Pay for BBC iPlayer says TV chief

Users of the BBC iPlayer should be charged "micro payments" to use the online catch-up service said Lorraine Heggessey, chief executive of TV production company Talkback Thames, speaking at a BBC event on Tuesday.

Most broadcasters now offer an online catch-up service, and with advertising revenue falling in the commercial TV sector, there is increasing industry support for the idea of charging for it.

Research carried out by Fremantle suggests that people would be willing to pay up to £2 for certain shows.

Read full article.

Report. Hulu, A Threat to TV Networks

In a new report, Laura Martin, Soleil Securities analyst estimates that the online video hub will cost TV networks $920 per viewer in advertising if their audiences are cannibalized by Hulu. And she believes the bulk of viewing on Hulu is indeed taking eyeballs from TV.

[via Mediapost]

AT&T Entertainment Features Online TV Content and Movies

AT&T Thursday announced the launch of AT&T Entertainment, a new Web site that lets you watch thousands of streaming TV shows and movies on your PC. The online content - provided by numerous content providers including ABC and NBC Universal (via an agreement with Hulu), CBS Interactive and dozens more - is available to all consumers at www.entertainment.att.net.

Great for US viewers, again the rest of the world is left out in the cold:

[Read full press release]

In Loving Memory of Lawrence Kutner on Facebook

Last week's episode of House caused a major stir on the Internet with the out-of-the-blue suicide of character, Dr. Lawrence Kutner (Kal Penn). The Baltimore Sun reports.

In addition to an online memorial, which included an obituary and video tribute with music composed by series star Hugh Laurie, network publicists and series producers created a Facebook page that allowed fans to leave messages as well as read messages from Kutner's hospital co-workers.

From the sad music to the memorials and montages of Kutner, it was all intended to allow viewers to participate in rituals of mourning, among the most profound practices in our lives, in cyberspace.

As of Friday, more than 25,000 fans of Kutner's had left images and messages at the site. Many of them were from teens and people in their 20s.

Read full article.

[via TV Tattle]

Opinion: Why TV viewers resort to piracy

An interesting opinion piece from The Harvard Crimson on why TV viewers resort to piracy - in the US and around the world.

Internet users outside the United States are absurdly unable to access American television shows through the networks’ websites directly or via Hulu. Left with little choice, they master the murky world of link compilers such as sidereel.com and surfthechannel.com, conduits for illegal videos hosted by such sites as megavideo.com and others.

Even in America, distribution of cable shows is so inefficient that domestic viewers resort to piracy.

Consumers of television programs often have only one or two price points to choose from if they want a full television season: either free, if they download illegally, or more than $20 if they choose iTunes, DVD, or Blu-ray. There are far more consumers at $0 than at $20, even though consuming at $0 takes on a criminal hue. Those willing to buy at some price in between are completely ignored. Abroad, where a viewer can only consume at $0, the choice is obvious.

Read full article.

Related:

-- Hollywood whining about illegal streaming again

-- Embedded code of US TV series on video sharing sites spreads

-- Watching TV Series Online actually does come with a price

-- Watching TV Series Online - The price to pay

-- US TV series become outdoor entertainment for South Korean youth

-- TV sets a turn-off for South Korea's youth

-- Korea in the Grip of U.S. TV Series Fever

-- America lags behind Europe and S Korea in watching TV Online

-- With the rise of laptops, college students begin to deem TVs obsolete

-- Seeking options for watching TV online (legally) from Europe

-- Who's Killing TV?

-- Online TV viewing 'on the rise'

-- Threat for Big Media: Guerrilla Video Sites

-- Forget YouTube: Go To These Sites If You Want Hard Core Copyright Infringing Content

Is the Web Hurting Guilty Pleasure TV Shows?

Complaints by Lipstick Jungle’s creators that its cancellation threats are unfair because much of its audience isn’t measured may not be just whinning, according to Liz Gannes on NewTeeVee.

Could the increasing number of options for watching TV shows that fall under the guilty pleasure category mean they are slipping in the conventional rating systems? Soap operas are some of CBS Interactive’s most popular online programming, I’ve been told. I’ve also heard concern from networks that younger-skewing shows just aren’t as economically viable these days, because their audience could care less about the TV. BitTorrent, YouTube, TV Links, iTunes — it’s all at their fingertips.

Read full article.

Heaviest internet users also watch the most TV

The internet isn't killing television, according to new research by Nielsen. TechRadar reports.

Its brand new TV/Internet Convergence Panel, which electronically measures both television and Internet usage in the same US homes, has found that TV viewing and online video streaming are complementary activities.

Nielsen reckons that the top 20 per cent of Internet users spend more than 250 minutes per day watching television, compared to 220 minutes of TV viewing by people who don't use the Internet at all.

Some of you are so connected that you do both at the same time - more than 80 per cent of web surfers had simultaneous sessions when they were watching TV at the same time.

Biggest users of streaming video were female teenagers, over 80 per cent of whom watch online clips each month.

Read full article.

“30 Rock” to premiere on Hulu before it hits NBC

Gadgetell reports that “30 Rock” is premiering this Thursday on Hulu, a full week before NBC will air the episode.

... NBC probably has seen an increase in traffic to both Hulu and NBC.com with the upcoming presidential election and Tina Fey’s spot-on Sarah Palin impression. Seeing this trend, perhaps NBC actually understands that the online component of television is viable.

Related:

-- Californication to stream two weeks before premier

-- Showtime offers "Dexter's" premier online - before TV air date

-- NBC puts it all out there early online

-- Imdb.com to offer free viewing of "Lipstick Jungle" and "30 Rock" before their first air date."

-- Hulu Launches Fall Lineup, Premieres Before TV Broadcast

Savvy TV Lovers Cancel Cable, Watch Shows Online

A sign of things to come from Fox News.

"Kenny Johnson, a senior credit analyst for Fox Home Entertainment in Garden Grove, Calif., recently took a hard look at his finances — and canceled his cable television subscription.

With a newborn child at home and growing household expenses, he says the decision saved him and his wife more than $40 a month — or roughly the increase he is paying at the gas pump every month for his commute to work.

The couple held onto their DSL Internet connection, which costs about $38 a month.

Now the Johnsons access most of their television shows online through Web sites like Hulu.com, in addition to the free broadcasts they pick up over the airwaves.

They also bought a set-top box that allows them to stream shows via Netflix.com to their television set, including episodes of NBC's "The Office" and Showtime's "Weeds."

"To me, it looks just like my cable," Mr. Johnson says.

In the past two years, nearly every major network show and many of the biggest cable programs have become available on the Internet."

The sibling rivalry between TV and the web: Peter Hirshberg on TED.com

Speaking at the 2007 EG conference, Peter Hirshberg offers an absorbing look at emerging media and tech history. He shares some crucial lessons from Silicon Valley and explains why the web is so much more than "better TV."

[via TED]

In 15 years, we'll all be watching TV online

In 15 years, we won't really be using TV for anything except launching a show and to watch big "event" shows like American Idol and The Super Bowl - NBC boss Ben Silverman tells TV Week.

[via TV Squad]

With the rise of laptops, college students begin to deem TVs obsolete

Nielsen's plans to begin mapping the television-viewing patterns of college students and factor college residence halls into its annual programming tally may have come a little too late, according to The Tufts Daily, as an increasing number of today's college students are using laptops to watch their favorite shows, forgoing flat-screen TVs for computer monitors and switching from NBC to NBC.com.

"Glenda Manzi, who teaches the ExCollege class "21st Century Television: Media in the Age of YouTube, Facebook, and MP3's," explained that television-viewing habits among young adults have undergone revolutionary changes in the past few years.

... This recent, fast-growing trend has been attributed to a number of factors ranging from the Internet's ease of accessibility to Web sites' increase in viewer interactivity.

Most students, however, claim to turn to TV online because of its sheer convenience.

Sophomore Matthew Salzberg, a member of Manzi's class, watches TV online because he finds it more suitable to his schedule. But Salzberg said that, while he prefers to watch television online, he hasn't yet given up on his television set.

"I watch a lot of TV in my free time," Salzberg said. "Some of it - maybe 40 percent - is done on an actual television set, but most of the time, I tend to watch TV on Web sites such as Hulu.com, ABC.com, NBC.com, or I'll download shows from iTunes."

Continued.

Advanced episodes of Underbelly pirated on net

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Channel 9 is facing another headache over its hit crime drama Underbelly after advanced screener copies of six episodes were released onto the internet.

The leaking of the episodes four to nine, which are yet to be screened, add to Nine's woes over the series.

The $13 million program has already been banned in Victoria due to an underworld murder trail and the network's bosses are already investigating how advanced episodes got into hands of underworld bosses in Victoria.

The advanced episodes, tagged as screener copies, were posted onto the internet yesterday afternoon.

... About 1,273,000 viewers watched episode three, making it the top rated show in Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide.

'Pocket Theaters' Emerge as New Trend

A new era is dawning for a "theater in your pocket," or the so-called "palm theater." Just the size of a cigarette pack, portable media players allow people to watch movies, TV shows and online lectures anytime and anywhere. Replacing televisions and computers, these fancy gadgets are attracting more and more viewers. Digital Chosunilbo reports.

"Portable media players are selling like hot cakes in Korea. Industry sources say over 2.3 million devices were sold last year, a 100 percent increase from 2006. Given that some 2.1 million TV sets were sold during the same period, it seems these new gadgets are not just for early adopters anymore.

Reigncom, the Korean multimedia device maker famous for the iRiver, said the rapid growth of the market has largely been fueled by American TV series and user-created content (UCC), which have enjoyed huge popularity in Korea since early last year. The device makers have also done their part by releasing enticing new products one after another.

Portable media players are also especially popular among students who want to take advantage of the many educational video resources developed by local language schools and cram schools."

TV Links is very much alive and kicking – down under

According to Excalibur Online, TV Links is very much alive and kicking – down under.

"TV Links which offered new and old shows on demand for viewers around the world. But it's growing popularity brought it to the attention of legal departments everywhere.

In October 2007, David Rock, the site’s owner, was arrested and TV Links was shut down. Rock, a 26-year-old from Cheltenham, England, was eventually released with no charges.

Rock had been arrested under the section for trademark infringement in Britain’s Trade Marks Act 1994. This contradicted the claim by police that the arrest was due to copyright infringement. The tactic worked, however, and TV Links was all but forgotten. Until now.

One of the Internet’s well-kept secrets is that TV Links is very much alive and kicking – down under. The website is now hosted through the Cocos Islands, an Australian territory, at www.tv-links.cc.

While there are slight modifications to the earlier TV Links code, it is clearly meant to be as close as reasonably possible. It is unknown whether or not the site is also the creation of David Rock.

There was, however, a dramatic offshoot of the TV Links debacle: an explosion of similar sites offering the same service. TV Links’ return may, in fact, be unnecessary. Much like how Napster’s death spawned a slew of similar P2P sites, most of which now run uncontrolled, online TV shows are all the rage. A new form of viewership has been born."

Broadcast TV's Demise - More Fiction Than Fact

Dan Ryburn for Seeking Alpha explains why he's not following the popular thinking today, that TV is all but dead. In his opinion TV is anything but obsolete.

Online video is having a huge impact on the way content is created, marketed and consumed, but distributing video online is not replacing traditional broadcast programming. I know some are under the impression that one day your computer will become your TV, but that's not going to happen and we all know the Internet can't even support those kind of numbers when it comes to viewers all watching a show at the same time.

For all the talk of the writers strike and some of the data that has been put out saying that more people have gone online for videos, that does not change the fact that most of the content on TV is not available on the Internet.

... The TV is not going anywhere and way too often in our society people want to talk about one thing replacing another, instead of being a compliment to it. The TV did not replace the radio. Internet video is not going to replace the TV. P2P delivery is not going to replace all CDN delivery. These things are all compliments to one another. We should see the TV for what it is, just another way to get different kinds of content for various viewing experiences.

US TV series become outdoor entertainment for South Korean youth

According to EARTHtimes.org, US television series have become so popular in South Korea that they have developed into outdoor entertainment among a growing number of tech-savvy young people.

Young people are often found hanging around trendy cafes with their laptop computers on their tables. While sipping cafe lattes and nibbling doughnuts or bagels, these people in their 20s and 30s are studying, working, surfing the internet and often watching US TV shows like Sex and the City.

It's not unusual for devoted fans of the shows to spend half a day watching their favourite TV dramas at cafes. Tops on the list are CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Lost, Prison Break and Desperate Housewives.

... The reasons for the trend include South Korea's ranking as one of the most connected countries in the world and the quality of the US shows, which appeal to young, tech-savvy South Koreans, who have a reputation for being hard to entertain.

"Are you still watching TV in your living room?" is a joke often asked among young people.

Television shows instead have become something to enjoy on the move for a growing number of so-called digital nomads."

Related:

-- TV sets a turn-off for South Korea's youth

-- Korea in the Grip of U.S. TV Series Fever

-- America lags behind Europe and S Korea in watching TV Online

Cable-TV Industry Girds for New Threats

An interesting article from The Wall Street Journal.

"... As the Internet becomes a larger provider of video, and technology makers ease the flow of that content to television sets, it threatens the cable and satellite industries.

Technology on display at CES is proving that households will have an even easier time living without a cable or satellite subscription and, in some instance, will see their TV choices improve in both scope and quality."

TV sets a turn-off for South Korea's youth

In South Korea, peer-to-peer video services have exploded. Laptops are the gateway to entertainment. Reuters reports.

"For a small subscription fee to an Internet service, users can download thousands of movies, including Hollywood films not yet released in South Korea.

South Koreans can also receive TV shows such as "American Idol," complete with Korean subtitles, less than 24 hours after airing.

User-generated content sites such as "ipop " have clubs where users can pay by the download or pony up monthly subscription fees of about 10,000 won to 20,000 won ($11 to $22) that will let them tap into a huge library of U.S., Japanese, Chinese and Korean TV programming and movies.

One of the most popular peer-to-peer clubs, Mansal, has had nearly 50 million visitors. While many are repeaters, the total is still almost equal to the country's population.

The clubs make money from subscription fees and advertising. Young professionals with little time to spare and students with an abundance of time to search for material are the main clients for these services -- making cable TV and TV sets obsolete.

The clubs often obtain content from Koreans living abroad who upload movies. They also upload TV programming within hours after it airs and translate it.

The clubs have helped to make shows such as Prison Break and Ugly Betty hits first among Internet users. Cable companies later picked up local broadcasting rights.

South Korea this year stepped up penalties for those who violate copyright laws by downloading pirated material, but that has had almost no effect."

Related:

-- Mobile TV users surpass 6-millions in Korea

-- Korea in the Grip of U.S. TV Series Fever

Seeking options for watching TV online (legally) from Europe

I've been trying to find options for Europeans to watch US TV series legally. I really believe viewers would be willing to pay to watch (I know I would) if it was possible.

I realize the issue are the deals made with European broadcaster, who buy the shows from the US, but as Variety pointed out, there are so many TV series on American television, that not only Americans can't watch them all, but European broadcasters will not be buying them all. So couldn't an economic model be considered enabling the rest of the world to watch US shows, on the same time wave as the US?

Here's how it (doesn't) work for us to watch legally:

-- The Networks: Offer their tv episodes the day after they air in America. Doesn't work for non US viewers though. When connecting our IP number is identified and a message pops up "sorry, not available for viewing from your location".

-- Amazon Unboxed: - What a fabulous idea, Amazon is everyone's favorite company, I used to buy all the full TV series seasons through Amazon.com, and I would receive them in Switzerland way before the boxes were sold here. Amazon Unboxed enables users to buy an entire series or just one episode for download. Not available to non US viewers though, and not available to Mac users either.

-- Veoh.com: It's my understanding Veoh.com has signed deals with the networks to broadcast their TV shows in streaming with embedded short-length commercials. Users need only to download their software to watch. The catch so far, is that the Mac version is not yet available. But this could be a good option. Without downloading their software, Veoh.com offers the first ten minutes or so of a tv show in streaming, but not full episodes.

-- Apple's iTunes: Definitely available for Macs but TV series are only available for US and UK viewers.

-- Divx: Divx software is often suggested for download on link aggregator sites, but it's my understanding this is not legal as they have been at the center of controversy over the distribution of copyright videos.

-- Joost: Is starting to offer some TV shows (found CSI: and Dexter), but for US viewers only.

-- Babelgum: If they have TV series, I can't find them.

I would appreciate feedback if anyone knows of other pay-per-view options that would work in Europe.

The networks have done such a good job in fighting piracy in the US (by offering the shows on their websites the day after they broadcast). But when will they think of us? We really do want to watch legally.

Related article on some French and British pay-per-view options being tested.

Digital media needs to find its soap opera

In a few weeks some the biggest names in Hollywood will get together with some of the most influential geeks in Silicon Valley to forge new alliances and - they hope -strike multi-billion-dollar deals to make silver-screen content for the smallest screens on the market - PCs, iPods and mobile phones. The Guardian reports.

"The invitation-only conference, set to take place in mid-November, is being put together by top Hollywood lawyer Kevin Morris, who just weeks ago brokered a groundbreaking profit-sharing deal for Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the creators of South Park.

Morris believes that the big Hollywood studios have totally failed to meet the challenges posed by the internet and believes urgent action is needed to ensure the entertainment industry does not lose any more ground. He says the big players make all the right noises about digital media, but when it comes down to execution they are clueless

Morris is keeping the guest list for his conference a secret, but it is expected that senior executives from Google, Apple, Amazon and Yahoo will be on it . Top studio executives from Hollywood, some of the biggest agents in the business and even executives from News Corp and GE are also likely to attend.

... Morris believes that, with his help in bringing talent to the table, the internet could be reaping twice or three times as much advertising revenue as it is currently doing.

'The soap opera and the variety show created popular television in the 1950s. After that, the advertising model changed dramatically and you had millions of dollars spent on TV advertising that you didn't have before. Digital media needs to find its soap opera - or whatever kind of show it takes - to bring in the big advertisers."

Image from Variety

That whole TV thing is just so yesterday

Industry watcher and columnist Ray Richmond for The Hollywood reporter shares a personal experience - his son's complete disdain for television.

"I am a TV critic, and my kid doesn't watch TV. ... He looks at conventional television as if it's some Neanderthal extension of an 8-track tape deck, and if that isn't the TV industry's worst nightmare, it surely ought to be.

As a new fall network primetime television season dawns, Josh could not possibly be less interested. He's a computer geek, but his disdain for the tube can't merely be ascribed to his geekdom. It's about a generation that has little or no use for the TV culture that we adults grew up on but is rapidly striding toward obsolescence.

... "So you don't ever have the desire to watch any television?" I asked, my incredulity reaching a crescendo, certain that my synapses were suffering a brief misfiring episode.

"What I want to watch, I download onto my laptop," he said, adding for emphasis, "and it's all free."

[via Ypulse]

P2P traffic shifts away from music, towards movies

P2P-based music sharing has remained relatively flat over the past year, reports arstechnica. "It could be that the threat of lawsuits are keeping people from popular P2P networks like Limewire, driving them instead to a legal outlet like the iTunes Store. It might also be that the market has reached saturation. "It's like e-mail," said Eric Garland, cofounder and CEO of Big Champagne Online Media Management "For a number of years, the population using e-mail was increasing dramatically. Once everyone who wanted e-mail had e-mail, growth flattened out."

The news for the motion picture and television industries is not so good. BitTorrent has become far more popular: "We've seen real, dramatic growth in BitTorrent usage," notes Garland.

... What used to be music industry's problem is becoming the movie and television industry's problem, and it may take some drastic changes to how the studios and networks do business to bring changes about."

Making TV Cool Again

Maybe the appeal and future of television is not all about bigger screens and higher definition. Think back when Bill Gates famously misjudged the Internet. He thought it was too slow and didn't believe it would be commercially viable. "There's no money to be made there. Why is that an interesting business?', he said in an April 1994 board meeting and later rewrote history and a chapter of his book "The Road Ahead".

Tom Steinert-Threlkeld for MultiChannel News writes a very interesting article, raising the same issue. Could Big Media be misjudging the tremendous appeal of television online and on mobile devices? Thinking the screens aren't big enough and the quality of the video's not up to par with HD? Excerpts.

"Television is now sitting in the backseat, when it comes to getting the attention and keeping it of a whole generation of viewers.

When young people are asked to choose what the most important devices in their lives were. Hands down winner: cell phone. Tossup for second place: Computer and iPod. Tivo – and the TV – was something the parents seem to need.

Last September, Forrester Research came to a similar conclusion. Television is the most important device for consumers over the age of 40. If you’re planning for the future, the cell phone was the most important device for consumers between the ages of 18 and 26. Second: the personal computer.

TV companies wave away concern over this change by discussions of “quality of service” and the benefits of high-definition television.

The content on computer and cell phone is low-quality; and the quality of the pictures are low-grade. The new platforms are simply not competitive with conventional multichannel video services, goes the argument.

But that misses the point, noted an executive for one European maker of cable operations support software. The computer and the cell phone rank higher because they are not joint property of the family, for practical purposes. They are personal. They are portals into youngsters’ own private worlds. No one has to see what videos you’re watching, how many IMs you’re sending (or to whom or what you’re saying), or whether you’re getting your homework done or not.

Beyond being more personal and private, the devices serve more purposes. To the youngsters on the IBM video, the computer is a more enjoyable device because it does more. You can have access to the entire Internet. In their eyes, that means TV, too. They don’t make distinctions about streaming or downloading. They just know they can watch TV on their computer. The TV, by contrast, is a single-purpose, standalone and standapart machine. What’s the fun in that?

This generation is used to computers crashing, so quality of service is a relative term. And HD? Does it really make that much of a difference on computer or cell phone screens? Most probably, not.

Making TV cool again will mean making TV about more than just kicking back for the finest picture money can buy."

Will the next 'Sopranos' be on the Net?

After The Sopranos wrapped its final episode Sunday night, it marked the end of one of the most successful television series in the medium's history, writes USA Today, but what if the next monster hit isn't on TV at all? What if it was on the Internet?

"Absolutely," said Sandy Climan, president of Entertainment Media Ventures and a producer of the Martin Scorsese film The Aviator. "The Internet allows you to...create properties that you can then deconstruct into smaller pieces so that the entertainment can be seen as a whole or seen in parts, and you can monetize the whole or the parts. And this is a creative freedom we've never had before."

... Part of the challenge for would-be producers is the form factor of the Internet. Since most people use monitors that are smaller than today's most popular televisions, producers and directors have to think about different ways to present content.

But one thing that's become clear as things like the YouTube hit LonelyGirl 15 have come on the scene, is that that we are in an entirely new era, and old rules no longer apply."

The Great Internet TV Race

The E-Commerce Times in a two part series, examine how digital content distribution is changing the nature of the television industry.

"It will also look at some of the challenges facing established players and new technologically driven market entrants, as well as the state of the market as the evolution of triple- and quad-play media services continues.

The interactivity of the Internet, the emergence of DVR (digital video recorder) technologies, easier access to wired and wireless broadband services, and the development of digital network distribution formats for streaming multimedia content are forces that are combining to provide viewers with more choice.

Entertainment executives aware of these trends are wasting no time; they are outlining ways to change the nature of their TV content. Ditto for the business models that broadcast and cable network TV companies have been able to rely on for so long. To put it mildly, the TV and film industries are in the midst of a major shakeup."

Where did the TV viewers go?

In TV’s worst spring in recent memory, a startling number of Americans drifted away from television the past two months. The AP reports.

"More than 2.5 million fewer people were watching ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox than at the same time last year, statistics show.

Millions of missing viewers could translate into millions of missing dollars for the networks heading into the up-front sales season.

Everyone has a theory to explain the plummeting ratings: early Daylight Savings Time, more reruns, bad shows, more shows being recorded or downloaded or streamed.

Scariest of all for the networks, however, is the idea that many people are now making their own television schedules.

... "If we continue to do business assuming people will “ will watch television as they always have," said NBC’s Neil Wurtzel, "it’s a dead-end game.”

TV anytime, anywhere? Sooner than you think

The launch of Joost could show why it's time the TV industry stopped fearing the spectre of free shows via the internet, writes James Robinson for The Guardian.

"The nightmares endured by TV executives are becoming a reality, but this time big broadcasters are confronting their fears head-on. America's CBS and MTV have both invested in Joost which claims it will 'completely revolutionise television' by offering 'TV anywhere, anytime'.

... They may all be dipping their corporate toes in the online waters, but TV executives have nightmares about the havoc the internet could play with their businesses.

Imagine a world where anyone could watch any show free of charge at a time of their choosing. That could bankrupt the industry overnight, and it is a scenario that is drawing ever closer.

... Although TV over the internet can be disjointed and jumpy, it is hugely popular, particularly among the under-24s."

Yes it it. And I'm not so sure Joost, funded by advertising - entailing "sporadic ad breaks of varying length in the middle of the show which can't be fast-forwarded" will be tolerated by Internet users who are already able to see their favorite shows in streaming, without commercials.

Commercials may have funded television in America but they have also ruined it. It's become unbearable to watch a show that is constantly interrupted - - usually by the same message. In my opinion some other business model is going to have to be invented for TV on the Internet.

According to Ofcom, a growing number of under-24s them are switching their TVs off - around 3 per cent more each year. Hear hear.

Related: - Who's Killing TV?

NBC to release Making of "Heroes" online videos

NBC will be releasing a “Making of Heroes” series of online videos on On May 21.

The eight installment series will go inside the making of Heroes and will begin rolling out exclusively on NBC on May 21st. The same day, “HeroesCharacter Profiles" will launch on the site as well.

"Fans of ‘Heroes’ don’t need to wait until next season to enjoy their favorite show,” said Zigler. “Being able to interact with rich content all summer long is fun for the user and helps us keep the show brand top of mind.”

[MediaWeek via NewTeeVee and HeroesTheSeries.com]

Who's Killing TV?

A whopping 2.5 million people have gone missing -- at least that's what major TV networks believe. ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox report that the number of people watching their shows has dropped that much since Spring last year. Network executives are scrambling to figure out where everybody went. Mike Elgan on Computer World reports and has a suggestion: Blame technology. [via The Raw Feed - Image left from flickr]

Elgan believes "three factors have done more to cut viewers from the Nielsen ratings even than the super-low quality of the shows. First: Tivo, second: Hi-Def and third: The Internet.

He writes, "The Web is hurting TV in two direct ways, and one indirect way. First, it's an alternative entertainment screen. More people surfing the Web instead of watching TV. Video clips from TV shows are becoming substitutes for sitting through entire shows."

I differ slightly with Elgan on this point because entire TV shows are available online, not just clips. And here in Europe that's what were watching. Entire shows online, instead of on our TV sets. The main reason is because US shows only reach our TV channels 6 months to a year after they've been broadcast in the US. And this way, we don't have to wait.

Kind viewers in the US are uploading on video sharing sites such as YouTube, Dailymotion, the latest episodes of the last series, for a our viewing pleasure. And sites like Gigi Studio are indexing the links, making it easier to follow the sequence of episodes.

But I do agree with this part : "The indirect way is that the freedom of choice we find on the Web sours us to the "captive audience" model of TV."

Related:

-- WatchingTV Online

-- Online TV viewing 'on the rise'

-- Threat for Big Media: Guerrilla Video Sites

-- Forget YouTube: Go To These Sites If You Want Hard Core Copyright Infringing Content

Quality TV squeezes networks

Television production costs are rising at an “unsustainable” pace with the cost of making a one-hour drama episode tripling in the last 15 years - from about $1m in the early 1990s to $2.7m, and costs of thirty-minute comedies have also spiralled to $1.5m from around $700,000. The FT reports.

"... Part of the reason for rising costs is structural. Another reason is that the networks – which once dominated the US market – have found themselves under pressure from a proliferation of cable networks.

The biggest source of revenue - advertising - is under pressure as audiences fracture and new technology allows viewers to skip past commercials - [or watch the series online - on video sharing sites]

Meanwhile, new media opportunities – such as selling programmes through Apple’s iTunes store – are still more about promise than profits. “The economic model is under real pressure,” one top studio executive said."

Old Media Turns Combative Against New Media

Leading media executives took a combative tone against Internet companies on Tuesday, reports Media Channel, suggesting that Big Media increasingly considers new content distributors like Google Inc. to be more foe than friend.

"... At a panel discussion on the second day of the 56th annual National Cable & Telecommunications Association conference, the discussion quickly moved to criticism of the perception that traditional media businesses are dead, and to the rampant copyright offenses enabled by new digital technologies.

“The Googles of the world, they are the Custer of the modern world. We are the Sioux nation,” Time Warner Inc. Chief Executive Richard Parsons said.

"They will lose this war if they go to war,” Parsons added, “The notion that the new kids on the block have taken over is a false notion.”

TV industry struggles to keep advertisers

According to The Boston Herald, a startling number of Americans drifted away from television the past two months: More than 2.5 million fewer people were watching ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox than at the same time last year, statistics show.

"Everyone has a theory to explain the plummeting ratings: early Daylight Savings Time, more reruns, bad shows, more shows being recorded or downloaded or streamed.

... "People are not consuming less television, they’re watching it in different ways, and the measurements haven’t caught up," said Alan Wurtzel, chief research executive at NBC (owned by General Electric Co.). "

DRM group vows to fight bloggers

Bloggers "crossed the line" when they posted a software key that could break the encryption on some HD-DVDs, the AACS copy protection body has said. BBC reports.

"Thousands of websites published the key, which had been uncovered in a bid to circumvent digital rights management (DRM) technology on HD-DVD discs.

Many said they had done this as an exercise in free speech.

An AACS executive said it was looking at "legal and technical tools" to confront those who published the key.

Related: - In Web Uproar, Antipiracy Code Spreads Wildly

Forget YouTube: Go To These Sites If You Want Hard Core Copyright Infringing Content

Full length copies of well known TV shows and/or movies are readily available on a number of YouTube competitors reports TechCrunch.

You can search for your favorite tv show on Dailymotion, GoFish or Veoh. And if searching for the shows on these sites is just too much work, there are other sites - like Gigi Studio that aggregate and organize this content, and either link or embed it on their own sites.

Its not clear if the MPAA and networks just aren’t focusing on these smaller video sharing sites yet, or if DMCA notices are simply being ignored.

These sites aren’t hiding out and trying to evade the law - they’re funded by well known venture capitalists and, in Veoh’s case, copyright holders. And GoFish is actually a public company."

Threat for Big Media: Guerrilla Video Sites

As media companies fight to keep control over distribution of their shows, they have focused their guns on big sites like the YouTube unit of Google Inc. But small sites collectively represent an equally thorny challenge. They are like guerrilla squadrons that are constantly shifting tactics to defy big media and keep offering consumers free programs. The WSJ reports.

"Unlike YouTube, which stores videos on its own servers in the U.S., the guerrilla sites offer menus of shows that are often stored on servers in places like France and China.

The sites act as gateways to pirated material offered on other sites and say they don't break copyright laws because they don't have the material on their own computers. Content owners say the sites are abetting copyright infringement, which is illegal."