The US ABC network has taken a bold step towards IPTV by offering shows, including Lost and Desperate Housewives, for free online - provided you also watch the ads. These shows are currently available for purchase (to US citizens) on iTunes without the ads, so this is an interesting experiment to see how networks can continue to purchase content in the face of growing piracy through filesharing.
It seems to miss the point somewhat by focusing on the US since there is much more incentive for viewers in other markets to want to download pirated shows to overcome the delays in their broadcast. But the idea of forcing viewers to watch the ads shows where the priorities of these stations lie. More recently there have been a couple of wild suggestions about how to ensure advertising remains interesting to viewers without having to force them to watch it - a tricky task given the popularity of TiVo and the rise of DVRs. TiVo have proposed replacing old commercials in recorded shows and I think this missing the point unless advertising are going to increase the entertainment or relevance of commercials. A more interesting idea, especially given the focus on realtime production in our course, is that of Mark Cuban who has proposed live commercials.
I'd guess the next step is advertising tailored to the viewer. This would require logging on to watch TV via the internet and the data you share through registration to do this would dictate what ads are best for you. It's kind of a scary proposition but not that different to how advertising campaigns currently work. I'll be scared when the magnetic resonance imaging experiments currently being used to see how people instinctively respond to ads lead to ads that really are irresistable. Then again, a study I read about today says your brain is actually less active watching TV than when asleep. No doubt they'll find ways around that too.
In the meantime the viral approach of making commercials entertaining enough people want to share them with friends has been reasonably successful, especially for irreverent beer commercials. Carlton's Big ad attracted millions of viewers but there was some debate as to whether this translated into increased sales.
Other online options might include Democracy, a program that looks promising and offers a kind of syndication model for online content by blending filsharing and podcasting. And I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by the appeal of old content, look at the Beware of the Blog and you'll find a rich and varied vein of old VHS digitised for the web (and some new stuff too)
The big trend in marketing is to engage audiences in promoting your product so I'm impressed with the BBC's competition to redesign their site. I'm even more impressed by their timeshifting service for viewers (well, I guess UK residents do pay a licence for TV) and also the experimental portal that may in future offer access to their archives. The other thing they're doing that's interesting is positioning as a platform for amateur and semi-professional content, a la myspace.
Anyway, you can see why I'm excited by the idea of online television because it's uncharted territory combining familiar media with new modes of delivery and nobody is quite sure how it's going to work without upsetting existing players in the transition - another difficulty for the BBC.
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