Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      Starlink to South Africa: ‘We are ready to invest’

      17 June 2025

      Vodacom CEO Joosub bags R71m in pay – but taxman will take a big cut

      17 June 2025

      Major rift opens between Microsoft and OpenAI

      17 June 2025

      South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

      17 June 2025

      South African AI energy start-up in R32m funding round

      17 June 2025
    • World

      Trump Mobile dials into politics, profit and patriarchy

      17 June 2025

      Samsung plots health data hub to link users and doctors in real time

      17 June 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E2: South Africa’s digital battlefield

      16 June 2025

      Yahoo tries to make its mail service relevant again

      13 June 2025

      Qualcomm shows off new chip for AI smart glasses

      11 June 2025
    • In-depth

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025

      Digital fortress: We go inside JB5, Teraco’s giant new AI-ready data centre

      30 May 2025

      Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s big bet to out-Apple Apple

      22 May 2025

      South Africa unveils big state digital reform programme

      12 May 2025

      Is this the end of Google Search as we know it?

      12 May 2025
    • TCS

      TechCentral Nexus S0E1: Starlink, BEE and a new leader at Vodacom

      8 June 2025

      TCS+ | The future of mobile money, with MTN’s Kagiso Mothibi

      6 June 2025

      TCS+ | AI is more than hype: Workday execs unpack real human impact

      4 June 2025

      TCS | Sentiv, and the story behind the buyout of Altron Nexus

      3 June 2025

      TCS | Signal restored: Unpacking the Blue Label and Cell C turnaround

      28 May 2025
    • Opinion

      Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

      2 June 2025

      South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

      2 June 2025

      Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

      29 May 2025

      Solar panic? The truth about SSEG, fines and municipal rules

      14 April 2025

      Data protection must be crypto industry’s top priority

      9 April 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SevenC
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » Candice Jones » How broadcasters are being royally challenged

    How broadcasters are being royally challenged

    By Editor3 May 2011
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp

    [By Candice Jones]

    Google’s live streaming of the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton marks the beginning of the end for traditional broadcast models.

    The search engine giant streamed Friday’s wedding live to millions of viewers across the world. It’s estimated that as many as 400m people logged onto YouTube to see it.

    What Google proved was that hundreds of millions of people could log onto the service at the same time and watch live streaming with only a few hiccups.

    Despite the demand, I managed to watch the entire wedding — using my 3G connection, nogal.

    There are also rumours that Google wants to offer legally streamed on-demand Hollywood flicks directly to consumers for a fee. What this means is the company is getting its hands stuck firmly into the broadcasting space. Broadcasters could soon have a serious new rival chasing after the limited pool of advertising dollars.

    The trouble with the current broadcasting model is that it forces you to watch programming at set times (or, if you’re lucky, time-shift it using a personal video recorder). It takes me back to boarding school days when I was told what and when to eat.

    In the Internet age, this model is no longer sustainable. Internet video specialists like Netflix have started providing on-demand services, making waiting for the Friday night movie or series unnecessary.

    But Netflix and similar services are still niche and they only serve some markets. In SA, the only way to get the latest series or movies, other than through broadcasting technology, is by pirating them.

    This is not the first foray by Google into on-demand television. The company launched its Google TV service and set-top box a few years ago, but it tanked because broadcasters refused to release their content to the Internet company. And for good reason — the TV advertising business is worth billions and no broadcaster in its right mind would willingly give that up.

    But if the speculation is true, and if Google does get more seriously into the business, it could spell trouble in the longer term for broadcasters. Google’s reach and its expertise in targeted advertising could result in broadcasters finding themselves increasingly cut out of the loop.

    Talk is that movie companies Lionsgate, Warner Brothers, Sony Entertainment and Paramount are all on board with Google’s plan. And it won’t be long before popular series producers follow suit.

    The truth is that the Internet can be a great tool for broadcasters, but only if they take the time to investigate the best ways of bringing services to customers. It’s also true that, for the most part, I would rather watch a movie on my nice, 42-inch TV screen than my computer monitor.

    But at the end of the day, most modern consumers of media are all about instant gratification and if I had to choose to watch a movie next month on my big screen, or watch it now on my desktop, I would most likely choose the latter.

    SA broadcasters will still have a long way to go before they need to worry about the Internet taking over their services. The Internet is far from ubiquitous in this country, though even local broadcasters will need to figure out eventually how to stay relevant. Fortunately for them, they have the advantage of learning from their international peers’ successes and mistakes.

    • Candice Jones is deputy editor of TechCentral
    • Subscribe to our free daily newsletter
    • Follow us on Twitter or on Facebook


    Apple Candice Jones Google Netflix
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleOur 15 favourite iPad apps
    Next Article Microsoft: an injured beast

    Related Posts

    Major rift opens between Microsoft and OpenAI

    17 June 2025

    Meta bets $72-billion on AI – and investors love it

    17 June 2025

    Samsung plots health data hub to link users and doctors in real time

    17 June 2025
    Company News

    Altron: a brand journey, a birthday celebration and a bet on Joburg’s future

    17 June 2025

    7 benefits of social media integration in WordPress

    17 June 2025

    Paratus Zimbabwe and PowerTel strike milestone deal

    17 June 2025
    Opinion

    Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

    2 June 2025

    South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

    2 June 2025

    Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

    29 May 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.