With a Blu-ray device at your service there is no longer a need to have cable in homes because consumers can watch the exact same content on the same television set as before, but now it’s free instead of having to pay for a cable fee. More and more consumers are cutting their cable because there are an endless number of websites out there hosting the television programs they want to watch for basically no cost at all. We can now bypass television providers and the adds they bombard us with an enjoy the one thing we want the most, content.

There are many other WiFi enabled devices out in the world that are able to accomplish exactly what the Blu-ray player can which makes the problem even that much harder for the television industry to try and control. Movies and television shows can be viewed through such portable devices as iPods, gamming systems and smart phones.

These devices have not only changed our viewing behaviour but also our social behaviour. No longer is the news given at one time in the day when we can gather with family and friends to experience it together. Consumers are able to do what they want on their own time in their own privacy. Private consumption is now a norm. Viewing television programs have moved from the tube to Youtube.

The last point Carr makes which really puts reality into perspective is that if we aren’t willing to pay for quality television programs that we love to watch then eventually they will stop making those quality programs, and then what are we left with?

“Observers predict that the already complicated arrangement is likely to become more so, particularly given the prospect that NBC Universal may be sold to Comcast—which already operates its own online video site (Fancast) and has a markedly different philosophy regarding just how free TV content should be on the Internet.”

The conflicts center around advertising, this differing opinions between executives of the networks and sales staff at Hulu.

“According to sources, network sales execs, who’ve never been crazy about the idea of another party controlling their content, are increasingly wary of the relationship. They say that Hulu’s sales staff—rather than treating the relationship as a partnership—at times deliberately sells against its network brethren, promising lower CPMs that can end up diluting the value of the entire category.”

“Many speculate that it’s those sorts of channel conflicts that have kept CBS from working with Hulu. According to one source, ABC sales executives long resisted a deal, but Disney CEO Robert Iger ultimately pushed for a partnership. Hulu executives declined to comment for this story.”

Although some experts have been saying that this is typical grumbling that happens between two merchants selling the same product, the dynamic is going to become significantly more complicated when the deal between Comcast and NBC Universal is finalized. It would be logical to think that because Comcast already has Fancast in operation that the network will drop Hulu all together.

This will have significant consequences for Hulu as well as internet savvy viewers that are used to getting their favorite television shows delivered to their homes for free.

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/content_display/news/digital-downloads/broadband/e3i8f2c0287dc37ec6b5270e8008bf01978

“The deal illustrates the TV Guide Network’s desire to transform itself from a channel listings service to an entertainment destination in its own right.”

Curb Your Enthusiasm will begin airing on TV Guide in February.

The Hollywood Reporter said the channels were paying less than $600,000 per episode for the six seasons of “Curb.” That would be a total of $36 million dollars that TV Guide paid for the old episodes.

It is interesting that although all of these episodes are available on countless torrent websites as well as websites that allow you to stream episodes without download or paying, TV Guide still feels that purchasing these episodes at such a high premium will pay dividends for the network.

Curb Your Enthusiasm is also an interesting choice for TV Guide to break into the entertainment market with, although the show has received considerable critical acclaim it is not one of the more well known television programs.

Only time will tell whether this bold move by TV Guide was a wise one.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/10/arts/television/10arts-TWOCHANNELSB_BRF.html?ref=television

The move from the one-way communication of television cable news to the two-way possibilities of online news is reflected in a more recent Mediaweek article by the same author titled Financial News Sites Bank on Video: Big financial news sites cue up Web-beats-cable sell. Shields states that sites including CNNMoney.com and Yahoo Finance are claiming audiences with similar ratings of the leading cable finance networks.

In addition to interactivity, part of online news popularity is accessibility. While cable news is often available only available during scheduled time to audiences, online news is available all day everyday to those with broadband connection. CNNMoney boasts the opportunity to reach 72 million broadband users at work offering a much larger potential for audience size.

Currently, the trouble with solidifying the cable versus web argument seems to lie in measurement issues. TV ratings cannot be equally compared to web measures such as internal log data or streaming numbers. It seems that a concrete argument that the more accessible online news is overtaking traditional news will come with the supportive research.

“Bernstein Research has estimated that the combined entity “would be calling the shots for one out of every five viewing hours in the United States.”Given the size and magnitude of the deal analysts have unanimously  suggested that it will face an intense barrage of government scrutiny. During his candidacy  President Obama called for a closer inspection of media mergers, stating that the Bush-era media consolidation had reduced the diversity in programming and information available to TV viewers. With this in mind, the government action taken with this deal will be the first major test for the Obama administrations media regulatory department.

Most of the regulatory experts interviewed last week said they foresaw the deal being approved, but perhaps only with significant conditions attached, as in the New Corporation’s deal for DirecTV in 2003.

Much of the public concern is around what experts call vertical integration, which means that when program marks and distributors come together that company could conceivably make access to its programming very difficult for competitors  to access. For instance, if this deal were to go through, Comcast may have the ability to block competitors’ access to NBC’s prime time shoes and local newscasts.

If the early opinions of public interest groups and lobbying committees are any indication, this will be a highly contested merger.

“The Center for Digital Democracy, a public interest group, has already called the potential union of Comcast and NBC Universal ’the equivalent of Godzilla swallowing Rockefeller Center.”

They understand that their viewers are looking for up to date and continuous coverage that can’t be obtained during the six o’clock news but can be through online updates. They want to make their website easier to manoeuvre around so their audience can get what they want easily and as quickly as they want.
CNN is inviting citizen journalists and advertising sales partners to join them in this new venture of theirs into the online content world. As well they are adding entertainment news to broaden their audience to gain even more exposure.

The general manager of CNN.com K. C. Estenson called this update

“…a revolution for us.”

This is another example of how typical television viewing behaviour has changed completely and has no plan on going back to its old ways. Consumers want to view content privately and on their own time. Scheduled news is trying to accommodate this new lifestyle so they may retain their credibility and audience.

A report titled The Future of Television in Canada, a 40-page report compiled by the Nordicity Group Ltd, discusses the possibilities that cable companies may face in the future, if television content finds its way onto the internet. The report will be discussed at the Banff World Television Festival.

“ ‘In the future, linear TV may still be best for live programming, such as sports for example, while on-demand will best deliver a range of hit and niche programming in addition to movies, as it does now,’ the study says.”

The Future of Television in Canada report highlights the importance of  live programming on television and states that this is likely to keep television viewers viewing from the traditional medium in their living rooms. Although the internet is seen as a possible potential threat to the television industries, it is not likely that the widespread availability of television content on the internet will cause television to become extinct.

Robertson argues that Canadian television companies may have a harder time battling the internet for possession of television content, because in order to gain access to US prime-time programming, Canadian companies have to pay a hefty premium. This puts Canadian television companies at a disadvantage because in order to keep viewers, they must schedule prime-time, popular content that viewers expect to see on their cable.

“Though doomsayers argue the Internet will eventually kill TV, the report argues it is unlikely the Internet will kill broadcasting as we know it.”

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/article792882.ece

“A Nielsen survey in the United States last June estimated 57 per cent of TV viewers go online simultaneously at least once a month.”

Steve Lambert writes that because companies are rapidly developing better technologies for viewing content on television, consumers are continuing to buy and watch television programs on their television set. Lambert describes emerging technologies for television, which include bigger screens and higher-definition images that encourage consumers to watch television from the traditional medium.

Lambert argues that until the internet offers a better alternative to the television for viewing content, such as an iTunes store for television, audiences will continue their present viewing habits.

“ ‘When the Internet can offer videos . . . driven by my interest and I can find it and download it in, say, five minutes or stream it instantly, then I think TV will feel a major impact,’ ”

comments Prasad Gowdar, a consumer electronics commentator in Winnipeg. And until that time, the television is still the chosen medium for the message.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/canadians-still-glued-to-tv-screens-even-if-were-on-the-computer/article1332442/

“The communications business is also being affected profoundly by the Internet, in a way that is not only undermining current business models but is also calling into question the traditional tools to encourage the creation of Canadian news and entertainment programming.”

Scott describes how the Canadian Radio-Television Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) believes that the move of television content to an online world is actually beneficial to the traditional television industry. The CRTC says that online content, “compliments,” the traditional media. However, Scott further explains that the United States do not believe that this new content, found online, is beneficial for the television industry.

“As the Internet inserts itself into all parts of Canada’s social and economic fabric, the justification for such government intervention becomes more and more compelling.”

The argument is presented that the Canadian government should intervene and establish a regulatory framework to guide the use of the internet in regards to television content online, especially since the internet is such a large part of the economy and social life in Canada. Scott gives Australia as an example of a country that is taking advantage of the economic benefits of online content.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/get-ready-crtc-digital-economy-is-coming/article1347786/