By Caitlin Blaney
For the average American on-the-go, the ability to watch television online is one of the greatest revelations since Al Gore invented the internet. Now with smartphones in tow, TV is literally accessible anytime, anywhere, simply by logging into your web browser. Cable companies trying to capitalize on this technology have introduced “TV Everywhere”, a platform with which subscribers to both cable and high-speed internet can access most of their favorite cable shows online at their convenience. While this seems like a golden opportunity for most cable subscribers, regulatory groups are calling on the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to step in and end what they say is the dominance of the cable industry.
Until the debut of TV Everywhere, most cable programming was not widely available online for legal download. Viewers who wished to watch television shows on the internet were restricted to most general networks (ie: ABC, CBS, NBC, etc) through either the network website or other authorized sites such as Hulu. Adam Thierer, President of Progess and Freedom Foundation points out on Technology Liberation Front all the benefits to the TV Everywhere model:
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?
