1. Apple, Google, Roku, Boxee have it all wrong

    kid watching tv

    Talk to any tech person and you’ll hear that cable tv is dead and the content on the internet is the way of the future. While I agree with this statement I think the current options are more smoke and mirrors than meat and potatoes. 

    Google TV appears to be more of a web browser on the flat screen and watching Youtube on my tv doesn’t seem very revolutionary or exciting. Roku, Apple, and Boxee tout the ability to stream Netflix, listen to Pandora, rent movies, and watch Hulu; yet these things are not anything I couldn’t do on my computer. 

    So if these companies want to know how to make a killer TV app that I would happily pay for here is what I would like to see: 

    • Ability to watch my favorite shows on ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, Comedy Central, TBS (Conan). Currently Hulu does a good job of this but they do not cover CBS, Comedy Central, or TBS. I would happily pay $10 a month for a subscription that has all these stations, extra points if you they have past seasons and no commercials.
    • Live channels. Currently if I want to get any live channels I would have to buy a bundled package from Comcast when I really only care for a handful of channels. I would happily pay for an a la carte tv station subscription and have the ability to pick out the several channels that I would like to watch.
    • The biggest draw back right now is none of these products offer a good sports solution. If the a la carte option were available I would purchase a subscription to ESPN and FSN, but a better alternative would be the ability to subscribe to all the sports teams that I care about - Huskies, Seahawks, Sounders, and Mariners. 

    I’m sure the big networks and cable companies have a vested interest in sticking to their money gouging ways. But hopefully with enough people turning to alternative means of consuming content they will pay attention and start listening to what the little guys want.

    Do you currently own one of these systems? What do you feel is lacking? What would you like to see in a killer TV app?