I have spent a lot of time this year at conferences moderating panels and listening to various industry insiders discuss the various facets of over-the-top video delivery. One recurring theme has been how mainstream media will not fully embrace OTT delivery until the monetization issues have been worked out. By this, insiders really mean until mainstream media can make as much money (or more) than they do now. To underline this view, even free-to-air broadcasters such as Fox are taking their most recent content offline to protect relationships with PayTV operators.
This trend has resulted in some news media reaching the conclusion that the "OTT revolution" has stalled. For example last Sunday in the San Jose Mercury News, columnist Chris O'Brien bewailed the fact that he still couldn't ditch cable and build his own a la carte TV subscription using online sources. This led him to the conclusion that the "video train (is) starting to stall."
Is he right? Is the recalcitrance of big media really killing the OTT video "revolution" before it has truly gotten started? Far from it. Instead, I believe the revolution is not stalling but actually gathering speed.
The problem with all this talk is that it focuses only on cable and broadcast video content. There seems to be some mistaken belief that the objective of OTT delivery is to replace PayTV subscriptions with less expensive online delivery providing essentially the same content. Certainly, consumers would welcome a reduction in rates for the content they currently enjoy - that's a no-brainer. But if that is all "OTT" means, doesn't it seem a bit pointless?
The reality is that cheaper PayTV is only a side benefit of the real show. Truth be told, the platform by which we enjoy video entertainment is changing. OTT delivery is by its nature a two-way medium; combining all the benefits of creator outreach with those of user input - that is, the ability to use the richness of the Internet for expression by both creator and consumer.
Simple things that have eluded the TV experience so far are now becoming part of the platform. Want to watch a college game with your old university roommate? Want to tell Simon Cowell he's "all wrong" about your favorite singer? Want to beat the latest Jeopardy champion and have Alex announce your name live on the show? All of these things are now part of the video "entertainment" experience.
Among the most valuable parts of this new entertainment medium is - are you ready for it? - you and I. Just the fact we are "there" makes these experiences much richer and engaging than before.
I'm reminded of a panel I recently moderated at TVNext. Brandon Lucas, VP & GM - Mobile at BET, talked about how his new app for 106 and Park made the audience part of the show. If you want a hint as to the importance of "us" in the entertainment experience, you should take a look at the video demonstration of the app on YouTube.
OTT video is entirely a new medium. It inhabits a universe where all the power of the web can be tapped to create new experiences that are not possible using traditional broadcast fabrics. With every connected TV or smartphone sale, the platform as a whole increases in value, just like the Internet itself.
Chris O'Brien only needed to look at the Saturday edition of his own paper for evidence of this. A short article talked about how YouTube is busy signing up brand-name content creators for its own platform. And you can bet that Madonna, Ashton Kutcher, and Deepak Chopra are not looking at OTT as "just like TV."
Watch this week's episode of The Kitchen Sync.
ShareThis