Tumblr and TV: CBS Quick Case Study
Some big brands might have started work on Monday morning wondering if they had missed a billion-dollar connection as Yahoo announced the purchase of 6-year-old New York-based Tumblr for $1.1B (See Yahoo Press Release ).
All of the big brands that operate on Tumblr can fit comfortably on a single page. As of Monday, Tumblr lists more than 130 brands operating on its platform (http://brands.tumblr.com/) and another 18 agencies in New York, London, Los Angeles as its A-list partners. http://a-listpartners.tumblr.com/
TV brands participating actively on Tumblr include:
- http://aetv.tumblr.com/,
- http://nbcnews.tumblr.com// and http://nbcnightlynews.tumblr.com/,
- and http://disney.tumblr.com/.
Not an entirely impressive list by numbers, but one that may well serve as an indicator of appetite for innovation in a whirlwind of change in the media environment.
Let’s take a quick look at CBS for example. There is http://cbs.tumblr.com/, which hasn’t been updated since July 16, 2009, which was, perhaps, an intern’s last day on the job? Or, maybe a domain squatter.
- The http://cbselementary.tumblr.com/ tumblog looks like a fan site, with lots of animated GIFs.
- Then, there is the well-branded cbssports.tumblr.com/ that shows us that sports can get away with a lot, including embedding video from ESPNU http://cbssports.tumblr.com/post/50670440844/lsu-player-flips-over-catcher-for-inside-the-park
- Then, there is http://cbstelevisionstudios.tumblr.com/ with animated GIFs, fan photos, and links to Pinterest.
- And, the tradition-minded CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley, which has not been updated for a year http://cbseveningnews.tumblr.com/
- CBS Films updates a bit more frequently, with its most recent coming a week ago. http://cbsfilms.tumblr.com/
We wonder if the good folks at the top broadcast network are meeting in a conference room at Black Rock. If so, we hope this list will be helpful as we imagine Tumblr now joins Twitter and Facebook as part of a Social TV program.