The emergence of the internet to deliver video programming: economic and regulatory issues

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of the internet as an emerging video distribution platform and to analyze the corresponding emerging economic and legal issues.Design/methodology/approachThe paper describes the historical evolution of the business model for the television business and, using a layered model of communications, identifies issues that accompany the growth of the internet as both a complement and a competitor to existing distribution platforms.FindingsAs video is increasingly distributed using the internet, a new business model is developing that possesses characteristics such as, unbundled content, irrelevance of geographic exclusivity, irrelevance of structured time or structured release, and new business combinations, alliances, and ventures.Practical implicationsPublic policy makers throughout the world are faced with the need to update, replace, and/or revise existing regulations that govern the relationships between and among traditional video distribution platforms, such as over‐the‐air and cable/satellite providers, as the internet emerges as a viable video distribution platform.Originality/valueThe paper provides a summary of key economic (such as the network‐affiliate relationship) and regulatory issues (such as leveraging economic power in the physical and logical layers into the applications and content layers and the extension of content regulation) that are developing as the internet emerges as a video distribution platform.