[Speed Gibson,
Wednesday April 30, 2008 at 9:01am]
Brave New TV World
Watching online the Dancing with the Stars episode I somehow FAILed to record has won me over. Even at the modest resolution of compressed video on a 1024x768 laptop screen and the generic audio heard over some old but responsive headphones, I was amazed. It wasn't emulation of a TV set. It was emulation of a home theater experience. I am more than familiar with every piece of the technology involved. I know how it all works. Nothing technically surprised me. But the total experience sure did.
I should probably temper that with the fact I was watching a top flight, highly visual production with a full musical score. It obviously wouldn't be quite the same watching a snore fest like Washington Week in Review.
Technically, television as we know it is on the way out, including much of what is today cable and satellite. Nothing new there. But the economic models that will take us there are equally dramatic I suspect.
This 70 minute broadcast including maybe five 30 second spots (commercials), and a couple of promos. Where are the other 20 minutes or so of advertising going to go in the Web TV world? That represents most of the income and all of the profits.
It may be that lavish productions like Dancing with the Stars and American Idol will prove just too expensive for Internet only distribution. But I also saw in this case that a sponsor had its product logo prominently above the image, and an ABC logo and a KSTP logo.
This reminds me of the old days of TV, where sponsor banners were commonplace. Lawrence Welk had a big Geritol sign hanging behind the orchestra. What's My Line had a big desk where the four panelists sat, and emblazed on the front was the sponsor's logo, like "Phillip's Milk of Magnesia." Even "Old Gold Cigarettes" logos were proudly displayed on the host podium for a quiz show, and the contestants often received a couple of cartons as a parting gift.
The old shows also pioneered product placement. Burns and Allen conveniently opened a kitchen cabinet to see the can of Maxwell House coffee. As in old time radio, sometimes the spots are written right into the script. What's old is new again, and this will be a big part of the new model, because the audiences of tomorrow will not be content to watch programs at the station's convenience or endure ever lengthening commercial breaks. I timed a recent prime time show break at six minutes!
It's going to fun. The one thing to avoid is getting locked into low speed Internet solutions like most DSL and municipal Wi-Fi offerings. Fiber to the home (FTTH) and cable's 50-150 Mbps enhancements will be the new standards.
I should probably temper that with the fact I was watching a top flight, highly visual production with a full musical score. It obviously wouldn't be quite the same watching a snore fest like Washington Week in Review.
Technically, television as we know it is on the way out, including much of what is today cable and satellite. Nothing new there. But the economic models that will take us there are equally dramatic I suspect.
This 70 minute broadcast including maybe five 30 second spots (commercials), and a couple of promos. Where are the other 20 minutes or so of advertising going to go in the Web TV world? That represents most of the income and all of the profits.
It may be that lavish productions like Dancing with the Stars and American Idol will prove just too expensive for Internet only distribution. But I also saw in this case that a sponsor had its product logo prominently above the image, and an ABC logo and a KSTP logo.
This reminds me of the old days of TV, where sponsor banners were commonplace. Lawrence Welk had a big Geritol sign hanging behind the orchestra. What's My Line had a big desk where the four panelists sat, and emblazed on the front was the sponsor's logo, like "Phillip's Milk of Magnesia." Even "Old Gold Cigarettes" logos were proudly displayed on the host podium for a quiz show, and the contestants often received a couple of cartons as a parting gift.
The old shows also pioneered product placement. Burns and Allen conveniently opened a kitchen cabinet to see the can of Maxwell House coffee. As in old time radio, sometimes the spots are written right into the script. What's old is new again, and this will be a big part of the new model, because the audiences of tomorrow will not be content to watch programs at the station's convenience or endure ever lengthening commercial breaks. I timed a recent prime time show break at six minutes!
It's going to fun. The one thing to avoid is getting locked into low speed Internet solutions like most DSL and municipal Wi-Fi offerings. Fiber to the home (FTTH) and cable's 50-150 Mbps enhancements will be the new standards.