I think that the online TV market is still very immature and as such the availability of programs legally is limited. Its nice having a live stream of a channel for those occasions where you cannot find a legal source of the program and refuse to download it illegally. Maybe live TV would benefit more from a social networking-type application more than the likes of Joost, where people could commentate on events while watching the stream. Or imagine if you could tag segments of a live stream so that people watching a repeat of that stream could search for certain bits, or details of a song being played in the Queen Vic can be displayed next to the stream!
As a second point, it was announced today that BBC is pushing BBC Worldwide pretty heavily in the States. I don't think it will be long before one or more of "our" BBC channels becomes worldwide. I guess it depends on the amount overseas cable operators are willing to pay for it.
Steve O'Hear
· 2 years ago
Talking of BBC Worldwide, the strangest thing to me is the number of Internet TV apps I've tried which offer BBC Worldwide content (the overseas commercial arm of the BBC), but only to non-UK Internet users. Very odd -- something to do with not allowing ad-supported BBC content to be seen by license-fee paying Brits.
Saleem Siddiqui
· 2 years ago
The idea of getting Live Streaming TV is good for people who want to create content, but it will need to be available in archives afterwards. It will also be good for talk shows. You can add calling numbers or chat and get live responses. Just like Teleseminars or Webinars. However for the mainstream audience I agree, there is not much to boast about Live. No one has the time to sit and commit to Live TV. There are too many other alternatives to Live and then there is always the idea of listening or watching later when time permits.
Unless as you say, you are watching a sporting even or the News. I am like you, I have the news playing on the Tele in the background all day.
Kate
· 2 years ago
I see what you're saying about "water cooler" moments, but I'm not sure it's always true. Yes, "events" like the news or an awards show are time sensitive. But shows like Lost and 24, both with huge live audiences, gain more enthusiasm and later live viewers through DVD distribution and DVR recordings. This creates a new kind of water cooler moment, where people who missed the must see episode can still have that moment months later when they finally get around to clearing out the TiVo.
Hashim
· 2 years ago
Not every type of program is suitable for live streaming, but those that are - news and sports - represent a huge portion of television programming.
Macartan Cassidy
· 2 years ago
I disagree that live and on-demand suffer equally from territorial rights issues. Live IPTV differs effectively only in recipient geography from live cable TV, and IP filtering can patch most of those issues. VOD is complicated by shifts in both geography and time, and for this reason is a greater licensing problem. The net effect is that the TV companies want to reproduce "regular" TV over a new network, rather than satisfy the consumer demand for content when and where they want it.
The result of restricting content by both geography and time will be the same as every other offensive launched against the consumer: people will bypass the restrictions anyway. Like the music industry before them, the TV industry will conspire to make their customers dishonest, and suffer the consequences.
Content owners need instead to embrace the technology and explore new business models, rather than remain entrenched in the way things may or may not have worked up to now.
All Comments
As a second point, it was announced today that BBC is pushing BBC Worldwide pretty heavily in the States. I don't think it will be long before one or more of "our" BBC channels becomes worldwide. I guess it depends on the amount overseas cable operators are willing to pay for it.
However for the mainstream audience I agree, there is not much to boast about Live. No one has the time to sit and commit to Live TV. There are too many other alternatives to Live and then there is always the idea of listening or watching later when time permits.
Unless as you say, you are watching a sporting even or the News.
I am like you, I have the news playing on the Tele in the background all day.
The result of restricting content by both geography and time will be the same as every other offensive launched against the consumer: people will bypass the restrictions anyway. Like the music industry before them, the TV industry will conspire to make their customers dishonest, and suffer the consequences.
Content owners need instead to embrace the technology and explore new business models, rather than remain entrenched in the way things may or may not have worked up to now.