Netflix Ascendancy

According to the Atlantic:

"Netflix now accounts for one third of all internet bandwidth in North America during primetime hours."

They conclude a few things:

Three quick conclusions can be drawn by the breakdown of internet usage below, says Sandvine. One, Netflix is king. Two, as real-time entertainment--streaming video as well as interactive chat, voice and video communications--made up for nearly half of the data consumed by internet users in the United States, Canada and Mexico, we can expect a shakeup in the telecom world. Finally, person-to-person file sharing isn't going anywhere and the industry will have to deal with it.

Another example of long tail economics shaking up the status quo or, perhaps, becoming the status quo.

Will there always be an HBO?

Todays discussion of free vs paid content leads me to think about my favorite cable television network: HBO. They exist as a premium network that produces and presents high quality content. SHows, movies, specials, documentaries, you name it. They do all this very well. But will they always be around. Short answer I hope so.

I see HBO stepping up to the plate, with HBO go there is a way to watch on demand programming from any smartphone or web enabled device. This is just like Netflixs' watch instantly. My point is this in the age of Media 2.0 providers must adapt their content to the viewers preferences. If your target audience has developed a taste for wanting their news delivered via short video summaries instead of long articles it would behove anyone interested in staying competitive to grab a camera and start rolling.

It's been said before but it is a brave new world out there and the adage sink or swim has never been truer for all forms of media. In my humble opinion I think HBO has what it takes to swim.