Timeshifting is the new default for how we consume content of all varieties. I\u2019ve been thinking about how this has become standard in my own media habits. I can\u2019t remember the last time \u2013 save for a few livestreamed tech industry events & the debates \u2013 I viewed media on someone else\u2019s timetable (I haven\u2019t paid for cable TV in more than 5 years).<\/p>\n
And why should I have to? There is a\u00a0high cost of now\u00a0associated with doing anything on someone else\u2019s schedule. Your time is the\u00a0most precious resource\u00a0you have and in a world with\u00a0more content\u00a0than you can possibly consume in one lifetime, it\u2019s not just what you view,\u00a0it\u2019s when you view it<\/em>\u00a0that matters. This is a pillar of the\u00a0attention economy.<\/p>\n Google Play, YouTube, Amazon Instant, iTunes, Hulu, Netflix and similar services understand this well. A recent trend here I think is especially interesting is the investment in, production and release of a single series at once. It respects consumers and the current technology available as opposed to the old\u00a0guard\u00a0still\u00a0attempting\u00a0to hold your attention hostage for 30-minute timeslots in order to push random \/ irrelevant advertisements at you. Not to mention it is also really great to \u2018pay for what you consume\u2019 as opposed to subsidizing a bunch of channels you do not wish to\u00a0receive.<\/p>\n The latest example of investment in original content is\u00a0House of Cards<\/em>\u00a0on Netflix which I sampled this weekend. The production quality and acting was as strong, if not better than anything the large networks produce. And interestingly enough it\u2019s not just respectful to your audience, it\u2019s also seen as higher value.<\/p>\n GigaOm has an interesting analysis of benefits platforms receive by\u00a0getting a greater share\u00a0of our time,\u00a0on our own schedule,<\/em>\u00a0through tactics such as releasing a series all at once:<\/p>\n With analog channels, consumers associate value with the plastic, celluloid, and newsprint that are mere containers for the content itself. (The value of television programming, too, is clouded by distribution considerations.\u00a0 If the cost of the \u201cdumb pipe\u201d is stripped out, video content fees would become transparent.)\u00a0Consumers will\u00a0have an easier time making CPH (Cost per Hour) calculations when they pay for zeros and ones separate from paper and pipes.<\/em><\/p>\n The chart below shows a few sample CPH calculations for selected channels for U.S. consumers (figures taken from a variety of sources and are meant as illustration).<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n Consumers recognize value and while Pay TV still (surprisingly) still gets the lions share of consumer hours, the CPH of digital is just so higher value. Even with the fact that I do not have cable, my Netflix subscription plus Google Play and Amazon Instant movie downloads doesn\u2019t touch the price that cable would cost (and I\u2019m far more entertained). More and more of my peers live similarly. Paying for the whole buffet when you only want a salad is absurd.<\/p>\n Timeshifting as the default is not only a harbinger of things to come, it\u2019s also a\u00a0current divide<\/strong>\u00a0of connected, technology-savvy audiences vs. those who still live in a world running on other people\u2019s schedules. It goes beyond \u201ccable cutting\u201d which is a funny analogy to me because it infers my generation actually paid for it at one time. Many of us never did but are actually now more than willing to pay for media as it\u2019s finally catching up to technology and we can consume a-la-carte, when we want.<\/p>\n You\u00a0have 30,000 days to live. Are you spending your precious, limited hours on the planet on someone else\u2019s schedule? Still paying for stuff you don\u2019t watch? Why?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Timeshifting is the new default for how we consume content of all varieties. I\u2019ve been thinking about how this has … <\/p>\n