Robison Consulting: Internet Expertise for Churches and Ministries.

Are You Ready For On-Demand Internet Television?

Broadband video has arrived on television. Sony is rolling out a new television that hooks up directly to the internet, enabling viewers to move from the office to the living room and still watch YouTube.

Here's the significance: When online video can be watched by a large number of people on their TV sets, instead of a computer, then television as we know it changes forever. Good-bye network programming schedule, hello on-demand.

Right now, Apple's iTV pushes content to computers via their glitzy, easy-to-use interface. But it's all computer centric. Sony's new BRAVIA Internet Video Link utilizes their Xross Media Bar technology to allow their televisions to hook up directly to the internet -- no computer needed. Of course, it's expensive and most online video looks pretty bad on a 70-inch HDTV, but it's just a matter of time until on-demand internet television is ubiquitous.

Ministries have two critical action items to prepare for this transition. Ignoring it is not an option.

First, you must get your video content online. It doesn't matter if it's a half-hour program, a weekly church service or short vignettes. Get in the marketplace. Establish yourself now.

Second, you must push people to your online content. When the day comes that they plug in their television to the internet, guess where they're going to go for content? To the same places they've been going online! If they know you and trust you, they will watch. If you're not out there or they don't know that you're out there, they are going elsewhere.

You must position yourself now as a provider of meaningful online content; otherwise, the internet television revolution will occur and you will be left behind.

- Randy Robison

Related Articles:

Sony Battles Apple Over Internet TV

Firms Race To Bring Web Video To TV

BRAVIA Internet Video Link from Sony