Net Neutrality Questioned

Without net neutrality laws, content availability may govern platform success. Level 3 is arguing that the barriers to entry in the broadband marketplace is raised to a point where unfair competition occurs. "Level 3, which helps to deliver Netflix’s streaming movies, said Comcast had effectively erected a tollbooth that 'threatens the open Internet,' and indicated that it would seek government intervention. Comcast quickly denied that the clash had anything to do with network neutrality, instead calling it 'a simple commercial dispute.'” Should this concern the government, not to mention the public, seeking cord cutting alternatives to cable subscription fees? And should it be a concern, especially with the merger talks concluding with Comcast and NBCU?

This news certainly is coming out at an inopportune time. Preferential treatment for some content creators over others, could be argued. "In theory, without government action, Comcast could speed up streams of NBC programs and slow down streams of its rivals’ programs."

More is at stake than this one issue. As file sizes get larger, demand grows, and the bandwidth gets maxed out, then something has got to give. Should a free capital market put the onus on who can afford to pay for better treatment? Is it really possible to be completely equitable? With more mobile and web based activity, traffic needs to be managed properly; otherwise, you have delays and traffic jams for all. As long as broadband content gets through and is not stopped completely, then maybe a free market system is the way to go.

Microsoft eyes leap back into TV

Will cable lose to Microsoft? Once a partner to the cable industry with investments with cable operators and networks, Microsoft has lost its lead and its focus. Where they continue to excel is gaming and their product, XBox, may just be the driver back into the household. "The software powerhouse has held talks with TV networks to create a new subscription-based TV service on its Xbox gaming console that would rival efforts by Google Inc, Apple Inc and Netflix Inc, sources told Reuters." As Xbox 360 continues to gain momentum, online access opens much potential. In an era of cord cutting, users of XBox could easily connect with web based content and cut the cord to cable.

A lower level of service could be built at a much lower price point, and more suitable for today's household. "One scenario under consideration by Microsoft is to create a new TV service on its Xbox gaming console that would establish a "virtual cable operator." The service would charge a monthly fee for access through the Xbox to networks such as ABC, NBC, Fox, CBS, ESPN or CNN, according to two sources familiar with the plans." More ala carte, cheaper bundles, more consumer friendly. A boon for the consumer, a bust for cable companies.

Netflix’s Move Onto the Web Stirs Rivalries

The New York Times is noticing, consumers are too. Netflix has embraced the web and has found a better profit margin in serving it's content to consumers. Without the cost of postage, Netflix can get its content into the home instantaneously. Good news for consumers, bad news for the US Postal Service as well as cable companies. "For the first time, the company will spend more over the holidays to stream movies than to ship DVDs in its familiar red envelopes (although it is still spending more than half a billion dollars on postage this year). And that shift coincides with an ominous development for cable companies, which long controlled home entertainment: for the first time in their history, cable television subscriptions fell in the United States in the last two quarters — a trend some attribute to the rise of Netflix, which allows consumers to bypass their cable box to stream movies and shows."

Netflix's remaining dilemma is how to increase its inventory of content. Cable can boast more on demand content currently, but it is at a higher cost to the consumer. With a much lower price point than cable, Netflix may not have the most, but they may have enough of the right content. Cable and satellite also have promoted the fact that some top transactional movie titles are available a month before Netflix customers can view. As Netflix demand grows, studios may have to rethink this tactic.

As consumers watch their spending, Netflix represents a real game changer that can hasten the cord cutting threatening cable. With just a broadband connection, video content is instantly available. Technological innovation continues to change the entertainment landscape, turning leaders into followers.

Time Warner Cable Launches New Plans

Last week, Time Warner announced a new low end tier of cable service, less cable channels, for a lower price. Some expensive licensed channels, ESPN and Disney, were named as not included in this low end tier. It is a valiant attempt at keeping a customer from defecting altogether. A downgrade is better than a disconnect.

At the same time, Time Warner has enhanced its upper end tier pricing as well. "Time Warner Cable will charge high-end customers $199.99 per month for a new "white glove" service option that it has dubbed Signature Home. According to a report in Bloomberg News Tuesday, Time Warner Cable is testing the service in Charlotte, N.C. and will roll it out nationally in the next few weeks." Will this new high end service package upsell some, perhaps it will simply offset the same number that downgrade and hence a break even for the company.

Kudos to Time Warner for at least being innovative in their pricing, given the needs of their customers. Whether, the response matches or exceeds the effort remains to be seen. How much marketing is done to push these new pricing tiers will show us how committed they really are to these programs. And to that we will just have to wait and see.

More iPad Uses, More iPads

A product is only as good as what it does. Develop more uses, create more usage, and more products should sell off the shelf. So was the case with Arm & Hammer baking soda, and so is the case with the iPad. For baking soda, Arm & Hammer pushed more usage, not just in cooking, but as an air freshener in the refrigerator, as an additive to toothpaste, and so on. The result was that usage rose dramatically. For the Apple iPad, the more uses, the more desire to use, and the more users. Thus the upcoming announcement.

"Apple may hold a press event as soon as Dec. 9 with a number of print executives -- including News Corp's Rupert Murdoch -- to unveil a new subscription billing option for newspapers and magazines on the iPad." Building out new subscription models with unique content can only drive the value of the iPad brand. Apple understands the basic marketing business model and is successfully capitalizing off it. By creating more need for the iPad, sales will rise this Holiday season and beyond.

Senator says Comcast/NBC may have broken law

On Friday, I asked a simple question, was the naming of executives prior to an approved merger common or unusual. I never asked, was it legal. Well, today that question is being asked. "Senator Al Franken, a critic of Comcast Corp's (CMCSA.O) proposed deal for control of NBC Universal, asked the Justice Department on Monday to investigate whether the giant cable company had engaged in 'illegal collaboration' concerning its intended target." And as it has been noted, Al Franken was a long term writer/performer on SNL, an NBC TV show. So perhaps, Senator Franken has some more thoughts than others on this merger.

To my question if this pre-merger announcement was unusual, came this comment. "An antitrust expert agreed it was not unusual for executives to be named for posts before the companies get government approval to close." I simply want to understand if there is a difference in planning pre-merger privately and announcing publicly. It seems that by announcing, the current lame duck managers are left doing nothing till the merger occurs. And that work stoppage hurts NBC.

Netflix Pushes Streaming and Price Increase

Netflix based its business on DVD mailers. They saw an opportunity to better their competitor, Blockbuster, with no penalty fees, low costs, and quick response and built a leader position. As a result, they toppled their competition and gained a loyal customer base. But like any business story, the lead can quickly be lost if you don't adapt to a changing environment. In Netflix's case, they did.

The biggest change for them was embracing a different distribution platform. While the DVD was their business model, their willingness to move from it to streaming could also be viewed as hurting the core of what they built their business on. But change, while difficult can also lead to greater successes. And Netflix is succeeding.

"The company based in Los Gatos, Calif. previously announced that more of its members are watching more content streamed over the Internet than on DVDs. To deal with this shift, Netflix says it will spend more this quarter to license streaming content than to buy DVDs" And with this shift in expenditures comes a need to increase customer pricing, too. "Existing members will incur the price increases in January, while people who are new sign-ups will face the higher prices immediately. Netflix has more than 16 million members in the U.S. and Canada and predicted in October that it would gain another 2.1 million to 2.9 million customers by year's end. That means Netflix could enter 2011 with more than 19 million subscribers, doubling the service's size in two years."

As consumers become more streaming savvy, Netflix has maintained and expanded their leadership base. And they are raising prices at the same time. Certainly any price increase hurts the consumer, but when the choice for content is cable or Netflix, Netflix continues to look like good value. Netflix is positioning themselves as a real alternative in the entertainment industry. While Blockbuster was once their adversary, it seems now that Netflix is after bigger game, the cable industry. And cable, concerned about cord cutting, is watching just where their audience is heading.

Comcast NBC Deal Done?

Maybe it is because I am close to the cable industry, maybe it is typical for other mergers, but I have to say, I don't recall previous mergers announcing their management structure changes BEFORE the ink has dried. So, I find it quite unusual to read about management changes for NBC and Comcast prior to its approval by the FCC and DOJ. Is this typical?

What is the current management team supposed to do today? Is it like a lame duck Congress, filing papers and cleaning their desk? And what happens IF the merger is not approved. Is this deal rubber stamped for approval so no use waiting for the formalities. It just seems odd to me.

And what IF the merger is actually disallowed. Does everybody simply go back to square one and have a do-over? Is that possible or will bad blood exist as a result of the memo. As I said, it just seems odd that these announcements have been made prior to approval by the government. Unusual or not, let me know.

Cord Cutting? Cable Subscriptions Drop Again

Let's see the scorecard. For Q3, Comcast lost 275,000 cable TV subscribers, Time Warner Cable lost 155,000 subs, Charter lost 63,800, and Cablevision 24,500 subscribers. For both Time Warner and Comcast, each has seen basic sub losses for the last 6 quarters. back in Q1 2009, Time Warner added 36,000 customers while Comcast lost 78,000 subs. In fact,as far back as I have tracked, Q4 2008, Comcast has been losing basic customers, a total since then of almost one and a half million basic subscribers.

To be fair, not all these cable cord cutters are dropping cable TV service altogether; rather, most are switching to Satellite or Telco. Since Q4 2009, the "cable" companies have lost more than 2.7 mm subs, while Dish and Direct TV together have added more than 2mm and AT&T and Verizon have added over 3.75 mm TV customers. So while TV subscription is growing, the trend is moving from cable to alternative providers.

The other factor to consider is the level of service being purchased. As cable TV rates rise, customers are moving to satellite and telco for better deals. Customers are also dropping additional services like premium TV. HBO for instance has seen a significant drop in subscription. With VOD as well as over the top service like Netflix and Redbox, customers are choosing to buy individual films over a premium subscription. It is partly why these providers are pushing more original series to their audience. Exclusivity of content to maintain their audience share.

Lastly is over the top content providers. With Hulu pricing lower their premium level of service, price elasticity is at play to generate more customer buys. As Hulu becomes more robust at a manageable price point, pressure to drop cable service for broadband content will also impact cord cutting. Series through Hulu and other content sites and movies through Netflix and others, all at a at a reasonable price point, may cause consumers to reallocate their entertainment budget from cable subscription to elsewhere. And TV manufacturers and gaming console providers are making it far easier for consumers to connect broadband content to their TV set.

So the challenge of a bad economy, poor price-value proposition by the cable companies, cheaper alternatives, and over the top choices for content are negatively affecting the subscriber numbers for cable companies. The trends over the last 2 years should be enough for cable companies to realize that their dominance is at risk. Maybe not today, maybe not next year, but market forces continue to take bigger bites to eat away their market share.

iTunes To Add Beatle Songs

No Apple surprises like a Verizon iPhone with 4G. No next generation iPod,No new operating system announcement. No today's Apple news will be that iTunes will add The Beatle songbook to its library enabling digital music downloads. Those who are Beatle fans already have the albums and cds. Those that want have most likely found a means to download. So while it is nice to hear that this deal will occur, it doesn't do much to shake the music world. Still, it is nice to see the deal finalized before I get older and start losing my hair, many years from now..."

TIVO Slashes DVR Price

Black Friday is arriving early for consumers interested in owning a Tivo. "TiVo will hack $200 off the retail prices of its DVRs through the end of the year, hoping the hardware discounts of up to 66% will help it stanch the flow of subscriber losses." Good news for fans looking for a deal, but I don't believe it will move the needle much.

To me, the missing ingredient is the integration with the set top box. Currently, few MSOs offer this feature. "The Alviso, Calif.-based company has struck agreements with Comcast, Cox Communications, DirecTV, RCN, Suddenlink Communications, Virgin Media in the U.K. and other service providers to variously provide TiVo-based services, resell its DVRs or provide better integration with TiVos." And while Comcast is mentioned, I have yet to receive a promotion offering me to trade my DVR box for a Tivo. Comcast would rather sell their own DVR service. I wonder if other cable customers from the above list are even aware that they can get Tivo service from their cable company. Is Cox marketing the service actively? Is Suddenlink?

There may be a deal in place, but are there customers. Adding a Tivo box under the TV with a cable box, a gaming box, a DVD player, only creates a mess of too many boxes, too many remotes, too many wires, and no simplicity. Less is more and the cable companies should consider putting their technology into the next generation of Wii boxes, Playstations, and yes, Tivos. A stand alone set top box has lost its way in the war of boxes that control the TV. It is time for more partnerships.

My Space Not A Social Network

According to its CEO, Mike Jones, My Space is changing its strategy to focus itself as an entertainment portal and not as a social networking site. "Talking The Telegraph at the Monaco Media Forum, Jones said the bold statement: 'MySpace is a not a social network anymore. It is now a social entertainment destination.'” And so Facebook has killed another competitor. So long Bebo and now so long My Space.

And while the focus of this discussion is on England, the same holds true for the US. "Jones said new users would be of a younger demographic who want to 'meet new and old friends around great content'. The focus of the ‘new MySpace’ in the UK during the launch period of the redesign will be solely on music discovery, with other content focus areas, such as TV and film, to come later. However, the US MySpace revamp launched with movie, TV and celebrity content ‘hubs’ already in place. Jones is hoping higher quality content, will yield good advertising returns." Can My Space change in time or are they so locked into a perception that the perception of the brand is locked?

The one thing My Space has going for it is a powerful owner. With Fox behind them, My Space has the financial muscle to change directions. Competition in this entertainment arena is equally tough, but Fox has the content to help their brother in this on line race.

Tivo Patent Update

When will the Tivo lawsuit ever end. Will Tivo prove once and for all that Dish owes Tivo for its technology. And should it prove true, will other companies finally get on board and strike deals with Tivo to put their capabilities into their boxes. "TiVo is trying to convince a panel of judges that Dish remains in contempt of a lower court ruling that the satellite TV provider’s DVRs are infringing TiVo’s patents."

To me, Tivo remains the leader in DVR and the cable box dvrs pale in comparison. I only wish my cable company would offer me the Tivo service through their set top box.

iPad Users More Likely To Cut Cable Cord

Here are the learnings:

"According to the study, a third of iPad owners are 'likely' to cancel their pay TV service sometime in the next six months, and 12.9% are 'highly likely' to cancel their service. In comparison, 13.5% of iPad intenders and 9.6% of average adult broadband users are likely to cancel their service. It gets even worse when the possibility of downgrading comes into play: A whopping 35.5% of iPad owners and 29.5% of intenders are to varying degrees likely to downgrade their pay TV service, compared to 20.7% of regular broadband users. For some perspective, Apple sold 4.19 million iPads last quarter."

Certainly the question can be asked what percentage will actually cut the cord. Hard to believe that folks would replace their beautiful 40" HD Flat Screen Color TV for a 10" tablet. Still, the younger generation is more mobile, buys less big screen toys, and likes that content can follow them and not the other way around.

I see my cable bill every month and it drives me crazy. I constantly wrestle with downgrading my service based on our viewing behavior. To me, the cost to buy premium services may outweigh its benefits. I love watching films on demand, but rarely am home to watch. I would say we watch about 6-8 premium movies a month. I could buy transaction titles only and perhaps save some money. Add a low cost Netflix subscription and stream these same premium movies and perhaps I would overall find myself saving even more money.

The iPad represents another platform for viewing streamed content. Cable must pursue a strategy of extending its cable subscription across multiple devices to compete effectively against Netflix and others. It will be this added value that may stop folks from being likely to actually cutting their cable cord.

Sirius Earnings Up

The car industry is improving, Sirius is included in most models, and more subs are keeping them turned on. It seems that Sirius is making all the right moves. "With Sirius XM being projected to end the year with over 20.1M subscribers, and the current direction of Comcast’s subscriber growth, it won’t be long before the Satellite Radio provider will be claiming the number one spot for subscriber based business models." That is quite an accomplishment for a company that was struggling to stay afloat.

Does Howard Stern make a difference? Probably some, but the sub losses would be offset by other niches and the overall margins could possibly improve. Still Howard and Sirius seem like the perfect pairing and Howard is benefiting more by subscriber additions. He has shares in the company and with the stock price rising, he should be pleased.

Apple iPad Has A Rival

Apple has never feared competition. It continues to do its own thing and seems to have a habit of leading the field. As a result it has shown phenomenal growth in a relatively short period of time. The latest field of play is tablets and the iPad has once again been the front runner. Well it seems the competition is starting to show its hand and coming up with notable alternatives. The latest comes from Samsung. "Samsung's strategy is to point out things you can accomplish that are challenged or impossible on an iPad. A promotional video shows Galaxy Tab in the palm of a user's hand as the person moves around, navigating maps, browsing the Web and engaging in a video conference." Obviously we now wait for Apple's latest version to come out to show that for evey step that the competition makes, Apple takes two bigger steps.

Hulu's Digital Pennies May Now Be Quarters

While not much is said on how the premium model is going for Hulu, Ad revenue does not seem to be suffering. "The company will generate $240 million in revenue this year, up from $108 million last year, and $25 million in 2008, (CEO Jason) Kilar said on stage at the NewTeeVee Live conference." Impressive growth from a startup. But does it indicate something more.

As they share their usage metrics, it makes me wonder the Hulu Effect on cord cutting. With so many users and so many streams, are these same users keeping their cable subscription and enhancing their usage experience. Or as some speculate, they have found that they can drop their cable service and watch their shows online only. So what is good for Hulu may not be good for Cable Operators.

Will a Comcast NBC Merger Cause Customer Fees to Rise?

We worry about a number of things when mergers occur. Monopolistic conditions, higher barriers for competitors to enter, less innovation, and of course rising prices for a limited resource. So goes the latest argument assessing the merger of Comcast and NBCU. "William Rogerson, a former chief economist of the Federal Communications Commission, said the deal would lead to $2.4 billion in higher fees to consumers over the next nine years unless the commission and the Justice Department, which are assessing the merger, impose conditions."

The question is, where are those fees being imposed. If at the cable programming level, the biggest concern is cord cutting because of current rising fees. Consumers are moving in two directions with their cable company, all or nothing. The customers getting only cable are dropping their service completely. The others are becoming a two or three platform user, adding phone and/or broadband. Hence the Q3 financials from the cable companies are showing basic cable subscriber losses, and a rise in phone and broadband users. It is the haves and the have nots, all or nothing. Rising fees only exacerbates the cable problem.

As to digital content, assuring that NBCU content is not restricted to the cable platform only is an understandable concern. "Hulu is considered the digital jewel of the transaction. Having a stake in Hulu would help Comcast sidestep a big concern for cable companies, namely that users could start cutting subscriptions if they could see their favorite shows free online." Assuring that content remains available on the web would be a positive move.

So as cable subscription drops, cable companies are looking to raise the fees on broadband. Here is where the FCC has to decide whether they want to call broadband a utility or not. Otherwise, they have no right to impose limitations. I believe current utility companies should be encouraged to enter into this business without government limits. The electric companies for instance have an infrastructure in place and with tax inducements to expand into the broadband business, they could become a notable competitor to the cable and phone company in the market. And more competition is healthy.

Consequently, the concern for price gouging could be dismissed with a more positive approach to the problem, and not more regulation.

AOL and Yahoo Merger?

Last month, we spoke of the talk of merger between AOL and Yahoo. This rumor continues to have life as more is being written. Today's WSJ is examining the opportunity further. "Why get all hot over the prospect of an AOL/Yahoo merger? As The Journal notes, analysts say it could create a strong competitor in the market for online display ads -- a market that is expected to total roughly $20 billion worldwide this year, and could reach $50 billion over the next few years." With Google maintaining a healthy lead in market share, a merger may be necessary to gain some yardage in this foot race.

Is there synergy in such a merger? Will additional cost efficiencies or revenue projections improve as a result of this partnership? Frankly, I wonder if it will only show the overlap of usage and incremental market share will not be uncovered. What is missing is innovation. Partnership is needed with the right parties. Build the better mousetrap and users will move over to you. Google can be beaten.

Scripps and AT&T Agree

Having lived through the Cablevision and Fox negotiations, it is nice to see another network find quicker resolution. Fox was off the air for weeks; Scripp's channels, HGTV, Food, and others were off the air for three days. "The two sides had just begun gearing up a public relations offensive, launching informational sites like att.com/fighting4you and www.keepmynetworks.com aimed at targeting customer frustration at each other. U-verse's facebook page was flooded with comments from mostly angry fans of Scripps channels threatening to change their service if their programming was not restored." And so another deal is done but not before the customer is both brought into the fight and also inconvenienced. At the end of the day the viewer has lost time with their channels and will ultimately pay more for them. Simply put, the customers keep losing.

US News Quits Print Subscription Business

Add another magazine to the list. US News and World Report has decided to end its print subscription business to concentrate on web and special print issues. "After December, regular editions of the magazine would only be published online, The New York Times reported Saturday. Editors said an occasional special report might be released on paper." Certainly the cost to print and mail continues to rise; in addition, consumers are dropping their print subscriptions to get their news online. When the economics no longer work, it is time to face the reality and make a change. For US News, this new era starts in January.

Surprisingly, their focus in on free web content and not on a digital subscription model. With the rise of tablets, I'm surprised that they are not considering this strategy. Print will still be offered as one off issues, but only through newsstands, thus saving mailing costs. An interesting move that their editors describe as a growth move, but appears as more like waving the white flag.

What Does Election Mean For Net Neutrality

News has been a little quiet on the FCC's net neutrality moves. It seems they were waiting till after the election before taking the next steps. The FCC is trying to find ways to force all broadband distribution to treat equally all online content, regardless of file size and usage demands. And their attempt to get a bill passed has now gotten more difficult. "The widespread Democratic losses made an already uphill battle even tougher. More than a dozen incumbent congressmen who had voted for a similar Net neutrality bill in 2006 were voted out of office on Tuesday, most notably Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., a 28-year House veteran." Without congressional support for net neutrality, a bill unlikely to go through.

Should all online content be treated equally? Shouldn't a free economy enable companies to pay for better positioning. Isn't that what the NY Jets and NY Giants did with PSLs for season ticket seats. If an online company is willing to pay to get it's content through the pipe faster, shouldn't they be allowed. And why can't the broadband platforms benefit from offering prime positioning. It seems that is the way the world is headed and net neutrality will become ancient memory.

No Remote Needed With Kinect

Microsoft has faced a number of challenges lately. Beyond its Windows Platform, it has yet to see success in mobile phones, tablets, or music devices. Its one exception, gaming. Their XBox 360 has been a hit and now they have enhanced its features with Kinect, a hands free, motion detector device, that recognizes players and puts them and their physical actions into the game. "By all accounts, Kinect is loads of fun. The black rectangular device, used in conjunction with Microsoft's Xbox 360 console, lets your on-screen character faithfully mimic your movements. It'll have you flailing your arms to steer on-screen cars using an invisible steering wheel." No fear of throwing your remote into your TV screen either!

Expectations for success are high with analysts expecting 5 million units being sold this Holiday season. But at its high price tag, X Box customers must determine whether the extra feature is worth it. "That said, it's not essential.. And at $150, it's a pricey proposition. Buy it with the console and a few $50 games, and the price tag for fun can quickly rise to $400." We currently have in our home the XBox, the Wii, and an old Playstation 2, not to mention a DSi, and ipods withe game apps. My son's big ask this Holiday is not the Kinect but to add the Live feature to his XBox. Which way to go?

Certainly, before we make the decision on purchasing the Kinect, we will see if the games themselves are of interest to him. if the games aren't compelling, why would the Kinect device be needed. I look forward to seeing how the Kinect games stack up to the Wii games. That may ultimately determine how successful the Kinect will be.

3D or not 3D

3D may be an opportunity for theater screens to charge a premium and make more money, but does it make sense for TV Networks. So now ESPN is questioning whether it is a business they want to pursue. "But the 24-hour sports network is already making noises about the future of its 3-D effort, with one exec admitting that there's 'very little indication' whether the channel will continue in its present form—or indeed, even survive—for a second year." How well 3D TVs do this Holiday season may indicate to ESPN and other networks how much money they want to invest into another version of their current networks. The addition of an HD channel proved to be an expensive investment and Networks weren't able to get the cable operators to pay more for an HD signal. I'm sure the concern is that they won't get an extra penny for a 3D version either.

Others question how much the consumer wants 3D in the home, especially if they need to wear glasses to view. And viewers don't tend to watch TV without also multi-tasking; reading the paper, talking to their spouse or friends, eating, drinking, answering the phone. Well you can see that unlike the theater experience when the viewer has little distraction; at home, there are too many little things that divert from the viewing experience. Putting glasses on, taking them off, and putting them on can get tiring. Until 3D is accessed without glasses, I expect the investment in 3D Networks will also slow.

Election Online

It's election day and so it it is time to go out and vote. So vote early and often. Seriously, just vote. It remains the one true way our voices are heard.

As it related to the changing entertainment landscape. Well just look around. Political messages are not just on TV, radio, and print. They are on Twitter, Facebook, web pages and other online tools. And so it is not surprising that election coverage will also be accessed both on traditional media and online. "ABC, CBS and PBS will each stream part of their election-night coverage on the Web on Tuesday, and NBC and ABC plan six hours of results lasting into early Wednesday morning. The networks will involve some of the biggest and most popular websites — Google, Facebook, YouTube and Yahoo! — in delivering their versions of the news."

Content, regardless of what it constitutes, is being consumed across all media platforms. Live coverage, whether sports or election results, demonstrate the need to make it accessible anywhere, anyhow, anytime. Consumers no longer want to wait to get home or for the morning paper to learn results. They want the news to follow them and not the other way around.

As the elections choose a winner, so too will media consumption demonstrate how far we are trending toward online and mobile consumption. Much has changed in the last decade. And nights like these demonstrate how much farther we can still go.

What Next

So it is the start of the new month, with thoughts of the holiday and new gadgets for the home, office, and play. Content remains king as Cablevision finally acquiesces to Fox's terms, as did Dish a few days earlier. Apple is suing Motorola for stealing patents and Tivo is still waiting to resolve its long term patent fight with Dish. New Apple iPads and iPhones are coming to market as are a multitude of other tablet-like products. And 3D remains the possible next great TV upgrade.

It is clear to me that the pace of change is quickening and competition is getting fiercer and fiercer. What is ahead for 2011. Soon the prognosticators will emerge with their insights on what to expect. For me, a few obvious and some not so obvious:

1. Verizon iPhone and iPad are instant successes
2. A major Cable Distributor merges with another
3. Tivo finally wins it's patent fight with Dish
4. Apple buys a content company
5. Comcast and NBC do indeed merge but with many caveats
6. And another network goes off the air in its contract dispute.

Put it in a jar. I'm picking early and I'm feeling confident in my predictions.

What are yours?