The TV Studios Finally Get on Board
January 27th, 2008 by BenWhen high-speed internet became common, illegal trading of television shows became very popular. Sites like YouTube and TVLinks had popular clips and episodes of most contemporary and even classic television programs. The ability to see TV shows on the web acted as a sort of free TiVo, allowing a user to decide which programs to watch, when to watch them, and often commercials were removed. It was convenient, but completely unsanctioned, and, the studios would initially argue, unprofitable.
Eventually studios experimented with a pay-per-episode plan on Apple’s iTunes service. For $2 you could buy an episode of a popular TV show, and for a discount, you could purchase the whole season.
But websites like YouTube and services like BitTorrent only gained popularity for television downloading. They had a greater selection and were free. Pundits claimed that TV studios would need free downloads to compete with piracy. The studios fought TV downloading with a strong anti-piracy campaign and lawsuits. They frequently sent take-down notices to sites like YouTube.
But to this day illegal downloading of television shows is still popular. The TV studios have finally decided to experiment with free television episode downloads with a new website called Hulu. Users can watch many entire series and movies for free with only 15 second ads. The selection and quality are very good, the ads unobtrusive.
It will be interesting for this class to discuss how this changes the landscape of television and media participation. What does this service say for the fate of traditional television and cable? Will the large media companies be able to more easily tap into fan and viral marketing if shows are online? Perhaps most importantly, what does this “surrender” by the studios say about the power of a non-sanctioned community that exists around a show? Can “fan” actions of posting clips to YouTube really change an industry?
http://www.hulu.com
Posted in Links | 2 Comments »
Just look at the way television programs like Saturday Night Live have already started to incorporate *original* YouTube videos into their programs! The digital video questions allowed in the CNN primary debates a while ago confirmed for me just how much cultural capital sites like YouTube have gained.
Sure, people made fun of the fact that prominent American politicians had to accept questions from people dressed as snowmen, etc., but seriously! A YouTube debate! CNN comes out strongly in favor of YouTube only a few months after Viacom’s lawsuit against them!
And I haven’t seen Cloverfield yet, but the preview looks like the directors took some inspiration from YouTube video blogs as well as from The Blair Witch Project.
What I was trying to get at is that YouTube at least has got some cred in the media world. Digital video has become a truly viable medium over which to watch your chosen content.
So what can the TV companies do but adapt? Even if YouTube, BitTorrent and every other video streaming website now in existence was destroyed, others would spring up in their place to fill the now-present consumer *expectation* of free, easy-access video clips.
People are still illegally downloading music, after all, even 7 years after Napster had to shut down.
I actually signed up for the beta test site of this when it was first announced.
I’m glad to see some adaptations coming to the television and music industry which have been woefully slow in adapting to changing viewing and listening habits.
I know that labels are now allowing artists to have corporate branding on their albums to supplement album sales and touring revenue.