap into a previously untapped audience by embracing video as a core part of their strategy. As Kahn told Peter Kafka on Channels podcast, “It has the potential to allow us to bring really good quality original reporting to a much larger audience than what we currently have.” With TV’s attention span finally up for grabs, publishers like the Times are in an ideal position to capitalize on this trend.

The question remains whether others will follow suit. The evidence suggests they should: MS NOW and Netflix have already begun partnering with popular YouTube creators, while The Hollywood Reporter has seen its short-form programming picked up by streaming services. This is a stark contrast to 2015, when publishers hastily abandoned text-based content for video only to find themselves stuck in a sea of subpar content.

The “pivot to video” has come full circle – and this time around, publishers are better prepared. As the media landscape continues to evolve, it’s clear that video is here to stay – but with its newfound flexibility comes an opportunity for innovation and growth.