iTunes-like video services have no future: study
Source: http://www.reuters.com/
“In the video space, iTunes is just a temporary flash while consumers wait for better ways to get video. They’re already coming,” said Forrester Research analyst James McQuivey, the author of the study, who also called the paid download video market a “dead end.”
Confusion over different video file formats, difficulties watching downloaded videos on television screens and other technical problems have kept average users from paying for shows online.
Efforts by traditional media distribution companies to make more of their shows available for free on the Internet — including the Hollywood-backed film service MovieLink, Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s service and Amazon.com Inc.’s Unbox service — are also working against paid services.
Led by Walt Disney Co.’s ABC.com, TV networks including News Corp.’s Fox are offering some hit shows online for free.
Cable TV service executives and set top box makers are also seeking to make online videos easier to watch on big TV screens — a major topic of discussion at last week’s cable industry trade show in Las Vegas.
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