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Broadband Net begins to fulfill its promise
By Kevin Maney, USA TODAY
Broadband Internet has finally flipped into the mainstream, and that will have a big impact on consumers, as well as tech and media companies.
The past week brought a wave of announcements in broadband ― high-speed Internet via cable or DSL. ABC unveiled ABC News Live, a 24-hour Internet feed of raw news video. Major League Baseball announced MLB.TV. It will Webcast 1,000 games this year, marking it the league's biggest online venture ever. Microsoft began a service that lets users with broadband send live video to each other at rates as high as 15 frames per second, which approaches TV quality.
All of that follows last year's launch by major film studios of Movielink. It allows broadband users to download movies to their PCs. "We now have a confluence of broadband providers, PCs equipped for same, content ... and people who have this capability" in their homes and offices, says Paul Wiefels, managing director of tech-marketing consultants Chasm Group.
The developments mean broadband users will see a rush of innovative programming, while dial-up Internet users will increasingly be unable to see the coolest new offerings. Demand for broadband programming could reinvigorate media companies and drive demand for tech products that help users better access broadband, such as beefy PCs.
Giving broadband critical mass:
Sheer numbers. In 2000, only 6 million homes had broadband ― not enough to make broadband programming financially viable. This year, more than 23 million homes will have broadband Internet, research firm eMarketer says. That's about as many homes as had cable TV in 1980, the year CNN launched and one year before MTV.
The numbers mean content owners are starting "to do much bigger and more aggressive things" for the Net, says Dan Sheeran, vice president at Internet media company RealNetworks.
New technology. Within the past six months, Microsoft and RealNetworks ― the two major makers of the software behind Internet video ― have brought out technology that significantly increases picture quality. MLB, for instance, will use compression schemes from RealNetworks that give users a full-screen picture that's better than VHS quality at a streaming rate that barely taxes a typical cable modem.
Subscription revenue. Much the way HBO proved cable viewers would pay extra for premium shows, new broadband services are showing that subscription services are viable. MLB's service will cost $14.95 a month or $2.95 a game. ABC News Live will cost $4.95 a month. If those prove themselves, say industry executives, more will come along. "All the good things we'd hoped were going to happen are indeed starting to happen," says Jim Ramo, CEO of Movielink.
By Kevin Maney, USA TODAY
Broadband Internet has finally flipped into the mainstream, and that will have a big impact on consumers, as well as tech and media companies.
The past week brought a wave of announcements in broadband ― high-speed Internet via cable or DSL. ABC unveiled ABC News Live, a 24-hour Internet feed of raw news video. Major League Baseball announced MLB.TV. It will Webcast 1,000 games this year, marking it the league's biggest online venture ever. Microsoft began a service that lets users with broadband send live video to each other at rates as high as 15 frames per second, which approaches TV quality.
All of that follows last year's launch by major film studios of Movielink. It allows broadband users to download movies to their PCs. "We now have a confluence of broadband providers, PCs equipped for same, content ... and people who have this capability" in their homes and offices, says Paul Wiefels, managing director of tech-marketing consultants Chasm Group.
The developments mean broadband users will see a rush of innovative programming, while dial-up Internet users will increasingly be unable to see the coolest new offerings. Demand for broadband programming could reinvigorate media companies and drive demand for tech products that help users better access broadband, such as beefy PCs.
Giving broadband critical mass:
Sheer numbers. In 2000, only 6 million homes had broadband ― not enough to make broadband programming financially viable. This year, more than 23 million homes will have broadband Internet, research firm eMarketer says. That's about as many homes as had cable TV in 1980, the year CNN launched and one year before MTV.
The numbers mean content owners are starting "to do much bigger and more aggressive things" for the Net, says Dan Sheeran, vice president at Internet media company RealNetworks.
New technology. Within the past six months, Microsoft and RealNetworks ― the two major makers of the software behind Internet video ― have brought out technology that significantly increases picture quality. MLB, for instance, will use compression schemes from RealNetworks that give users a full-screen picture that's better than VHS quality at a streaming rate that barely taxes a typical cable modem.
Subscription revenue. Much the way HBO proved cable viewers would pay extra for premium shows, new broadband services are showing that subscription services are viable. MLB's service will cost $14.95 a month or $2.95 a game. ABC News Live will cost $4.95 a month. If those prove themselves, say industry executives, more will come along. "All the good things we'd hoped were going to happen are indeed starting to happen," says Jim Ramo, CEO of Movielink.
