When I miss something on Imus between the shower and the closet, my trigger finger gets itchy. That's the finger I use to hit rewind on my remote control for the cable box from Time Warner when there's something on TV I want to see again, like the steam from Chris Matthews' ears or Art Carney addressing the ball. But I can't do it with radio, although someday I am metaphysically certain I will be able to - and easily at that.
While Tivo remains the sadly sputtering pioneer of time-shifting the form of media formerly known as "broadcast," the concept is picking up steam and the big boys are getting wise. From my perch in the worn leather chair 18 feet from the big Sony, the Time Warner box is video media central; it has become the way to watch televised media in my house. That said, it's a piece of crap. It constantly reboots itself in the middle of American Chopper, its menu design makes programming into a chore, and it has this weird habit of playing two seconds of some middle-aged French guy asking "l'ensemble, vu?" - in what context, I know not.
Oh, I've longed for the grace and ease of a Tivo, from a design standpoint, the iPod of its genre. But Time Warner has always been quicker, though always less elegant. And let's face it, they've got the homes pre-wired for their gizmo. If you're thinking Microsoft (big cable) and Mac (Tivo), you're more on target than a swift Eleanor Clift elbow shattering Tony Blankely's notorious glass chin.
But cable, my friends, is winning. The robber barons, er, I mean, the visionaries at the franchise-swilling monopolies of cable television understand the power of on-demand programming. sure, a personal video recorder like a Tivo or Replay is terrific; you can record anything you want, watch it when you want, you get the drill. But Time Warner is constantly adding more on-demand programming, and it's moved way beyond the most profitable (porn) and into the niche markets (home improvement, cartoons, documentaries). And let's face it, you can imagine the day when the whole shooting match becomes an on-demand buffet - heck, it just takes server space and that ain't getting anything but cheaper.
Just this month, Time Warner quietly added on-demand options for BBC America, ABC News, A&E, and Home & Garden, among others. HBO on-demand is now the only way I catch Deadwood anyway, and has been for some time. Blockbuster? Blockbusted, babe - I get my newly-released digital videos via the good Time Warner servers. Even the kids have discovered that their favorite PBS shows and Nick cartoons now have handy on-demand menus. Per Ron Popeil, I can now set it and forget it - sans the setting, of course.
Now, Imus remains a radio show, even if he and McCord have jumped the shark with their hideous new Paramus set on MSNBC. Yet I suspect MSNBC and its cable partners will soon be in the on-demand game. So my trigger finger may just get some work - just not when Lieberman or Santorum are on.
UPDATE: The fertile Pamela "Dorothy" Parker has an arriviste West Coast take, and offers insight on time-shifting radio. Pamela - as you well know - is the best analyst on digital marketing in the world.
