Convergence 2.0: CTV discovers the Internet
CTV's Internet coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics from Vancouver has been, without a doubt, a major breakthrough in the merger of traditional and new media. I'd go so far as to call it convergence 2.0
Like many Canadians with access to broadband Internet connections, we've been evolving away from traditional TV viewing and seeking the ala carte approach that's an inherent feature of the Internet: a bit of this, a bit of that, some live, some from the archives. In other words, we decide what, when, and how.
"I want to see the video of the Gold Medal pairs winners."
Click. Click. Click.
"Want to watch the Canada-Russia men's hockey game? It's on in 5."
"Sure."
Click, click, click.
We even sat through some of the commercials.
It's not perfect. (Silverlight? That's the Microsoft video client-server CTV is using. And let's just say it's not overly Apple friendly. And that's a bad idea, given the Apple-fan demographic.)
But it's liberating to be able to watch what we want, when we want, how we want. And liberation - for people who never spent a lot of time in front of traditional TV - means we've been watching more.
I suspect there's a lesson there.
-g
