Existing TV Doesn't Work On The Internet Shock

Time Warner have reportedly ended a trial that enabled several thousand broadband customers in San Diego to watch existing TV channels over their internet connection.

The way that major cablecos are treating broadband and coax delivery of their content separately is strategically very worrying. I've made the case many times before that eventually all TV will be delivered over IP, for cost's sake if not for any other reason.

What Time Warner found out is that, given the choice, most people will watch TV on, er..., their TV set! But, hey, this was the company behind the infamous interactive TV trial in Florida a decade or so ago.

Blindly believing that this stuff works because it's there is not right, but you have to wonder if it's a question of having the right strategy and approach and being brave enough to reinvent the business.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I can not understand your last paragraph. Could you please explain a little bit? Thanks
Iolo Jones said…
The tendency with large companies is to try and preserve the status quo - milking the existing business model as long as possible; however, this almost always leads to complacency. There are some real opportunities for companies in the TV space to reinvent themselves - Verizon have been brave with Fios - but my experience is that, now everyone's talking about TV over IP there's an awful lot of lip service being paid and very little real, radical action and investment. In particular, I believe that all cablecos will ONLY use IP a decade from now, and the technology and opportunity to invest in this future to market advantage is before them now.