Fast forward, oh about 10 years from now, you’ll be sitting in front of your TV, click on the VOD button, then start watching your favorite sitcom, drama series or movie. It could be a 8am, Noon, 3pm or Midnight.  Prime time will be virtually obsolete. ‘Any time’ will be the operative term. Viewers will be able to watch whatever program they want, whenever they want it and eventually on any device they want – an HDTV, v-Pod, cellphone, PDA. 

Take a look at Magna Global’s latest study. According to MediaPost’s summary of the study: the leading on-demand digital format will be broadband, penetrating more than 92 million of U.S. homes by 2011, up from an estimated 57 million in March 2007. The study also reports that more than 40 million homes or 35% of the U.S. television households will have DVRs.  What’s even more staggering is that Magna Global estimates that Video on Demand will reach 54.3% of U.S. TV households or about 62.8 million homes in the next four years.  Nearly 96% of all cable and telco subscribers will be using VOD.

TV programming, as we know it, has struggled to change with ita audience increasing desire to ‘timeshift’ its viewing habits.  NBC has offered downloads viat iTunes of its hit show ‘The Office’ and even rerun episodes of its fading series ‘The Apprentice’ on MSNBC. Since networks and local affiliates need to deliver eyeballs to their programs to please restless advertisers, there have been few efforts to drive viewers away from the television, particularly during the prime time hours. 

So, who do you blame: The networks for not being creative with its programming schedule or Madison Avenue for relying too heavily on ‘tried and true’ Neilsen Ratings to justify their return on investment for their clients? Both are to blame.  TV programmers and advertisers need to sit down today across the table from each other and analyze Magna Global’s study as well as get to know its viewers a lot better.  Once they face the music – so to speak – and realize they stand to lose more than they gain, then maybe, just maybe, there will be innovative content and advertising models to reach viewers who are setting their own TV schedule and which ads they want to see.