Just Like the Movies

technorati tags: distribution, on-demand, television

Mark Cuban has a good post comparing on-demand video distribution with movie distribution.

If creating a hit TV show can be so uncertain that it’s success or failure can vary by timeslot and/or network, how difficult will it be to create a hit in a purely video on demand world ?

Cut to the movie industry.

The movie industry is non linear. Movies come out and essentially are available as PPV with the delivery mechanism being the theater or on DVD. But as with any non linear network, the user has to proactively choose the content rather than just turning to a channel and have it available to them."

His conclusion is that an on demand model doesn't work because it's too expensive to promote. He asserts that tv is a "lean back" medium, while the internet is where you can "lean forward" and occasionally discover something that's unique.

I agree with the first part, but not the last. You go through the internet looking for something, or somethings. The place for entertainment in this environment is along the way. You're not going to go to the internet for entertainment, but you're going to enjoy it while you're browsing, and might discover something you want to investigate.

PHOTO: Chainlink on 48th St 2/24/06