Derrick
ლ(ಠ_ಠ )ლ
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2010
- Messages
- 5,085
- Reaction score
- 5
There’s no ‘I’ in IPTV. Uhm.
So, CBS will launch an online TV network, according to the BBC (a bit of irony in that statement). Ten partners, revenue sharing, big name shows, ad supported. Scarcely a month after Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp and NBC Universal announced their own YouTube rival.
After my post earlier this week criticising traditional linear media, yu would expect me to jump up-and-down at this news. Not so: I’m even more depressed than usual.
Yes, I want video on demand (VOD). Yes, I want to forward, pause and rewind at a whim. Yes, I want to decide when to watch something.
But these guys are still missing a major issue. Why do people watch Survivor on Tuesday nights at seven? Or Big Brother on Sunday at six? Or <insert show name> on <insert day name> at <insert time>?
Community.
We watch the same shows at the same times. And then we discuss it. Over the phone or at work, during our smoke break or over a break. We need to relive the jokes and the emotional moments in a communal setting.
Have you ever been frustrated when no one else saw that obscure documentary on Discovery? Conversely, think how great it is when you actually meet someone who did watch that same south-Brazilian nail varnish special.
Having an online version of your series will only work if you have some kind of community aspect.
YouTube works because it has a strong community. Joost is even better – you can chat to people watching the same show as you, while watching it.
IPTV needs to remember that linear TV gave us at least a false sense of community by forcing every one to watch the same crap at the same time. Watching linear TV makes you feel like part of a group – because we all watch the same nonsense simultaneously.
IPTV will have to recreate this. Luckily it has the best community tool available: the web.
So, CBS will launch an online TV network, according to the BBC (a bit of irony in that statement). Ten partners, revenue sharing, big name shows, ad supported. Scarcely a month after Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp and NBC Universal announced their own YouTube rival.
After my post earlier this week criticising traditional linear media, yu would expect me to jump up-and-down at this news. Not so: I’m even more depressed than usual.
Yes, I want video on demand (VOD). Yes, I want to forward, pause and rewind at a whim. Yes, I want to decide when to watch something.
But these guys are still missing a major issue. Why do people watch Survivor on Tuesday nights at seven? Or Big Brother on Sunday at six? Or <insert show name> on <insert day name> at <insert time>?
Community.
We watch the same shows at the same times. And then we discuss it. Over the phone or at work, during our smoke break or over a break. We need to relive the jokes and the emotional moments in a communal setting.
Have you ever been frustrated when no one else saw that obscure documentary on Discovery? Conversely, think how great it is when you actually meet someone who did watch that same south-Brazilian nail varnish special.
Having an online version of your series will only work if you have some kind of community aspect.
YouTube works because it has a strong community. Joost is even better – you can chat to people watching the same show as you, while watching it.
IPTV needs to remember that linear TV gave us at least a false sense of community by forcing every one to watch the same crap at the same time. Watching linear TV makes you feel like part of a group – because we all watch the same nonsense simultaneously.
IPTV will have to recreate this. Luckily it has the best community tool available: the web.