Tele-net: Media convergence, iView and the future of Internet

Broadcasting
Virginia Tapp
University of Queensland

ABSTRACT
This study aims to investigate the history of convergent television, analysing the example of
iView to draw conclusions about the economic, social, and political impacts of Internet
broadcasting. The study will then suggest approaches for improving the quality of Internet
broadcasting and business models that could be used to ensure media companies benefit from
providing the service. Key words: Convergence, Internet broadcast, audience, media, iView,
band width.
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Executive Summary

I propose to study how the Internet streaming of video has impacted

viewing in normal televised time slots, and wider political, social and economic
aspects, using ABC’s iView as a case study. From the findings I hope to draw
conclusions about future convergence of television and Internet, which could
ensure industry developments were aligned with patterns of audience
consumption to maximize success. Cause and effect investigation from the
beginnings of cross media television in ‘Fat Cow Motel’ to present day
applications such as iView could expose underlying principles of media
consumption. These findings may be applied in the industry’s development of
successful business models and better quality video streaming, which are both
industry structure issues currently hindering development. The study also aims
to reveal the orientation of audience’s understanding and action, by investigating
past patterns and trends, which will be indicative of future audience trends.

Scoping

In the year 2000 visual content was already being streamed live on the
Internet, for massive events such as ‘The Transit of Venus’ and Madonna’s
concerts, however, problems arose when bandwidth could not support the
demands (Chawathe, 2003). The first overlap of television and Internet began
with the TV series ‘Long way to the top’, which was a music program aired in
2002 offering additional interviews and backstage footage online. This was
closely followed by ‘Fat Cow Motel’ in 2003, which was a unique cross-media
experience combining analogue TV, interactive TV, the web, email, voicemail and
SMS on a scale which had never before been attempted in Australia. The level of
interactivity and autonomy offered to audiences was hugely popular, and
triggered a wide range of TV programs offering cross-platform content. Some
well known examples include Big Brother and Walking with Beasts, but while
additional content appeared online, the actual programs did not.
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As a result, the notion of streaming on demand was born, with the likes of
iView allowing viewers to access the content at their own leisure. Since viewing
on demand was sporadic and unlikely to reach congestion levels experienced in
previous cases, with thousands of viewers connecting at the same time, speed
and quality improved. However, the ability to view a program at any time, and
without ad breaks, fast became a concern for both providers of the service, and
commercial television stations. For providers such as iView, business models
could not exploit audiences to generate a profit, and commercial television
stations could potentially lose audiences to the convenient, ad-free service. Not
only did viewing patterns change, but preferences for content and the way in
which audiences consumed the programs also altered. The demand for reality TV
grew rapidly and the genre burgeoned with the likes of Survivor, Australian Idol
and Farmer wants a Wife. Many of these were based on the input of audience
voters, and the channels often provided episodes online once they had aired on
television. As platforms continued to converge in different ways, social, economic
and political impacts became evident in both the audience and industry.

The case study is based on Jenkins’s theory stating that media

convergence is more than just a technological shift, but also has implications for
the relationships between existing technologies, industries, markets, genre’s and
audiences (Jenkins, 2006). He also suggests that convergence of Internet and
television is a process relative to media ownership patterns and socio-economic
status of populations. There are many conflicting arguments on the issue, with
academics such as Liz Jacka (2007) arguing that Internet television broadcast
will not replace TV, but rather co-exist and supplement the traditional TV
platform. Some fear convergence will cause the web to become fragmented
resulting in a loss of shared values (Sunstein, 2002),while others argue a
monoculture will result (Miller, 2001). The study aims to introduce some
empirical evidence to either support or negate the plethora of theories currently
surrounding the future of convergence.
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Many researchers have also addressed current issues in the industry

structure; with Chawathe (2003) proposing a different structural approach to
improve Internet broadcasting quality suggesting it ‘has not yet been
satisfactorily realized’. He defines Internet broadcast as ‘the distribution of
Internet content from one or more sources to a large number of simultaneous
receivers’ and proposes a multicast theory, which would allow a single source to
distribute a data stream to many simultaneous receivers in an efficient manner.
While Chawathe identifies major technical issues, he ignores wider political
economic factors that prevent communication as larger media conglomerates go
into competition.

Another industry structure issue addressed by Sylvia M. Chan-Olmsted

and Louisa S. Ha (2003) is that of adopting appropriate business models to make
Internet broadcasting an economically viable service for media organizations.
The new technical approaches suggested above would not be feasible without
the financial backing generated by successful business model to integrate TV and
Internet. The study found that online content had more monetary value in
building audience relationships rather than generating profit from ad sales. The
new business model suggested online content would complement offline core
products in a symbiotic relationship between Internet and television. While this
makes theoretical sense, there is no evidence that this would be sustainable long
term, as the monetary value is unable to be measured. Though online content is
relatively cheap to produce, there is still concern that online content could be
detracting from the ability of offline TV broadcasting to generate profit.
Alternatively, Nelson (2001) and Pavlik (2001), suggest a business model that
seeks to maintain television audiences by integrating web-enhanced applications
into television, such as on-screen links to advertisers' web addresses, localized
news services, late-breaking news, sports statistics, interactive polling,
background to documentary material, online chat, and links to movie trailers and
ticketing services.

Within the convergence industry, visual distinctions between the Internet

and Television are rapidly dissolving (Cooke, 2005), meaning viewing rituals
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should become more uniform across platforms. Thus industry structure must
also account for changes in social rituals surrounding television, as viewing
becomes a more individual activity similar to the way Internet use is normally
engaged in alone. The study analysed changes in visual presentation of news in
newspapers, television and on the web, finding that particular design forms
migrate across platforms depending on cultural cues indicating which designs
are most successful. However, this study does not account for the role of media
politics in convergence, as the ability to debate policy is inhibited as media
ownership becomes increasingly concentrated (McChesney, 2000). This is
important in the dynamic realm of Internet broadcast, as it requires constant
innovation in the political media environment to maximize progress.

Objectives and research question

To examine the likelihood of Internet eventually performing the roles of

both TV and current Internet by analyzing past and current consumption of
convergent technologies such as iView. The objective stems from the research
question “Will the Internet ultimately outstrip television as a source of television
viewing and what are the wider social, political and economic implications?”

Method

The case study will utilize multiple paths of data collection with the
collaboration of both qualitative and quantitative evidence. Quantitative data will
be drawn from the results of a questionnaire distributed among students of St.
John’s College, who are a generation heavily exposed to, and adept at using,
convergent technologies. Though the focus group will not exceed 200, the small
amount of data will be representative of a much larger generation who are
determining the future of convergent technologies and more specifically Internet
broadcast. Questions will be designed in order to address the research question,
largely centering on how often, in what fashion and to what extent does the
participant use iView or similar applications. The survey will also investigate
their personal understanding of convergent media; it’s future course and
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whether they believe it has had social or economic impacts on their own daily
life.

Qualitative data will be sourced from ABC archives, television statistics

and tracking of audience’s movements online over the last 10 years. While
viewing statistics should indicate any trends of preference with the introduction
of iView, the qualitative data from university students of Generation Y should
reveal what the primary and future users of latest technology prefer to use. Data
from other credible studies, such as Lynne Cooke’s research on convergence, will
also be included in qualitative research to broaden the overall pool of data and
increase accuracy.

Work Plan

Week 10-11: Collection of quantitative data

Week 12: Complete collection of qualitative data, already commenced during
proposal research
Friday Week 12: Presentation
Week 13: Finalise report for submission on Friday

Budget

Paper and ink needed for distribution of up to 200 surveys.

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Reference List

Chan-Olmsted, S. M., & Ha, L. S. (2003). Internet business models for

broadcasters: How television stations perceive and integrate the Internet.
Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 47(4), 597-617.
Chawathe, Y. (2003). Scattercast: an adaptable broadcast distribution
framework. Multimedia Systems, 9(1), 104-118.
Cooke, L. (2005). A visual convergence of print, television, and the internet:
charting 40 years of design change in news presentation. New Media &
Society, 7(1), 22-46.
Jacka, L. (2007). Messages: Free expression, media and the west from Gutenberg
to Google. Media International Australia(124), 200-200.
Jenkins, H. (2006). Convergence culture : where old and new media collide. New
York: New York University Press.
McChesney, R. W. (2000). The political economy of communication and the
future of the field. Media Culture & Society, 22(1), 109-116.
Miller, M. C. (2001). What's Wrong With This Picture. The Nation. Retrieved from
http://www.thenation.com/about-and-contact
Nelson, K. (2001). Cable show puts new technology on front burner. Electornic
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Pavlik, J. V. (2001). Digital television: The promise and the peril. Television
Quarterly, 32(2-3), 28-36.
Sunstein, C. (2002). Philippic.com - Republic.com. California Law Review, 90(2),
611-671.