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March 18, 2008

Introducing PrimeTimeRewind.tv: Discover, Watch and Share Prime Time Network TV Shows

Today I am launching a new company from the pulver.com Incubator, PrimeTimeRewind.TV. Amit Shafrir and I co-founded this company in 2007.

PrimeTimeRewind.TV provides one click access for consumers to watch the latest episode of their favorite Prime Time TV Shows (assuming the underlying TV Network has made the show available for free online viewing.)

The 2007/2008 television season is the first one in which each of the major US based TV and Cable networks embraced the Internet since the start of the TV season by offering complete episodes of most of their prime-time programs for free to people located in the USA. While this is an exciting development for USA based consumers (access to the online TV content is restricted by geography by each of the respective TV Networks), the discovery and viewing experience on each individual site continues to be rather challenging. Until today, there has not been any single platform available for watching all of the otherwise available Prime Time TV programs; each network requires visiting and hunting through a very different site and different user experience.

By provide one site the where people know they can go to and find any available prime time television show, PrimeTimeRewind.TV is removing the barriers and helping to improve the online TV viewing experience. Now, if you’ve missed the latest episode of your favorite prime time program, you can go to primetimerewind.tv and quickly and easily watch it at your convenience.

Central to the site is “The Cube,” a rich internet application that provides a multi-sided, three-dimensional view of all prime time television content that is available online. “The Cube” empowers viewers to sort programs by network (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, TNT and USA, with more networks to be added), and genre (action, comedy, reality, drama) to easily watch the latest episodes of their favorite programs. Users can customize “The Cube” with their favorite programs, as well as videos from YouTube and other video-centric social media sites.

Prime Time Rewind is not “stealing traffic” and viewers from the networks’ sites but rather acts as an affiliate and drives viewers their way. The Prime Time Rewind site is not a file-sharing system, nor does it contain its own video player. Instead, viewers click through “The Cube” to open a control-panel interface that brings consumers to the individual networks site, and presents the content in each network’s individual video player and presentation format, including advertisements. Viewers get the same experience as they would by simply clicking through to the sites for ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, TNT and USA, without having to hunt for the favorite episodes of their show. Ultimately, the networks receive additional traffic for their programs, while viewers have a single destination and platform from which to watch all of their favorite shows, regardless of the network or genre.

While the traditional television set serves as a common platform to easily find programs and switch between TV networks, the viewing experience on the Internet is quite different. There is no easy means to “change channels” on the Internet, other than moving from Web site to Web site; similarly, each network’s Web site organizes content in a unique, and often, confusing way.

Prime Time Rewind simplifies watching network television programming online, while adding key social media capabilities. With Prime Time Rewind, all of your favorite prime time television programs are never more than just one click away.

Please give PrimeTimeReWind.TV a try and let me know what you think.

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Posted by jeff on March 18, 2008 10:10 AM | Permalink

Additional resources: Internet TV Online Guide @ Network2.tv | Voice on the Net Conference | Video on the Net Conference

Comments

BTW He did suggest Jetex and cartoon network would be good additions

Posted by: John Fleming at March 23, 2008 09:43 AM

Congratulations on the launch. Tested it with the 9 year old. He thinks it rocks.

Posted by: John Fleming at March 23, 2008 09:41 AM

Jeff has missed a real opportunity to monetize his own innovation, which is otherwise a really good one - and badly needed. Nonetheless, and if I properly understand it, the innovation in seeking to rationalize the broadband video experience it (a) drives traffic AWAY from PrimeTimeRewind; and (b)it's not evident to me how Cube navigation (however interesting and it truly is) - can really do anything that's lastingly UNIQUE, let alone make any money (although perhaps that's not the point for Jeff?).

I would respectfully recommend to Jeff that he consider using a simple and utilitarian model that allows him to monetize each unit of traffic, meaning click through and, thus, make his OWN innovation lastingly unique (because I see that the model already has imitators).

The way to do this is to filter each unit of traffic through something called "Interchangeable Master Channels" (IMCs). That way, each brand name entity, and program segment, that benefits from the unit of traffic, does so by paying a very small royalty to Jeff. IMCs are almost infinitely variable. Thus, each and every time someone clicks on the hyperlinked interface that forwards the traffic, a very modest royalty gets paid to Jeff in return for the traffic.

Without the "uniqueness" variable, Cube navigation becomes just another distraction or plaything - that also gets diluted through imitation. That's the Achilles Heel for these kinds of ideas: namely, there's no obvious way to monetize the traffic and, thus, keep the initators (who also have no obvious way to monetize their traffic) at bay. Jeff's invention should remain that way, meaning a true innovation, instead of becoming a distraction.

Posted by: Derick Harris at March 20, 2008 05:15 PM

Congratz! Checked this out last night and it worked like a charm.
Expect to see a blog post or more about this.

Posted by: Todd Jordan at March 19, 2008 06:10 PM

Jeff,

I am not enamored with the cube interface but the idea is simply brilliant.

If you could get live feeds from the news and sports networks I would consider dropping my cable subscription and nothing would make me happier.

Posted by: Rick Mason at March 19, 2008 08:53 AM

Jeff and Amit, congrats on the launch! What a fantastic Cube to replace the old Tube! :) the interface is beautiful and I've already made my own Cube Facet with all my favorite shows. I just hope the restriction on viewing full-length episodes only for US residents is temporary.. Great work! :)

Posted by: Rey Tavor at March 19, 2008 08:51 AM

Congrats on the launch! I've got My So-Called Life in another tab as I type :).

Posted by: Annie Boccio at March 18, 2008 11:16 PM

suggest you guys try the primetime rewind widget you can personalize and embed - check out http://primetimerewindblogtv.com for my cube

Posted by: amit at March 18, 2008 06:39 PM

Jeff, congrats on the launch! I love the CUBE as a navigation interface and look forward to seeing it in use at PrimetimeRewind and beyond. Very cool! Great to see you PULVERIZING media once again!

Posted by: Jeff Sass at March 18, 2008 06:24 PM

As an avid viewer of network shows on the internet I will be bookmarking the home page. Are any variations in the works that I can DL a cube so I don't have to go to open up my browser, but just click the cube on my desktop widget. Just a though! Site looks awesome. It was a whole bunch better looking than I was expecting.

Posted by: Jeff at March 18, 2008 05:56 PM

This sounds kick ass!! This is so right up my alley! Way to go Jeff!

Posted by: Britney Mason at March 18, 2008 11:54 AM

Congratulations on your launch, Jeff. I wish you the very best with Prime Time Rewind. I know you've been working on variations on this theme, helping people find the good stuff, for two years and more. I'm glad to see part of it realized in this launch. Great stuff!

Posted by: Chris Brogan... at March 18, 2008 11:44 AM

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