The New War for TV Is Just Beginning ⇥ theverge.com

Nilay Patel:

The answer is simple: the only killer app for TV is TV itself. Granted an almost exclusive monopoly over the most valuable content in the living room, cable and satellite companies have developed their products in a competitive vacuum, insulated from the pace and intensity of innovation that has transformed every other part of the tech industry. […]

So what is the right content? It’s a different mix for everyone, but the basic ingredients are simple: a mix of live event-based television, on-demand movies and shows, and — crucially — compelling content that is simply playing when you first flip on the TV.

I wrote a similar opinion earlier this year. This mix of content relies on partnerships that will be challenging to get in the US, let alone around the world. No doubt a massive shift is inevitable, but the question of “when?” is dependent on the question of “who is going to give?”