Do network stations not care about being relevant

I'm a cable cutter. Not literally. I mean I don't go around the house looking for cables to cut, but I did drop cable T.V. a little more than 6.5 years ago. Not because I think TV is evil, and not because I wanted to be able to say I don't have cable (some people seem to be proud of that). But simply because I was bored of programmed television.

I found myself flipping through channels searching for something interesting to watch and never finding anything I was in the mood for. Or, even worse, finding something in the guide but having to sit through 15 minutes or 30 minutes of another show waiting for the show I wanted to come on.

At the time I was working on the video team at MSNBC working on streaming MSNBC content on the web and mobile devices. My wife and I were also starting to become more and more invested in the convenience of Netflix. Who wants to wait a day for a DVD when you can stream something immediately.

Netflix changed our viewing habits. For the first year or so Netflix streaming for us was about streaming full length movies. Basically an alternative to going out to the movies or to renting a DVD. But eventually we started using Netflix to primarily watching TV shows. I don't think I realized at the time but what I love about Netflix and other video streaming services like Amazon Instant Video is that I'm in control. I decide when and how much I want to watch.

Streaming video on-demand is about being in control of the content. Some days I may not have any time to watch anything, other days I may have enough time to watch a show or two, and sometimes (pre-kid) we'd spend an entire Saturday just relaxing and marathon watching a series.

On-demand video also makes me feel like I have more context between episodes. I'm actually more invested in the characters because I'm choosing to spend more time with them rather then being told when to spend that time (with a scheduled show that may or may not be convenient to my schedule).

All of this is to say that I think current TV programming is only good for live events. Programmed television was made for watching late night TV, Sports, the State of the Union, the debates, or even news. But the days of programmed television for a drame, sitcom, or any other series are over.

So why are the networks only streaming to current cable/satellite customers? It would seem to me that there'd be a whole market of folks just like me who'd be willing to pay $15 a month for on-demand access to network television shows (Hulu anyone?). It seems like the only way for places like NBC, CBS, and etc to complete in the new world order is for them to own their streams and to make them available à la carte.

Do network stations not care about being relevant? 

Why is it so difficult to watch live T.V. on a mobile device

The other day I was out to brunch with my wife and I was trying to see if I could catch some of the Dallas vs Greenbay playoff game. We're both pretty big football fans and were very curious about who the Seahawks would be facing in the NFC Conference Championship. I was extremely frustrated by the fact that I could not find the game anywhere.

I understand that there are one off ways to watch football in particular. But what about T.V. in general. I'm curious as to why there's not an equivalent to a cable subscription for mobile. Yes, most cable providers offer some form of internet T.V. but there's two problems.

• You're required to have a home cable subscription.
• Not all programs are available, specifically most live sporting events.

It feels like this is an opportunity for big cable (or an upstart trying to break in) to move forward towards the actual future of television. Right now big cable is desperately trying to hold on to the past because it's lucrative. But as Netflix and Amazon Prime Instant Video are showing, people's television consumption habits are changing.

Here's an outline of what what I believe would be wildly successful in regards to the future of television.

• Provide a streaming cable subscription that DOES NOT require a home account.
• Make the service work with Android, Fire, iOS, and Windows mobile.
• Offer ALL the same channels (Network TV, ESPN, Comedy Central, etc) available with classic cable.
• Offer an upgrade to access the last full season of shows.
• This will allow people to catch up on missed episodes.
• This will allow people that prefer to binge watch shows to do so when the season is over.
• Offer an upgrade to remove the commercials. I'd pay an extra $10 a month for 0 commercials.
• Partner with Amazon and Netflix to license their original content.
• Allow people to pay with Amazon payments. (full disclosure... I work for Amazon).
• Chances are people already have an Amazon account with a credit card on file.
• Allows a technology company that understands security to handle the important payment processing.

Something like this is bound to happen sooner or later. Why not now?

2014: The year for streaming media

Personally, 2014 was a good year for me. I switched jobs mid-year and have been working on enjoyable projects with really really smart people. My wife and I traveled to Budapest and Prague, which was absolutely amazing as well as San Francisco, Portland, Iowa, and Richmond (VA). We got to see one of my lovely cousins get married and meet the new 2nd cousins. We spent Thanksgiving with my sister-in-law and got to met our new and very beautiful niece Eleanor. I've kept up with blogging once a week which, honestly, I wasn't sure I would actually be able to do. But the best thing that happened in 2014 for me was that my wife and I are found out we are expecting our first child. I'm both terrified and excited at the thought of being a dad, but I can probably predict the future and tell you that having a child is going to be the highlight of 2015.

2014 was an interesting year for technology and there were a lot of new products announced and released. But from the perspective of what affects my everyday life most I've been interested in what's been happening in the streaming media segment.

While Apple has had a media streaming solution for several years their competitors (other than Roku) have struggled to come up with any interesting alternatives. There have been may solutions over the years for home media centers like Windows Media Center, XMBC on a Raspberry Pi (Raspmbc) or XBox to say the least. But in my opinion, none of these solutions other than Apple TV or Roku have had the teeth to take off in the mass market. And, unfortunately, without mass adoption the quality of content is not very good.

2014 saw two entries into the streaming market which I believe will help drive competition and innovation in a category of software and hardware which has been pretty stagnant. Amazon announced it's Fire TV, which was received very well and Google announced the Nexus Player which seems to be a legitimate reboot of their efforts to get into the streaming TV market. Amazon also announced the Fire TV Stick.

We've got a Roku, Chromecast and Fire TV Stick in our household. We don't have an Apple TV because we don't own any Apple mobile products and Apple is a pretty closed ecosystem and I really really really don't want to encourage that. That's not to say they don't make beautiful products because they do.

The Roku is a simple and easy to use device with a pretty decent interface. But to me something just doesn't feel right. When I use the Roku I put down my everyday tech (phone/tablet) and pick up their remote and use their software. I'm aware that I'm using something that isn't customized to me. Their interface doesn't feel like "home" to me like my own tech does. The Roku feels slightly foreign. Also, streaming media from my phone or tablet directly to the Roku has been clunky at best.

Up until December the Chromecast has been my favorite device of 2014. I really like how easy it is to use. I can just open the YouTube app on my phone and start queuing up clips. Or I can open Netflix, WatchESPN, Comedy Central or HBO Go, find what I want to watch and then just fling it to my T.V. Really my biggest complaint with the Chromecast is that the app developers have to integrate it directly into their mobile app and apps have been slow to adopt this additional API.

I say that the Chromecast has been my favorite device up until December. That's because I got my Fire TV Stick this month and so far it's been pretty incredible. The interface is great and very intuitive if you're already familiar with Amazon Instant Video. I downloaded the free remote app and the voice search is very very accurate and fast. One of the things I really liked about the Roku is that the apps are right on the device and the Fire TV Stick followed a similar path. It has all of the apps I use today with my Chromecast except HBO Go. But I can even stream HBO Go directly from my phone to the Fire TV Stick using display mirroring.

While display mirroring is a battery drain on your phone/tablet it's pretty useful for me. Traditionally I've used it to stream to the Chromecast when an app hasn't implemented the Chromecast API. It's been nice being able to use it with the Fire TV Stick out of the box. I think my biggest complaint with it is that I have to enable it on the Fire TV each time I want to mirror.

I have big hopes that 2015 will bring more innovation to streaming media.