First came the big terrestrial television broadcasters like NBC and BBC. With limited frequencies for broadcasting, there were few channels for viewers to choose from and programming had to target every demographic. This meant that depending on the time of day you tuned in, you’d see anything from dramas to news to sports on the same channel.

Then came the cable networks: ESPN, MTV, CNN. The hundreds of available channels meant that the networks could be more specialised, focusing on 24-hour news, sports, travel, you name it. But viewers could still find themselves wondering why, with 900 channels, nothing good was on TV. Then came high speed internet – and more specifically, high quality streaming video – bringing with it millions of possible programmes to watch whenever you wanted. It was time for a new way of looking at the concept of a TV network.

“The idea behind our founding was that we realised we didn’t need to play by the rules anymore,” says Ron Richards, director of marketing & product management for Revision3. “The internet let us create a TV network exactly the way we wanted.”

Revision3’s name succinctly describes how it sees itself in the timeline of TV networks: “Revision 1” was the terrestrial TV networks and “Revision 2” was the advent of cable broadcasters. Founded in 2005, Revision3 describes itself as having been “born from the internet, on-demand generation” and has its own stable of original, broadcast quality shows that are distributed online.

“It’s already game over for TV and cable because of the way devices are moving. You have TVs with Ethernet jacks to connect online, Tivos, Xboxes – the need to depend on NBC at 8pm is over,” Richards says.

Starting from scratch
One of the biggest hurdles in getting a start online is breaking through the noise of the myriad video podcasts and YouTube clips that are already out there. For Revision3, the answer lay in tapping into pre-established fanbases. Beginning with a decidedly geeky slant with shows on the latest in computer technology, the company was able to pull a crowd of 18-34 year old males – who make up 90% of their audience – that advertisers love to connect with.

Among the shows that it produces are “Diggnation”, a show with the founders of digg.com talking about the week’s hottest stories from the social bookmarking news site. Patrick Norton and Veronica Belmont, both veterans of the technology sector, host the show “Tekzilla”. Richards says that as trusted advisors and tastemakers on the latest tech gadgets, they bring with them a strong fanbase who look to them for purchase decisions. By connecting with communities like these, Revision3 has been able to quickly establish a name for itself online, attracting big name advertisers such as Virgin America, Microsoft and Sony.

To tap the full potential of online distribution, Revision3 does not limit itself to just one or two sites to reach its audience. Following a philosophy of “wherever, whenever” the company’s shows are available – for free – on revision3.com, YouTube, iTunes and others. So whether you want to download a small file for syncing to your iPhone or a full-size, high-definition file for viewing on your HDTV at home, Revision3’s goal is to meet your needs says Richards.

Merging the old into the new
Now, you might be saying to yourself “Wait a minute, I thought the TV was dead! You just mentioned watching Revision3 shows in your living room!” The TV itself is not dead and not even dying. Richards explains that when says its “game over for TV” he means for traditional networks that plan their own schedule of what is on and when.

This trend has been apparent for many years with the advent of digital video recorders (DVRs). While DVRs can make life difficult for advertisers who don’t want viewers to skip their commercials, the ability to watch shows at any time boosts TV viewing.

More on-demand programming from service providers has also helped to boost TV viewing hours. The Synovate PAX Digital Life Q3 2007 to Q2 2008 survey for Hong Kong revealed that customers with IPTV – which sends broadcast video into homes via the internet, making on-demand programming easily accessible – watch more TV than non-IPTV customers.

The takeaway? When given the power to choose, people are still just as eager to get their TV fix.

And the “traditional” networks have taken note of this trend. NBC Universal and News Corp. joined forces to create Hulu, a website that allows visitors to watch high-quality, streamed videos of their favourite TV shows. Launched to the US public in March 2008, the site features content from more than 100 providers including Sony Pictures Television, Warner Brothers and MGM. (Due to licensing issues, video content on Hulu is only available to users within the United States but the company says it plans to expand to other markets later.)

“With full-length episodes of current and archived television shows, feature films, sports and news, we believe the Hulu service is a step forward in giving consumers entertainment on their terms,” says Jason Kilar, chief executive officer of Hulu.

In the United Kingdom, the venerable BBC has begun putting its shows online through its custom-made iPlayer. The past seven days of BBC shows are available to UK residents for streaming online or can be downloaded and saved for up to 30 days. However, the initial launch of the iPlayer in December 2007 was not without some hiccups.

Limited compatibility meant that users not running the Windows operating system were left out in the cold, with UK users starting massive online petitions to complain. Since then, BBC has released numerous updates that allow the iPlayer to run on everything from the Nintendo Wii to Nokia mobile phones. The lesson was clear – users will not settle for anything less than watching their favourite show whenever they want.

List of demands
Meeting the demands on TV watchers has become the new focus for TV networks. Gone are the days when networks could set their show lineup and be done. Now they must cater to the desires of the audience who want to see their favourite shows on their own schedule. Though Hulu may be the most high profile startup in the US, it is far from the only site that is offering traditional TV content online.

But as the big names in TV move to the online arena they will find themselves competing with smaller-scale, community-focused businesses such as Revision3. Each has their own forte – Revision3 has low overhead and quick turnaround, while companies like NBC have impressive marketing machines and star power. But when it comes to succeeding online they are all measured by the same metric – viewer eyeballs. In this new version of TV, the winner is the consumer, who has gone from passively watching to actively deciding what to see and when.