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As a lover of both TV shows and movies I am constantly frustrated with the apparent fact that those responsible for these mediums just don't seem to get the internet age. Instead they bleat on about their precious products becoming the bounty of various pirates and how their revenue streams have all but dwindled to a drip. All I can say to these opinions is codswallop.

We are living in 2011 for crying out loud. We live in a world were vast swathes of the world are connected by network connections. Where thousands of different items can plug in and receive data packets. A world where one silly cat video and spread across the globe faster than any virus. And yet with this massive tool at their disposal what do the media companies choose to do? Do they embrace this technological wonder with the logistical power to allow millions to enjoy their wares? No, they try to hinder it, to lock it down, to stymie it and protect outmoded forms of distribution because it is all they know.

The days of scarcity for media are over. I recall when I was younger I saw Star Wars at the Wood Green Cinema. It was on for a short time (extended, I grant you) and then it was gone. Until it was shown again on terrestrial TV, then it was gone again. I had no way of seeing it when I wanted to. I had to fit their broadcasting times into my life. Granted at the time I was just a kid so fortunately I had nothing pressing.

Fast forward to today. We all work far longer hours than we should. We all lead busier lives. We are all stuck in traffic for longer. We no longer wish to wait to be fed what to watch. We want to watch what we want, when we want and for the first time in history the internet is the perfect device to allow it.

Slowly things are changing but usually not fast enough. Let us look for a moment at HD films on iTunes. I cannot believe these movie companies are asking £5.50 for a rental stream of one movie? How on earth is that possible. I recall when I used to belong to a Blockbusters I had to collect the movie myself and that physical media had to be constructed, packaged, shipped, stacked, housed and finally displayed. All of that required multitudes of works, transportation logistics and matrials to achieve and yet the finally cost to me was about £2.50. How can simple data packets flying down a network cable be more expensive? Simple, greed.

Greed has always been the biggest motivating factor of business and I have no problem with that. Every company has a right to make money, after all if they produce something someone else wants and is willing to pay for then that is all fine and dandy. The problem I have is the lie we are constantly being told that all this streaming is expensive and cost prohibitive.

The truth is the media companies are simply scared. Scared that one day the real producers of the product they sell will wise up to the fact that these big multinational institutes are no longer needed to distribute and market their creations. It is quite possible for them to distribute it themselves across the internet to all connected devices be they PC's, TV's, tablets, phones or fridges. No longer would the networks decide when a TV show was to be canceled. Instead the creators would get genuine and instant feedback from the viewers. They would be able to see using analytics who was watching their creations, when and where. They could ditch conventional advertising and instead add a little product placement from global brands. They could charge a micro-fee either for each show or a whole season or preferably a monthly subscription model.

The reason piracy is a problem is because we live in a global information age but the media companies still insist on regional releases. A few top regions will get the big blockbusters on the first week of release and then they will trickle across the world until finally finding their way onto DVD or Blu-Ray. Imagine a world where everyone on the planet could see Transformers 5 on the day of release, streamed to their home cinema's. Instantly it would rob the pirates of one of their benefits.

I truly believe this day is coming. I know it will take longer than I wish but one day we will be able to sit down and relax and have virtually any media on stream for us to enjoy. All it takes is a few to test the waters and reap the rewards. After all how hard would it be for that dodgy bloke down the market to tempt you to buy a £5 DVD when you already saw the movie at home for 50p (or less) the night before in glorious HD?

Author

Ewen Rankin

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