NBC Universal and News Corp.’s Online-Video Joint Venture

NBC

I recently read an article that states the online-video joint venture of NBC and Fox will challenge YouTube. My question is this; what is the challenge? YouTube provides small streaming video of various clips from home videos to unapproved licensed material. The media companies can provide full-length features on a larger streaming image. The media companies spend some much time and effort suing YouTube, when they should be building an infrastructure to embrace these mainstream technologies and deliver their sought after content.

Currently, many of the media companies are making a handful of their prime-time TV shows available over the internet. My wife and I have watched many episodes via internet. No more setting the Tivo or DVR; much like ‘on-demand’ delivery by the cable systems, we can start and stop these shows at our convenience.

Here is a thought for big media:  Why not require users to sign in to watch the programming. At registration, you can collect demographic information and curtail the advertising appropriately. Keep the breaks to an extreme minimum of 15 to 30 seconds spots no less then 10 minutes apart, but feel free to post ads above or below the feature. Have options for users to get information about their favorite shows and when a new episode is posted, send them an email which could also contain an advertisement.

As a registered user of Joost, I’m impressed with Joost’s ability to provide video utilizing a peer-to-peer TV system and application. Joost takes the time to solicit feedback from their users, including asking about the number of ads and their duration. The biggest drawback for me is that Joost doesn’t offer a lot of the content that I’m interested in. I would love to log in to one place and find my favorite shows like Entourage, Sopranos, Rescue Me, Battlestar Galactica, and 30 Rock (just to name a few). So, if big media doesn’t want to invest in the infrastructure themselves, then they should partner with companies like Joost who have a viable outlet. But provide the shows people want to see! Or they will find other methods to view them.