Cable Companies Try to Get Some Online Pie

There are plans brewing for cable companies like the atrocious Time Warner Cable to begin offering “exclusive” online streaming access for subscribers to programming currently not being offered via sites like Hulu.

Top cable-television providers and TV networks are exploring a sweeping solution to the threat of online video: putting large numbers of cable shows online, but accessible only to cable subscribers. (via)

Let’s take a quick look at why this is destined to fail.

1) They consider online video a “threat” that they can somehow defeat when it seems pretty clear that online video is here to stay.

2) Cable companies think they are going to be able to make content accessible only to cable subscribers. Our short internet history has shown pretty clearly that these “gated communities” are easily and quickly circumvented by those unwilling or unable to gain access “legally.”

3) By attempting to lock up content behind over-priced and inflexible walls pirates will simply be more motivated to  offer consumers a superiour alternative.

4) Right now I can find and view just about any TV program online without subscribing or paying via any number of legal, quasi-legal and illegal streaming sites not  to mention the myriad p2p solutions.  Cable is not likely to be competitive with this offer.

5) Attempting to build a business model on the concept of “scarcity” when your product is a digital video file that easily copied and distributed and then trying to charge for this artificial scarcity is just plain absurd.

3)

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1. The current television business model will fail :: in propria persona — June 13, 2009 @ 10:33 am

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