7/79 Ltd.

Once again, the number of people watching video online has increased.  According to Nielsen, the audience grew 5.2% in 2009 climbing to 142.7 million unique U.S. viewers in January 2010 from 137.4 million in January 2009.

Every time I see a statistic like this I wonder how many people watch online video on a computer and how many stream directly to a TV.  I have not been able to find statistics on this so please let me know if you know where to find them and if you work for Nielsen or comScore or one of the other media data collectors, perhaps you could look into this.  I bring this up because although online video viewing is up, so is television viewing.  I watch a lot of online video and almost all of it is watched on my TV from the comfort of my couch.  In order to do this I bought a small device to convert the VGA output from my laptop to an RCA input on my TV (total cost: just over $50).  Many new flat screen TV’s come with Internet and/or WiFi connections built in making this process even easier and anyone with a PS3 or an Xbox can stream web video through the game console.

Sony is to be taking this to the next level by offering original video content exclusively through the PS3.  The show is called The Tester and is a reality show where contestants compete to become video game testers.

My prediction (and sincere hope) is that by the end of this decade, the majority of Americans will have most of their entertainment content delivered to their TV’s through the Internet.  This means no more DVD’s and no more cable bills. Rather than paying over $100 a month for hundreds of cable TV channels when you only watch a few in the first place, you can just pay for a broadband Internet connection and subscribe to channels you watch the most.  You could also subscribe to certain shows you like and in some cases you will be given the option to watch it with advertising or commercial free.  If you choose the commercial free version, your credit card will be charged a small amount using a system known as micro-payments. Rather than having to rent a DVD or wait for it to arrive in the mail (then have little red envelopes littering the house) you will be able to stream the movie directly to your TV. Netflix already does this and it is fantastic!  I just wish that more new releases were available through this service.  The biggest sign that this is the future of media came recently when Comcast bought NBC Universal.  Why else would the nations largest cable company buy a movie studio, a broadcast network, and several cable channels?

This is a promising development for any business – whether its a Mom & Pop shop up the street or a multi-billion dollar multi-national corporation.  Anyone with a website will be able to turn it into a 24/7 on-demand TV station about their product or service.  All it will take is a few well-produced videos.  It’s an exciting prospect and I can’t wait for it to become a reality.

-Dan Phenicie