The future of television and its tribulations with a video-enabled Internet became a hot topic in web-centric blogs today, pulling some big names into mistakes over what matters in the future of the living room.
A report from GigaOM referencing Crankygeeks and pointing up the 1200 TV channels that are available through Free Internet TV claims broadband cable networks should be worried.
I don't think so. Free Internet TV, and channelchooser, also referenced on the Crankygeek, joins a growing band of companies that are reselling terrestrial TV channels and terrestrial TV has failed the audience test. People are switching it off.
In fact cable companies have to carry terrestrial channels - it bulks up the schedules - but that is not where the butter will be and it's hardly what they're exploring for future revenues, nor is it what we demand.
First though, what do Free Internet Television's channels consist of? If you look at these they are actually a mixture of programmes and channels, some of which are no longer shown. It's a kind of YouTube without pictures on the home page.
Here's a sample:
U.K - BBC Talkingpoint (45K)
U.K - BBC Weather (80K)
U.K - BBC Breakfast with Frost (45K)
U.K - BBC Workinglunch (45K)
(It carries 17 BBC channels.)
There are many competitors doing a far better job.
Greengrass are a growing company with a novel business model that may or may not succeed. Vodeo are bringing new uses of video to the web, as are the IPTV companies, Akimbo (with its vblog channels), Narrowstep (with dozens of new TV channels) etc, and independent networks like Mixcast who will transform our culture with GDB showing how it might be done in local TV and Africast showing some of the geographical niches that will evolve.
Article comments