The search for iTV on BusinessWeek
TV is about instant gratification. The Net is about me having control. Put the two together, and the result should be personalized TV, or iTV, which lets me watch what I want, when I want it,” explains Business Week in a cover story about how TV and the Internet are intersecting, and how far we still are from having truly personal TV.
Hollywood worries digital downloads could lead consumers to stop buying $24 billion of DVDs annually, and broadcasters are nervous about the fate of the $185 billion-per-year TV advertising kit. So studios and networks alike limit how long programs are available on Web sites or restrict the shows that play on various devices.
Cable and satellite providers worry that they will lose customer loyalty to the Web, so they impose tight controls on what content you see and moved painfully slowly to offer advanced TV services.
Most regular people still haven’t viewed their first TV clip on a computer screen. But a survey shows that 16% of American households with Web access now watch full TV broadcast online, double the number from a year ago. Meantime, in Hong Kong some 60 % of all households watch programming delivered over the Internet to the TV.
NBC launches download service… disappointing everybody
NBC.com had launched NBC Direct, a new service that allows users to download full episodes of selected shows to their computer to watch anywhere.
It doesn’t work with Mac, Firefox, or even Windows Vista, and you have 48 hours to view them. If you live outside the U.S., sorry, NBC Direct is not international. So far NBC Direct got pretty negative reviews.
The evolution of the traditional TV
Current TV, Al Gore backed channel, is moving to a crowd-controlled TV. Since mid-October, visitors to its Web site have been able to watch everything that was on the channel in the previous two hours or what’s coming in the next two, leave comments on the shows, engage in discussions on videos, put up links to other sites, or add raw video to a story. Users can even click on an assignment tab to see if a producer needs extra reporting.
Current claims that more than 70% of its viewers have a laptop open while they watch the TV channel, giving them a means to participate.
In terms of business model, Current is not focusing on bringing shows direct to the Net. Current is profitable being paid for its content by cable and satellite TV outfits, just like ESPN and Nicklelodeon.
A video player with exceptional searching abilities
Internet Broadcasting has launched a new video player (still in beta), which does have exceptional searching abilities. Clicking search shrinks the 16x9 video window and it continues playing while search results are displayed below.
