New Television Model: Private Licensing

The current television distribution is good, but it can be better. I just want a license for shows or networks. This is similar to the a la carte cable television plans that have yet to materialize.

I’m quite sick of the gray legal area of bit torrent and broadcast television. It may be legal, it may not be. So I propose licensing to the individual. If I can subscribe to magazines, why can’t I subscribe to a network or television show or studio? Say I enjoy television programs made by Carsey Warner – maybe they should allow the viewer to have a license to watch the shows in any medium. A fee would be paid to the studio, it would allow you access to bit torrent or direct downloads of episodes of their shows. Let’s face it, the cost of digital downloads should be less than that of physical media.

DVDs would require an additional fee or a different license. If you want a DVD subscription of your favorite show, why not offer it directly? If I wanted to have every episode of “House, M.D.,” why can’t that be a reality?

With today’s usage of DVRs and PVRs (and some that still use VCRs), time shifting is a normal activity. Why should “new episodes” be relegated to when the networks tell us new episodes are on? The old medium does not have to die. It merely needs some supplementation. There will be people who do not care for licensing in this personal way, and that is fine. However, there is no reason the studios can’t make more money by adapting my idea.

Instead of being advertiser/sponsor dependent, television could be rely a bit on the consumer directly.