XM Radio has a station called “The Bridge” – channel 27 – that has become a fixture in my car. It may not match your taste, but the playlist defines my college listening and I can’t help feel that someone has programmed it just for me.
Sure, I could load up an iPod and play my tunes, but I don’t own everything from that period – every so often, there is a cut inserted that reminds me of a missed purchase from 30 years ago.
That is the real point of this posting. In a universe of digital radio or digital TV, it is more possible for programming to target micro-markets. Not all entertainment – music or video – can or will necessarily be pulled by users. Such a model misses the opportunity to be introduced to the unknown.
My kids are part of a download on-demand generation. My son hasn’t subscribed to a broadcast TV service for 6 years. While touring the beaches with him this past weekend, I mentioned a Malibu-based TV series that he had never seen, despite the show being a hit for years. We spent part of Saturday night watching the pilot and the first few episodes. He had no idea what he had been missing. Streaming is letting him catch up.
Broadcasting, on-demand streaming and bulk file transfers: the interplay of these modes of acquiring content generates significant implications for networks, not just content distributors.
As user tastes shift, will network operators have sufficient flexibility to deliver content the way users want? Flexibility in technology, in policy, in dealing with users’ requirements.
Recommendation engines may be one part of the solution. They may be automated, as in Netflix, or social media-based, like Boxee. Either way, this is a real opportunity for new solutions to present themselves. The days of everyone watching a popular show on a given night are long over.