Entertainment Giants Looking At The Future... And See Cable?
from the future-hazy,-please-try-again dept
We've discussed in the past why we think that the cable companies' "TV Everywhere" strategy is destined to fail. If you don't recall, it's the way the cable companies are looking to respond to the rise of competition in the form of Hulu, Netflix, Redbox, Boxee and others -- not by offering something more compelling, but by putting up a giant wall around content and forcing you to keep your cable subscription (which fewer and fewer people seem to want) if you want to access TV shows online. Reid Rosefelt has a nice rant explaining why this won't work, pointing out (quite accurately) that all those competitors are winning because they deliver what people want, and locking things up doesn't make customers want cable any more:Why do we enjoy free-with-ads sites like Hulu and Crackle? THEY HAVE FEWER ADS! And we can watch what we want whenever we want to.But the key insight in the piece is how this, combined with Comcast's attempt to buy NBC Universal, show the backwards thinking of industry execs:
What do we like about Netflix? For a fraction of the cost of cable, it gives you DVDs by mail plus the ability watch a lot of movies instantly, either on your computer or with their many compatible set-top boxes.
What do people like about Redbox. One buck! Pick it up and return it to the supermarket!
What do we like about cable?
Ummm, cable is a monopoly. You only get one store. You may only want a pair of socks and a shirt, but you are forced to buy a Yankee cap (even if you are a Mets or a Sox fan), cufflinks, perfume, towels, ladies underwear, two ties, a bedspread, low-slung hip-hop shorts, and a lamp. The kicker is that the price goes up all the time and the Calvin Klein shirt you actually came to buy costs extra. And of course LOTS AND LOTS OF ADS!
It's not that we don't like cable any more--we've always hated it!
There's one tiny hitch though. Every single TV show and movie from NBC and Universal is available for free to anybody who has ten seconds to look for them. So what exactly is Comcast locking up? This isn't 1995, you know. Either you just shrug your shoulders about file-sharing or you start offering some alternatives that have benefits that people are willing to pay for like Hulu, Netflix, Redbox, and iTunes. Or maybe you work a little and come up with something new? Bill Maher said recently that the Republicans looked into the future and saw... radio. These entertainment giants are looking into the future and they see... cable.Bingo. It's yet another case of execs looking to lock up content and block value, rather than providing additional value to users. It's people thinking about the way things used to work and trying to recreate it with a digital facelift, rather than looking to actually take advantage of what the new technology enables. That's only a snippet of Reid's analysis, so go read the whole thing.
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Filed Under: business models, cable, content
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You can always tell how impressed Mike is with an opinion by the way he runs the story, it's a long post which is mostly someone else's post. That is usually a sign that he likes the idea enough to use it in the future as a "Masnick-fact"
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But, sadly, if my dog ran away every day (like yours does), I'd be crabby too. So, you better go find him.
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It seems to me you're making a fact out of your opinion right now. Bad AC, bad!
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Some ones spin, total crap, forgets what bloggs are...
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I'm just glad the target is NBC
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competition (lack of)
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Oh no!!!
Imagine this ... Someone starts a site or creates a device that allows you to preview shows, and records what you want to watch, recording it for later viewing or viewing as the show is broadcast. Oh wait thats already been done ... never mind ;)
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p2p
IMHO, all of this dramatic thrashing about is an enormous waste of money, time, and effort to ... prevent the future?
I think the world has already changed, and these industry behemoths are simply making a futile run to catch a train that left the station years ago.
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Where cable still rules
Hulu the Super Bowl? Get the World Series from Nexflix? NOT.
Olympics? World Cup? Massive audiences...in the billions. Content completely useless after the fact.
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Re: Where cable still rules
'cause there entire channels dedicated to the idea of showing old SuperBowl or World Series games.
As far as the Olympics goes, that's just silly. They just aren't that big. Plus they tend to be mutilated by American networks or they happen on the other side of the planet anyways (so there will ALWAYS be a big delay).
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Re: Re: Where cable still rules
I'll guess that the cumulative audience for one year for these channels is less than 1% of the Super Bowl audience.
"As far as the Olympics goes, that's just silly. They just aren't that big."
Wha? Maybe not among your "True Blood" watching hipster friends. Think China, India, Brazil, Europe. Cricket audience in India is bigger than anything on US TV.
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I challenge DirecTV to go 100% free
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Re: I challenge DirecTV to go 100% free
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Re: I challenge DirecTV to go 100% free
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Cable/Sat...YOU ARE ON NOTICE.
I am NOT interested in your lame arguments about the economic efficiencies of bundling. Do NOT lie to me about it not being technically possible.
I only care about ONE thing. Every month when I write that check to you, it's like Drano in my veins knowing that some of MY MONEY is going to support LEFTIST LYING CRAP HOLES like Olberman, Maddow and Matthews.
This FORCED financial support of the LEFT's "Spew Machine" IS GOING TO STOP.
And, yes, I am pissed about this.
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Re: Cable/Sat...YOU ARE ON NOTICE.
You, tiny peon subscriber, are of no interest to me. Do you know where the real money is?
Pathetic...........
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Re: Cable/Sat...YOU ARE ON NOTICE.
Now would you like a bundle?
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Re: Cable/Sat...YOU ARE ON NOTICE.
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"section 49 notice under RIPA Part III, which gives a suspect a time limit to supply encryption keys or make target data intelligible. "
I argue the data is already intelligible, if they can't can't read it, how can they prove he can? clearly no knowledgeable cryptographers were interviewed in the making of this law.
This man needs to be mentally evaluated,if he is considered competent and he has not committed any crimes, he should be released, or he should be held for the crimes they have proof he committed. If he is diagnosed with schizophrenia, that should be taken into account and he should receive help, not jail-time. Jail time will only increase his fears of authority.
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No surprise
These guys will never learn and that is the main reason why they are having such a hard time right now and why they will more than likely be no more at some point in time.
Let's merge and then make the content hard to get! Sounds like a plan....
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once again these greeedbags will lose out.
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Australian Providers
Our free-to-air channels have all started broadcasting a second channel in the last 12 months that plays all the stuff they never had time for on their regular channels such as American Sitcoms and American sports, random other shows, anything they feel will keep people watching. They've also started forums where people can post what shows they want to see (and are actually listening to them), moving the show "The Office" from the midnight time slot to the 8pm time slot as many people were requesting that it be put on at a more reasonable time.
Our major cable provider "Foxtel" has also started to make changes, just releasing an update that included an extra 2 or 3 movie channels, extra sports, and extra HD channels. They've also given users the ability to login online to the Foxtel website and watch a large number of TV shows from anywhere they have a computer and Internet.
Seems like a few people here in Oz are doing the right thing, expanding content to make their products more appealing, rather than locking it and complaining about the Internet being the devil.
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People dont want TV anymore because
The internet is the future TV.
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Rise of the Cord-cutters!
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