A Breakthrough Few Months for Portable TV

It gives a tantalizing peek into a television landscape where viewers can decide when to watch their favorites. While the Internet and cell phone choices work around the margins of television fare, these deals involve the most popular programs on television.

"Mark down the date," Bernoff wrote after the announcement. "Today is the beginning of the end of the television schedule."

Telephone companies SBC Communications Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. are also preparing to roll out Internet Protocol, set-top technology that could allow consumers to choose from among multiple camera angles while watching a program or search the Internet for information about the actors.

It all foreshadows a completely upended business environment, where TV networks can get revenue directly from consumers instead of the advertising time they sell. Business deals of all sorts will have to be rewritten to reflect all these new distribution methods. Expect some nasty negotiations or lawsuits.

Many of the new ventures are elaborate test drives. Bernoff expects a pause from the frantic series of announcements as media companies gauge consumer interest in all the options and check how it affects traditional TV viewership.

The technology and changing consumer habits have converged at a time these companies are skittish. They're eager to be on the cutting edge but, more importantly, they don't want to be left behind.

The transition to a new television world has only just begun.

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On the Net:

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http://www.MobiTV.com

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EDITOR'S NOTE _ David Bauder can be reached at dbauder(at)ap.org