Are Cable Companies Looking To Emulate Web Video Sites, Or Destroy Them?
A piece in BusinessWeek says that cable TV companies are “pushing to become more Web-like” by expanding their online video offerings and making their core TV product work more like the web than the traditional channel-delineated system. On the face of it, this is a good thing, since we’ve long argued that the TV channel is an outdated concept, and should be seen as being like a web bookmark more than anything. But the article largely glosses over one key point in the cable companies’ push to grow their online video efforts: they want exclusivity. So instead of throwing things open and using an ad-supported model, like Hulu, they want to take TV shows and video content, and lock it up inside a walled garden for paying customers. That’s not “web-like”, it’s exactly the same as their current business model. Of course, even if these plans don’t work out, they’ve got another way to try and profit from online video: by introducing capped broadband plans that will charge customers based on ho
Related Questions
- Companies have champions who use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn groups, video channels and online community sites. How can they arrive at what is the best mix for a particular social media campaign?
- In opposing the telephone company proposals to begin offering video services, aren cable companies simply trying to protect their own monopolies?
- Are Web Video Sites Making Money?
