• by July 13, 2005

Today, there's a new on-demand entertainment company on the scene. Dubbed "Network Live," the company is a joint venture between America Online, XM Satellite Radio Holdings, and Anschutz Corp.'s AEG, which produces concerts and owns sports and entertainment venues.

On the heels of AOL's successful Live 8 global concerts, the online media giant is showing that it's more determined than ever to be a leader in providing live and on-demand entertainment.

While AOL streamed the concerts live on July 2 to some 5 million online viewers, more importantly, it continues to offer the Live 8 performances and tons of related content (blogs, slide shows, artist bios, and the like) on-demand through Labor Day. Yes, that's right. If you missed the boat on Live 8 or want to hear Roxy Music or Pink Floyd again you can visit this address as many times as you want. It's free. It's also advertiser-supported.

The new joint venture is an ambitious gambit that will provide live and on-demand entertainment including concerts and comedy shows, and presumably more, through the Web, satellite radio, wireless devices, and yet-to-be-determined media platforms. It's actually pretty exciting. If it flies, the venture would close in on the promise of providing content where consumers want it, how they want it, anywhere, anytime, and by any device.

Network Live's revenue will come from advertising and licensing fees. So far, executives say there are no plans to charge consumers for content.

It would appear that on-demand is where it's at now. Remember the Dire Straits song "Money for Nothing" and the band's plaintive wail "I want my MTV...?" It's morphed into "I want my content on-demand and I'm in control."

"Just give it to me, and go away."