Think Out of the TV-Box!
As for this entry, let's not talk about gadget for a moment because I want to write about something that has been knocking on my head for some time.
As I was trying to find some video clips to watch on YouTube the other day, I saw some bulletin messages saying that there will be a new law in Hong Kong effective on May 1. The new law will allow the Hong Kong Customs to track IP addresses from Internet Service Providers. At the same time, many YouTube accounts have been suspended because of copyright infringement, particularly account users who have uploaded TVB (a television broadcasting company in Hong Kong) productions. I have to admit that this will affect me in a certain extent because I occasionally watch those Hong Kong series on YouTube too.
Currently, there are rental stores that legally rent TVB serials and variety shows at a rental fee, but these rental stores are limited in certain overseas locations only, and not every state or country has one. Also, TVB and many TV broadcasting companies do sell older series in VCD or DVD boxes. However, many people are still downloading online illegally.
From TVB's perspective (and many other TV broadcasting companies too), illegal downloads do harm the ratings/indexes and incomes from TV commercials, but why don't they turn this risk into an opportunity, just like how ABC.com does it by uploading all the popular TV shows 24-hours after the live broadcast. As we have discussed in class, ABC generates more advertising income from online sources rather than TV broadcasting because by advertising online, they can better reach the target customers. For example, they can figure out people who watch "Prison Break" might like the products used by the leading characters, and people who watch "America's Next Top Model" might be intersted in fashion ADs (Read more here.). Besides, many people have tape recorders or DVD recorders at home. They can record TV shows and forward all the unwanted/mass TV commercials. Hence, TV ADs might not be as efficient as they should be.
Furthermore, while TV broadcasting companies (or TVB in particular) cannot setup rental stores in every region/country (Check list of available countries here.), wouldn't Online TV reach a wider range of audiences, and probably generate more income from online subscriptions or download services fees?
While TVB claim illegal downloading negatively influence the TV ratings, I think it also relates to the busy lifestyle in Hong Kong and the change in people's habits. People in Hong Kong usually work until very late, and when they get home, they probably missed all those featured TV series already, or maybe they do not have time to watch TV after a long tired day. Moreover, there are a lot of fun things to do at night instead of sitting in front of the TV between 7:30PM to 10:30PM (maybe it's the peak hour to chat online with friends?). So what happens if they forgot to set a timer to record their favorite shows to watch at a later time? If they are lucky, they can probably watch them at a friend's house if someone has recorded them, but if they don't have the luck, there are 2 legal options only:
1) Don't bother to watch the show OR
2) Wait until TVB re-broadcast the show or release VCD/DVD after years (But why bother?).
To ensure that my suggestion for online TV shows is feasible/workable, I have visited some Hong Kong forums and asked some Cantonese-speaking friends around the world. Interestingly, many people like the idea of having TVB shows posted online for everyone to watch at their preferred time. In fact, those who live in Hong Kong are not willing to pay any subscription fee or download fee, and those overseas are willing to pay a reasonable amount of money to watch online or even download. Well, I think this result is understandable because while you live in Hong Kong and you can watch those shows free, then why should you pay to watch the same material online? But for those who live overseas, maybe study aboard students like me, we cannot watch the TVB shows on TV, and there are no nearby rental stores to rent those shows/series to watch, we are more willing to pay for online streaming/downloading.
As globalization takes effect, people from different countries relocate around the world, but many of them still miss the TV shows that speak their native language. Hence, I think TV broadcasting companies should not miss this opportunity to reach out. Moreover, digital convergence changes people's habit of watching TV. People would definitely want to watch TV and discuss the show with friends at real time, and perhaps on the same device (i.e. computer or even cellphones) as well. Therefore, I believe Online TV is a mutual benefit to audiences and the broadcasting companies (and maybe advertisers too). Here are some of the main points:
1) Online TV can show specific advertisements to targeted customers
2) Online TV will have more AD spaces on the website
3) Online TV can better fit people's lifestyle by allowing them to wach their favorite shows at a later time instead of driving their interest to watch TV away
4) Online TV can reach out to people around the world through the Internet
Feel free to comment on this entry. Thanks for reading.
3 comments:
As we have discussed very thoroughly in class, online television is certainly the way of the future for consumers and broadcasters. In theory, this seems all nice and dandy. The problem is that narrowcasting through the internet is still a fairly new concept to the mass. The public is still used to the old way of watching television at a specified time and place. We have to wait to see how successful this business model will be depending on public reception.
In regions like Asia, piracy can never truly go away. Despite the IP tracking that you have mentioned, there will still people who are illegaly uploading and downloading tv contents. The fact is that the number of piracy acts is too much for any types of legal actions to take place. TV companies can not afford to spend much of their resources just to curb this problem. They have bigger things to worry about with stiff competitions and constant technological advances.
Interesting to know.
Very helpful tips. I had no idea of that at all.
Post a Comment