Iger Says TV Must Go Mobile to Remain Relevant

Telecom capabilities such as IPTV, Internet streaming, video downloads and mobile media have caused a “great power shift from content creators and distributors to consumers” because “choice is proliferating,” Iger said. One of the keys is the “portability of media,” he said: “Remaining slaves to fixed media consumption would be a big mistake.” He cited the more than 4 million downloads of ABC video content since Oct.: “This was the right deal for Disney. It is necessary to diversify how and when you distribute content, not only for the increased revenue opportunities, but to remain relevant in a changing world.”

But video downloads are “either going to save the business or destroy it,” said TV producer Dick Wolf, who created CSI and other series. He told the convention that even “huge” levels of video downloads at $1.99 each can’t come close to matching the revenue of a major network show. Such downloads can seriously damage the secondary market for TV programs such as syndication and DVDs, he said. More importantly, said Wolf: “I don’t know if the advertisers will be willing to continue to step up to network TV” if viewers can easily skip ads.

Despite growth of new media, U.S. consumers are spending 6% more time watching TV now than they did 5 years ago, and 76% more time on the Internet, said Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt. He said cable companies are constantly adding to their service bundles. TW has more than 1.1 million voice telephony customers, he said.

In Hollywood, a “perfect storm” is developing over sharing revenues from new digital media, said Wolf. Writers and actors are threatening to strike over their revenue splits, he said, but already-strapped producers can’t afford to give more. -- Michael Feazel

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BellSouth may have to “tweak some plans a little bit” on IPTV because of its impending merger with AT&T, CTO Bill Smith acknowledged. But he expressed confidence the IPTV rollout will continue more or less on schedule. The Bell, trying IPTV out on about 250 employees, plans to expand that to about 1,000 customers in the 2nd half, he said. BellSouth is “excited” about IPTV, Smith said, because it’s not “just a replacement for digital cable or satellite.” He described it as a more personalized experience for consumers and a cost saver for BellSouth -- about $500 to put 3 IPTV set-tops in a home vs. $900 for high-end cable boxes. Combining IPTV with IMS “is incredibly powerful from the user perspective and the simplicity perspective,” Smith said, due to the ability to perform such tasks as control a PVR from a cellphone or tailor program guides to members of a household.

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There’s been no “next big thing” for about 5 years, but now IPTV is it, said Christine Heckart, gen. mgr.-mktg. for Microsoft TV. She said TV hasn’t participated in the digital revolution of the past 30 years, but IPTV “brings it into the digital age,” making it a 2-way communications device: “This will revolutionize entertainment and possibly communications as we know it.” Heckart said TV users are “not early adopters,” so IPTV has to be “absolutely intuitive… If we don’t get the essentials right it will never take off.”

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Home networks may be the hardest part of the transition to IP telecom, said Chris Coles, CEO of Siemens-owned Myrio: “The home is probably the most hostile environment, but we're going back in for fun and profit.” BellSouth CTO Bill Smith agreed difficulties of home networks may be underestimated, but said getting home networks right is “an essential part of the solution.” The key is to assure that the telco can see how the home network is functioning so it can be fixed without a truck roll, he said: “There is no way we can afford to do a truck roll every time there is a problem.” AT&T is looking at 802.11n wireless technology for delivering video within the home, said Chris Rice, AT&T exec. vp- engineering. Smith said there can be interference problems for wireless networks in multifamily residences, and BellSouth is also considering BPL.

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Wurld Media will launch the movie version of Peer Impact in 2-3 months using Universal content, officials said here. Peer Impact is Wurld’s P2P legal content delivery business. It uses local caching of content to allow fast delivery of near-DVD quality movies.

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The Metro Ethernet Forum said it will deal with access technologies in the next phase of its carrier ethernet strategy and certification program. It will start with conformance of the IEEE 802.3ah OAM standard.

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The AT&T-backed Internet Innovation Alliance was actively recruiting members at the convention, and officials indicated some confidence at least 2 more major telcos soon might join. In addition to AT&T, members include CapNet, Level 3, the Information Technology Assn. of America and the American Conservative Union. The group’s main concern is streamlining video franchise reform, said co-chmn. Larry Irving, ex-NTIA dir., and Bruce Mehlman, former asst. secy. of commerce.