Color Transmissions
After Wimbledon, the next tennis major is the U.S. Open.
The first match is at the end of next month and I expect to buy tickets.
Adjacent to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens, New York, was the site of the 1939 World’s Fair whose motto was “The World of Tomorrow”:
The eyes of the Fair are on the future — not in the sense of peering toward the unknown nor attempting to foretell the events of tomorrow and the shape of things to come, but in the sense of presenting a new and clearer view of today in preparation for tomorrow; a view of the forces and ideas that prevail as well as the machines.
To its visitors, the Fair will say: ‘Here are the materials, ideas, and forces at work in our world. These are the tools with which the World of Tomorrow must be made. They are all interesting and much effort has been expended to lay them before you in an interesting way. Familiarity with today is the best preparation for the future.’
That year, the American electronics company RCA introduced television to the public for the first time though Philo Farnsworth had been at work with the invention on his own time and dime:
“Philo Farnsworth conceived the world’s first all-electronic television at the age of 15. By the time he died, he had earned over 300 U.S. and foreign patents for electronic and mechanical devices.
…
In 1930, the same year that Farnsworth was granted a patent for his all-electronic TV, his labs were visited by Vladimir Zworykin of RCA, who had invented a television that used a cathode ray tube (1928) and an all-electric camera tube (1929). This led to a patent battle that lasted over ten years, resulting in RCA’s paying Farnsworth $1 million for patent licenses for TV scanning, focusing, synchronizing, contrast, and controls devices.
Meanwhile, there were widespread advances in television imaging (in London in 1936, the BBC introduced the ‘high-definition’ picture) and broadcasting (in the U.S. in 1941 with color transmissions). During World War II, despite the fact that he had invented the basics of radar, blacklight (for night vision), and an infrared telescope, Farnsworth’s company had trouble keeping pace, and it was sold to ITT in 1949.”
And now, 80 years later, we exist in a multimedia world that has evolved beyond the handful of networks that espoused the origins of Hollywood.
This afternoon, Netflix ($NFLX) shares are down -10% in after-hours trading.
Every 3 months, it seems that regardless of how much praise the platform may receive (117 Emmy nominations), all that matters is new paid subscribers:
And that makes logical sense: yes, that’s where the revenue comes from, and without more revenue dollars than expenses, there is no profit company:
Kids walking around wearing Stranger Things t-shirts aren’t paying anything to Netflix, though it is free publicity.
HBO ($T) received 137 Emmy nominations thanks largely to Game of Thrones but it may face an exodus of subscribers despite quality shows premiering:
“But the 11 nominations for Fleabag and the recognition for stellar series such as Chernobyl and Russian Doll make griping harder than usual this year, even if the amount of love for Netflix’s Ozark feels disproportionate at best. The Television Academy, its chairman and CEO, Frank Scherma, said in an opening statement, has ‘a commitment and an obligation to spark creativity, honor innovation, advocate for inclusion, and celebrate excellence.’ And for once, it’s tough to argue that the Emmys didn’t manage to do just that.”
To be honest, I’m very much looking forward to Season 2 of Succession, but that’s just me and, to be honest, I do not personally pay for HBO.
I’m glad that Netflix is transparent about its subscriber number because, well, financially, it is mandated to do so for its shareholders.
Sure, Netflix will never be completely transparent about all its viewership data because that’s its industry moat to know who likes what.
But more importantly, is the technology that Netflix has mastered over the past decade as NBC Universal ($CMCSA) and others now play catchup.
Perhaps the closest thing this generation has had to the World’s Fair is the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) or South by Southwest or Comic-Con, the last of which kicks off tomorrow in San Diego.
But even those are now too bloated and controlled by the mega-corporations.
Then again, the mega-corporations used to puppet master the World’s Fair.
To the credit of Disney+ ($DIS), it will have an established library, worldwide distribution goals, and BAMTech knowhow as its backbone.
If the company can sprinkle in some famed Disney magic, the platform has a chance to be the global challenger to Netflix and form a duopoly.
Meanwhile, the sunk costs that newbies will have to dedicate to tomorrow’s tech may be too much to bear and libraries will be divested for dollars.
