Something very dramatic is going on and so far I have seen no good detailed reporting about it.

Netflix is quietly becoming available on massive numbers of TV screens across the US and no one seems to be noticing.

The Netflix streaming service is now available on PS3, XBOX, and Wii, all gaming systems that are hooked up to the internet and to the TV.  How many of these boxes are in the US marketplace?  20 Million, 30 million?

Sony, LG, Samsung, Vizio, all the major manufacturers of connected TVs and blu ray players in the US are now shipping these devices preloaded with internet access and Netflix.  So by the end of the 2010, will this group of devices be in 15 to 20 million US homes?

Is it possible that by the end of 2010 Netflix will have a base of 50 million homes in the US able to get its streaming service on their TV?  If so, this is astounding. It is even astounding at half that number.

A subscription platform with movies and TV shows in SD and HD is available for less than $10 per month.  And, by the way, you can also get a DVD shipped to you in the mail, if the program is not available on the streaming service at no additional cost.

Forget HULU, forget Cable VOD–Netflix  is becoming ubiquitous and no one seems to be noticing.

Talk about the success of an over the top service that is priced right for the consumer.

Pretty soon, people will be saying, “Why should I use HULU when I can get Netflix on my TV? or Why should I have cable TV if I have Netflix on my TV?

Netflix is TV Everywhere right now!

And no one is talking about it.

consumer electronics, consumers, innovation, internet, media, technology, TV

If you wanted to know about the state of media and technology today–look no further than these three headlines in the New York Times on 3.3.10.

Disney and Cablevision Take ABC Fight Public

Apple Sues HTC, Saying It Violated Touch-Screen Patents for Phones

Viacom and Hulu Will Part Ways, Removing Comedy Central Shows From the Video Site

It is little too much coming apart, not enough coming together.

consumer electronics, media, technology, TV

I have been involved many discussions about how to monetize video on the web for a long time. Many people believe that advertising will be the main model used to gain revenue for video on the web.  You hear a lot about how the internet is vastly superior to television in reaching your target consumer because it gives you a laser like focus on the consumer who is really interested in your product and you don’t have to pay for reaching those who are not your target.

This position asserts that advertising is best done online because it is more efficient and more effective in getting consumers to buy. Real proof is yet to be established for this proposition but it is asserted anyway and treated almost as the gospel truth.

Let me make a counter assertion.  The most powerful tool to create consumer demand for a product ever invented is the TV commercial (in its 15, 30 or 60 second form).  Nothing, so far, has been created that competes effectively with this form of advertising in any other form of media known to humankind (thus far!).

When a TV commercial campaign works, it drives huge awareness, and creates an enormous desire for consumers to buy, buy, buy.  Any attempt in any other medium to create the heights of either awareness or “desire to buy” in a consumer has yet to come close.  This does not mean that every commercial works (or that every product is good), it just means that this form of advertising is miles ahead of anything else when done well (and sometimes even when done poorly).

When Apple launches a new product it blitzes TV with commercials that create huge consumer demand.  In addition they also create huge buzz in the culture at large, with free word of mouth that reverberates day after day after day.  So we have to ask a question?  Is Apple not internet savvy?  I would say yes.  Then why would they spend most of their money on TV advertising, on the TV commercial?  Are they wasting their money by not targeting their consumers as they can on the internet?  I would say no, because they understand that TV commercials deliver a bigger bang for the buck than any amount of advertising they could buy on the internet.

And further, when HULU wanted to increase their audience, did they spend money advertising on the internet?  No, they bought a super bowl ad.  Did it work? Yes, their traffic rose by a huge amount following the super bowl.

Now the question is—what will replace the TV ad on the internet that will create the same desire to buy?  Do companies just move their TV commercials online?  Or do they try something else?  Can the TV commercial be replaced by something else using video on the internet that is just as or more effective?

ads, commercials, digital advertising, TV, tv spots