

Today, about 8% of U.S. households have access to IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) which enables programming to be delivered over a fast Internet connection to a set-top box you plug into your television. However, in less than 5 years, it will reach 20% of the 100 million homes that now subscribe to pay-television. Personally, I’m really excited to see this technology develop, providing more free content to view whenever I want and on any screen (60″ flat pannel, computer screen, or mobile phone) I want.

But there is a potential downside. In the article “How local TV could go the way of newspapers,” Alan Mutter discusses how local TV is at risk of the same fate as the local newspaper.  “Once it becomes as easy and satisfying to view a YouTube video on your 50-inch television as it is to watch ‘Two and a Half Men,’ audiences will fragment to the point that local broadcasters will not be able to attract large quantities of viewers for a particular program at a finite point in time.”

We’ve watched the newspaper industry lose almost half its advertising base since 2005–causing it to fire 15,000 journalists and, therefore, produce less news. So, how will the broadcast television industry respond to a similar problem? When viewers can watch commercial-free shows anytime they want, advertising dollars won’t be there to fund the production of high-quality programming.

And what will be the impact on quality local news? In part two of the article, Mutter talks about the potential outcome of  local news broadcasts.

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