ZillionTV, the Next Generation of Video On Demand

During a long career as a television and technology executive, Mitch Berman has tried to sell several different iterations of TV, often in their formative stages. These included premium cable networks (at HBO), original cable programming (E! Entertainment Television), satellite TV (Sky and Foxtel), interactivity (OpenTV), and video on demand (Arris). Now, Berman is onto the next new thing, delivering TV through the Internet. His company, ZillionTV, faces long odds but has at least three advantages over the increasingly crowded field of online TV players: It brings DVD-quality programming straight to the TV set. It has a remote control that sets a new standard for ease of use. And its advertising model actually encourages people to watch commercials, rather than undermining their value to advertisers and programmers. Berman is positioning it as a service that offers unique benefits to consumers, advertisers, content companies and broadband providers. Here’s hoping the Hollywood studios that own a piece of Zillion don’t strangle it in its crib, which they could easily do….

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