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Mark Cuban asks

So the contrarian in me asked the question: “Should we look at taking the video in the other direction? “. Should we be sourcing video from traditional TV delivery options. Can user generated content be uploaded to cable or satellite companies and then delivered as regular TV to be played back from a settop box or DVR.[sic]

Short Answer: Yes. Current TV does this. Of what I’ve watched, its fairly boring. America’s Funniest Home Videos also does this. Of what I’ve watched, its mildly amusing.

People get excited about this PC-TV thing (remember Web TV? I don’t. Never used it.) because they see one video on the computer and one video on the TV. So they say.

Shouldn’t the same video be on both?

No, a successful youtube video isn’t the same as a succesful TV show. You wouldn’t sit down same time, same place every week for a youtube video. You do for a show.

Shows have a plot arc and characters. You follow the characters as they develop. They also have production value. This doesn’t mean better cameras, lights, makeup and etc… equates to a better show. Merely, the medium values production. It is important for a TV show to look good on your TV. Consumers would rather watch shows that place equal value on their equipment as they do themselves. TV’s aren’t exactly cheap. Consumers pay good money to watch good shows (or maybe not considering what turns out to be popular).

Youtube videos may have a plot arc and characters, but more likely have schtick, a hook or someone being painfully dealt with by the world. They don’t value production similarly to a TV show. They place value on bandwidth. It is more important for a video to load quickly than look nice. As long as the action and audio is discernible the video has hit its mark in quality. Why buy a HDTV just to watch some grainy footage of a baby Panda scared by a sneeze?

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