The television industry as we know it is changing. The whole family sitting on the living room couch during primetime to watch their favorite shows is no longer the sole viewing model. With the American public becoming increasingly technologically savvy, viewers are growing accustomed to attaining content when and were they want it. The key to this shift is the Internet. The Internet has allowed for a host of new viewing models to be integrated into the consumers life: streaming television online, downloads, DVRs and mobile television, among many other platforms. While viewers are increasingly switching to the Internet for alternate content providers, traditional television will not become extinct any time soon. However, if television networks want to continue to stay relevant, they need to rework their business models in order to accommodate new strategies for time and space shifting. Hulu.com is NBC Universal and News Corporations first step towards making television flexible for audience members. While Hulu.com has been a great success, these corporations need to take it a step further and develop a stronger model, and will maybe even boost their profits in the process.

The Norman Lear Center at the Annenberg School for Communication at USC. The Future of Television? Marissa Gluck and Meritxell Roca Sales. Sept 2008. <http://66.102.1.104/scholar?hl=en&lr=&q=cache:DW7Vx0zemikJ:www.learcenter.org/pdf/FutureofTV.pdf+hulu+%2B+television>

Sales and Gluck’s research shows how users are consuming content online and how their viewing habits on television are changing. The report cites Nielson, writing that television is still the medium with which consumers spend the most time engaged. Despite this, television ratings are dropping. Sales and Gluck examine why this has occurred. They assert that due to all of the new platforms for watching television—the Internet, mobile phones, DVRS—audiences are becoming more fragmented. Media companies need to take a better look at how this affects their ad dollars and if there are better metrics that need to be used to measure audience members. Sales and Gluck argue that media companies and advertisers are recognizing the new opportunities to be had online.  Networks are even becoming more flexible in terms of business plan, the researchers argue, by NBC Universal and News Corporation putting aside their differences and aggregating all of their material and creating Hulu, a bigger site that is a real contender in the online video world. This venture is just one example of the new media used to exploit the television-Internet connection. Though the future of TV is uncertain, this proves that television executives are making a push to stay current. Sales and Gluck cite four strategies that channels are using to ensure viewers: event programming (so that viewers watch live TV), variable length programming (becoming flexible with formats for every kind of screen), narrative sophistication (making audience members invested in the show) and brand integration (in order to battle ad-skipping technologies).

This study is important to my paper because it describes the predicament that television networks are in and presents solutions to their problems as well as strategies to keep their business afloat. Not only do Sales and Gluck give their opinion, but they also comment on current strategies that are working, such as Hulu, which is an important aspect of my paper. Talking about audience fragmentation, due to time and space shifting is integral because their comments will add to the strength of my thesis and the depth of my argument. They study many viewing patterns and include many charts and exact data, which I will have to examine in order to ensure that my argument has validity

NBC Universal and News Corporation (22 Mar 2007) NBC Universal and News Corp. Announce Deal with Internet Leaders AOL, MSN, MySpace and Yahoo! to Create A Premium Onion Video Site with Unprecedented Reach. Press Release. Retrieved on 3 Apr 2009.<http://www.hulu.com/press/new_video_venture.html>

This press release announces NBC Universal and News Corporation’s joint venture, Hulu.com. The two corporations banded together in order to create the largest high-quality Internet video distribution website. The site contains hours of programming, including full-length television shows and movies from the NBC Universal and News Corporation libraries, clips, and other content from different media companies. The press release notes that the site wanted to have a broad reach so they partnered with AOL, MSN, MySpace and Yahoo! in order to assure a large distribution field. All of the content on Hulu.com will be free, no matter where or how it is accessed. The content will have embedded commercials, but they will but much shorter than on traditional television. The executives stressed that they want to be able to give consumers high quality programming when they want, where they want it. The site will also contain a user-generated type of experience by allowing individuals to cut up videos, create playlists, discover online communities and make mash-ups. The networks developed this functions so that viewers can have an interactive experience with their favorite television shows and movies.  This website is the networks acknowledgement that television on the Internet is a reality and they need to start changing with the times, while retaining copyright on their intellectual property.

This press release is important to my paper because it gives a look into what NBC Universal and News Corp. were attempting to do when they created Hulu.com. It is important because it shows a great step in the television industry, since the networks are recognizing that there is more that needs to be done and they should embrace time and space shifting instead of rejecting it. Hulu is a very important example of convergence in my paper and this press release gives a great overview of the site. This also supports my thesis because the release in no way cites the end of television, but only an extended part of its future.

Wildstrom, Stephen H. "Internet TV Just Got A Lot Closer." Businessweek 16 Mar 2009: 65-66.

This article discusses the coming of television on the Internet and how it is going to affect traditional TV. Wildstrom explains that television will continue to feel the impact that Internet is making on their business, but that traditional television will not be undermined. He explains the main issues with Internet TV that will keep it from becoming the dominant format, which he believes is its lack of a centralized content provider, lower quality viewing experience and inability to showcase live feeds such as the Oscars or sports games. Wilstrom introduces a new form of open source software, call Boxee, which combats some of these shortcomings. Boxee is like a cable box which acts as a television guide, aggregating all video content from the internet and displaying one’s available options. He then discusses how this allows for time shifting, because viewers can watch content whenever they want, as long as it is available online, and wherever they want, because all you need is a computer. Wildstrom writes about using Boxee and his experience with the product, but discusses how it is not advanced enough to compare with the current television system. Boxee also faced another obstacle because Hulu.com forced Boxee to take down their content from their site because of concerns from cable providers.

This article is important for my paper because it discusses the technological aspects involved in switching television viewing from the traditional television screen to the Internet. The article also introduces other ways in which this space and time shifting is occurring aside from Hulu. Hulu’s decision to block Boxee from using its content also provides insight into the inner workings of Hulu and the desires of broadcasters and cable operators when bringing television to the web. Wildstrom’s argument also supports my thesis because he believes that traditional television still has a future, citing all of the current aspects of TV that help it continue to dominant the market.