TVSquad

Hey TV executives, it's me your good pal Jay Black. Maybe you remember me from my one man "Bring Back ALF" letter-writing campaign? If not, that's okay. I'm just happy that we're talking like this and not through Yvonne Strahovski's lawyers like last time.

As you can probably tell, I spend a lot of time thinking about you guys and your tough job of coming up with so many creative shows. I don't envy your having to sort through pile after pile of successful European reality shows trying to find one uncomplicated enough for American audiences. I don't know how you do it!

I'll be honest with you, I'm worried about the future of your industry. I know you're worried too. You think that if you don't act fast to counter all those people pirating your content that you'll wind up like your good buddies over in the music industry. I don't want that to happen to you, so that's why I'm writing this letter: TV, you can save yourself if you don't fight piracy, but rather embrace it.

With our ever expanding channel lineups it is getting harder and harder for a new show, especially one tucked away on cable with no big name stars attached, to get noticed. Seeing a network release a show online before the premiere isn't new, but seeing one release a pilot on P2P networks with no DRM is a bit more original. And that is just what the folks over at Spike have done with their new show, Factory.

The network has made the show available on its website, at downloadable video stores like iTunes, and in working with the Jun group, on P2P networks. Although my first reaction at the mention of Limewire was surprise that people are still using Limewire, I do agree with their thinking behind the move. Todd Ames, marketing VP at Spike, said they went with the P2P as an acknowledgment of "what people are really doing, and the way consumers are really looking for content." He also notes that there are no plans to make any additional episodes available that way, but it's a step in the right direction that they are paying attention to the viewers.

If online video service Joost were to fall in a forest and nobody was watching, would it make a sound? Wait, no, that's not right. What I meant to ask is, if Joost stops streaming videos outside of the US, will anybody care? It looks like we're about to find out, because that's exactly what Joost plans to do.

The streaming video platform that was supposed to change the way we watch television really hasn't. While more and more people are watching videos online, it's not particularly clear that many of them are using Joost to do it. In the UK, the BBC iPlayer has gotten a lot of attention for providing residents with the ability to watch any program that's been broadcast in the past seven days. And in the US, Hulu provides viewers with a chance to watch many TV shows and movies from Fox, NBC, and other content partners.

Apparently Joost has decided to pull out of the international market and focus solely on the US, because that's where the majority of its users are at the moment. But with a lackluster content library, and few high profile content partners, I think it might just be a matter of time before Joost folds completely. To make matters worse, I think Joost overestimated the consumer demand for a non-browser based online video solution. Flash and Silverlight have made it easy to not only embed videos in web pages, but to allow users to click a button and watch those videos full screen.

When all is said and done, I think that people like to watch TV on their TV sets, not their computers. While there's a growing number of ways to watch full length TV shows and movies online, I really wish it was easier to make those existing services work with Windows Media Center and other media center applications designed to bridge the gap between computer and television. If Joost had focused on media center integration or set top box software, maybe the company would have had a chance. But if I can't watch my videos from 10 feet away with a remote control, I'd rather visit Hulu in a web browser than launch a standalone application that gives me access to hundred of videos I don't really want to watch.

Update: It looks like a spokesperson for Joost denies that the company has any plans to layoff employees or go US-only.

[via Mashable]