Seeking Nerdvana

There's an entertainment revolution coming and the television networks are trying to create the illusion they're leading the way.

Summer's here and the time is right for the television networks to screen even worse junk than usual. Rather than butchering first run shows by showing them out of order, moving them to a different time slot every fortnight, starting them late and running ads over the top of them - over summer they do it to repeats and third rate shows that couldn't cut it during the ratings period.

Richard Lord, chief operating officer of Australian digital services company Hyro, makes some interesting comments on his blog as to whether the television networks are taking a risk by letting viewers slip away over summer - allowing their eyeballs wander over to places like YouTube and MySpace.

Keep in mind that one of the things Hyro does is help television networks win back these viewers. It recently won the tender to rebuild the Ten Network's website and develop a range of new services in wireless and programming - competing against the Seven/Yahoo! and Nine/MSN alliances.

Lord realises that viewers want greater control over the viewing experience, but his job is to help the networks to hand over that control (or the illusion of it) when and how it suits the networks, not the viewers.

"The great and exciting thing is that all of this is happening at a time when the technology, the channels and the understanding of the business have evolved sufficiently to help to realise the potential of digital channels. We have reached an exciting time in the evolution of entertainment and the industry it supports and are witnessing the consequences of the work we have done as we set about changing the world," he says enthusiastically on his blog.

Real innovation is not going to come from the existing players - they're being dragged kicking and screaming into this new age which actually empowers the viewer. They fear change. They loath personal video recorders. Networks and advertisers don't want empowered viewers, they want battery hens who will sit down, shut up and watch whatever they're given - including the ads. Especially the ads. The television networks have convinced the government to do its best to protect them from competition, and they try to destroy anything that threatens this cosy existence. Communications Minister Helen Coonan had the nerve to call herself a "friend of the consumer" recently on Lateline. Lucky I don't keep guns in the house or I'd need a new telly.

Throwing viewers tidbits such as SMS voting and the occasional download won't placate them forever, but it will work for a long time because, on the whole, people are stupid. Just look at the garbage they're prepared to watch.

When the entertainment revolution comes, it won't be televised. It will sweep away the old-skool players. The network programmers who treat viewers like idiots will be the first against the wall. Richard Lord should take care not to be standing next to them when it happens.