The Reality of The Future

I feel like my head is going to explode! As I write this I’m once again on my way to L.A. to plot the future of our reality show the Aquascape Pond Squad. I will be meeting with – amongst others – our manager, the original production company that discovered us and our PR firm.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you may have heard how non-traditional internet TV is disrupting entrenched networks, and specifically cable and satellite providers that currently command the lion’s share of content distribution. This is all changing, hence my head exploding and my visit to L.A.

1.5 billion videos are watched daily on the internet. Those numbers are rapidly growing! Pond Stars was originally created for the Nat Geo Wild cable network. Nat Geo Wild is a premium channel that may or may not have even been available for purchase depending on how your cable package is bundled. That is, if you even get cable and haven’t joined the expanding masses of “cable cutters” out there.

The Aquascape Pond Squad has been uploaded to YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDN7H5HkmH5VM9RXPDJLbfg). Everyone, or virtually everyone, has access to YouTube. Not everyone has cable and many of those who still do don’t have Nat Geo Wild. Our show debuted in September and unless you catch a re-run, you can’t watch it anymore…unless of course you have an internet connection. The future of media is people watching what they want to watch, when they want to watch it, on whatever device they want to watch it on. Agreed?

For us, that means more people will watch the Aquascape Pond Squad streaming over the internet than ever tuned in on Tuesday nights at 9pm CST. It also means my head’s going to explode trying to figure out ways to capitalize on this seismic shift in viewership!

Something tells me my head is not the only one exploding as Hollywood — quite literally — is trying to get their head around this dilemma.

They should read the book The Innovator’s Dilemma. If they do, they might conclude television, as we have grown up knowing it, is doomed. I would agree. Money makes the world go around. Newspapers as we know them have one foot in the grave. As readership shifts online, and viewership does the same, advertisers will follow. It’s why cable bills keep increasing, and why you have to watch a 15 to 30 second commercial more and more before viewing an online video. It’s a cheaper price to pay though, which is evident as more and more consumers are choosing it over traditional cable and its expense.

For me, the freedom to watch House of Cards on my iPad versus The Grand Budapest Hotel — the movie American Airlines selected for me and one I’ve already seen — is refreshing. For Aquascape — and all of Hollywood for that matter — it’s a matter of dollars and cents. I want people to consume the Aquascape Pond Squad anytime, anywhere and on any device they choose. HBO agrees with me. You no longer need a cable provider to provide you with arguably cable’s biggest brand name. HBO is choosing to address their industry disruption – Internet TV – the exact opposite way Blockbuster addressed Netflix’s. Speaking of Netflix, I’m about to use it right now.

Thankfully, besides Grand Budapest Hotel, House of Cards is playing on Netflix over the American Airlines wi-fi. Welcome to the future. The view from 30,000 feet is incredible!