Bye Bye Television

With the internet replacing our television viewing experience it becomes obvious that the big networks are getting worried. And they should be! People aren't watching them as much anymore. Instead, they are watching sites like YouTube with its new "leanback" feature.

One might think these huge networks would do something to protect their legacy. They've got a chance if they act now, but strangely, it seems they are doing "nothing"! Isn't "nothing" what the record industry did when Napster clobbered it? It seems to me that "nothing" is a dangerous course of (in)action. FOX, CBS, NBC, and ABC need to do SOMETHING or they will go the way of the combustion engine (aka dinosaur).

It seems the trouble is that these companies think they can enter the internet world without changing "what's on TV". Building a website with some shows is one thing, but if they really want to make a dent they will need to change What's Being Broadcasted On Television.

First of all lets take a look at the fundamentals of the television business. You watch about 8 minutes of advertising for every 22 minutes of programming, and this is against your will. These companies have been conducting this behavior for decades: playing ads that you do not want to see. Your reaction: get up, turn down the sound, get a snack, etc. We've been conditioned now to hate commercials. What does this really mean? These networks have been abusing people long before Google came around.

So why is that Google has a chance to destroy network television as we know it? Well, they're smart. And the networks are dumb. It's this little tiny thing called "respect".

Google not only has a chance to re-invent the programming, they are also re-inventing the advertising model. And the big networks are just sitting around and watching it all happen.

So why will the Google advertising model work so well? The ads can be tailored to the viewers specific interests. The ads can be available whenever the viewer wants them. Commercials still might appear when and where we don't want them, but from the advertisers' perspective it will no longer be a huge money-sink-shot-in-the-dark. Premium users will be able to pay for less obtrusive ads and the ability to browse relevant ads at their own discretion.

The big networks need to think outside the box. First of all, how about ditching the advertising model of the past? Right now! Commercials I don't want to see that are too loud do nothing but cause discomfort. Which network will begin regularly showing URL's INSTEAD of ads? Will they sit around and do nothing while Google becomes the fifth?