Internet television is here – Have FTA stations noticed?

Wireless broadband Internet killed the radio star. Or, at least it will. And watch out TV – You’re next.

Currently the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is taking place in Las Vegas. For those of you unaware of CES, it is an annual trade show at which every major electronics company shows off their new toys. The big trend this year has been the promotion of devices that are showing almost a true convergence between the online experience and traditional broadcast media – specifically television.

LG have showcased their new Internet-enabled television. As long as their device allows one to browse the Internet and isn’t restricted by an AOL-style portal supported by LG’s commercial partners, such a device offers a complete revolution in the home theatre. Unfortunately, it seems that, in the short-term, the LG sets will only work with commercial partner services like Netflix.

MySpace have shown their own plans in which to deliver video through a MySpace channel designed to be watched and interacted with via the television. Toshiba have cited the MySpace channel as one of the widgets available on its new TV’s at the CES.

The way we interact with the television is an ever evolving experience. Traditionally we have channel surfed as a means to interact with the box. Now that channel surfing will take you deeper into an immersive experience that transcends a handful of broadcast TV channels.

The convergence of television and the Internet keeps on bringing my mind back to one continued notion: the impending death of music-format radio in Australia.

Consider (and appreciate that this is entering a little realm I call ‘Speculation Country’) the increasing number of Internet enabled mobile devices and the increasingly less-expensive cost of mobile broadband Internet. This is enough to be a radio broadcast killer.

With an iPhone, for example, it doesn’t take much of a leap to assume that it won’t take long until users are regularly using applications like a Last-FM style service. Why listen to the radio at all when Last FM will play you the music you like and want to hear whilst on the go? Most new car stereo systems allow one to plug in their mp3 players/iPhones. Plus then was the launch at CES of the MiRoamer, a dedicated car internet radio player.

This year, Australia is launching digital radio services. This will serve to be the last real gasp of air for radio formats as we know them to be. Those that broadcast content that goes beyond simple music formats will remain viable. Heck, they’ll even prosper as our listening joins the online revolution. Unless FM music stations can deliver personality-driven content (such as talkback and lifestyle formats), they’re a dying breed.

As music requires less data to be transferred, the radio industry will serve as an excellent indicator as to the continued health of the broadcast television industry. Once data allowances cease being cost-prohibitive for the average user, online content is set to boom. We’ve already seen what happened to the music industry, of whom have suffered massive losses by not adapting to the new online distribution systems. I have no doubt that we’ll see echoes of this with FTA broadcast television stations.

With the Internet-enabled television now a reality, soon it’ll simply be a decision for the consumer on how they want to receive their television content. Will it be via online streaming for which an Internet-enabled television would be perfect, or will they seek to adopt a PVR-style device that enables the user to actually keep a digital copy of the content (delivered via broadcast or an IPTV service) on a local device.

From the perspective of the viewer, it doesn’t matter who is delivering them their content. Unlike with radio stations, very few consumers have loyalty to a specific stations when it comes to commercial TV. Instead they pick and choose the content they wish to sample. As such, when the time comes for viewers to adapt to a new distribution method for their desired TV content, there will be little thought to who is delivering it. Viewers simply want their ‘stories’. If Channels 7, 9, 10, and SBS want to survive as viable content providers they need to find a way to adapt. And fast. The shift for content moving online has been rapid and the ostrich syndrome isn’t going to protect the broadcasters.