DEMO of iTunes/video iPod for OffRoad Racing "vlog" (video blog)

I setup a "vlog" (video blog) at http://jumplive.blogspot.com. In iTunes/Music Store, do a Search on "Baja 1000" (or "Offroad"):



it brings up the video podcast for my OffRoad Racing vlog (note the Category: Sports)



it lists the video-entries, & the user can play them in iTunes. Or, he/she can download them to their iPod, & watch them at their leisure sometime during their busy day. Note the "Free Get Episode"..in the future, one can charge per video (like the $1.99/ABC TV episode Apple currently charges)



There are 25 million iPods currently out there (a mass-market consumer item),



with a distribution-network (iTunes connected to a Music Store). This is a whole new MEDIUM for OffRoad Racing.

It's another "solution" to Broadcasting to a nation-wide (& world-wide) audience. Plus, there is an Automotive tie-in: cars are being equipped with iPod-compatible radios. (suggesting a potential customer-demographic for Advertisers/Sponsors: car-buying public).

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2006/jan/08chrysler.html
http://www.apple.com/ipod/ipodyourcar/

This is a whole new MEDIUM for OffRoad Racing.

 This "Alternative Medium", needs to explored by Offroad Racing as part of their Media Package. The passive-TV is being replaced by a new trend in Distribution: Video on Demand (VoD). Apple sold 2 million videos over iPod/iTunes 2.5 weeks after they introduced the video iPod on Oct 12, & it recently topped 3 million. CBS/Comcast & NBC/DirecTV followed suit, with their mega-deals:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/ptech/11/01/video.ipod.reut/index.html

"Apple on Monday announced that its customers at its iTunes Music Store has bought and downloaded more than one million videos in less than 20 days. Video content first appeared for purchase on October 12, 2005"
...
"Selling one million videos in less than 20 days strongly suggests there is a market for legal downloads,"Steve Jobs, Apple CEO, said in a statement. "Our next challenge is to broaden our content offerings, so that customers can enjoy watching more videos on their computers and new iPods,

Sources have said Apple is in discussions to lure more television networks to provide programming."

http://business.bostonherald.com/technologyNews/view.bg?articleid=111152

"CBS and NBC have announced deals to offer replays of prime-time programs for 99 cents per episode, shifting television toward a sales model that gained popularity with downloaded music. CBS is teaming up with Comcast Corp. and NBC with satellite operator DirecTV to offer the on-demand replays. Less than three years ago, Apple helped spur the explosion of legally downloaded music with its iTunes Music Store and iPod portable players - the latest versions of which now play video."

http://www.latimes.com/business/custom/cotown/la-fi-ondemand8nov08,0,2732256.story

"Both deals are the first of what are expected to be numerous similar arrangements. They mark the latest examples of how technology is altering the television experience and the traditional network business."

"For 50 years, TV has been a passive medium," said David Zaslav, president of NBC Universal's cable group, which includes networks USA and Bravo, whose programming is also part of the DirecTV deal. "But consumers want more choice and more convenience. All the signals are there of a meaningful change in how people watch television."

"If you don't play, you'll get left behind," NBC Universal's Zaslav said.

He added that NBC programming would be increasingly available on devices other than television, such as cellphones, to expand its revenue sources. NBC makes parts of "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" available for download on mobile phones.

[ UPDATE: 1/10/06 ]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/ptech/01/10/apple.macworld.reut/index.html

Chief Executive Steve Jobs said the company sold 14 million iPod music and video players during the holiday quarter and has sold 42 million to date. Speaking at the company's annual Macworld conference in San Francisco, Jobs also said the company's online iTunes store has sold 850 million songs. The strong demand for iPods helped fuel a 63 percent jump in revenue to a record $5.7 billion during the holiday quarter compared with a year earlier, and near the high end of Wall Street forecasts.

http://news.com.com/Macworld+2006/2009-7354_3-6001841.html?tag=nefd.lede

"Apple blew away revenue and iPod estimates," Soleil-Cross research analyst Shannon Cross said. "And if you extrapolate the numbers, they will likely beat EPS (earnings per share) estimates as well."

"Apple clearly had a runaway fourth quarter --14 million is an incredible number for them to have sold," he said. "It clearly solidifies their position -- not just as the leading player, but the dominant player."