American Film Institute Recognizes Video iPods

AFI's awards note the emergence of portable, on-demand video. Three events in particular are highlighted:

• Apple Computer introduced a new video iPod in concert with a content distribution deal with ABC that made several popular shows available for download. Later, NBC Universal announced a deal to deliver more than 300 episodes from prime time, cable, late-night and classic TV shows via iPod.
• Twentieth Century Fox premiered a serial drama created specifically for cellular phones based on its television drama 24. The 24 one-minute long "mobisodes" -- short for "mobile episode" -- are based on the series.
• Time Warner and AOL announced the creation of a new broadband network -- named In2TV -- that allows on-demand access to thousands of episodes of classic television shows via the Internet.

"In the wake of the popularity of digital video recorders, these technological breakthroughs meet the consumers' needs for content on demand, but also move the receipt of visual storytelling more dramatically toward an isolated experience, to the point where watercooler phenomena may soon be a term of the past," notes AFI.

AFI AWARDS 2005 selections were made through AFI's unique 13-person jury process in which scholars, artists, critics and AFI trustees discuss, debate and determine the most outstanding achievements of the year, as well as highlight these significant events that shape our culture. Two AFI juries -- one for motion pictures and one for television -- convened in Los Angeles for two days of deliberations.

Source: AFI