Internet Video, "the platform" and Gemini Division

I don’t always agree with Mark Cuban, but I’m a big fan of his Blog Maverick blog.  However, he’s right on with his latest post, The Platform is the Message, about how video-based content, whether its a movie, TV show, sporting event or Internet-based, will hash out.

I’ve been saying for a long time that Internet-based video is a brand new medium.  It’s not going to replace popular TV shows, sitcoms, even reality TV.  Instead it’s going to find its own way, with new types of video content being created that either aren’t viable on traditional TV, or require the interactivity and community involvement of the Internet.

Mark points to the Olympics as the reason why sports belongs on TV and on big screens.

Without question, people want to watch big events on their big HDTVs. There is a reason why 30pct of homes and quickly growing now have HDTVs…..they like to watch them. With a 73" HDTV from Mitsubishi down to about $2200 bucks, its easy to see why and the pricing of all HDTVs continuing to fall, its a trend thats not going to end anytime soon. Watching an event like the Olympics, just about any sporting event and even big shows like American Idol and Dancing with the Stars benefit.

I agree, and it’s why I spend hundreds each year to watch my favorite football and baseball teams on my big-screen.  Sure, I sometimes pipe them into my home notebook via a slingbox, but it’s not the same.  Convenience *sometimes* outweighs quality, but not always.  Hulu is great for catch up viewing, but wouldn’t you really rather watch, say, Survivor or Jon Stewart in full-on HD?

Programmers will create content differently for every platform, from cellphone, even to movies. In the movie world , its pretty simple to see that big movies, with big special effects look great and sound great in theaters. Same with 3D. Thats an experience even a 73" HDTV cant recreate fully

It will be interesting to see how well Gemini Division does.  My friend Daisy Whitney thinks that the success of Internet Video is riding on it, but I disagree.  Early reviews of Gemini Division are coming back negative, but I’m not concerned.  Gemini Division is a perfect example of taking what ought to be a real TV show, and squashing it into an inappropriate medium. 

It’s not just TV reinvented.  It’s something new.  I’m not smart enough to say what it is, but chances are it’ll be more like Diggnation than Gemini Division!