by: Karl Long
Companies like AT&T and Microsoft are sinking Billions (4+ billion each) into IPTV (internet protocol television), enabling them to deliver TV over the internet. And what exactly are these companies trying to do with those billions… replicate “cable” over the internet.
Well, with HBO recently releasing the first episode of Extras on iTunes as a free video podcast it makes me wonder if the future of television isn’t something closer to podcasts than broadcast. The ability for me to “subscribe” only to specific shows and forgetting about the whole concept of a channel (which is essentially a hang over from broadcast) makes a damn site more sense to me. Oh, and guess what it makes the whole concept of DVR’s defunct as well, Tivo was essentially a tool to make up for the shortcomings of broadcast who’s value goes away when everything is on demand by default.
Apple TV got a little lost in the hubub at Mac world around iPhone, but this screenshot is extremely interesting.
Sure Steve, we can get episodes of the office, but we can also get podcasts 
Tip of the Hat
Subscribe to the Extras video podcast
Original Post: http://blog.experiencecurve.com/archives/reinventing-television-might-be-easier-than-we-think
I couldn't agree with your point more. The question is, how long will it take for this to occur and how will the advertising community react to it? My guess is we will start to see this occur, but with the ability to fast forward, networks would lose a fortune in ad revenue.
On another note, an interesting trend to watch will be what FOX is doing with 24. I'll be curious to see how many people sent a text message to "Jack" in order to receive the first four minutes of next weeks episode. You can get more info over on my post at http://kevingreen.typepad.com/socially_adept/