CBS Launches Online Streaming Service

That's right, you heard me. CBS is the first broadcast network to create a stand-alone streaming option for viewers.

It's been a good week for television fans. On Wednesday, HBO announced that their streaming service will be available to people without their pay-TV subscription starting 2015. On Thursday, CBS announced CBS All Access, a new streaming device for $5.99 a month that includes current and previous programming. That's right, kids. You no longer have an excuse to not watch The Good Wife.

“CBS All Access is another key step in the company’s long-standing strategy of monetizing our local and national content in the ways that viewers want it,” CBS President and CEO Leslie Moonves said in a statement. “This new subscription service will deliver the most of CBS to our biggest fans while being additive to the overall ecosystem. Across the board, we continue to capitalize on technological advances that help consumers engage with our world-class programming, and we look forward to serving our viewers in this new and exciting way.”

This is huge, because CBS is the largest broadcast network. The Big Bang Theory, one of CBS's programs, was the most watched television show of last season, and had more than 18 million tune in for the Season 8 premiere last month. CBS All Access will also include special programming, like the Grammy Awards, the Academy of Country Music Awards, and the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. There will be ads for current programming, although commercials will run between 9-12 minutes, as opposed to the 12-16 minutes of advertisement on television. Another big plus is that previous programming, like Twin Peaks (which seriously all of you need to watch if you haven't already), will not have advertisements.

My only complaint is that CBS All Access will not include the NFL games. Hopefully they add those one day. Speaking of adding onto the service, CBS All Access will initially only be available in major cities, including New York City and Los Angeles, of course. The network, however, said it plans to expand.

Internet Slowdown Day

There recently was an online protest called "Internet Slowdown Day", a movement which brought attention to a proposal the FCC is currently going over which would split the internet into two lanes, a "fast lane" and a "slow lane". If websites pay content provides (AKA Comcast, TWC, and the like) a premium, they gain access to the "fast lane".

The protest gained recognition from several major websites including Kickstarter, Mozilla, reddit and Netflix. On September 10th they all featured a loading sign on their sight in reference to what the internet could become if the proposal were to be passed. 

In this post I aim to tackle two main questions:

1. What exactly is this proposal?

and

2. How does it affect filmmakers?

First off, what is this proposal in its simplest terms? Well, quite simply it turns cable companies into the mafia. And that isn't a harsh exaggeration. If you want your website to have protection from the slow lane, you've got to pay your Internet Service Provider (ISP) a premium. No premium, no protection. 

Hmm... sounds like a business model I've heard of. 

This has been a continuous battle (and probably wont stop any time soon) for what people are calling "net neutrality". Which, as John Oliver points out below, is a rather boring phrase and should be accurately renamed to "Preventing Cable Company F*ckery".

Clearly this proposal wouldn't benefit anyone (besides ISP's), but how would it doom filmmakers especially? For that I turn to an article written by nofilmschool.com, "The Doomsday Scenario: Net Neutrality Dies & Independent Film Along With It". 

Okay, so the armageddon-esk picture at the head of this article is a little dramatic, but there are a lot of important points in this article that deserve attention. For one, the internet has become one of the largest markets for independent filmmakers. Vimeo and YouTube are of course the more popular platforms, but there's several other sites that filmmakers use to share their films too. (Shoutout shortoftheweek.com) But with this new proposal it's unknown which platforms would be able to reach your intended audience. It's also unlikely you would be able to do it for free if the platform now had to pay extra for your video to stream at a bearable speed. Kickstarter, providing a new and innovative way for filmmakers to fund their films, made their stance on the matter very clear:

We're speaking out against the FCC's draft Internet regulations that would allow cable companies to create a two-tiered Internet, divided into fast and slow lanes. These proposed rules would stifle innovation, discourage creativity, and destroy the Internet that we know and love.

What makes the internet so beautiful is that all data is created equal. Right now, I can upload a my film to the internet and know that it will load at the same speed as every other film uploaded. It doesn't matter how popular it is or how deep the creator's pockets are. History has already taught us that picking favorites does a lot of damage to society.

 Let's not repeat ourselves, shall we?