On Demand craze growing
First it was Apple and it’s $1.99 on-demand release of ABC-TV Shows like Lost and Desperate Housewives. Now, CBS is partnering with Comcast and NBC with DirecTV to do the same thing, at a cheaper price. NBC, CBS to offer shows on demand for 99 cents.
This promises to be one of the bigggest shakeups in the way television programs are distributed and viewed and paid for. The culture has changed. People no longer want to be tied down to specific times to watch specific programs.
And they’re willing to pay for watching those shows when they want, not when a network decides. Add the fact that the shows are commercial-free - an hour long episode is about 40 minutes - and the on-demand habit becomes very appealing.
The question is will the revenue from on-demand fees equal the lost revenue from advertisers?
November 8th, 2005 at 6:44 pm
99 cents makes sense. With Tivo costing $12/month, I’d rather go the on demand route. Although the quality of Comcast’s on demand service is complete garbage.
November 8th, 2005 at 10:48 pm
The NBC/DirectTV and CBS/Comcast systems are similar to each other but much different from the ABC/iTunes model.
The iTunes model means you can download a show to any Internet-connected computer and watch there, or transfer it to a video-enabled iPod, or convert to a format viewable on other handheld devices, or burn it to a DVD. Much more flexible system.
Some Tivos systems have built-in DVD burners, and I imagine some Comcast DVRs and DirecTV DVRs have DVD burners, but being able to watch your show during your commute, during your vacation, etc. on a variety of devices is a better method, even if it costs more, but I bet it won’t for long.