Did YouTube and NetFlix kill TV? Henry Blodget thinks they've helped. In today's Silicon Alley Insider, he suggests that not only is the TV industry in real trouble, it's seriously in denial about its' perilous position.
Blodget argues that the TV industry hasn't fully grasped the significant impact the availability of video content via the Internet (or Netflix, etc.) has had in drawing eyeballs away from traditional television programming. Their solution? By and large, the industry has put barriers in place to control access to programming already struggling to compete with online video outlets and Netflix even harder to access (example - download of popular episode expires after 24 hours). In short, conducting business in a rather un-social Web kinda way and further isolating potential viewers.
So where is this heading? Blodget says the future is device-independent, all you need is a web connection:
"...You won't have 5 channels, or 50 channels, or 500 channels. You'll have millions of channels. You'll be able to watch anything you want, live or taped. You'll be able to watch it wherever you want--TV, computer, mobile device. You won't have to sorry about "slinging" video content around or programming your DVR. You'll just plug a pipe (Internet) into a box (device) and watch.This is where the future is going. That's obvious. The only question is how long it takes us to get there--and who gets killed along the way..."
Blodget makes an interesting case. It resonates with those of us frustrated with paying our cable provider every month for 997 channels when there are only 20 channels worth watching.
But who gets killed? While I think the endgame Blodget outlines is quite probable, it seems reasonable to expect there will be some hybrid incarnations along the way. With many of these media companies owning both pipe (Internet and cable) and content, it is hard to see them disappearing in the foreseeable future. There are also certain kinds of programming particularly sports and to some degree, special interest (history, nature, etc.) which will likely help cable and TV retain viewers over the near-term.
One factor which Blodget doesn't touch on is hardware. There are still lots of television sets in TVLand. Also, TV's are increasingly becoming more sophisticated in their ability to process and integrate web-based information. This trend could provide content providers with opportunities to stay in the game with viewers who still like their big screens if only for movies and certain kinds of programming, such as sports.
But the question is will the industry take advantage of these opportunities in time?
FURTHER READING:
You might also like our piece "Three Things Susan Boyle Taught Me about Monetizing Popular Content"
Comments