March 17 2008 / by Jeff Hilford
Category: Entertainment Year: 2008 Rating: 18 Hot
The release of Hulu last week, the video on demand
joint venture between NBC and Fox,
signals the ongoing deconstruction of television programming as
well as the continued convergence of the TV and PC. We also saw
evidence of this at the Consumer Electronics Show in January
through devices that enable us to watch and interact with the
internet on our tvs. 
For me this is a ‘where is my flying car’ kind of thing.
I’ve been wondering for over a decade when this convergent moment
would happen. I’m not ready to proclaim it’s finally here but it
feels like it’s getting awfully close.
So what are the implications of being able to ‘watch’ the
internet from one’s couch. Well for one, the exodus from standard
tv programming to internet content will only hasten. Video on
demand and these next-gen tv sets, set-top boxes and mobile devices
allow you to consume what you want, when you want and where you
want. This will result in an exploding market for content and big
changes on the media horizon. Here are my 9
Predictions for the effects of this convergence over the
next few years:
- We will see more quality content by virtual unknowns as the
barriers to entry approach zero.
- TV Networks struggling to maintain market share with
sub-standard, more cost-effective products (reality tv anyone?)
will continue to lose market share.
- Popular blogs will produce and distribute more original video
programming, some will become ‘networks’.
- Mainstream TV (which now includes a large number of big cable
stations) will scramble to adapt programming, acquire content
start-ups and reformat much of their content.
- A New Media or Social Networking company will merge with a
major network property a la AOL/Time
Warner. Facebook?
- Magazines, Newspapers and Radio will all become multimedia
competitors in this space or wither and die.
- Long Form Video will become more popular (even though we’re
currently trending away from it) – driven by the ability to consume
this product from your couch, bed or just to have on in the
background.
- Customized Curation – via algorithm, personal or other
recommendation engines – will drive people to explore new content
as the reward percentage increases (consistently finding new,
quality stuff).
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