The iPad has now been revealed, but its place in the grand scheme of things and how Apple intends to make it an indispensable product aren’t that clear. Knowing that some online video services will be coming to the iPad would be a start. Hulu, anyone?

iPad Arrives

Apple has now shown its hand, unveiling the iPad, its new tablet PC, a few days ago. I’ve already looked at what the iPad means for online video, although the jury is still out on whether the device will actually mean anything, certainly in the short-term.

Apple failed to truly capitalize on its media event on Wednesday, with very few content partners, and only YouTube and MLB.tv for online video streaming. But that doesn’t mean more won’t follow, especially by way of apps created to take advantage of the iPad’s bigger screen.

Continue Reading…

YouTube may be about to diversify its content in an extreme way – by charging for it. Whether by one-off rentals and download fees, or monthly subscriptions, it looks as though YouTube is set to make revenue from methods other than advertising.

YouTube Goes Long

YouTube began as a bit of a Wild West of online video, but soon settled down to become the number one site for short, user-generated clips in the world. Mainly under Google’s ownership and tutelage.

But it has recently been trying to add more professional, long-form content as well. Some old movies and TV shows are now available on the site, and in the U.K. it has recently inked a deal with Channel 4 to have its archive of programming added to the site.

However, while Channel 4 is happy to sell its wares to YouTube for advertising revenue (alongside 4oD), most content creators and television networks aren’t so ready and willing to license their content. At least not merely for a share of advertising revenue.

Cue alternative revenue models.

Continue Reading…

KickAssTorrents.com is a new player in the torrent search space creating an easy and currently ad-free way to search for music, TV shows, movies, eBooks, and software.

The torrent portal launched publicly back in February 2009 and in under 10 months has quickly become a serious player in the torrent space.

KickAssTorrents has told WebTVwire.com that it receives over 100,000 visitors each day. A quick look at the traffic growth on Alexa confirms this:

[source]

Sweet Usability

Upon arriving on KickAssTorrents.com you’ll instantly notice the clean design, ease of use, and obvious absence of advertising.

Torrent sites have become the underground playhouse for scammy advertisers promising russian wives, instant weight loss, hot girls in your area, and seedy work from home opportunities.

It is a breath of fresh air to see a torrent site that lacks advertising, but the site is still young and KickAssTorrentz could yet be seduced by the promise of ad-revenue checks.

Continue Reading…

The BBC iPlayer service is currently free to all residents of the United Kingdom. But should the BBC start charging now that the service has proved its worth and kick started the online television sector in the U.K.? Ashley Highfield, thinks so.

Ashley Highfield?

Who is Ashley Highfield? Only the man who as director of future media and technology at the BBC did more than anyone else to push the iPlayer through from being a mere concept to a reality.

Highfield left the BBC shortly after the iPlayer launched to become managing director of consumer and online at Microsoft U.K. While there he has helped launch the MSN Video Player, which quite frankly pails into insignificance against the iPlayer.

Continue Reading…

Netflix is finally looking towards a streaming future, with the death of DVD predicted, plans for services on other devices – notably the PS3 and Wii (probably) – and a move outside the United States and into unspecified international territories.

Netflix Of The Past

When Netflix formed in 1997 as a DVD by mail company in the United States, the Internet wasn’t the behemoth it is now, and online video was a concept rather than an actual living, breathing part of the Web.

Streaming video therefore wasn’t part of the plan for the company at that point. However, it introduced ‘Watch Instantly’ as part of its subscription service a few years ago and hasn’t looked back since.

Continue Reading…

Were you one of the many who back in 2006 wondered why on earth Google was paying $1.65 billion for YouTube, a site with no revenue and a ton of problems? Then you weren’t alone because even Google CEO Eric Schmidt thought it was overpriced.

YouTube Is Go

In February of 2005, a site popped up on the Internet that would cause a massive shift in how video is served on the Web. It would ease the process, and provide a platform for video of all kinds, mostly user-generated content.

Its name, if you hadn’t already guessed, was YouTube. And it has grown in the last four years to become one of the biggest and most popular sites on the Web, with millions of people from all corners of the world visiting and using the site on a daily basis.

Continue Reading…

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog is a Web series turned short film that has turned heads by being a truly phenomenal success. Now, Joss Whedon has confirmed a Dr. Horrible 2 and talked about creating a digital studio. Web video is growing up.

Dr. Horrible Is Born

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog was created by Joss Whedon (best known for Buffy The Vampire Slayer) during the Hollywood writers strike of 2007/2008. Unable to write for any studios, he decided to finance and produce his own series meant just for the Web.

The result was a three-part series created for around $200,000 by Joss Whedon, his brothers Zack and Jed, and Maurissa Tancharoen. The original aim was to ensure the show broke even so everyone could be paid and walk away happy. But much more than that was achieved.

Continue Reading…