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Media Tech Trends in 2006
The American Press Institute taking a look at Media Tech trends for 2006:
• Subscription Electronic Media: The Yahoo Music service’s subscription model (based largely on Microsoft’s Janus Engine) began to get a lot of traction this last year as online purchases of music started to decline. Movies are next, and the star of that show will be the company who buys the rights and denies Netflix’s entry into this segment. A limitation remains the combination of a distinct lack of HD content and the massive amount of time it would take to download that content to the home. This move could be a spoiler for Apple because their technology will not work, for video or audio, with any subscription service.
• Home Media: Moving content around the home has been a real problem. Microsoft’s Media Center platform has had a relatively cold reception and products like the Sonos have received more attention. TiVo, once a darling, is on the ropes hoping for a reprieve, and Cisco recently acquired Scientific Atlanta to address this problem in what was an uncharacteristically large (and possibly uncharacteristically disastrous) move on their part. A little company called Digital Deck, staffed by ex-TiVo employees, may have figured out that the problem can be solved if you simply leverage the technology already in the home. Question is, will the media come from a service or from a central home server? Initially the answer is likely to be "yes."
• Personal Media: As the Video iPod (largely because it was great at music and took a unique approach to video) achieved success this year, it set the stage for the media products to follow. From eBooks (yes, at the Consumer Electronics show they were expected to be big again and are apparently selling well in Japan already) to new mixed-media players products that allow people to watch TV, listen to talk and music, and read electronically from a hand-held device, the push for portable media is expected to explode next year. Podcasts aren’t just audio anymore.
• DRM: The three letters from hell (Digital Rights Management). With the Sony rootkit fiasco still fresh in everyone’s mind, the market is set to go to war against companies who go too far in implementing piracy controls. There is massive resistance, in particular, to attacking those who aren’t doing anything illegally, and going after kids has lost its luster as well. Thanks to the raising wave of litigation, expect firms to be much more measured in their approaches to piracy in 2006.
• Advertising Dollars from Tech: With launch campaigns in the hundreds of millions of dollars, both Intel Viiv and Microsoft Vista (what is it with V's all of a sudden?) are slated to pump a massive amount of advertising revenue into the system. Related campaigns from PC hardware and accessories manufacturers could pump this up dramatically, and Apple will be launching their Intel-based products with an equally well-funded campaign. We are talking additional revenues in the $1 to 2 bil. range, which will clearly make someone’s year. Going after this money will undoubtedly keep a number of people in the industry well occupied for some time.
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posted by Unknown @ Thursday, December 15, 2005,
