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RTE Plan iPlayer Equivalent as Microsoft Push Ahead with IPTV

Sky+ started the on-demand revolution. BBC's iPlayer followed.
Can RTE catch up?
by SoftwareGuru
posted Monday 6th October 2008 10:18 GMT

As previously discussed here, increasing broadband speeds has created the opportunity for IPTV and put the future of television as we know it in doubt.

To survive these lifestyle changes, TV must adapt.

The fact that RTE is desperate to switch off analogue transmission and switch to digital terrestrial television highlights the increasing pressure the broadcaster is under to stay relevant.

Especially in an era now where a TV program that is aired in the U.S. on a Monday can be downloaded off the internet, without ads, on a Tuesday.

Music, Films and Television programs - anything capable of being rendered in binary suddenly has a new worldwide distribution system.

Irish viewers are no longer restricted to RTE's schedules.

Is it too little too late for RTE?

IPTV is now available in Ireland.

Telly Addicts

The Sky+ service and the ability to record programs or even whole series, introduced us to a new way of watching television. No media was required for taping or burning data. The hard drive built into the Sky+ box gave the viewer even more freedom and choice.

Sky users now have developed the habit of using Sky+ to create their own viewing hours and habit is a hard thing to break.

Knowing this, Microsoft began it's IPTV groundwork with online channels, including MTV, when it launched Vista's Windows Media Center.

Digital terrestrial may be about to become extinct as soon as it arrives if broadband speeds and IPTV potential are anything to go by. Which is why Sky moving into the broadband service business and the BBC embracing the bittorrent revolution was a clever move for each company.

It begs the question that even if RTE are the content creators, will distribution ultimately rest with the likes of Eircom, BT Ireland or even Microsoft?

Content VS Distribution

RTE's aim to launch their own iPlayer equivalent in 2009 is designed to avoid the catastrophe of losing their grip over the distribution of their own product.

RTE's aggressive scheduling policy has so far kept it competitive and the broadcaster notably airs the most popular U.S. shows before any of it's UK rivals.

How RTE would compete with a new global IPTV system led by Microsoft remains to be seen.

Quality is the key.

The BBC have gone to great lengths in recent years to improve the quality of both it's online offerings as well as the TV shows it exports.

If Ireland is a nation capable of producing great writers, RTE would be best advised to find a few of them quickly and create some genuinely compelling content that's worth watching.

The days of TV networks relying on U.S. imports to fill their schedules is coming to an end. Let's hope our national broadcaster is up to the challenge.

Click here to buy Vista Ultimate with Windows Media Center.

Watching the match via IPTV.

RTE to launch iPlayer equivalent in 2009 as Microsoft Push Ahead with IPTV.

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