Death comes to the Television industry-or How video broadcasting on the web came to rule the world

I chose to watch Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog (http://www.hulu.com/watch/28343/dr-horribles-sing-along-blog) mainly because it is the one Dr Piercy suggested in our assignment. As I watched this video I was amazed at the clarity of both the audio and video especially since I was watching it using a wireless internet router, and I don't have the most up to date laptop or software. I watched this video on my laptop exactly when I wanted to and when I had to stop to take care of something I just paused the video, took care of the task and came back to my laptop. There were a few commercial breaks, 3 I think, that totaled no more than 30 seconds each which to me is a tolerable amount of time. Afterward, I thought about which TV shows I would now watch using my laptop rather than the television set. What will be the implications to the television industry of having the ability to watch video broadcasting on the web especially if people like me (middle aged woman) turn to the web rather than the family tv set.

The generalization can be made that teens and 20-somethings are less patient and more ego-centric. Basically, they want what they want when and how they want it and if it doesn't fit with their neighbor's wants and needs, then too bad. Video broadcasting plays right into this mindset. It allows the end user to download a movie, television show, video blog, etc at the end user's convenience not when a television executive determines a show should air based on demographics, advertising dollars, or whatever. And the end user is not tied to the television set. As long as there is internet access you can watch a video.

From the end user, or consumer, perspective the advantages of videos via the web are the convenience factor as mentioned above. If you have a computer and internet access then you are set. Also, this type of viewing is relatively low in cost and there is no (or very little) content oversight. The lack of oversight can also be a disadvantage if you happen to have children in the house. However, there is no guarantee that the use of the internet will remain 'free'. Some industry executives believe within the next five years we will be paying for content received via the interest (http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10364141-93.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5). As television revenue decreases the search for other revenue streams will intensify and the likelihood of assessing fees on internet content will be one of the first to be explored.

From the perspective of the producers of internet videos, this is a low cost (relative to television) media and offers small and/or independent film makers the opportunity to showcase his/her work. Also, the lack of content oversight is another advantage over television. As long as the producers of the videos continue to provide what consumers want to see, then advances in the delivery mechanisms will continue (increase bandwidth, faster delivery speed, sharper video & audio) and consumers will continue to use the web and will continue to demand more content which will decrease television usage further ultimately, forcing the television industry to rethink it's current model. What this model will be in the future, I do not know.