Although I rarely watch TV (Joost doesn't count, right?), I've been keeping an eye on the writers strike. Everyone's been predicting that the strike will drive more and more eyeballs from TV to the Internet. Well I think the first evidence is in that this is starting to happen.
Exhibit A:
From the NY Times:
NBC has concluded a first-of-its-kind deal to acquire the talked-about new Internet and social network series “Quarterlife†for distribution as an hourlong drama series on the NBC network after it has first played in eight-minute segments on several Web sites.
Ben Silverman, the co-chairman of NBC Entertainment, and Marshall Herskovitz, one of the show’s creators, described the deal yesterday as a revolutionary step in the creation of television entertainment.
NBC will begin broadcasting the series, which will not be affected by the current writers’ strike because of its ownership structure, probably in February. By then it will have completed a run of eight-minute episodes on MySpace.com as well as on the “Quarterlife†site itself. That site, beyond being a home for streaming video of the series, is intended to be a destination and social networking location for what it calls “artists, thinkers, and doers.â€
I watched the trailer for quarterlife, not bad. It's professionally produced, although it seems a bit too melodramatic for my tastes. However, I really like how the site itself has a number of social networking tools build into it, I think that'll really help them build a community around the series.
Exhibit B:
Also courtesy of the Old Gray Lady:
Examples of online video programming include “The Burg,†about the Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg, which can be watched at theburg.tv; “Meth Minute 39,†a cartoon series, found on channelfrederator.com, a Web site that is part of Next New Networks; and “Roommates,†the first original Web series on MySpace, which is owned by the News Corporation.
The popularity of online video is beginning to draw familiar names. For instance, the producers Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick of “Thirtysomething†fame are creating “Quarterlife,†which can be watched on its own Web site (quarterlife.com) or on myspace.com. Tom Green, the former MTV personality, is now the host of “Tom Green Live†on ManiaTV.com and tomgreen.com.
And comic actors like Michael Cera and Bob Odenkirk are involved in video ventures like “Clark and Michael,†found at clarkandmichael.com, and “Derek and Simon,†available at superdeluxe.com respectively.
Online video is taking off, it's becoming professionalized, and advertisers are moving in.
We can see this phenomena in the political space with the Obama Girl enterprise, where one guy is making money on professionally done YouTube videos that sell T & A to politicos.
What do you think, is the writers guild strike going to break traditional TV? After all, the strike is all about the writers getting a cut from Internet and mobile distribution of their shows.
If this does causes a major decline in TV viewers, then are political advertising dollars going to flow in larger quatities to online advertising? When are we going to see the first political ad in a YouTube video?
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It Will be Where You Demand It
Also, don't forget that YouTube recently upped its upload recommendations on Friday from 320x240 to 640x480 (standard definition TV resolution): "YouTube co-founder Steve Chen told those attending the NewTeeVee Live conference today that YouTube will be streaming high-quality videos in about three months." I know I've been more excited about the YouTube content I help with since the writers strike began.
Heads up cable/satellite providers: Maybe you should put all of the advertising from the national and local candidates in the free on demand area as public service candy for consumers so they're more apt to poke around the on-demand client for a candidate's message than head directly to the internet. Of course, this will not slow the beating down of cable company doors to offer higher speed internet only packages, but who is going to criticize for providing more real-time relevant content candy? Converge or die cable and satellite.
Cliff Edwards of BusinessWeek proclaims so desperately what we're all feeling right now "I Want My iTV" (November 19, 2007), Edwards aptly states, "It's like we're at that junction in the early 20th century when you had your pick of electric, steam, or gasoline-powered cars, and the steering wheel might be on the right or left side."
Later in the article:
"'What works for consumers is that which removes the most friction,' says Hulu [NBC] CEO Jason Kilar. 'The technology needs to be so good that it blends into the background, and nobody notices it.'"
So will the writers strike break down traditional TV? Only if traditional TV continues to strangle hold its own content at specific price points in specific formats. And what's the most amusing part about the launch of quarterlife? Could it be that NBC might be speculating on it's own demise by making the lead character in its show a content producer-- a video blogger. Art imitating life imitating art that discusses life. Politics and political appeals are already catching on, by truly being everywhere: creating as little friction to access as possible.
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