Imagine, if you will a world where every form of media as we know is accessible (legally), free, by means of the internet. It’s not a stretch to imagine, mostly because almost every form of media we know is available via internet. Welcome to the future. Granted, the landscape for game playing, television watching, hasn’t quite ‘caught up’ in terms of selection and quality, compared to traditional media. Just give it time. Music, is another story entirely as I believe the online spectrum of music has surpassed the physical form.
We’re at a critical juncture in the world of online media. As the fight between pirates, entertainment labels, innocent consumers heats up, the stakes continue to get higher, and higher. Where is that line, between innocent downloading/viewing, and piracy? Who’s to say what the punishment for illegal downloading should be? Is it right that lawsuits have been fought against dead grandmas, and struggling teenagers going through tumultuous surgery? And finally, who do you have sympathy for?
One aspect of online media viewing, that is going widely unnoticed is the latest plan put into place by ESPN. It’s ironic that it’s going unnoticed, because if it catches on could forever change the landscape of the internet as we know it. Just imagine five years from now, the content that you view could be shaped by which ISP that you’re signed up with. Maybe you want to go with AT&T, because they’re the only ISP who’s allowing FX shows (Damages FTW) to be viewed. Or Playboy.com has an exclusive deal with Verizon.
The latest, ‘latest’ news is about the rising online sensation, Hulu. What started out as a small project for bringing people TV shows, and movies has blossomed into a hit. Of course, Hulu looks to perhaps be shooting themselves in the foot, by limiting what online entities have access to Hulu.
Let’s shift to the a more broad view of the internet’s providers, and users . First, I’m of the impression that content providers aren’t respecting the power of the user base in the internet world (much like Admiral Motti lacked faith in the force).
Much like Admiral Motti’s lack of faith, some of these decisions the providers have been making will do nothing but shrink the user base. Which could lead to their demise. The internet isn’t like the world of television. If you’re watching TV, your options of what you want to view are limited. Therefore the quality and, how you’re broadcasting your media is less important. This isn’t the case on the internet.
If you want an example of the power of the user base, look at the world of Facebook, and Myspace. If you rewind a couple of years ago, the power MySpace had looked to be impenetrable. After a few bad mistakes, and ignoring the problem of spammers and bots, Facebook is now the new kid on the block. All because Facebook, even with its problems looked to have its user’s needs at heart compared to the buggy MySpace.
How do you view the future of media on the internet? Is all of the power in terms of viewership decided by the users? How should content providers progress, as more media is made available? Did you know who Admiral Motti was before reading this post? All of these are the important questions we, and the media corporations should be answering.
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April 15th, 2009 at 8:44 pm
The ESPN360 model is garbage.
Neglecting the fact that Verizon Internet is not physically available to numerous ESPN television subscribers, the whole model just smacks of some MBA trying to ‘synergize their paradigms’ with respect to old distribution methods versus new content channels. Whoever is executing this plan doesn’t fully grasp the Internet and is trying to make the world fit his comfort zone by turning ISPs into gatekeepers of entertainment. It won’t work. Their competitors will make an endrun by going direct to consumers and managing content themselves. The benefit is that it doesn’t require complex and often tumultuous licensing agreements with ISPs, only a EULA for customers.
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April 2nd, 2010 at 1:44 pm
I think that with the quickness in which the internet is evolving that media online will start to completely overtake all other forms of media. More and more people are spending all their time at computers these days as opposed to in front of the TV or radio.
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