1 Million Videos…and Counting
It always happens doesn’t it? You buy some new-fangled gadget and a week later out comes a cheaper, faster, bigger, prettier gadget. Sigh. Back in late August I broke down and bought an iPod - mostly for our trip to Spain - and now we have video iPods. When I first heard rumors about watching a movie or TV show on an iPod, I had to admit I was skeptical. Well, I guess I should know better than to do doubt - Apple has sold more than a million videos in less than 20 days despite a rather limited content.
I’m very interested to see how this experiment works especially as more shows and movies are added. While I doubt I’ll be buying one soon (maybe I can give “my” iPod to Christine and buy a newer, shinier video iPod…yeah, I doubt it) I have to admit, I would have watched an episode of Lost in Spain…
December 3rd, 2005 at 2:35 pm
[…] I realize that I’m just a software guy, but I just don’t get how the leaders of these media companies can’t understand how much harm they cause themselves when they insist on clinging to an dying channel instead of embracing the new. Seriously, haven’t they read The Innovator’s Dilemma? Look what happened with the video iPod - Apple sold over a million videos in a less than a month - imagine what will happen when more shows, movies, and what not are available. How many would they have sold if you could have downloaded 24 and ER? Or the Simpsons and Family Guy? Now, I’m not sure how much of a profit ABC gets from iTunes but clearly it’s a new revenue stream. I honestly think if the RIAA and MPAA would spend just a fraction of their lawyer fees on finding a way to profit from the Internet instead of trying to find a way to stop it, they would be looking at massive new income streams. […]