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One of the greatest content revolutions of our time is taking place in the field of video - my Angel MPEGs, if you will. Tivo practically (or literally, depending on your legal interpretation) invented time-shifting TV - the process of recording a programme and watching it, buffered, five minutes after it has started, or pausing live TV. In all honesty, the humble video cassette recorder has been time-shifting TV programmes for years. However, this is hardly an ideal format for carrying around or transferring content. The new video recorder is BitTorrent - the ability to download any TV show you like, whenever you like, to watch wherever you like. The current trend in IPTV startups is to offer the ability to have content on your own schedule, at your own convenience.

Time, therefore, is an interesting new vector for video programming. Time-shifting content works out well, assuming you can avoid finding out the plotlines.

Which, by the way, are getting more niche. I managed to avoid finding out the ending of Angel for two years. How so? Well, because that particular programme is something of a niche - I don't know anyone else that's into it (Other than me of course, since I lent you the DVDs! – ed. And me! - Gordon). There's an interesting theory flying around right now called the Long Tail. It suggests that as the costs of production and distribution fall, the more viable it becomes to monetise niche markets. The media world operates in very much a hit-driven culture - the big money is being made by the number one mainstream artists, the Hollywood blockbuster. Niches, thought unprofitable, are often ignored.

However, as costs drop - to the point at which a guy dressed as a ninja can make money - that's when you can really start to monetise niches. Costs are dropping because the Internet is a cheap distribution medium, and production equipment falls in price as technology marches ever onwards. Internet distribution provides a platform for people to make content about what suits them, and to find an audience for it - regardless of geographic location. The shrinking importance of geography, and the increasing popularity of online social networking means that niches are easier than ever to tap for commercial content. I don't have to worry that anybody is going to spoil the plotline of my favourite show for me, because nobody else that I know in the real world has even heard of it.

Is this the future? Time-shifted, niche content? It has to be - entertainment must be made to fit in with our lives, or it will cease to exist because no one will consume it. What does this future mean? Well, it should mean (in broad terms) easier access to more content that we care about. It should mean that the market refocuses, moving away from producing a million reality TV shows and low-brow sitcoms and moves towards creating shows that serve a key audience. In the ongoing bid for advertisers, smaller shows that target valuable niches are an attractive proposal for those looking to sell products, perhaps more so than the scattergun approach of blitzing a mainstream audience.

The long and the short of it is that, regardless of the amount of spare time you have, you should always be able to find easily available, interesting content to fill it. Apart from Angel of course, which much to my chagrin has been cancelled. Bring back foxy Fred!

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