Intel is in current negotiations with major media companies in an effort to obtain programming for it's planned online TV-streaming service. They are currently in negotiations with Time Warner, NBC Universal, and plan on entering negotiations with News Corp, CBS, and Disney soon. This is a small step in an otherwise large plan for Intel (and other tech companies) to become content providers.
This move marks the entrance of another major player into a continuing trend of streaming premium content. Currently, services like Netflix and Amazon, and to a lesser extent, Redbox, Streampix, and Verizon, offer a large backlog of TV content long after it has aired on TV. Hulu, an ad-based provider, offers some recently aired content, but with some limitations, including subscription and limited access to past episodes. Many content provider websites also offer clips or even full episodes of recently aired programming, but with quality or backlog content access limitations. Traditional TV providers , in recent years, have been ratcheting down their services, or raising premiums, in additional to lacking on-demand content like Netflix or Hulu. There is a large void in the industry for a single, competitively-priced provider with access to both on-demand and live content.
The future seems to be moving towards a premium streaming pay-TV model, and we could very well see the looming end of the traditional cable/satellite model. Google currently has its Google Fiber service deployed in Kansas, offering 1 gigabit fiber internet and pay TV for a competitively-priced $120 (similar plans from Comcast, owned by NBC Universal, or Time Warner, cost at least the same, with significantly lower internet speeds). Microsoft had plans to bring similar pay-TV to its XBox, and Apple is rumored to bring pay-TV it it's iTV.
The challenge these companies face is a premium licensing fee due to being new entrants into the industry. Because of this, these companies will need to find other ways of monetizing their service to lower prices and maintain a profit. Apart from Google and Verizon, who are ISPs themselves, these companies also risk competing with traditional ISPs. Intel (and Microsoft, if they decide to bring back their plans for pay-TV) would still be limited by ISPs. Slow speeds, such as that found on DSL, is barely adequate for high quality content. Cable and fiber offer better speeds, but many ISPs have bandwidth limitations that would severely limit content consumption with a streaming pay-TV model - notably, Comcast and AT&T, who are also players in the traditional pay-TV industry.
Next week's topic: I know a little bit about security and privacy, mostly from reading news articles, but the technical aspects of security and privacy are largely lost on me.
Links:
Tom's Hardware - Intel Close to Landing Deals
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