Comments on: How Bob Iger Saved Network TV

By: JohnD

JohnD — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 11:04:03 +0000

ABC continues its TV innovation, now making programs available on-line for free–

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=1826551&page=1

By: recetas cocina

recetas cocina — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 11:04:03 +0000

Won’t the content owners prefer to move to a subscription service, ala Napster, rather than dealing with lots of per-item licence fees ala Appla? I’d love to see a breakdown of Napster/Yahoo/Rhapsody to see how many people download how many tunes on subscription, versus paying for a single unlimited use licence.

By: Craig

Craig — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 11:04:03 +0000

Great WebLog: Blog Maverick! Change the Paradigm! Change the World! You know, inside the Satellite World we see, is yet another: Stay tuned for “The Struggle of the Titans. A Cosmic Review.” Coming Soon!

By: wow powerleveling

wow powerleveling — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 11:04:03 +0000

This will come to bite the industry in the ass at some point, whether or not it’s actually worth it. It’s been the actual goal of the production companies producing episodic television and creatively has been one of the stifling influencing factors that has run many a fine show into dramatic incoherence with the need to produce more episodes.

By: runescape money

runescape money — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 11:04:03 +0000

Create a great product that is easy to use and simple. Start with the basics. Taking your music with you. Then expand. That’s exactly what Apple has done and ABC is smart enough to see that.

By: Jason Nelson

Jason Nelson — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 11:04:02 +0000

Where iTunes and other companies will make their money is by offering unrated versions of the shows. We all know that there have to be major edits to meet FCC guidelines. Why not offer shows like “Lost” and “Deperate Housewives” with the language and other original content that was written into it? Not that I’m looking for the morality of television to plummet any more, but this is the reason the shows on cable (specifically HBO) are becoming more popular than network television.

By: Frank Z

Frank Z — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 11:04:02 +0000

I think the success of HBO shows isn’t really because they contain profanity. I think it’s more because the characters talk and behave more like characters we know in life. I have never once met someone who replace the word “fuck” with the word “poopie do”. People say what they mean in real life and these shows reflect the expressiveness of real people.

By: Brian Yennie

Brian Yennie — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 11:04:02 +0000

To me, one of the most powerful players in this is TiVo. What’s the difference between Apple offering TV downloads for $1.99 and TiVo modifying their service to a pay-per-record model, with a connection to a portable video player?

For a lot of people, not much- IF TiVo could strike the same kind of deals that Apple is working on.

Except for one thing- most people would still rather get their TV shows from the TV and not from a computer.

Why would I want a video iPod with a tiny screen if I could do all of this with my TV? Video on the go is not the same as music on the go.

By: John

John — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 11:04:02 +0000

Mark,

The Ipod video model sounds good, but in reality, the user experience will prove otherwise. I think it’s an obvious flop.

-Who wants to save TV shows on their hard drive? The downloadable model works great for music, because people go back to their music again and again. No one will watch Survivor or CSI 50 times.

-People buy DVD’s because of the extras and the commentary. If that’s not offerend on the downloads, where’s the added value?

-For sports, it’ll fail miserably. Watching sports is a group experience that will never be replicated by watching a small screen. Would you rather watch the NBA finals on a small screen with limited audio, or on a big screen TV with friends and beer around? Many TV shows are group experiences as well. Portable TV’s have been around for a long time, but they’ve never caught on precisely for this reason. Even Apples coolness factor can’t change it.

The ipod didn’t catch on because of convenience. People could already carry music wherever they went. It caught on because people were tired of paying $17 for a CD with one good song on it. Give me songs for 99 cents a piece. And make it easy. And boom you’ve got a huge business. It’s hard to see the same pent up demand for TV Shows. The TV model will obviously change, but not sure if this’ll be the holy grail.

By: Nick Catalano

Nick Catalano — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 11:04:02 +0000

Great blog. Exactly what I was thinking!

Too bad the resolution isn’t DVD quality. Bah.

As for Lost in Landmark Theaters… that would be nifty.. although I would hate giving up time slots that could otherwise go to great movies…