IPTV: Next-Gen Television?

By Mitch Berman, Guest Author

To TV or not to TV? That is the question. William Shakespeare would ask, if he were on the Internet today. According to eMarketer’s March 2007 report, 143 million Americans are using their PCs to go online and watch TV shows or other forms of video on-demand. The Internet continues to blur the picture between PC and TV. The new online darling, Joost, recently boasted that People are moving online to watch television, and they’re moving away from the TV for entertainment.

A new media revolution is clearly underway. Some call it IPTV. Some call it Internet TV. Whichever name one chooses to use, the Internet is having a profound effect on television and studio executive suites in Los Angeles and New York. The Internet is also having a profound effect on how people consume video. Whether it is content licensing, consumer experience or decades-old business models, television as we’ve known it will never be the same again.

The Next Generation of Television is upon us. From Black and White to Color to the Remote Control to Cable to Satellite to Digital Video Recorders, television continues to evolve. But, what exactly does next generation television mean and how will we know when we get there? What will it be like? Is it about the PC or the TV? Are the parts in place yet? How long will it take to get there? Is anyone close? Moreover, what do consumers want? Do they even know?

We will explore the next generation of television in a series of three blogs during October on IPTV and Internet TV. We will focus on three, critical legs of the chair: (1) Content, (2) Consumer experience and (3) Business Model. We will use these three important criteria to explore which video-based companies today have the best chance of securing the next-generation television kingdom tomorrow.

To be continued…