NBC has announced
that it will open its own download site for it's programs after a
dispute with Apple over the price and DRM for its programs on ITMS.
There are a lot of people who think NBC is mad to take their shows
off of ITMS and maybe they are, but I think NBC and others are bound
to explore their options in this brave new world.
We call NBC, CBS, ABC, and others "networks" because in the old days
they had to worry about distribution because of the limits of
technology (VHF television has a 50 mile or so radius). So, NBC had
to have a local affiliate to distribute their shows to various parts
of the country.
This all broke down with cable, when cable companies began providing
distribution
without any shows of their own (to speak of). Of course the old
model survived for the "networks" but new "channels" like ESPN, Bravo,
Lifetime, and others sprang up who have no local affiliates. Some
local affiliates, like TBS, even became national channels through
cable distribution.
The networks don't need local distribution anymore.
We're beginning to networks offer their shows directly to audiences
over the Internet. That's what the NBC/ITMS story is all about.
So if NBC isn't a network, what is it? An aggregator. NBC, CBS,
ESPN, and others aggregate new and old video entertainment into a
package, wrap it in a brand, and make money from the aggregations.
This is essentially editorial in nature. They hope they'll select
programming that makes you trust their brand as a good place to go to
be entertained.
As an aside, this is very much what IT Conversations does. We're not
a podcast, but rather a podcast aggregator who exercises editorial
control over what shows appear on our channel.
More to the point, it's also the business that Google, Yahoo!, Apple
(with ITMS), and others are in. The Internet has given
the "networks" a lot of competition that they didn't have before as
the price for virtually free distribution and unlimited shelf space
(the longtail phenomenon).
There are plenty of reasons to believe that editorial control of
program selection is a vital, important function, but it's not clear
that the big guys will be the ones who win. Back to IT
Conversations: it's niche player in a niche market but to the
thousands of loyal listeners, it's just what they need for that small
area of their world.
The point is that you don't need loads of money to get into the
aggregation business anymore. Move over NBC, iTunes is the least of
your problems.
Tags:
media
television
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apple
itconversations
