…Technologically speaking anyway, as the showbiz/TV paradigm continues its rapid evolution after 60+ years of running in place.
According to a report by Andrew Wallenstein at Variety.Com, the CW has tied itself in with XBox Live with a new app that makes full-length episodes of all CW programming “available just 24 hours after their primetime berth – a first on Xbox without requiring subscribers [to] provide proof of being pay-TV subscribers.”
This is a big deal. As Kathy Styponias, General Manager of Microsoft’s Media and Entertainment Group puts it, “That’s a unique proposition for us in terms of app business models.”
And Wallenstein’s take is this:
The CW app is already active on other platforms including iOs, Android and Windows 8. But with Xbox, the app will make its debut in the living room, where the console is the most highly penetrated offering among the many non-cable set-top boxes vying to be the go-to IP-delivered device.
What this Xbox availability means is yet another reason to cut the cable cord and save more than a few bucks. We suppose we should feel sorry for the cable companies and satellite networks because they’re about to become totally obsolete and don’t even know it. And maybe we would – if they were giving us better programming and prices (i.e., the chance to subscribe to individual stations for, you know, cheap).
