Digital Dilemma - LucianoJJ's Blog

LucianoJJ's Blog

Digital Dilemma

Posted on January 21, 2010 at 03:17 PM.

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Digital Dilemma
By LucianoJJ

The latest rumor rippling through the console gaming world, as reported by The New York Times, is the potential of ESPN programming being made available to Xbox Live subscribers. Since the media outlets now respect the power of the consoles beyond gaming, given their web browsers, their use for streaming video, for movie rentals, and other uses, consoles now figure to be a factor in the changing digital distribution landscape. If you thought change was limited to last year�s HDTV transition, be prepared for further changes in the way you view, subscribe, and collect media content. Many of those changes figure to be revealed as the year progresses. Many gadgets and distribution channels are still cloaked in secrecy as the deals are hammered out. Within the next few years there may be changes that will drastically change video, music, sports, telecommunications, print journalism and society as a whole.

With the fractured state of the economy, all media is up for grabs. The Leno-Conan debacle and the decline in ad revenues and viewership for broadcast networks in general is what gets much of the ink and the talking points. Cable and satellite companies engage in a fierce battle for subscribers and revenue. We do not need to repeat the discussion of the sad state of newspapers and publishing in general. The internet and video gaming are often considered the main poachers of the mainstream media�s captive audience. Both the internet and the consoles threaten the viability of and the need for cable and satellite. The media providers will try to win back their audiences through more creative practices, with different devices, at a greater profit than the current internet configuration provides. In the end, we may be forced to have multiple devices to view the same content we once viewed through a single provider (such as TV/cable/satellite). Cable has resisted �a la carte� types of programming packages. With a house full of different, new devices, you may be able to fashion that on your own.

In November, a former publisher of the New York Observer described for Charlie Rose how the change was likely to occur. He predicted we would be able to access print, video and other entertainment media through a device that everyone would want, and all of the content providers could make money on. The PBS host quizzed him, by linking the next new thing to current devices such as the Kindle or the iPhone. The guest, Peter Kaplan, backed off, essentially saying the technology was not yet available, but had elements of all the devices that had come before it.

As the winter has passed, speculation of the mystery Apple device to be unveiled at the end of January, as well as the coming of tablet PCs, the arrival to the marketplace of gadgets like Flo TV, and the further evolution of smart phones and other PDAs mean that changes are on the way. We are in for some changes.

Circling back to the ESPN/Xbox 360 rumor leaves me, as a PS3 owner, a bit miffed. Neither my current or previous ISP offered ESPN360. While I do not miss the �hype factory� nature of ESPN, I would like to watch some of their programming. One has to wonder what partnerships Sony could offer to counteract the Worldwide Leader In Sports. Would they approach Fox Sports? Surely, they could craft a package including the programming from the Fox regional affiliates. As a former DirecTV Sports Pack customer, I would love to see more college sports and local shows. Another opportunity for Sony, and for Microsoft, is to stream games via MLB.com, or the respective networks for the NFL, NBA, and NHL. Many console owners play sports games, many more would watch their favorite sports on their consoles. If this were to occur, this could affect the viewership and revenues of the cable and satellite providers. As stated earlier, changes are on the way and the future is very complex.

Comments

# 1 stlstudios189 @ Jan 22

Live gets better exclusive deals because xbox users pay to use it

# 2 superstarshad @ Jan 22

I was reading your blog post on digital downloading and said to myself, "this guy should blog." All in all great read. In my opinion, the device that will connect everything together will be Microsoft's Natal. I really believe this device will change the way we view television and interact with the internet as a whole. Back in 2005, I missed the opportunity to invest in Nintendo Wii's-their stock back then was 17 a share and soared to close to 80 a share prior to the crash. I won't miss out on the opportunity to invest in Microsoft. I'm a PS3 owner, but I am excited about the possibilities of Natal.