The Future of Broadcast Television (part II)

 
I have seen the future of broadcast TV -- on my laptop.

Back in March of 2006 I was forced to watch my Longhorns on CBS's March Madness website. It was one of the first times I can remember watching a full-length sporting event on the net and it prompted this post The Future of TV - March 2006.

Yesterday, my son had a baseball tourney, so once again I had to turn to the net for coverage as it was Longhorns versus TCU - where my wife went to school. So given that we were stuck in a baseball complex with no wifi I pulled out the laptop and my ATT 3G card and thanks to ESPN3.com was able to watch the game. NOTE: TCU won and congrats to them... I hope they are Cinderella ;)

But I digress...being able to watch video on the internet is nothing new but here is why I'm writing this post. My in-laws, including those in Fort Worth (where TCU is located) couldn't watch the game on ESPN. For some idiotic reason, ESPN was not airing the Texas (ranked #2) v TCU game (fighting for chance to go to their first CWS). So instead of my in-laws and such calling me with play by play, I was calling them. That's right - we could see what they could not. And THAT is why more and more video will be consumed via digital platforms. Even cable has limitations on how much it can carry. ESPN only has so many channels it can push content through in the television world but online -- it can push as many streams as it likes. And with the PIP (picture in a picture) feature, I could actually watch two of those streams at the same time!

And because they archive the game, they can take a swipe at Tivo too. But they'd really need to let me fast forward to make it a true alternative.

Now according to ESPN3.com I could also watch the stream on my phone but frankly, never could get that to work but if it had.... OMG. I could have sat in the bleachers with my phone and an earbud. Given that more and more sports coverage and really good content period is moving to cable channels - I've got to think the ability to deliver that content via digital channels will become more and more important if not a consumer expectation.

NOTE to those in the broadcast world though: it was a royal pain in the ass to register, etc. to get the feed. You don't need all that information. Just give me a username/password and let me be done with it. Especially when trying to view through a smart phone.

Certainly this phenomenon won't be limited to live sports. I know for me that sports has been the reason I've dialed up instead of tuned in... but what about y'all. What do you think? Does certain kinds of content lend themselves to the need/desire to watch online vs TV? Let me know...would love to hear your thoughts.