Video delivered over the internet was supposed to be the next big thing in media. The problem is that internet video has been high on the list of “next big things” for years.
The longtime trouble with video delivered via IP is that the quality was so poor. Amateur video on YouTube still has that problem, but lack of good compression software meant that even video from TV networks was barely watchable. The video file sizes were huge and bandwidth and storage were expensive.
All of that has changed. The quality of video streaming using Microsoft (MSFT) technology or Adobe (ADBE) Flash is nearly as good as a TV picture. The latest compression software makes video files less expensive to store and the cost of storage hardware has also dropped. Bandwidth to send video is abundant and cheap.
The Michael Jackson memorial may have been the last turn in the road to making online video mainstream, a true competitor to cable and broadcast.
According to The New York Times, “Citing internal data, CNN.com said it served 4.4 million live video streams during the service; MSNBC.com said it counted 3.1 million. Yahoo reported 5 million total streams.” Those three media outlets streamed 12.5 million streams, but dozens of other websites like TMZ.com also sent out live video of the event. The Times reports that traditional TV had a cumulative 31 million people watching the memorial. That means that the sum total of internet viewers could easily have approached the TV sum.
TV has a problem, and it is one that has been mentioned many times before. Viewers are watching premium content online. Operations like Hulu are getting more and more subscribers. The drop in TV’s share of video consumption means an eventual drop in advertising revenue.
The trouble TV has been facing so far has been on premium programming–television series and movies. Now, online video is taking away live event viewers as well.
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