Tuesday, March 15, 2011

TV Anywhere, Again

The NCAA gets it. Oh, we might quibble about some rules, but when it comes to new distribution - from the deal with Turner and CBS, to Ronnie Ramos' new social media initiatives to this - March Madness On Demand.

The iPad/iPhone app simply works. The video is crisp and it is free. How much will I use it? Don't know if I will - I'm actually using it while watching TruTV tonight, but it invalidates the thoughts of those that "people don't watch long videos" on mobile devices.

They have my name, they have my email address and they know I care about NCAA basketball. That puts them ahead, and the value added to me is well worth it.

Sure, it is not real time - probably a factor of the transcoding to Apple friendly formats. Don't overlook a sop to the old school lock it in the channel mindset of some TV types. It's about a minute behind my TV. But if I was in the airport, in a car, on a bus - I would not care about the lag at all.

Remember, the industry has a name for this: TV Anywhere. Keep the viewer engaged as they transition between screens. Who is one of the leaders in pushing that on the cable/sat providers. Oh, yeah, that would be TURNER.

The IP TV revolution is almost here.

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