I was just having dinner with someone from a big TV company who was
talking about how unimpressed management are by YouTube viewing
figures. They just aren't interested in holding a few thousand, or
at best a million or so, people for a few seconds at a time, with
such unpredictability. They see it as small-time and unsustainable.
YT is limited in reach (whatever the hype to the contrary) by only
playing to people watching video on their computers: mostly teenagers
in their bedrooms and bored workers. When we're all able to
subscribe to UGC channels - RSS and otherwise - from the comfort of
our sofa, on our big screen TVs, the demographic will change, and we
will all be able to reach a much wider audience of channel hoppers,
most of whom will stick with MSM but a good percentage of whom will
discover good independent stuff, will bookmark what they like
subscribe if they can and interact with us given the chance. Longer
attention spans and loyalties possible than the bedroom/office/
computer watcher. YT doesn't fit with this sofa model at the moment,
and it seems to me that as PCs, TVs and sofas converge, it must
change or die. From my research recently, I think Vista boxes will
start being used this way quite soon, in quite large numbers. Then
we'll see, maybe.
