The Internet And The Future Of Tv

Imagine a day when you would be in total control of creating your own TV channel lineup.

Instead of subscribing to a service from a cable, satellite or phone company that might offer you hundreds of channels you'll never watch, you would be able to select what you want and watch it on your own schedule.

That day might not be so far away. Slowly but surely, content that's broadcast over cable networks and through satellite providers is being distributed through the public Internet.

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What's new:

A lot of the technology is in place to deliver TV content via the Internet, where content providers could bypass cable and satellite services and deliver programming directly to viewers.

Bottom line:

While content providers have no intention of giving up on traditional TV service, they are watching Internet TV developments carefully. Most are moving gingerly into the market, making sure digital rights issues are properly addressed, that they can maintain control over content once it's on the Web, and that there is adequate demand for the service.

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In terms of the technology, all the elements are falling into place to deliver high-quality video from the Net directly to viewers in their living rooms. Software has been developed to ensure the quality of video distributed over the Net. And companies such as Microsoft and Cisco Systems' Linksys home division are developing products that enable Internet video to be viewed on TV sets instead of only on PC screens.

Apple Computer, which has changed the music industry with its iPod music players and iTunes music store, is trying to do the same thing in the video market. Earlier this month it introduced an iPod that plays videos, and launch...

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Previous Next Comcast, the largest cable company in the United States, already provides an extensive library of on-demand movies. On Wednesday it announced it would provide an additional 250 movies every month to its digital cable customers at no extra charge. In total, Comcast customers will be able to select from about 800 movies each month.

Comcast says that its video-on-demand programming is extremely popular. The company has already surpassed one billion total on-demand program views for the year, eclipsing last year's total of 567 million views.

"The traditional TV market is not dead," said Kontiki's Sahadi. "Multiple models will evolve. Broadband penetration and improvements in digital rights management are helping push content providers to look toward the Web. But there will always be people who want to subscribe to a traditional television service."