Hi,

I don’t think CBS are dogmatic about it, after all, not just Quincy Smiths background, but the re-tooling of TV.Com, The wider integration of CNet and the broader plans for Last.FM would indicate they’re simply being pragmatically cautious, with some stumbles!

A large part of the problem is the amount of legacy (incumbent) stake-holders, most of which have been dragged screaming to provide online access, and would prefer to maintain their old models, rather than accept creative destruction and cannibalisation in the face of the actual alternative that was fully taking hold before they became more receptive, in the form of Bit Torrent and Streaming/Link-Sites.

Another business-model CBS might be contemplating, as with TV Everywhere, might be in consideration of where much of the delivery occurs via multi-service companies (i.e. telecoms/dsl and tv) so that revenue-division and access is more for the benefit of those players, then the newer individual aspects; And where a future occurs with web-accessible content being bundled with your telecoms contract whoever the supplier is irrespective of practical choice, either with the removal of net-neutrality or low/tiered bandwidth caps.

ALL that with the background of the regulatory authorities being more receptive to the idea of restricting broadband access to those who are persistent offenders of illegal downloading!

Yours kindly,

Shakir Razak