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The Revolution is Being Televised
Power to the People In web lingo, this is called “user-generated content.” A study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project released last year found that 35 percent of all American Internet users post content on the web. That’s 48 million people. Kids, of course, are leading the revolution. Ask kids which one they would give up first if they had to choose from (a) the Internet, (b) their cellphones or (c) television and television comes out the loser. And lest you think the Internet simply promotes more lowest-common-denominator dreck, consider a U.S. company called Akimbo. It offers what it says is the world’s largest video-on-demand service. For $10 a month, subscribers choose from 12,000 programs, offering everything from short films to feature-length movies to television shows from around the world. Last year, Cisco Systems and AT&T bought into the company. Which brings us to TiVo – the machine that started all this “death of television” talk. TiVo can skip over commercials, and it’s idiot-proof to program and use. I have Bell ExpressVu’s version of TiVo, and it’s fantastic. The idea that network bosses dictate what time I have to be in front of my TV is laughable. I watch programs whenever I want. I’m in charge. The newest TiVo not only records shows from cable or satellite, it can download content from the Internet. In the U.S., TiVo has agreements with content suppliers, such as the National Basketball Association and The New York Times, to supply video content unavailable elsewhere. The Times, for example, offers original video segments such as news analysis from their Washington, D.C., bureau, technology product reviews and movie reviews. And there are now Emmy categories to honour the best work done for these video segments. The networks are scrambling to make their material more relevant to this newly empowered audience. When YouTube opened for business, many visitors posted their favourite skits from Saturday Night Live and other programs. Initially, NBC threatened to sue the website unless it removed NBC’s content from its computers. Typical network (or record company, for that matter) reaction. But it didn’t take long for NBC to realize it was snubbing many potential viewers, and today the network has joined forces with YouTube to replay popular programs. Other networks are selling their top-tier content on iTunes, so shows can be watched by video iPod owners. |
