[opendtv] Re: IPTV faces content difficulties

All you have to do is to bribe them, just like the original cable firms did
...

John Willkie
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Craig Birkmaier" <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "OpenDTV Mail List" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2005 5:50 AM
Subject: [opendtv] IPTV faces content difficulties


> and this article does not mention the difficulty in getting
> permission to overbuild cable systems from local governments...
>
>
http://broadcastengineering.com/newsletters/scm/20050426/content-providers-IPTV-video-delivery-20050426/
>
> IPTV faces content difficulties
>
>   Apr 26, 2005 8:00 AM
> Strategic Content Management e-newsletter
>
> Major content providers are playing hard to get with IPTV start-ups.
> Though the new technology could lead to entirely new ways of watching
> TV, the motion picture studios are not yet convinced.
>
> Part of the problem has to do with how powerful the technology is.
> Because IPTV uses huge centralized servers to deliver video into
> consumers' homes, it can support a nearly unlimited number of
> channels and allow customers to pick from an à la carte channel
> selection. It can offer events available "on demand" at the push of
> the button.
>
> IPTV differs from earlier forms of Internet-based TV in that, while
> the video signal is encoded just like data over the Web, it travels
> solely over the telco's own servers and network. Viewers will find
> the experience akin to watching digital cable, rather than streaming
> video on the Web.
>
> But the technology matters only if the movie studios and other
> content providers play along. Walt Disney hasn't signed with any
> outside distributor to provide its movies for video-on-demand.
> Likewise, most studios have agreed to only limited video-on-demand
> distribution, fearing it could cut into revenues from rentals and DVD
> sales - now generating bigger income streams than the box office
> itself.
>
> So far, the telcos, led by SBC, Verizon and BellSouth, are moving
> ahead with their plans for three of the biggest IPTV deployments in
> the world. When completed in less than two years, SBC's service will
> extend to 18 million homes in 13 states and cost an estimated $4
> billion. It also puts the telecom in direct competition with cable
> companies who are, in turn, venturing onto Baby Bell turf by offering
> phone service.
>
> It's clear the big studios and other content providers are uneasy
> about jumping on board the IPTV bandwagon, it may be impossible for
> the new distribution technology to truly come into its own. The
> telcos have hired teams of program executives to try to turn around a
> very challenging situation, the report said.
>
>
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