For the last several years I have been looking for the holy grail of media consumption. Two years ago I wrote this post asking for an a la carte tv service. I’ve changed my mind on how that model should work – but that’s a different post altogether. But since then we have come a long ways – but we’re not quite there.
Hulu has taken the concept of providing media to consumers when/how they want it to the next level by taking it mainstream – but it’s not quite there yet. Their latest offering – Hulu Desktop – is very cool and proves the market demand exists… But it’s hard to find a non-geek with a PC hooked up to their television.
South Park and PBS are pioneering commercial distribution of media on the web but the future is not media silos.
Netflix and Amazon are close to getting it right and their partnership with Roku and integration with XBOX are almost there.
But we’re not quite there yet. What’s going to take this to the next level? Boxee shows promise. But honestly, I think Microsoft has the best chance…
Why? 3 things – XBox, Partnerships, and market reach. Oh, and they’ve been planning it for ten years.
Market Reach
This is a no brainer – but Microsoft’s market reach far extends any other hardware, software, or platform combined. Not only does this reach create remarkable brand recognition – it means they are already in your house and your living room. Most importantly they are already part of the consumer lifestyle and there’s no learning curve or switching costs to adapt their technology.
Much of the problem with technology entering the living room is complexity – so the idea of non-geek consumers having computers in their living room, hooked up to their TV is not the future. Microsoft made the perfect strategy move to get themselves into the living room – a gaming console. Guess what? It’s worked – XBox 360 sales have reached 30 million and 20 million of them are LIVE subscribers.
XBox
As I mentioned – Microsoft is already in your living room. The Xbox is a computer, with a different interface and inputs. It plays games, DVDs, online media via Netflix and Amazon and has an enormous social network attached (yes – XBox Live is a social network) – and today has announced integration with Twitter and Facebook. Video games will be delivered via the web on demand… The device is quickly becoming an entertainment hub in the living room and is moving beyond a video game console into a Home Theater PC (htpc).
Partnerships
Microsoft has partnerships with Netflix, last.fm, NBC, etc. Today they’ve announced a partnership with Sky TV which will allow XBox owners in the UK to watch live and on-demand content.
“The combination of Sky’s leadership in content creation and aggregation and our own in creating a constantly evolving new generation of rich 360 entertainment experiences means we are one step closer to our goal of offering Xbox owners the best entertainment experiences out there, whether it’s movies, music, games, interactive experiences or high quality TV.”
There are even rumors of XBox and Hulu integration – which I bet we will see in the coming Fall.
Partnerships with content providers are key if you are providing the distribution medium – and Microsoft has plenty. This strategy will go a long way to build trust from publishers who are still leery with online distribution.
What do you think of the future of home entertainment and media distribution? Think Apple will step it up? They better hurry… Let us know what you think in the comments!
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