Video: place your bets

It's Polling Season. Please do take my Poll in the right hand column (multiple answers, you may want to read this post first), and while you're at it anyway: please do fill out the new survey on Internet Video Distribution from my friends over at STL Partners. For that, you may want to read this post first.

On the side: I am quite sure we haven't seen the end of video coming to the web and it poses real threats to ISP business models. But let's not forget that primo it is a wonderful development.

Which brings me to United Content Distributors, my love-baby and maker of the Daily Media box. I know, there are lots of boxes like the Apple TV around. Some, like Sezmi, even come close to Daily Media. But the latter still has the advantage of its unique business model. And: it's not just a press release or a prototype. The Daily Media box is up and running in several (trial) locations in the Netherlands, one of which is a full-blown deployment at a hotel (fiber, IP - the works). Read about it here or here (in Dutch, but translated here and here).

On the side: you may counter that an application like Daily Media initially will not add to the pressures on ISPs and last miles. However, one thing it is supposed to do is eat the video store's lunch by offering VoD.

Which brings me to the new application I found on UCD's web site: Daily Care. Very much in line with KPN Health's strategy, and yesterday even Telstra (!) stepped on the bandwagon.
I look at the KPN strategy as very much of a blueprint for the entire telco business:

1. Traditional ICT services.
2. Connecting professionals and adding (third-party) VAS.
3. Consumer services.