Watching the Internet

This book deals with the Internet's influence on television. The traditional value chain has been transformed, giving rise to new forms of television that foster user generated content. We no longer dream about interactivity but participation. Accordingly, the 'digital natives' like to tag programmes and films by voting, sharing, collaborating, remixing and distributing media content. Indeed, television may become a web of interactive programmes by the cyberspace, each conveniently tagged so that other users can find it. Although many questions have yet to be answered, this decade's motto may be 'the tag is the medium'. However, on-demand television is unlikely to replace mass Tv. The Web 2.0 has brought an end to the 'my Tv' concept of the dotcom age and may put 'our Tv' in its place. These changes pose serious problems. The industry is facing the real threat of revenue cannibalisation because current online business models are not financially rewarding. The Internet is not yet a profitable market for programmes that require additional revenues advertising. To date, the box office, video and premium television have been the main sources of revenue for the audiovisual industry. This book explores the factors at play in this shift. It reveals the contradictions of cyber-Utopia, where the Net is thought to be horizontal, free, devoid of ownership and content-neutral; where a different kind of entertainment and communication can be shared freely, beyond the clutches of traditional companies.