4GM: NATPE Notes and mini-DVD's

The wonderful Alice in Wonderland -- who made me eat raw frikkin' rutabagas last Friday, which my Irish red-meat-and scotch-trained stomach is just barely digesting now -- is at the National pow-wow of panicking television producers and executives. Some interesting notes on tech and snippets of a keynote by Chris Anderson of Long Tail fame.

EDIT: Mad Bill over at DISContent has pointed out that the first four episodes of 24 are out today on DVD. Such mini-issues -- Bill cunningly calls them "bump" releases -- have long been a crucial part of what I saw as the new model for television in both release and financing. The short-term financial bumps will replace the long-term massive cash infusion that's ordinarily fronted for the long, dinosauric 22 episode seasons.

This is why I'm never stumped by the question "who will pay for the TV of the future?" Markets will out, and savvy mainstream producers will adapt, intentionally or not.