has written an interesting post about the Video IPod and offering TV content for $2: How Bob Iger Saved Network TV. I think he’s right on the money with a lot of his analysis.
I think what people have to realize is that no single format can or will dominate – just as old media can and do coexist with new media, new formats don’t necessarily displace old formats. Rather, they all readjust to a new balance. DVD versions of TV seasons, for instance, won’t displace the syndication of TV series’ – I think they can easily co-exist. The target market for them is different. Until the Tivo, TV was always about scheduling AND serendipity – viewers who just happen upon a show. So the DVD addresses one market – people who know a series well enough to know all of the episodes and want to choose a specific one to watch in the future (a few months after the whole season has already aired). Syndication – that’s for people who just click through to see what’s on. VIpod clearly has a place – and a non-cannibalizing place – in the mix.
