On Fri, Jan 3, 2014 at 12:15 PM, Joe Hass <[email protected]> wrote:
> Jumping in quite late to this: > > We all fundamentally know why ABC is doing this (to goose their live+7 > numbers). It makes no sense from a reality perspective as the show airs > with commercials both live and when streaming. The fact that either they > can't or won't figure out how to measure or monetize the viewers who have > the ability to watch the show via free streaming is irrelevant to someone > who doesn't have the inside baseball knowledge we have here. This a net > loss to them. > > The catch, as Kevin noted, is that most people for whom streaming would be > an option are also likely to know of torrent sites and get around ABC's > restrictions. If a business decides to shoot themselves in the foot, far be > it for me to stop them. > > I don't think this is "actively encouraging online piracy and content > theft" as Kevin noted. I do think they have yet to accept the proverbial > reality > on the ground, are still trying to fit the square peg in the round hole, > and seem to be breaking out larger and larger pieces of equipment to get > said peg into said hole. > There are two issues here, one is the claim that removing free streaming for a week after initial broadcast is a bad business decision that will in the long run reduce viewers to ABC programs; the second is that there is something immoral or illegitimate about ABC deciding to charge for streaming during the one week window. My comments have been directed at the second issue - I don't see anything particularly illegitimate about charging for a product or service, particularly when it is made available for free live, and after one week. And I don't think deciding to charge a legitimate price makes them responsible for people who decide to steal it. I don't know if this will be a good or bad business decision. But I don't agree that the primary reason for doing this is to raise ABC's Live+7 ratings. For one thing, the +7 ratings are not (at least, not yet) particularly important in determining ad rates or renewal for programs. For another thing, while streaming of television programs within a week of initial broadcast may be common among the relatively tech and tv savvy people here, even among young adults streaming from the network website is not yet the primary way that a large percentage of Americans get their television. I suspect that even if 25% of the people who were streaming ABC programing from the website in the 7 day window instead watch it live it would have no detectable effect on live+7 ratings. I think the reason ABC did this was to try to provide their cable partners with a little more value. Whether that turns out to be a good buisines decision will remain to be seen, but if it is a problem it will be a really long term one. I don't think ad revenue from streaming at the network site makes up a significant portion of ABC's income. -- -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
