Paid Cable TV On It’s Way Out?
With the proliferation of online television and options to watch movies and shows becoming increasingly available, there are many people who are no longer seeing the sense in paying good, hard-earned money for paid TV subscriptions, especially as cable TV tends to be so high now and we are all feeling a crunch economically.
Many users are now switching to watching their favorite shows on line, as almost all the major channels now offer the option. ABC.com, FOX.com, CW.com, and NBC.com all have links to watch the most recent episodes of their most popular television shows directly from their Websites.
Digital Broadcast Transitioning
You may remember a while back, the post I did regarding the transition of analog broadcast TV to all digital broadcasting. That was slated to be done by February 17, 2009. However, now it’s looking like a gradual thing, and it is slated to be completely transitioned over by June 12, 2009.
June 12 is the date set by Congress, but it’s looking like some stations may go ahead and make the switch now. The remaining TV stations are expected to stop broadcasting in analog sometime between March 14th and June 12th.
So why the switch exactly?
Super Bowl 2009- Ad Bonanza Online!
Super Bowl weekend is a pretty big event for most of the folks here in the U.S. It’s a time of football parties, guzzling beer and eating nachos, and a bunch of big macho guys crowding around the biggest TV they can possibly find. Usually once crowded around said TV, there then commences a bunch of rowdy hooting and hollering, and punching the air with a fist.
Fun times!
But what about those of us who couldn’t give a lick about the actual football game, and are just in it to laugh our butts off at the neat commercials that never fail to appear? What if we don’t want to sit through such a trying experience just to watch some funny commercials?
Online Video Market On Steroids!
In today’s world, especially when it comes to the younger generation, watching boring old TV is fast becoming eclipsed by watching online TV and online videos and movies. And in these hard economic times, it is speculated that the online video advertising industry is going to emerge as a leader of innovation as more and more firms look for better, and more cost effective, as well as more targeted ways to promote their products or services.
TiVo Expands to Broadband Search
TiVo announced today that they are now offering the capability to search not only cable and satellite programming sources, but now broadband content as well. The boundary between traditional TV programming has now been breached. It only remains to see how TiVo users will respond to the increased content offerings.
At the heart of this new feature is strategic partnerships that TiVo has formed with NetFlix, Amazon, YouTube, and others. The amount of content between these companies is staggering. If there was ever any doubt – the days of channeling surfing are over. Instead, TV and video content has been in the words of the CEO of TiVo has been “Googleized”.
Congresses Attempt to Protect Content in a Digital Age
I ran across this U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing from way back in 2002. Chaired by Ernest “Fritz” Hollings of South Carolina, the committee attempted to address the growing concern regarding piracy of digital programming – both over the air as well as served up online. Fortunately, cooler heads in the form of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) prevailed and the overbearing restrictions proposed by Sen. Hollings in his opening statement never took hold.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2002
Washington, DC.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. ERNEST F. HOLLINGS,
U.S. SENATOR FROM SOUTH CAROLINA
Television is Going Digital: Get the Picture
Big changes are coming to your television. But they have nothing to do with summer re-runs or the new fall season. These changes involve the transition to digital broadcasting on February 17, 2009.
For millions of Americans – those whose televisions are already hooked up to cable or satellite or those who have televisions with built-in digital tuners – the transition should be seamless. But if you get your programming on an analog television through a rooftop antenna or “rabbit ears,” you will have to take action to keep your TV sets working after the transition.
Keeping Children Safe With Online TV
There are many perks that come from watching online TV, but there are some downsides as well. Children who have free reign of the Internet are finding it easier than ever to view the shows their parents wouldn’t normally let them watch.
If you think about it, it’s easy to see how this happens. Many networks and websites make content from the TV available to anyone who visits their site. There is little way to figure out how old the person is, even if they ask for your age by ‘the honor system. So, what are you supposed to do as the parent to make sure your little one doesn’t get into some off-limits TV?
The Future of TV – Online Exclusive Shows
It seems that it doesn’t matter what it is, everything eventually ends up available online. It’s a great thing that the future of TV is online too! The Internet makes things ultra-convenient, so it’s no wonder this is becoming an increasingly popular trend.
In fact, there are even some TV shows on the horizon that are only being launched on TV. These aren’t little programs that no one wants to watch either! The latest show to follow this idea is “That’s Why You’re Single.”
Livestation Online TV Mac Player
The Livestation Online TV Mac player is making the news everywhere for Apple fans. For those who have wished this program were available for Macintosh, it’s a dream come true that Livestation has provided this software for Intel-based Macs. Finally, free online TV is available.
Livestation TV has been a favorite of PC users for some time. Now that they have come out with a Macintosh download of their software more users are going to be able to watch the stations Livestation offers.
Their partners include:
- Al Jazeera
- BBC World News
- Bloomberg Television