Will the iPod turn TV into a luxury item?
I’ve made some rumblings about the subscription model in terms of television and how the iPod and iTunes may effect cable and video on demand, but here’s an interesting question: Will VOD turn TV into a luxury item? Joe Stein at the Decatur Daily Democrat weighs in:
Basically, here’s how it worked: We all got to watch “60 Minutes,” but only some of us were able to buy the BMW advertised in the commercials. This was a great deal for the poor, other than the fact that they didn’t get the BMW. And they had to watch Andy Rooney. When you’re working two jobs for $30,000 a year and a guy is pulling mid-six figures by rummaging through his desk drawers, it’s got to hurt.
But now the advertising model is dying. More than 10 percent of Americans own a TiVo-style DVR, skipping all the ads. The networks have made deals to charge directly for commercial-free TV episodes sent to portable video players. Their series are already sold ad-free on DVD. So instead of watching “24” when it’s broadcast, viewers can now order it from Netflix, thereby saving six hours they can now use to stuff DVDs into envelopes and mail them
So what might this mean? If you can’t afford a Netflix sub, an HBO sub, a sat radio sub, a stockpile of DVDs, movie tickets and now on demand, pay-per-download TV, you’re shit out of luck when it comes to entertainment?
Let them eat cake!
We may be headed in that direction, although more and more free material is being made available online as well. Read the full editorial for a complete perspective.