Couch potatoes, rejoice! Internet TV is on its way

The only thing more frustrating than finding a good vegetarian recipe on The Food Network is finding a one and then not keeping up with the cook fast enough to actually jot down the directions. Granted, one can always check the website or rewind their DVR. But, in my perfect world, I’d like to be able to stop the Barefoot Contessa right in her shoeless tracks and have her show me a text form of the recipe, on the screen, at that moment. Because all TV should revolve around me, right?

Luckily, I’m not the only self-centered consumer out there, and the television industry is catching on to that. As you’ve likely seen in recent years, television has been slowly nudging itself closer towards the internet. The result, ideally, would be to cut the cable cord all together and broadcast television directly through the internet; making a completely hands-on and customizable viewing experience. People can hook their internet connection up to their fancy big screens, or watch from their laptop or mobile device. They can choose the programming, select from a much larger range of shows and, perhaps most appealing, do away with the cable bill.

Of all the internet ideas we’ve discussed this semester, this is probably the most exciting because it’s so young. Music seems to have settled into a selling model for at least a little while, and journalism as an industry may be in flux but at least we have a good idea of what is not working. Web TV is just making its entrance to the party, and its bringing goodies for everyone.

So let’s peek into the goodie-bag, with the help of Amanda Lotz, author of The Television will be Revolutionized. In her book, Lotz outlines the “5-C’s of the Post-Network Era.” The most obvious of those C’s would have to be choice. Web integrated TV will provide viewers with exposure to those niche markets that the internet lets us indulge in. The Long Tail will now be coming to a small screen near you… while ABC network television may bring you only Grey’s Anatomy on a Thursday night, you may choose to watch instead an old episode of the cancelled series Halfway Home, one of my personal favorites. If it’s on the internet, it’s on you TV when you want it.

Well, at least that’s the idea. The primitive versions of web-integrated TV that are being test-driven by tech-savvy people around the world can’t offer you everything just yet. Like Douglas Quenqua mentions in his New York Times article on the subject, there are those out there now who have eliminated cable companies and already rely on their internet for television. Much of the time, their satisfied with the programming available to them, but some things like sporting events or premium programming (i.e. HBO) aren’t streamed on the internet so viewers miss out on that. That may sound like a small sacrifice, but try telling that to a Detroit sports nut the week that the Tigers start their season and the Wings begin the play-offs.

Brian Stelter wrote in the New York Times back in February about the “water-cooler effect” of television, and how the internet magnifies this effect in a huge way. Stelter highlighted how instead of being a television killer, the internet is actually promoting viewership by involving viewers and bringing them together. He cited this year’s MTV Video Music Awards as an example. When rapper Kanye West interrupted the acceptance speech of singer Taylor Swift, in protest of her win, social networking sites were abuzz before the awards show had even ended. The ratings were the highest MTV has seen for the show in six years. The drama that West inspired was certainly a huge part of the show’s success that night, but it was really the viewers chatting with each other that made for such an impressive boost. What Lotz’s calls community, I’ll call the “book club mentality.” Sure, it’s fun reading a good book, but it’s a lot more fun to go to your book club the next week and chat with your friends about what you liked and didn’t like. Web TV is making a community on the other side of the TV as well. Just like access to the internet makes journalists and popular musicians out of regular citizens, that same method of exposure can be utilized by anyone to create shows and movies that can be viewed around the world. The road to Hollywood isn't as long when you use YouTube as your transportation. Just ask the guys over at Minnesota Stories about making your own TV on the internet.

Control is another on of Lotz’s C’s, and it’s one that many of us are just getting used to. The day we got DVR in my home was a truly peaceful day… no one complained about missing their shows. The days of fighting over whether we’ll watch Lost or So You Think You Can Dance were over (how we got through pre-DVR times without putting the remote through the LCD screen is beyond me.) But web TV promises control on an entirely different level, more than just time and scene control. Like I mentioned earlier, options could be available to consumers to explore similar shows, save a show for later review, or email a clip to someone’s mobile device. Alright, so I’m not quick enough to see how the Barefoot Contessa whipped out that margarita pizza, but I can stop the show, click on the link for the recipe, and email it to my boyfriend’s phone and tell him to make it. Really, is there anything better?

As we can tell from my sneaky pizza plan, I’m a fan of laziness—er, convenience. TV, just like every other media in our lives, needs to and is becoming a large part of the digital convergence movement. Through items like smartphones, laptops and digital readers, we’ve brought several different mediums together into single devices. Now, it’s time to start cutting the mediums we don’t need for simplicity sake. If we can get TV through the internet, and we’re using the internet pretty robustly, then taking cable out of the equation is a no brainer. Convergence is simpler for users, and certainly kinder of the pocketbook. Why pay two bills when you can pay one? As long as we’re talking digital convergence, it’s hard to stay away from that old stand-by, the iPhone. When it comes to customization, Apple certainly seems to know what they’re doing. The introduction of applications for their devices, what we now lovingly refer to as “apps,” is now a staple in our technological world because it gives us what we want—a world that revolves around us. Why would a consumer want an app for hockey game stats when they’re only a baseball fan? The marketplace is made up of people who think “me”, not “we.” Web integrated TV would have to cater to that philosophy. According to USA Today, it seems TV makers are more than up to the task. Companies like Sony and Vizio have hopes of releasing the first generation of web integrated TVs, marketed as such, by the end of this year.

Some are even in talks to include Yahoo! Widgets to make the TVs feel more familiar to buyers. The widgets would be on the TV’s screen like a tool bar, with icons for things like YouTube and Flickr. But if you’re not a Flickr person, perhaps the Weather Channel Icon is more up your alley. It’s all about choosing what you want, when you want it. For those out there already getting their television through the internet, these TVs made for web integration could be an exciting upgrade. But at $1,000 and up, there’s also the possibility that people will stick with their laptop and A/V cords. Whether fancy TVs are the right marketing plan is still up in the air.

What will likely play a huge part in the future of TVs marketed specifically for web integration will be the economy. But, as many have noticed (and immediately knocked on wood) is that consumer confidence seems to be slowly creeping up. Not where it should be to inspire hordes of people to spend thousands on a new television merely because it’s the hot new thing… but who knows. Maybe this Christmas I’ll have a new TV on which I can check my email during commercial breaks.

But, once those TVs go on sale, what will be the format for this internet on our internet-ready television? Web TV seems to be in the same position as journalism right now, which is trying to figure out how to make money off of something that people can get elsewhere for free. Hulu.com is one of the leading web TV networks with oddles of media suppliers and advertisers backing them, and still they’re looking for ways to make more.

If you’ve ever been onto Hulu, you know that the video selection and quality is impeccable…and that any little thing you want to watch has an ad attached to it, if not multiple ones. This has worked for Hulu so far says the sites Chief Executive Jason Kilar, because the ads are able to get to so many people.

“Aggregation works for consumers,” Kilar said. “It makes it easier to find and discover and enjoy premium content, and it works for advertisers, because with that aggregation you get greater reach.”

But now the ad companies say it’s not enough, and after years of resisting, Kilar is now considering going the route of a subscription service in addition to ad revenue. In that way, they’re on the same teeter-totter as newspapers—do we try and slap ads on everything, or do we make it a subscription and call it a day? Either way people aren’t going to like it.

To me, I think a subscription service will eventually be necessary for web integrated TV. There has to be a solid revenue base to replace cable subscriptions. And, like Brian Stelter and Brad Stone said in their New York Times article, with Comcast buying up Hulu’s parent company, NBC, it’s likely that Comcast will push (aka throw) Hulu in the direction that will “support a subscription model.” Although, as a consumer, if I were to get a subscription service for my internet TV and it came with ads that I couldn’t choose to navigate away from, I’d be utterly livid and my subscription wouldn’t last long. I’d have to think that most people would agree with that sentiment.

Then again, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe, for once, those of us in the battle field (aka consumers) won’t be the ones who make the call as to where the technology will go. If companies like Comcast, Yahoo! and Sony are making these decisions for us, we’ll just have to take what they give us. Because, let’s face it, they know as well as I know that I’m not going to go without television.

Citations

Lotz, Amanda. The Television will be Revolutionized. New York City: New York University Press, 2007. Print.

Several Televisions photo by Harmon, Licensed by Creative Commons as Attribution Share-Alike Generic 2.0

iPhone+tv photo by Clemson, Licensed by Creative Commons as Attribution Generic 2.0