i'm curious about how new methods of distribution created by the internet are affecting media companies business models. i'm looking for some good numbers (not typical tww heresay or opinion) on how profitable traditional methods are compared to what the new methods are forming to be. questions like:

- is manufacturing a CD more expensive than the bandwidth required for a consumer to download a music track (and by what factor)
- how expensive is over-the-air tv broadcasting, and would it be cheaper (now or at some point in the future) to stream tv over the internet.
- for example, netflix did $688m in revenue in 2005. GAAP net income was $41.9m. Is this better or worse revenue/margins than brick-and-mortar rental chains

i know these aren't anything new, and no it's not for hw or anything, i just wanted to hear what you guys might know about this subject.

[Edited on May 22, 2006 at 9:06 PM. Reason : .]

5/22/2006 9:05:34 PM

cd's are getting outdated, and as soon as all new cars are outfitted with mp3 players, i guarantee you cd's will disappear

5/22/2006 9:08:02 PM

http://www.techcrunch.com/2006/05/22/download-your-tv-the-current-options/
http://arstechnica.com/articles/culture/emusic.ars
http://web.mit.edu/comm-forum/forums/tv_economics.htm
http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=5637169
http://www.thelongtail.com/the_long_tail/2005/04/media_meltdown.html

to get it started

[Edited on May 22, 2006 at 9:40 PM. Reason : .]

5/22/2006 9:40:29 PM

^^ because nobody sells cassette tapes anymore

5/23/2006 9:38:06 AM

just b/c cassettes are still sold doesn't mean they don't have a very reduced market share or that the landscape of the music market wasn't changed by CDs b/c of decreased (or increased, i don't know) manufacturing costs, better sales due to the better quality and portability of CDs, etc. it's a valid point.

[Edited on May 23, 2006 at 10:25 AM. Reason : even though i doubt that they will "disappear" we can still learn from it]

5/23/2006 10:25:17 AM

anybody?

5/24/2006 8:17:58 AM

Soap box would have been a better place. This question doesn't directly deal with overclocking, fixing a busted computer, or some game title so you are fucked unless Noen or one of the other more helpful folks finds this thread.

5/24/2006 8:38:16 AM

11 million viewers watch ABC programs free online
http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=technologyNews&storyID=12578619&src=rss/technologyNews

[Edited on July 1, 2006 at 5:36 PM. Reason : .]

7/1/2006 5:36:16 PM

Quote :

"cd's are getting outdated, and as soon as all new cars are outfitted with mp3 players, i guarantee you cd's will disappear "

i disagree. a lot of people want to buy something they can hold. half the reason i buy a cd is for the artwork, etc. otherwise i'd just download the mp3's.

7/1/2006 5:41:37 PM

Yeah, the market size may drop a lot but it will still be there.

7/1/2006 6:09:04 PM

i was under the impression that netflix had terrible terrible terrible (yes 3) margins. they make like 3 cents on the dollar or less.

the service is definately a great idea, but there are certain annoyances with it and a variety of kinks in the system. id rather use video on demand any day of the week (though it is more expensive, uneedingly).

[Edited on July 1, 2006 at 6:26 PM. Reason : .]

7/1/2006 6:26:04 PM

netflix is working on it

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13503754/

[Edited on July 1, 2006 at 6:34 PM. Reason : not to mention iTunes]

7/1/2006 6:32:06 PM

Quote :

"cd's are getting outdated, and as soon as all new cars are outfitted with mp3 players, i guarantee you cd's will disappear"

it's too much work putting files on an mp3 player compared to popping in a cd

7/1/2006 7:14:00 PM

What would be nice is an mp3 player in your car that could download your music library over your wireless home network while the car sat in the garage. Something like that would need no actual "work" on the part of the user.

7/1/2006 7:28:02 PM

^^^^

NFLX saw 55.2 mil in profits on 753.9mil in revenue, which is about a 7% margin and 36% sales growth over the previous year.

7/2/2006 10:49:18 AM

perhaps they are getting better then. im not saying they are dying or anything (cuz growth is good and the alternatives are meh), but i dont think it is a long-term sustainable model.

7/2/2006 11:14:52 AM

http://www.direct2drive.com/

7/2/2006 12:33:21 PM

I would love a car stereo with a compactflash or a secure digital card slot

7/2/2006 1:11:26 PM

I know Audi has dual SD slots in one of their factory stereo options. I'm sure other manufacturers have something similar as well.

7/2/2006 2:57:25 PM