Online Video Accelerates : Should Pass TV Viewing 'within two years'

Television broadcasters, especially in Canada, have been taking something of a wait and see approach when it comes to the web. The problem that they have been working on, or the problem they appear to have been working on, is how to put their programming on the web and make money from it.

Several articles lately seem to indicate that the time to play wait and see is over and, more troubling for broadcasters, that they have been working on the wrong problem - taking their programming and putting it online will not be nearly enough.

First of all the introduction of tablet computers is expected to cause a spike in online video, it is simply easier to watch on a screen that can be set in a convenient position or held in your lap than it is to watch on a laptop screen. The iPad though is only a first step. According to MIT Technology Review One Laptop Per Child is switching to One Tablet Per Child and they expect to have a $70 tablet computer available soon. Once they have it will be everywhere shortly thereafter. That means that consumers will soon be able to buy a tablet computer for less than $100.

In terms of other timeline: Last year Canadians, like people in many other countries began spending more time with the internet than with television. In terms of online video specifically though, according Read Write Web online video viewing will surpass television viewing "within two years." New Tee Vee adds:

"According to the WSJ, in just a year the peak viewing hours for shows distributed by Blip.tv have shifted to the prime-time hours of 8-11 p.m from 12-3 p.m. Meanwhile Nielsen found that the number of viewers who watched online video during prime time hours in March increased 14 percent to 62.4 million over the course of a year. Meanwhile, online viewership during the day grew only 1 percent, to 45.4 million.

What all of this means is that traditional television, broadcast and cable, is going to very rapidly become a specialty service for older technophobic viewers and people in remote, rural areas not yet covered by broadband - not a red hot demographic for advertisers but a decent chunk of the population in the short term anyway.

For the rest of the audience though, not only is web video directly and successfully challenging television for viewers time but what the online audience watches is vastly different. According to NewTeeVee.com shows like Dancing With the Stars, NCIS:LA and American Idol are all complete flops with online audiences while shows that have done poorly, even shows that have been cancelled by the networks are topping the online ratings charts.



Again there is no reason why Canadian broadcasters shouldn't be ready for this (though they aren't). The writing has been on the wall for over a decade now. For those who are slow to catch up though, the new rules - briefly:

1) Forget about any kind of special protection. The new media / online industry is now much, much larger than the broadcast television industry and it thrives on openness, competition and a lack of borders.

2) Forget about re-broadcasting American shows. In the online world it doesn't work. People can get American shows without you. You are only as good (and valuable) as what you produce yourself.

3) File sharing and torrents are your friend. When people pass your show on to others they are saving you money and advertising your content. Make it easy for them to do so.

4) Budgets are coming down. People don't like commercials and the advertising you sell needs to be minimal and embedded. You can charge more for it though because social media / online media simply isn't going to work for most companies. People do not want to talk to their bank or their favorite soft drink manufacturer on Twitter.

5) Production values also need to come down. People online have different expectations. You can broadcast a live music show online with a total crew of three, you can even do it with one in a pinch. Online audiences won't mind. Even with scripted shows I've seen some very smart, creative and fun online shows made by a core group (cast, crew, writers, editors etc.,) of five people total. I've even seen it done with one or two people - with casts and crews that small the amount of money you need to raise is less.

6) Cultivate consumer loyalty. If you show respect for your audience, engage them and involve them they will pay for your content - not because they have to but because they want to. If this weren't true no one would be selling any music at all because people could get it for free if they wanted to.

7) As I explained in great detail recently - Content is not king, creativity is.