Controversial and Unfounded Predictions of Online Video
When I was in college, I had the weekend early morning shift at the campus radio station. I used to try experiments to find out if anyone was listening (like offering a free car to the first caller). That's the way this blog is going, so I've decided to stir things up with some totally unfounded 2007 predictions for the online video space.
- Feb. 2007: YouTube gets bought by a large media house, who later decide to sell it for 25% of the purchase price.
- June 2007: Flash becomes the only prevailing standard for online video streaming, and Quicktime and others become like Lotus Notes. A startup develops a more elegant solution that streams 30% faster and for a fraction of the cost. It wins 65% market share before 2008.
- Dec. 2006: The "pay for content" space heats up with several new entrants. Models that don't share ad revenue become "Alta Vista'd." Asta la Alta Vista.
- March 2007: A major news event is captured on video event by a highschool kid with a cell phone. He provides it exclusively via Revver, and the networks are forced to serve it via Revver or not have the footage. The kid makes $250,000 in a week.
- July 2007: Verizon buys Break.com and Atom Films in a fierce, overvalued deal in which Comcast competest.
- August 2007: Disney buys Revver.com.
- September 2007: CubeBreak buys Disney
April 2008: Yet, in a strange turn of events, Evil Hand takes over CubeBreak and ends up running the world…But then Bill Gates comes out of philanthropic retirement, wearing a cape no less, and kicks Evil Hand’s ass…er, palm? And Bill goes back to owning everyone again.
By mistake one day he yawns setting off an old special DOS batch file that wipes out the rest of mankind. He gives up on philanthropy and plays solitaire for his remaining years.
• Some Chinese zillionaire buys up the copyright to every word in the English language and we all have to start posting our videos in French.