IPTV Hurry, I Can't Wait

Last night was tragic for our state, and while managing the live blog last night for the Razorback baseball game was typing with and monitoring reports from the tornado zone.

So the moment I get out of the Baum Stadium press box, it's a bee-line home to the DIRECTV to see what I can. First up, The Weather Channel. They should have live coverage, right.

Well, no. They were having some Friday night movie feature - Wind and Weather, Horse and Hound, who knows? - but was one of these new programming features of cable channels to "broaden" the base. Think TBS Dinner and a Movie, but weather oriented.

Are you freaking kidding me? The station quick to send Cantore live at the drop of a hat - holding with this programming.

Look, I know that the History Channel's highest rated program is Ax Men, a reality show about logging. That Cartoon Network is launching it's first non-animated series. You looking for music videos - don't turn to MTV. You know you're old when you can remember when that stood for Music Television.

OK, so The Weather Channel has gone into entertainment. Fine. What's on CNN. Um, Louisiana oil spill wall to wall in the Situation Room. Alright, Fox News - nope, that's an O'Reilly rerun from 7 p.m. Right, they're into programmed news. Certainly Headline News - the original breaking news station - must be live.

Oh my . . . . Entertainment news, parcing John Edwards' bastard child's mom words with Oprah. Seriously.

[Hand raised in front of distant computer screen] Excuse me, what in the hell does this have to do with YOUR channel here?

Thank you, glad you asked. Functionally, I run the Razorback Channel. And days like this remind me exactly what our fans/viewers/constituents want: all Razorbacks, all the time, and most important, when and where they want it.

So what I really wanted last night - to see the four Little Rock TV stations, live, on my TV to get info. I wanted IPTV. Of course, I could have fired up the computer and maybe gotten some of that, but at the end of a long day on the keyboard, I just want to punch it up.

That is what our fans want. They don't want to hear about blackouts and platform exclusivity. Many of them do understand it costs money, and will pay for that access. Most don't want it free, but they do want it freed.