LG and Neftlix Announce the Death of Cable/DVR/Video Game Consoles
January 5, 2009
Thanks to LG, every box that delivers content to your HDTV will be undergoing an existential crisis.
For years, I’ve been talking about a day when you bring home your TV, plug it in to an electrical and broadband outlet, and start getting a range of content and applications – no boxes or cable needed…cable companies would become bandwidth utility companies.
According to The New York Times, LG is launching a line of, what they are calling, Broadband HDTVs, which will stream Netflix’s instant library directly to the TV – no PC, set top box, online DVD player or other device needed.
The implications are enormous both in how this impacts both other industries as well as at how it may accelerate the changes in consumer behavior.
Three Major Industry Impacts
There are many potential changes coming but here are my favorites.
Cable companies – People are shifting their habit to watching TV when they want, not when programmers want. Cable providers will have to create whole new content and programming strategies that include applications, dynamic on-demand programming, community building and other Web like programming services. Failing this, they won’t go out of business but may be relegated to bandwidth utility providers.
Application developers – The is on it’s way TV to becoming come the new development platform for consumer, communications and other platforms. Consumers have flocked to sites like Hulu because they weren’t available on TV. Now that the day is in site where consumers can play games and watch Hulu on demand on a big screen, they’ll flock back to the couch…and developers will follow.
Video game industry – Assuming that TV manufacturers are thinking of one day licensing video game platforms, then video games have two huge opportunities. The first is more gaming on demand. Already, downloading to console stores from XBox, Playstation 3 and the Nintendo Wii allow more demos and sales of video games. Allowing people to download straight to the TV means more game sales (the real money…those consoles are money losers) as you don’t need to have people invest in a console first. The second impact is more explosive growth in casual games. TV watching is a community activity as are casual games. Now you can play a quick game of checkers or run a virtual football play with a remote friend during breaks in the real game. So when do I get my new XBox Broadband HDTV?
The marketing and advertising industry – Broadcast commercial, meet the Dodo bird. Everyone’s been talking about the demise of the traditional TV commercial but, to date, there has not been enough brand-safe (UGC and illegal video is not) online video inventory. In addition, Americans are watching more TV than ever. But if that TV watching becomes watching streaming on demand through a broadband HDTV, then the marketing industry can see some serious, and very lucrative, changes. Ads and branded shows can be delivered on a more targeted and personalized basis with follow through actions…such as ordering a pizza mid-movie.
LG to pit subscription streaming video (Netflix) against movie rental streaming video (Cinemanow)
December 30, 2008
LG today said they would be including CinemaNow and Youtube in their next blu-ray player. Consumers will now have the option to subscribe monthly to unlimited streaming of movies (Netflix) vs. renting by the movie from CinemaNow. As adoption grows, we can now see if subscription vs. on-demand rentals will win or if the two will compliment each other as they’ve done in cable (my bet).
Of course, it also open up the box to the porn market via CinemaNow’s not-exactly-safe-for-work adult section. Adult content often drives early adopter media device and ecommerce model sales. It’s been a big part of CinemaNow’s success (read here) and it may be one of the keys to getting more usage of streaming movie boxes.
http://valleywag.gawker.com/348685/microsoft-cisco-and-lionsgate-are-pornographers
(disclosure: the author sometimes does work for an LG competitor)
Here’s the full release:
With Netflix Deal, XBox Prepares to Own Your TV
July 15, 2008
This week’s announcement that XBox would stream movies from Netflix was a significant step in Microsoft’s bid to own the digital living subscription and, potentially, marketing dollars. In the Netflix deal, Microsoft got more than a movie partner, they got a brand. For consumers that have trouble seeing the XBox as a movie box, the Netflix association should help quite a bit.
