Monday, November 29, 2010

Being a Selective Media Consumer

I am a selective media consumer.

I pay for only the content I want to watch or listen to.

I do not watch network programming.

It is rare for me to see or hear commercials for new products.

I have access to what I want to watch on all my mobile devices.

This is not a new concept nor is it going away.

For years, I have been a satellite radio subscriber. I have access to over 180 channels of content that is for the most part, commercial free. Each channel offers a specific music or talk selection. The model for satellite radio has been one that I have watched grow in television programming.

Corporate entertainment programming is suffering because of people like me. They know that we are not bound to their entertainment schedules. We don't count in their ratings because we don't watch during their commercialized drive time. And ratings is what equals money from sponsors. People like me are throwing a wrench in mass-media and consumer commercialization. Want to be like us?


1. Remove the cable box. You don't need it.

My cable bill is only $40 a month for Internet access. The other money I used for paying for commercialized television now goes to subscriptions that don't have commercials.

2. Subscribe to Netflix, HuluPlus, and/or Amazon Player.
Subscribe to content. Pay for satellite radio for your car especially if you drive often and for long distances. When you don't have commercial interruption, you have more enjoyment of the programming you listen to.

3. Watch an entire television show without commercials or waiting a week for the next episode.
The show "24" is a great example of being able to follow so much action and plot without interruption. You can knock out an entire season in a week if you use a portable device while working out!

4. When your DVD player burns out, don't replace it with another or even waste money on BluRay. Why do you keep buying these?!? More and more of our entertainment companies are releasing their videos through Internet streaming. Plus you don't have to waste time ripping them to play on your portable devices.

5. Invest in a portable streaming media device.
I researched and selected the Roku XDS which is a portable streaming media device that connects a TV to the programming I was already watching on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, etc. There are many out there and they all seem to cost about $99.

6. SHIFT your perspective about media.
The question I am most often asked is "so, can you subscribe to [insert specific network] on your device?" The answer is "no". Nor do you want to.

This is about removing the grid of the TV Guide. You aren't restricted by the grid anymore. Your viewing experience is now about the shows you want to watch. Not the time slot.

7. Become a LIVE CONTRIBUTOR to Content.
I listen to live content on the radio and watch live demonstrations on some shows. On two shows in particular, I instant message with a producer about some ideas on content and I am in a chat room with other listeners discussing the content. I am an actively participating in what I am entertained by. This is way beyond just voting for an American Idol.

8. Consider developing your own content.
When setting up my Roku, I saw several free channels that people can subscribe to including church programming and the Khan Academy. Now it appears that if you have content to share, you could make a channel for it with little experience.

I wonder if we would see a TEA channel? A Teacher Channel? A Project Share channel? Sounds like something to look into....

2 comments:

  1. Mashable posted an article today titled "Will Your Next Cable Box Be an Xbox".

    http://mashable.com/2010/11/29/microsoft-iptv/

    Another perspective about how the Internet is challenging televised/cable media.

    ReplyDelete
  2. very interesting! I got captivated by the new Sony Google TV but of course it is costly and you're still watching the channel programming. You're pushing the media envelope as always!

    ReplyDelete