As Internet television becomes more pervasive, some companies have made efforts to develop the transmission of existing pay-TV channels to regular TV sets over the net, while retaining control over how the medium is used. Such control is required in order to protect existing subscription and pay-per-view business models. Additionally, there are the copyright issues associated with the distribution of all media. The challenges lie in seeking to maintain the protections of a copyright and the revenues associated with it, while moving to another delivery model for video.
Internet Video on Demand (VOD) offers a different approach, and it is interactive, requiring the viewer to select specific videos to watch. The usage of internet protocols to provide two-way communication will also open the way for interactivity with the video content, for example making it possible to choose between multiple camera angles,that is, the effects of a new medium.'(McLuhan) This is the process of setting out to characterize and identify the new medium before it becomes obvious to everyone, which often takes years to catch on. Creating two major mediums/media together to create an overpowering single mass medium considered innovative and new form of streaming media is internet TV.Television could come a long way by evolving in this direction, according to Donna Hoffman, a professor as Owen School of Business at Vanderbuilt. "The viewers have the power now to choose instead of work with other equipment that takes up time." Viewers can now easily skip over the commercials, or tune into less, skip over channel surfing and watch TV programs and access the Internet. It is essentially killing two birds with one stone.
