Comedies and documentaries were the most frequently downloaded shows in a BBC-sponsored test that offers hints about the future of Internet distribution of broadcast content. A story about the BBC’s iMP Internet Tri published by the Informitv newsletter suggests that users want to download and watch shows at their leisure, the way they let magazines pile up on coffee tables. It also indicates that video quality is more important than faster download speed. Here is an excerpt from the Informitv report:

“The 5,000 users downloaded 150,000 programmes during the four month trial, although they only apparently watched around than half that number. The main reason cited for this was the limitation of the seven day period after transmission in which the programmes could be viewed. A quarter of the users said the download speed could be improved, but over three quarters said they would not compromise on quality for quicker downloads.”

A quick search turned up a blog posting in which Dennis Haarsager of the Public Service Publisher Initiative notes that: “The BBC iMP uses the same distribution engine, Kontiki, as does Open Media Network.

A colleague of mine at the San Francisco Chronicle wrote a newspaper article about OMN. Aspiring video or audio publishers should mine the OMN Producer FAQ for tips.

Tom Abate
MiniMediaGuy
‘Cause if you ain’t Mass Media. you’re Mini Media