In turn, TV can play a very important function for advertisers trying to reliably reach a broad or targeted audience, but it isn’t enough. Advertisers use all media, so media companies are giving in to them, with discounts for consolidating accounts. So how can TV differentiate itself when there are so many alternatives to reaching audiences? Perhaps the answer lies in reviewing NBC’s positioning with regard to advertisers.

The National Broadcasting Company was started as a radio network in the 1920s by RCA, GE, and Westinghouse. RCA bought all of NBC in 1932, and GE bought RCA in 1986, enhancing its investment with media brands like CNBC, MSNBC, and most recently Telemundo. The technicolor peacock logo is the one constant, adorning one’s screen as the only constant from day to night.

The major media outlets in the US straddle several areas: Viacom specializes in broadcast and outdoor media; News Corp, satellite and print; Disney, content and theme parks: and AOL Time Warner, Internet, movies and publishing. NBC, on the other hand, is in the unique position of being an expert at only one thing, television. This focus fits in with the overall GE corporate strategy of being the number one brand in all of the industries GE does business in.

NBC’s strength doesn’t lie in diversifying its media offerings, but rather, in its brands. It’s not catering to the advertiser that wants to advertise on multiple media, but to the advertiser interested in television only. With all the talk of advertisers clamoring for cross-media packages and media companies lining up to offer it, we may have forgotten the oldest human truth about shopping: people like choices. And when they go to a specialist that can offer them expertise in a single field, rather than a general provider that has poor knowledge in many fields, people buy from the specialist. NBC offers quality programming that draws the right audience for specific advertisers.

And NBC’s sub brands are in keeping with this. CNBC draws international viewers who are interested in financial information, MSNBC draws viewers who are interested in general news information, NBC draws a national 20- through 40-something crowd with internationally branded programming, and Telemundo draws Spanish-speaking US viewers, a highly coveted demographic. These brands draw online as well, but NBC’s failures on the Internet are clear signs that it should focus on what it knows best, TV.

What NBC addresses with its media brand ownership strategy is that it remains focused on what the consumer wants. The NBC consumer expects news, finance, and intelligent programming on TV, nothing else, nowhere else. Every time NBC fails to meet this, viewers demonstrate their disappointment by tuning out. Remember the XFL? This was an ill-conceived attempt to bring World Wrestling Federation-style programming to American football. It didn’t last a season.

As for Internet presence, NBC is clearly experiencing a disconnect. NBC.com is one of the most confusing, disassociated sites – particularly shocking for a site representing a major media brand. It has no search features, poor design, and horrendous navigation. MSNBC.com is screaming for a redesign that doesn’t look so intimidating. CNBC.com management is being outsourced to MSN Money Central. NBCi.com is a poor hodgepodge of content from all the other web sites, disguised as a portal. And as for Telemundo.com, well, if you’re a design or web business management firm, start making a proposal, because from the looks of NBC’s track record online, you’d be guaranteed some business on this account. Other “strategic investments,” such as NBCMarketplace.com and NBCEnterprises.com, don’t make much sense for expanding core competencies.

But to get back to the bricks & mortar wing, NBC’s future lies in its ability to sell its brands as seamlessly integrated packages to effectively reach the affluent, international, educated consumers who are lending it valuable time. NBC has not been and should not be inclined to have cross-media ownership as a revenue growth engine, since it should not attract advertisers with all-in-one media packages, but rather with tightly focused, internationally broadcast, niche brands.

So how to get the message out? A sales pitch could be quickly and intelligently delivered via the one media NBC knows: television.

Al Berrios is president of al berrios iMarketing, a brand-building agency specializing in Internet brands.