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 New forms of distribution dominated discussion at the annual MIPTV programme market and conference in Cannes this year from mobile networks to internet protocol television (IPTV) as execs have woken up to the fact that this new technology is about to arrive, giving them new markets for content.
Chief executive of AOL, Jonathan Miller, says the internet has emerged as a mass entertainment medium unlike any other. Speaking on the collision of television and the internet, he said “the industry is in the middle of a truly massive change” and predicted video-on-demand would become the dominant form of programming in the future, while search is likely to become the main way of accessing material. AOL, Yahoo and Google he suggested, were the new networks of the future.
Pointing out the phenomenal growth of on-line site YooTube, where user-generated material sits alongside copyright programming, he warned distributors: “you’ll see all the programmes you think you own on that site today”.
While these are currently short clips of often poor quality, he demonstrated the possibility of high quality video, downloaded legitimately using peer-to-peer distribution from the new AOL In2TV site.
Alex Taylor, of upstart start-up Greengrass in the UK said that the internet did not just represent a distribution platform, but a new way of doing business. “The internet will replace existing broadcast networks,” he predicted. “It’s really just a matter of time.”
A lot of the focus fell on the impact the open internet will have on the business of television, with telecom operators among those looking to do programming deals as they establish their own networks and video services.
Dan Marks, the chief executive of television services at BT TV, will launch their BT Vision broadband video offering later in the year, probably in competition with France Telecom in the form of Orange, and no doubt a number of other prospective providers.
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