Internet Television: The Future of the Web

The next five years will be a revolutionary movement for the world wide web as it will expand itself in new areas of media. The social networking capabilities of the net have been realized in its truest form with the past election of President Barack Obama. He showed how a marketing strategy of connecting with voters through the web would expand his voter base. He added one-and-a-half to two points to his total popular vote total with the internet campaign. This shows the power of the social and democratic uses of the internet.

With the switch to digital television which is now slated for June 12 by Congress, there will be a wide spectrum of space opening up for new expansion. A designated section of this newly-vacated spectrum will be assigned to local, state and federal authorities for homeland security purposes. There is a lot of discussion amongst industry leaders and the government on exactly what would be the best use for the spectrum space.

One of the areas that I want to focus my attention is increasing development in the internet television stations and movie channels. There are dozens of experimental television stations on the internet. Some of these are ranked very highly by critics and researchers in their operations and content. The expansion and quality of these internet television stations will some show an impact on the traditional broadcast and cable hierarchy.

In the article Still on the Verge by Carol Wilson in 2008, she states “IPTV (internet protocol television), with its ability to combine features from the Internet with the video entertainment that we know as traditional TV, has the potential to be the ultimate multitasking tool”.

The internet can be a new field for the television expansion. Channels with all original, quality programming could lead to a loss of viewers and potentially advertisers for the traditional media outlets. It has become a fear for the networks too as they have started to explore their own options to utilize the space better.

There are a lot of channels on broadcast and cable television with a wide variety and option for programming. As many programs as there are on traditional television, there are hundreds of other programs that represent quality television. Internet television will provide another outlet for programs which are broadcast quality.

The future of these shows could expand to feature known television and film stars in made-for-internet television. Stations dedicated to showing independent films also have a future on the internet where viewership can be tracked easier than through traditional viewer polling methods. This will open a market for lower budgeted films to be broadcasted. The expansion of corporate advertising will also be evident as the popularity of the IPTV draws more viewers.

The Automotive News magazine wrote an article about the reduction in spending in the automobile industry. One of the areas hit the hardest was advertising dollars. But several major car companies showed that they were actually increasing internet promotional dollars while reducing print, radio and television ad budgets. The shift of power in the world of media may be returning to the people and new opportunities opening for those with a sense of adventure and knowledge of new technology.