TR: Do you think online video will overtake broadcast eventually?
SC: The current broadcast methods of distributing video are still very powerful. Satellite works very well, cable works extremely well. Broadcast is pretty efficient with what it does and will not be going away anytime soon. But internet TV is going to get bigger and bigger, and more TVs will be equipped with Ethernet cables, so I am a fan of both ways to get content.
TR: You must be happy with the web-connected TVs trickling on to the market at the moment…
SC: It's definitely a good thing, but a lot of them are incredibly 'walled'. If you take the Sony one, you can only really look at content that it wants you to look at. Which is great if you want to watch Spider-Man but not so good if you want more content.
It's only a matter of time that someone will build a more open web-connected TV service and then things will get interesting.
TR: Do you think the UK broadband infrastructure is ready for an explosion of online video?
SC: It's difficult to tell. The BBC's iPlayer is performing really well without ant changes to the infrastructure. Britain is actually really good at spotting these things early. The whole Digital Britain thing may have its critics but at least there is some discussion about it.
I live in the States and no one has really thought about the problem yet; everyone is waiting for it to hit them. I think at the moment we have the infrastructure but if popularity grows, which it will, then we will have to build on what we have.
The biggest question will be if it can be made worthwhile for the likes of BT. ISPs are desperate to get a slice of revenue from the popularity of online, but it is how to do it without affecting the relationship with customers.
