Update: Netflix, iTunes and Everybody Else For the Win

My last post was a ramble about my recent experience moving from cable to a hybrid of Netflix, iTunes and broadcast television.

The thought is that, in the near future, this new hybrid is going to become increasingly popular as the primary means people use to get media. Traditional television networks, incidentally, are going to be huge beneficiaries of this movement.

Then I reflected on the emergence of new Internet-based media networks, specifically TWiT and Revision3.

Both of these networks were started by former employees of TechTV/G4 and so have media savvy individuals running things. Both networks produce primarily geek-culture oriented media, audiocasts in the case of the TWiT network and videocasts for Revision3.

Now, I grant that the material these networks produce is pretty narrowly focused. And I also grant that the production values can be a bit low on many of the shows. But the production values are sufficient for the medium and the content is generally pretty good for the target audience.

Let's be honest though - production values and content aren't necessarily a formula for success. Ever consider what's involved in making an episode of American Chopper?

Anyway, consider the example of Brawny Academy. Georgia Pacific basically paid to have its own private reality television show, distributed over the Internet, in exchange for some very subtle product placement. How many more companies would be willing to support this sort of production if it means reaching the consumer in an entirely new way? The current advertising market is crowded, saturated. Surely the production of quality programming could become another, more interesting means of trying to get a message across to the now jaded public. We could ourselves looking at a thousand little PBS knockoffs, small scale but conscientiously produced programs that keeps the content first and the sponsor list exclusive.

Except nobody wants to remember hundreds of Internet addresses in order to get the programming that's interesting. So I hereby predict the rise of new Internet content networks along the lines of the traditional broadcast networks, clearinghouses for content that marry sponsors with the content creators. It will be interesting to see if any of the traditional figures are up to the challenge of making the transition or if it will be an entirely different group who makes this move.