There are many websites that provide videos for viewing have been around. The most successful would be YouTube, which has had a social aspect to it since the beginning. The integration with Google Plus has further enhanced YouTube’s social aspect.
One drawback to the adoption of the web as the main video platform is that, particularly in Australia, the Internet is too slow to have high definition video. It also has a high cost compared pay TV. Obviously the convergence of TV and Internet would work better if the video (download) came through the Television broadcast; with audience response (uploads) being sent through the Internet.
Another issue with the current regulations in Australia is that TV networks are not allowed to send data through their transmissions (“what’s on next” and subtitles allowed). Removing the restrictions would allow networks to transmit their own mini webpages showing news, recipes, traffic reports and other text information. Networks could cooperate so a different topic was covered by a different channel.
About 5 years ago the cricket broadcasts used to have player statistics that were viewable with certain set top boxes. Before that Channel 7 started broadcasting the Austext system in 1977. It uses the same technology that provides the subtitles for TV shows. This service provided “news, finance information, weather, lottery results, TV guide and other information” to a compatible TV. The service was ended because “Austext is a free service and does not attract advertising revenue, so this is not commercially viable”. I believe that the closing of the Austext service was a step backward.
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