Delivering television through the Internet has been envisioned since the beginning of the Web. But the technology hasn’t been ready until recently.
Now with over 50 percent of the U.S. households using high-speed Internet connections, large telecom firms such as SBC and Verizon are preparing to launch television services to set-top boxes and digital video recorders through the Internet.
They will be joining an industry already in progress.
Enterprising companies like TV Worldwide and ManiaTV are already leveraging the power of the Internet with streaming media.
And although Web-based TV stations don’t offer the casual ease that set-top boxes hooked to the living room TV afford, that is changing as TVs and home computers begin to merge–especially with Microsoft Corp. pushing technology like its Windows XP Media Center, which gives home computers TiVo-like functionality to record programs.
Yet for the small companies already broadcasting via the Web, the challenge–as it is for network giants like ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox–is drawing viewers.
“Other than the Super Bowl, you’re not going to get a lot of eyeballs in front of these programs,” said Kurt Scherf, vice president and principal analyst for Dallas-based Parks Associates.
TV Worldwide is satisfied with serving a few thousand viewers at a time. The Chantilly, Va., company caters to “microniches” and features channels like Maritime TV, the Homeland Defense channel and FridgeTV–a station that follows the University of Maryland’s football team.
It also produces programming for professional development courses, which is used for interactive education.
“It’s a fast-growing field. We’ve been seeing 20 [percent] to 30 percent growth a year,” said TV Worldwide CEO Dave Gardy, who attributes TV Worldwide’s success to the rapid increases in broadband speeds.
Fast Internet connections allow the company to offer more varied content, including Web-captioned programming for hearing-impaired viewers and a venture-capital channel, which will debut next month.
“The entrepreneurs offer their pitch and it’s broadcast,” Gardy said. “They pay to have a pitch done with Powerpoint and people can go online to look at it.”
ManiaTV targets a completely different demographic–one that grew up with the Internet.
“This is the platform for anybody born after the `Thriller’ era,” said founder Drew Massey, referring to the top-selling Michael Jackson album of the ’80s. “There are a lot of college kids that don’t have TV and just live on the Internet.”
He promotes the privately financed start-up as an MTV for the Internet and broadcasts programs for an 18-to-35-year-old audience. The approach has attracted a number of sponsors including Norelco, eBags, Dodge and the U.S. Navy.
ManiaTV limits advertising so as not to irritate viewers. It doesn’t use banner or pop-up ads or regular commercials.
“Less clutter,” emphasizes Massey, who wants to distinguish his programming from what is offered on television. “Many viewers complain about too much advertising on TV.”
ManiaTV charges $20,000 to $100,000 for branded programming or to integrate advertising into programming.
Massey founded the men’s magazine POV and came up with the idea for ManiaTV seven years ago. But he waited for the technology to improve before launching it.
Programs extend their reach
ManiaTV debuted last year to an audience similar in size to what MTV first reached on emerging cable networks. But Massey believes the Web has greater viewership potential.
“MTV has 40 different networks, but they have to have the infrastructure set up in every country,” said Massey. “They can see us in Prague. We have people in Iran watching us.”
ManiaTV plays music videos, cartoons, short films, sports and encourages viewers to participate by requesting songs or submitting their own productions.
Of course, providing enough interesting content to fill a full schedule is daunting and one that analysts say can determine whether viewers keep returning.
And the cost of developing programs–while only a pittance of what the networks spend–can be pricey. TV Worldwide offsets those costs in part by creating channels for particular users, such as Homeland TV. Still, building a channel can cost anywhere from $15,000 to $50,000. And production of programs runs from $3,500 to $15,000, according to TV Worldwide.
The channels earn revenue through advertising, sponsorship, e-commerce sales and even subscriptions for certain programming, according to TV Worldwide.
Most analysts believe the future of digital entertainment is in customizable programming, where viewers can decide what they want to watch.
A question of comfort
Another obstacle for Web TV is the quality of video and where it will be watched. Although quality has been improving, it’s far from HDTV.
Also, sitting on the couch is far more comfortable than sitting before a computer monitor, said Mukul Krishna, a digital media analyst with consultant Frost & Sullivan. “Young people have very short attention spans. You have to keep incentives up. It might be good to view programs, but I don’t think they’d spend a lot of time just watching TV online.”
One solution is the convergence of technologies.
Microsoft has been developing a platform for delivering television programming over an Internet platform as well as a media-friendly version of Windows. The Media Center operating software is an attempt to bring PCs into the living room.
And most major PC-makers offer multimedia systems, which typically have wireless keyboards, large storage capacity and memory, TV and radio tuners, and good sound systems.
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TV on the Web
– AfricaHit TV
Site: www.africahit.com
Content: African music videos 24 hours a day
– Bloomberg TV
Site: www.bloomberg.com/media/tv/index.html
Content: Financial news
– FridgeTV (above)
Site: www.fridgetv.com
Content: A station dedicated to following the University of Maryland football program, including interviews with players, documentaries and game highlights
– Homeland Defense TV
Site: www.homelanddefensetv.com
Content: Educational programming for safety agencies and interested citizens
– Hope Channel
Site: www.hopetv.org
Content: Christian programming
– Mania TV
Site: www.maniatv.com
Content: Music videos, music, sports and entertainment news, independent films and animation
– Maritime TV
Site: www.maritimetv.com
Content: Everything related to the boating and shipping industry
– NASA TV
Site: www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv
Content: Coverage of NASA activities and missions
– Open Media Network
Site: www.omn.org
Content: Free public programs
– Pitching TV
Site: www.pitchingtv.com
Content: Programming about baseball coaching and classes
