I do not have cable, or TV service of any form at my house, I have the internet. This does not mean that I am not connected, or that I never get to see hit shows, I do. I can go other places, and even download lots of them from the Internet (legally of course). Lots of people download TV shows from the internet, legally and illegally. So why are the networks and movie studios so slow to move to this distribution method?
They cannot and refuse to get over the idea that they would have to give away the shows for free. Let me explain. iTunes sell TV shows that are ad free, for roughly a $1.99 each, that is a lot more money than just subscribing to cable TV. Networks seem to be just OK with this model, they don’t make lots of money, but their competitors are doing it, so they feel compelled to distribute this way as well.
Just this summer we have begun to see networks air TV shows on their websites, and create webisodes, such as the Office has done. What the networks really need to do is to start airing shows only hours after they air on TV for free on the internet, and make them available for download. These do NOT have to be ad free, they can have the same commercials, or even different ones.
So why don’t they?
This would really piss of the cable providers and cause them to not want to air these network shows, in favor of other networks that are not serving the content up on the Web. But wait, there is a problem with this, if they stop showing a bunch of networks, such as NBC and CBS, then what the hell will customers being paying a cable bill for, the WB? That would not be a smart move.
As I hope you can see the networks really hold all of the power here, and so do the advertisers that work with the networks. Bottom line, networks do not get it. Advertisers get it, but don’t really care one way or another because they still get seen.
What about the movie studios, they are just paranoid. It is not longer cool for youth to go to the movies, it is cool to watch videos on your computer and digital devices, such as iPods. So why not distribute this way?
The studios would have you believe it is because they would not be secure, it would cut into all of their sales, of DVDs and such. This is paranoia talking, to keep people from burning your movies to DVDs, make the quality lower, so the resolution won’t be as good as your DVDs.
The longer it takes movie studios to deliver content digitally, the more illegal movie downloads will persist. Consumers will get used to using Bit-Torrent, and will not see the wrong in it. Remember Napster when it first came out, and how many songs have you illegally download? Since iTunes came around have you started buying more songs from them? Do your parents, or friend buy from iTunes, instead of downloading illegally?
iTunes has not, and will not stop illegal sharing, but it has helped, and made money as well. The same could be true for the digital distribution of Movies and TV shows.
