‘Slivercasting’ with Web video
From The New York Times (”As Internet TV Aims at Niche Audiences, the Slivercast Is Born,” by Saul Hansell, March 12, 2006):
Slivercasting refers to a video channel that “is broadcast only on the Internet, which enables video to reach a much larger worldwide audience at a much lower initial cost than a satellite channel.”
… the Internet’s ability to offer an almost infinite selection is part of what makes it so appealing: people can find things that don’t sell well enough to warrant shelf space in a neighborhood music store or video rental shop …
Like Rocketboom.
As the Times story points out, it’s akin to the niche magazine boom. But with video instead of print. Yeah, “sliver” is the new “niche.”
Although the Speed Channel, the Military Channel and HGTV (all mentioned in the Times story) — not to mention my fave, the Food Channel — did promise to be the cable TV answer to niche audience fare, we’ve seen weird transformations such as the Travel Channel morphing into the poker tournament channel (which is why I, for one, no longer watch the Travel Channel), and all that careful branding seems to be in tatters today.
But with online searches, keywords, tagging and viewer rating systems (and, of course, broadband speed), people can use the Internet to find AND watch exactly the kind of video content that interests them. No matter how obscure.
(Of course, the porn industry has known this for a long time already.)
ESPN senior vice president John Skipper told the Times:
I’ve never been a believer that we should create channels for all these niches like beach volleyball. They just don’t pencil out. Because if you have 12,000 people, you can’t afford to do it. And if you can’t afford to do it, you can’t make any money on it.
Sure, for ESPN, 12,000 people is nothing. For a three-person channel with one $2,000 video camera, I think an audience of 12,000 people might be an entirely different kettle of fish. Maybe Skipper ought to read that new Hillman Curtis book.
Also, don’t discount the effects of globalization on video markets.
JumpTV, which is based in Toronto, has evolved into a service that offers live Internet transmission of television station broadcasts from more than 60 countries to expatriates around the world.
So what’s the nut graf for journalism educators?
I have to ask why we’re not giving access to instruction in video production and editing to more of our students.
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