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Markets in everything
Bookstores where you can go to watch TV, courtesy of Borders.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on November 12, 2007 at 10:52 AM in Books, Television | Permalink
Comments
ugh, i despise the flat tv trend in bars and cafes, this is the icing on the cake. a pointless and noisy distraction. very crude, typically american.
Posted by: adrian at Nov 12, 2007 11:53:50 AM
We occasionally end an evening out by wandering through a Borders near a restaurant we eat at, browsing books and music and occasionally buying something, and usually getting some coffee on the way home. This has always been a nice quiet end to the evening.
Just last week we did this, and there was a television blaring through a good chunk of the Borders. It was quite a mood-killer, and makes me significantly less likely to spend time there.
Very frustrating. (As for "typically american", well, I'm gonna guess there are lots of other places on the planet that have this kind of distraction...it's annoying in any culture!)
Posted by: RJHayden at Nov 12, 2007 1:00:45 PM
My Inner Economist is telling me that books are only a part of the reason people go to bookstores, kinda like coffee only being a part of the Starbucks experience. My guess is they will create inobtrusive ways for people to view and chat about what's on.
Posted by: JasonL at Nov 12, 2007 2:55:53 PM
Being a TV addict, I was initially excited by this. However, looking at the article shows that this is going to be mostly an advertising thing, much like the new screens in NY taxicabs. It's going to be an additional cost, not a benefit, to customers, and I suspect the presence of such screens could subtract from the profitability of the bookselling, although it could still prove a good investment if the advertising revenue is high enough.
Posted by: at Nov 12, 2007 6:51:55 PM
In Venezuela , in almost every public( open to the public) place there is a flat tv. Hospitals included.In the Halls of thh University there are also tvs during sport events like the world cup( no, we dont have a team, we cheer Brazil or Argentina)
Posted by: jules at Nov 12, 2007 7:00:35 PM
also in the cabs for the driver
Posted by: juancarlos at Nov 12, 2007 7:04:55 PM
I find the thought of TVs in bookstores far less disturbing than the fact that Barnes & Noble has replaced its piped-in classical music and jazz with tedious pop.
Posted by: Franklin Harris at Nov 13, 2007 12:13:32 AM
I think that this might be a good marketing strategy for Borders. While the people are in Borders and are looking around or reading there will be TVs showing things that Borders chooses. Being that the TVs just shows semi-original programming and things like weather and news makes it alright in my book, since they are not showing just regular old shows. However, if the volume is turned up to high it might be more of a distraction than anything. But if they get it right then I can see where it could be nice when you are chillin' in Borders for a while and would also like to know what is going on in the weather or the news to just look over and be able to see it
Posted by: Bobby1205 at Nov 13, 2007 10:31:42 AM
Posted by: 鑽石 at Apr 2, 2008 11:20:27 PM
Posted by: Alii at Apr 3, 2008 9:25:21 PM
