• by Rob Norman , July 5, 2007

Just for once let's not talk about money and the challenges we face, let's celebrate instead.

The birth of "The Sopranos" coincided with the implosion of Web 1.0 -- and the show's death, the deal frenzy of Web 2.0. Web 1.0 gave us the first "TV is dead" headlines -- and by now you would only assume that the medium would have been a collectable artifact.

But not so. TV is now in prime time. The production community that was dormant after the glory days of NBC Thursday, dragging its intellect through the cloying mud of reality television and a paranoid response to online distribution, is back. Who can remember a single year of television that had programming to match "Grey's Anatomy," "Heroes," "The Office," "Ugly Betty," "24," "Lost," "Desperate Housewives," "Idol," "Deal or No Deal," "My Name is Earl" -- to say nothing of many more -- and the current HBO crop of "Entourage" and, my own favorite, (and that of my wives) "Big Love." Better still let's applaud the makers and the networks for making shows available free and on-demand on multiple platforms -- and doing it with the breathtaking quality of the Move Networks player on abc.com.

The winner by a street is the consumer, who gets all the benefits of self-scheduling and the devices and bandwidth with which to enjoy it. So far, at least, there are no new bills to pay, apart from those from the cell phone companies, who charge the most for the least-good user experience, and the TV manufacturers whose new devices are worth every single cent. The value of Sling Box and Apple TV remain to be seen, but represent yet further anything, anytime, anyplace options -- so either they or the next one along will find a home and a value. In the same vein, we are beginning to see the advertising and revenue puzzles being solved, as well as quality driving audiences and formats creating relevant homes for brand owners. Winners without losers. How splendid.

One mountain remains unclimbed. Short-format television is in its infancy and remains dominated by music, sports clips and the movie business alongside the user-generated content swamp. For a series of devices and occasions, the two-minute video snack is likely to be a major feature -- and it's a play that the real kings of the production community have not yet stepped up to. Short-form reality and scripted drama built for the mobile device and the desktop have huge audience potential in terms of reach and engagement, and, by consequence, huge value to advertisers. Just now I feel 100% confident that within a year we will see a major series that was born in short-form and then transliterated to television.