Recently, no less than 6 international airlines have decided to make their in-flight entertainment systems (seatback LCD displays, in simple language!) compatible with iPods.

The significance ? An estimated hundred & fifty million owners of iPods & look-alikes will be able to carry their choice of music & video, and play it on the inflight entertainment system. Imagine playing your favourite TV programs or full-length movie on the seatback TV set ! Already, the majority of new car audio systems are iPod ready.So also, with the new range of LCD TVs.
Signals that the era of "audience of one" is well upon us?

On another similar line, Clickstarinc.com has launched its service of releasing new Hollywood movies on broadband just 2 weeks after release in theatres, creating potential competition for theatres as well as movie channels.

Apart from pay-per-download fees, where will all this take the revenue model for content providers and broadcasters? As far as advertising is concerned, revenue models should see a gradual shift towards in-program product placement, branded programming and even embedded icons which will play out the commercial only when the viewer clicks.

It is these developments that are driving the infinite hunger of big media for new media acquisitions - fed in turn by their huge concerns about the future!

Online Publishing
Along the similar lines, the founder of Wikipedia.org has announced an ad-supported site called Wikia.com which will host "thousands of community-written articles on a variety of subjects". With increasing Internet access, Wikia.com & its (inevitable) competitors in the long run, have the potential to revolutionize the book & magazine publishing business. Just like the iPod is threatening to churn the existing content broadcasting business!

On another level, the Beeb (a.k.a. BBC) is working on a system of paying for user-generated content.

Welcome to the brave new world.