Screaming Penguin - Source Does Matter

At BlogMaverick:

Content has been available for download for years and years. That content could be played on any number of devices, from computers to DVD players to PDAs. Being able to playback a video from the new Video Ipod just like you can play a song from a current IPod, certainly is not a technical marvel.

It is a business marvel. Bob Iger has gone contrary to what every current and previous TV network head has and would have done had Bob not turned the industry on its head with his announcement with Apple yesterday. Bob Iger has saved Network TV.

How ?

By completely changing the economic model.

I couldn't agree more. While I have to admit, I got a little bit of... sitckershock at the $1.99 price, especially given the resolution of iTMS shows and the lack of "burn to DVD" functionality. However, I have said for YEARS that if someone would do a good VOD service with a lot price per episode, it could completely change TV.

Honestly, $1.99 per episode isn't that bad. If not for the problems mentioned above, it actually could be a sweet spot. It is right about the price per episode you pay when you buy a whole season of most shows (the f*cking outrageously priced Star Trek boxes aside) on DVD now. However, you get a whole lot "more" out of the DVD-- including the ability to easily violate the DMCA and get the video on to whatever device you want. The $1.99 price might still stand, but iTMS needs one thing: back catalog.

As I am sure you know, Don Adams passed away recently. Fascinating thing, though: I was talking to my local trivia-meister at the bar and wondered why there wasn't a "Get Smart" question in the lineup. He looked it up and Get Smart hasn't even been in syndication for 5 years. Now, if I could just sit down and punch up a couple of episodes, that might actually be worth $1.99 a throw. Moreoever, I suspect the handful of people in the media world who "get it", Cuban included, are now going to be beating a line to Apples door to put their content on iTMS.

And really, in terms of "content", TV is still a great untapped resource. How many hours of TV are out there that are heretofore unavailable? Jillions. What is the marginal cost of storing ALL of it? Negligible. I even rented movies from MovieLink, with their Real stuff, and it wasn't a bad experience at all -- most of my complains there have to do with the fact that some movies are 5.1 and some are just stereo and you don't get any warning. MovieLink, however, suffered from "PPV-itis". Crappy selection, and mostly just the craptacuar movies that came out in the last season that you didn't want to see anyway.

Simply put, however, I really am starting to think the new iPod might represent a tipping point. I think Steve Jobs just pwn3d the media types AGAIN, by simply not being a f*cktard.