Fergus Cassidy

Ad nauseum

"So I bought a .44 magnum it was solid steel cast
And in the blessed name of Elvis well I just let it blast
'Til my TV lay in pieces there at my feet
And they busted me for disturbing the almighty peace
Judge said "What you got in your defense son?"
"Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on"
                                               Bruce Springsteen

BILLY CONNOLLY used to do a sketch where he'd take the mickey out of the elocuted BBC presenter accent at closedown time: "we've reeched the ond of toonight's programmes and we'd like to remond viewers to switch off their telivision sots. End fer those of you alone a special gidnight". Connolly's gag was that reminding people that they were alone, was having the opposite effect that it was supposed to have and scaring viewers.

Eamon DeValera may have expressed his fears when he opened Telefis Eireann in 1961, but he can rest easy now. Because television has changed and it doesn't scare anymore. It curdles the blood.

In a recent interview with Inside magazine, Turner Broadcasting chief executive Jamie Kellner was asked about viewers skipping advertisements as they watched TV. "It's theft. Your contract with the network when you get the show is you're going to watch the spots. Otherwise you couldn't get the show on an ad-supported basis. Any time you skip a commercial you're actually stealing the programming". And with an understanding of human nature that bestows such a powerful man he ordained a certain tolerance "for going to the bathroom".

Kellner's remarks come on foot of the entertainment industry in the United States suing the makers of a digital video recorder called ReplayTV. It's a set-top box which allows users to record whatever programmes they want. Viewers can then skip the commercials if they choose. The machines also allow for 'pausing' programmes as they are being shown and the ability to 'catch up' without missing a thing.

The boxes use of a hard drive gives them a massive amount of storage space compared to tape. And because recorded programmes are digitised they can be shared or swopped with others. It's this ability to easily duplicate and distribute content that is at the heart of television's fears.

The movie and television studios have sued ReplayTV manufacturers SonicBlue because they claim that the use of such devices constitutes copyright violation and they are seeking a broad injunction that would prevent the further use, support or sale of the machines.

To make matters even more scary, the initial response of the courts was to order SonicBlue to collect information on what the machines were being used for. Specifically "what works are copied, stored, viewed with commercials omitted, or distributed" and to turn the information over to the TV companies.

In response to that court order the chief executive of SonicBlue said: "we're being ordered to spy on our customers; that's the most direct way of looking at it".

That order has recently been rescinded but the latest twist sees five ReplayTV owners suing the studios. One of the five, Craig Newmark, explained why he was taking the case: "these Hollywood guys want to stop me from using my digital video recorder like I use my VCR, like for watching shows when I want or zipping through commercials. I want to give my nephews and nieces a break from the rampant consumerism on TV by using ReplayTV's commercial skipping feature".

So just like the Sony v Betamax case in the early 1980s, it is the skipping of commercials that really seems to bother the television companies. They can't sue every individual viewer so they are going after the technology and hang the consequences.

Now apply the same reasoning to other media. When reading newspapers or magazines have you ever skipped pages which contained ads? Have brochures ever fallen out of the newspaper and you just put them straight into the bin? Tut tut.

Imagine arriving in a cinema immediately before the film starts and the usher says: "I'm terribly sorry. But you've missed the ads and I'm afraid you will have to wait for the next showing."

Now in case this all seems rather American and far-fetched, it's worth having a look at the fastest-growing monopoly in Ireland. BSkyB's digital satellite service provides a lot lot more than 57 channels. It's popularity has a fair amount to do with the lack of cable service outside of the cities. With over 100 channels available for viewing, it is a channel hoppers paradise. Only two of the stations, BBC1 and 2, are commercial free.

So how has Sky dealt with the problem of viewers flipping as soon as an ad break comes on? No problem. Dozens and dozens of channels all go to an ad break simultaneously. So the 'choice' is to suffer the ads or suffer the BBC, and sometimes even that's a difficult decision.

But why are the US studios panicking now, when channel hopping or skipping ads has been going on for almost 20 years?

They are scared. Because through the internet there now exists a potential threat in the battle for - as they call it - eyeballs. Not only have studies revealed that the increasing time people spend online is coming at the expense of television, but the internet has the potential to be an alternative broadcaster. Broadband will bring that scenario much closer.

With enough bandwidth available, internet protocol is more than capable of carrying television signals. But allowing their signals on to the net would be the end of the TV companies as they presently exist.

The crux for the TV companies is their dual role as programmers and transmitters. They own the content and they also control the transmissions facilities. The only way to control the content is to control how it is being broadcast. And that means trying to control the technology.

That same control is being asserted by the music and movie industry over the net. Those who control the content want to control the technology that delivers it. If that control is achieved (the countdown has started), the net will be moving to a new home. On the TV networks. 57 web sites and there's nothin' on.

Welcome to the splinternet.

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LINKS

ReplayTV
The latest on the court cases involving the digital video recorder. link

Details on the five people in the United States who have filed to the courts for a ruling that confirms their legal right to use ReplayTV can be found at the Electronic Frontier Foundation

Sony vs Betamax (1983)
The Supreme Court decided that the Betamax video recorder was "capable of substantial non-infringing uses". And that "Sony's sale of such equipment to the general public does not constitute contributory infringement of respondents' copyrights". link