TV Everywhere…Except the Internet
Jan 12, 2010
It will give multichannel video distributors a chance to find their footing as millions of consumers continue to “cut the video cord.” And it would provide consumers with ubiquitous access to content over the Internet while also ensuring that content creators are compensated for their programming.
And yet public interest groups such as Free Press grumble that this new platform is harmful to the smaller online video services not affiliated with a major cable company. A recent Washington Post article quotes Marvin Ammori, a law professor at the University of Nebraska and senior adviser to Free Press, who says “The old media giants are working together to kill off innovative online competitors and carve up the market for themselves.” The article also claims that the big cable companies intend to “‘[starve]’ new competitors to cable and satellite firms such as Boxee and Vuze who need access to choice shows and movies to attract viewers.”
But wait – weren’t these the same public interest groups who previously harked on the need for blossoming new media to adapt itself to the changing market in order to stay afloat?