Technology rolls on and the future of television

Regular readers of my blog will know that my television watching has decreased steadily over the last few years from many hours a week to only a few. Partly because to be quite frank there has not been a lot produced by the television industry that holds my attention with notable exceptions like Fox Television's series “24”.

More importantly though is the current level of competition for my eyes and ears during the available waking hours in life. There are still a few television programs produced by the networks like the aforementioned “24” and the CBS series “NUMB3RS” that I watch on a regular basis. On the weekends I watch quite a bit of the C-Span network particularly Book TV on C-Span2. Having satellite, Direct TV, as my provider for television programming I also have access to some channels like the Rural Farm Network that you can't just pull out of the air. I am a rail fan and they carry several programs of interest to those that enjoy looking at or talking about trains. If it weren't for my ability to “time shift” much of the material with my TiVO digital video recorder I would likely miss a lot of it.

Then there is Pod Casting now of both the audio and video variety. I find myself spending more and more time listening to program material that has been recorded and is streamed over the Internet. Most of it very interesting and not available via normal media outlets such as broadcast radio and television.

When you add to this my love of books, talk radio and movies I am amazed that I find time to play with my computers and amateur radio!

And now Steve Jobs co-founder and current CEO of Apple Computer has complicated my life by raising the bar in the market place and the publics awareness of Pod Cast programs with the introduction of the newest iPod which sports not only audio but full motion video. This in and of its self is not new. I have an RCA Lyra “video juke box” which lets me have music, Pod Casts radio shows, home movies of family and hundreds of still pictures from my digital camera all in a box that while not quite small enough for your shirt pocket will fit nicely clipped on my belt to carry along. What makes the new iPod special is a deal with ABC Television network that will allow owners of the new device to plug into the net and get some of the most popular shows on the schedule today a very short time after they air on the broadcast media. This has ABC's affiliate stations just a little nervous about where this is all headed and I understand their trepidation.

Here is a link to a story in the Wall Street Journal that goes deeper into the subject. In the words of an old Carpenters song, “We've only just begun” and the future is anything but clear for the direction that entertainment media will take in the coming years.

TV Downloads
May Undercut
ABC Stations
By NICK WINGFIELD, JOE FLINT and ETHAN SMITH
Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 17, 2005; Page B1
Last Thursday morning, Apple Computer Inc. started selling an episode of the hit television series "Lost" through its iTunes Music Store for $1.99 after the show aired the night before on ABC. It marked the first time a popular show was made available for legal downloading over the Internet so quickly after its original airing.
With that, Apple may have helped open a Pandora's box for the media business. The Cupertino, Calif., company and its first TV partner -- Walt Disney Co., the parent of ABC -- have taken a potentially significant step in the dismantling of a decades-old system for distributing TV programming to viewers, a move that could have profound long-term consequences for broadcasters, cable systems and satellite companies if more users download shows instead of watching them the old-fashioned way.

Follow this LINK for the complete Wall Street Journal story.