Its All About Time Shifting

I'm back from Utah and the idea of time shifting is what resonates from my experience with podcasting. Before I went to Utah, Joe Moore, our campus radio station manager spoke to my classes about podcasting. He likened it to TIVO for radio. In other words, podcasting is a way to time shift audio content for enjoyment whenever and where ever the listener desires. And that's what audiences want.

Ever since the VCR let us record programs to watch at another time, audiences have found time-shifting of programming desireable. If you grew up before the VCR existed you remember the frustration of having to pick which one of two favorite programs to watch if they aired at the same time. As an audience member we were manipulated by the networks to stay with network X and we had to be home when our favorite program aired. I remember watching the "Rich Man Poor Man" mini series and having to miss an espisode because of a school activity. So along comes the VCR and we can record one program while watching another and then view it at our convenience. For my first TV news job I worked the night shift, so I had separate tapes for each night of the week where I recorded the prime time shows and then watched them the next morning before work.

I think one of the things people like about the Internet is the 24/7 access. I can get information when I want it all over the world.

Now the video iPod adds another option. I can download TV shows to watch at my convenience. This may be another viable revenue stream for networks TV and cable. Download only what I want and without commercials. $1.99 seems cheap to get what I want. Hmm, this makes an iPod more interesting to me. I also like all the storage for my own video files.

If I can get my radio and TV ala carte via Internet downloads, what role do the broadcast and cable networks play in the near future of TV?