Video Business Change: Paying for TV and Movies on the Internet

The world loves video. Nothing gets more traffic. Whether you’re into TV sitcoms, action movies, or pornography, the Internet has something you could be watching for free, right now, instead of doing your job.

How much longer will it all remain free?

iTunes, the only place where paid video content has reached critical mass, may actually be standing in the way of content providers getting paid. Having created a model where people who are willing to use their bloated software to see videos on tiny screens, Apple’s “buy, don’t rent” policies are now becoming a problem.

Hulu, the most successful of the free streaming sites, is trying to figure out how to get paid. So is Google’s YouTube. And things aren’t going well, because “streaming” video for right-now viewing just . . . seems . . . like . . . it ought to be free. Oh, and while the masses generally seem oblivious to such things, it seems that everyone understands how bad a deal paying $1.99 to stream a video feels like when you could buy it for the same price.

Bringing the subject back to something I’ve pointed out before: big media doesn’t get it. Business Change can’t happen without change.

Do you see a lesson or two in there for your business?