• by David Kaplan , February 11, 2005

The notion of bringing iPod-like portability--along with the kind of sensational public embrace of that particular downloaded music player--has created an equal amount of hunger and frustration among media executives.

In terms of why there hasn't been an iPod equivalent to emerge on the television side, executives who appeared on a panel entitled "Everything on Demand: From the Server to the Set-Top Box--Movies, TV Programs, Games and More" said the main issue has been finding a popular standard to connect the PC to the TV that you don't need a degree to understand.

Movie-based Video On Demand services have grown significantly in the past year, the panelists noted, and 50 million American homes now have access to the content offered by such devices. Concurrently, as the content has broadened, the on-demand service types have diversified as well, with new services such as subscription video on-demand (SVOD), which provides access to serial-type content on a flat-billing with unlimited usage; free on-demand (FOD), which provides access to long-form advertising and content such as sports highlights aimed at stimulating sampling of on-demand services; and Enhanced Program Guides (EPG), an interactive service that works with VOD.

Hybrid time-shifting services, such as DVRs, have also taken hold of the market. Set-top boxes enhanced with hard drives and slick user interfaces have freed viewers from the traditional constraints of scheduled broadcast programming--all for a monthly service fee combined with a one-time device purchase or monthly device rental fee.

Still, any company that develops a significant on-demand vehicle may find itself competing with cable and satellite operators and even Web-based operators, since consumers haven't made any decisive move toward one vehicle or another, in the way that the public has taken to Apple Computer's iPod.

So far, noted Alan Citron, svp for marketing at Movielink--a company that provides downloadable movies and is co-owned by five major Hollywood studios--there has to be a simple, easy connection from the PC to TV in order to make such services more viable.

"Consumers don't want to watch a movie anywhere but their 50-inch plasma screen, and not on a 15-inch PC monitor," Citron said. "Whether it's a digital media device or video game console, people are too used to advances in TV screen clarity to accept anything less. What I think has to happen is that when there's great content, viewers will invest in the necessary technologies. At this point, only sophisticated users--the early adopters--are the ones who understand the hardware."

Curt Mavis, CEO of rival Web-based film company CinemaNow, which has a deal with Lion's Gate Entertainment, agreed, saying: "There is a tremendous opportunity for portability--for someone to create a portable device for downloading movies similar to the iPod."

Still, there was some disagreement among the panelists on the issue. "More than a magic device coming in and saving the day, the answer is--we have to do a better job at educating and communicating with consumers," said James Henderson, vice president for corporate development at Charter Communications.

When panel moderator Rick Doherty, co-founder and director of consulting firm The Envisioneering Group, asked about how TiVo seems to be faring, Mitch Oscar, executive vice president of Aegis Group's Carat Digital, practically threw his hands up.

"At Carat Digital, we see our role as trying to bring advertisers into this space, but when I try to program my TiVo to record a boxing match, and because it was synched correctly with my cable, I wound up getting 2 hours of a 2:10-minute fight--I don't know even know which contender won!--I know we've got an uphill battle with all of these technologies."

The panelists also praised Charter's adoption of technologies like Moxie Digeo, an "integrated and interactive media center platform" that works to combine DVD players and DVRs.

"Charter has been out in the forefront--especially with Moxie Digeo--and I do see opportunities there to do more branding by using those technologies," said Kevin Cohen, senior vice president and general manager for interactive/enhanced television for Turner Network Sales.

As to the never-ending issues of privacy and piracy, Carat's Oscar had the most innovative--if in the end, imperfect--solution.

"We tried to have the screen explode when the consumer was done viewing the content, but, especially with computer screens, we found it might leave scars on people's faces, thereby leading to lawsuits," Oscar said. "We decided it wasn't worth it from a legal and financial standpoint."