The Future of Digital Media

Radio New Zealand National's Kathryn Ryan interviewed Russell Brown and Dave Gibson on the future of digital television and new media in New Zealand. The interview is available (for the next ten days) on the RNZ site (10MB mp3). It's interesting to hear Russell discuss the ethics of downloading TV shows that aren't yet available here; he says according to a recent survey of NZ high-traffic internet users, most of them consider it OK to download shows that may never screen here... He and Gibson then go on to talk about how as soon as TV footage goes online, it becomes social. In other words, the ways that people find and share links to videos is decided more by what their friends are watching and what other people deem to be important, rather that reading a critic's preview of a show in the paper and then watching it that night.

They also discuss the impact of digital television (and the Internet in general) on the breakdown of media viewership -- as television becomes more malleable and fluid, less people will be watching content that advertisers want them to watch, when they want them to watch it. They use as an example Gibson's show Facelift which is "one show in three different media" -- they utilise TVNZ OnDemand as well as a semi-viral campaign run over email, and the actual TV show itself on the original medium.

Also discussed is the future of Freeview, and whether or not it should be free or pay-per-view and furthermore whether it should be combined with Internet and/or mobile networks.