Hey, Just posted by James Allen; For sure, more money for Bernie...... For us? In the short term, probably not a lot of benefits. But, over time I can see split screens (you select what you want etc) and even listening to radio comms etc - It's all there, it just needs to get to the 'net..... Cheers, Ian
Let me play the devil's advocate here and say that it might in the long run mean that Bernie cuts off the TV stations, only broadcasts via internet and charges absurd fees for watching...
Ding-Ding-Ding. Absolutely correct. This is about controlling access to the commodity. The dangerous part is,... giving up the "free" viewers will hurt sponsorship moneys... but that's the teams problem. So I suspect that is way down the list of things Bernie cares about. In the long run this will hurt the majority of fans and the teams. A few hard core fans may like improved specialty coverage...
Yep, they tried this a ten years ago with the first digital satellite channels and it was a failure: only the very die hard fans payed for the special coverage.
Playing devils advocate right back at ya!..... Bernie is many things - Among them one of the first to recognize, and quantify, the WW audience for his product - "Eyeballs" and big ego's turned this into one of the biggest sports on the planet. He's not going to take anything "away" from anyone - The BBC decided they couldn't afford it, Sky picked it up and I suspect UK viewing figures will remain pretty much the same for example. Most folk are paying for it already, one way or another. I believe that "passive delivery" mechanism will continue forever. This deal, IMHO, says that Bernie now "gets" the 'net..... He's been scared of it for years, but it seems Tata have shown him the possibilities, and he's bought in [Metaphorically of course, Bernie doesn't pay for much ] 'Net access is in *addition* to "free" access is my point I guess. Cheers, Ian
I really think this is the way content will reach the end user in the future. I don't think there will be a need for networks that are now the gatekeepers to content. I think the content producers will have a direct to consumer model and most will not charge the end user. It could still be ad based, but just cut the networks out of the deal. The networks now control the access to the consumer via transmission through FCC controlled waves. Now, streaming via the net will become mainstream. I think Bernie is just a little ahead of the curve for what is to come.....and I'm guessing he will profit from the change. It's also true that this form of delivery will allow for more functionality and interactivity. Things like track maps with real-time positions, etc.
FWIW I would pay to have the ability to watch the race over and over again from every camera possible. It would be cool to have the screen divided into 4. One for race coverage, one on the pits, one a track map with positions and one on board.
