Ala Carte TV

I was online the other night chatting with a good friend of mine, when he pinged me a link to a UStream channel that featured Jacory Harris broadcasting live from his apartment in Miami. Jacory Harris is the quarterback for the Miami Hurricanes in the case that you do not follow sports.

I really could not care less about Jacory Harris. What was really interesting to see is that he had something like 400-500 people watching this initial broadcast. He had his group of hangers on in the room with him ( including a guy that claimed to be 27 and looked a bit out of place, but obviously had his role in the crew ), and each of them had a chance to get in front of the camera and have their 15 seconds of air time.

The people watching the broadcast were able to post questions to Jacory in real time, and he basically sat there answering them. What struck me ( and the guy I was chatting with ) is that this is clearly the future of TV. We have already seen this happen with just about every other medium. The channels of distribution no longer are requiring the right degree, the right equipment, or the right approval.

Jacory Harris flipped on his webcam and just started broadcasting. And people showed up to watch. I realize we have been doing this for a while ( broadcasting live via webcam, etc. ). However, it feels like to me that we are nearing the tipping point where users can get the specific kinds of content they want without turning on their TV at all, or needing cable or satellite.

Additionally, today I got an email forwarded to me from someone who owns a Roku box. Roku allows you to stream movies from Netflix and Amazon to your TV. Roku is now offering ten new, free channels on their box that will allow you to do things like view your Facebook and Flickr photo albums, play and create new Pandora stations, and even watch your own videos via the new MotionBox station. Check out the new offerings on their Channel Store.

Who will be the first “real” network to offer their content via this medium? I can’t wait to find out. I am going to order my Roku box this weekend.