By Charles Arthur: Content is king, as we so often hear. The problem is, the internet is a republic; which means that the most exalted content has to muck in with everything else that’s out there.
The biggest technology companies don’t sully themselves with creating content: Google (NSDQ: GOOG) generates none (except Street View); nor does Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT), or Facebook, or Twitter. Even Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO), which has bought a company called Associated Content, is better known for the content on its photo sharing site Flickr. There’s no room for kings among that democratic mess.
So how does Rupert Murdoch, a man who is fiercely certain of the value of content, restore it to what he sees as its rightful place as a money-earner in its own right? In effect, by making sure that it stays off the wider internet. BSkyB (NYSE: BSY) is a perfect example of controlling the endpoint of consumption: you need to have Sky’s satellite dishes and Sky’s receiver and Sky’s encrypted card
This article originally appeared in © Guardian News & Media Ltd..
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