IPTV: Pay-By-The-Minute Model For Porn

Internet protocol television (IPTV) is prompting some in the adult movie industry to propose a new pay-by-minute business model as they prepare for the death of DVD sales.

National A-1 Internet Inc., which owns and operates family and adult movie sites, has offered the pay-by-minute model for streaming content from its Web sites for years. "One day people will watch the movies on their TV streamed from Internet sites, direct from the servers any movie they want," said James Seibert, director of businesses development at National A-1 Internet Inc. "We believe the TV and computer are becoming one. I watch TV through my PC now."

Seibert wants more adult video content sites to move to a pay-by-minute business model and hopes the cable companies will follow as IPTV rolls into mainstream. The business is lucrative. After all, these sites stream video on average more than 550,000 minutes daily. And at www.hotmovies.com, the average price is between 10 cents and 11 cents per minute.

Some believe Seibert's concerns that the technology is not "open to the full Internet" will become available within two years are premature. An industry source said, "We are nowhere close to offering consumers the ability to turn on the TV and surf the Web."

Direct TV, Echostar and variety of digital cable companies that offer adult content charge a flat fee per movie. Comcast Corp. director of corporate communications Tim Fitzpatrick declined to comment on the speculation.Cable providers offer a handful of adult content along with family content, but sites such as National A-1, offers more than 32,000 to choose from. Instead of paying $7 and $10 per movie, consumers could watch a few minutes of entertainment for $1.

Seibert is trying to prepare the adult content market for the shift to IPTV. "There already are quotes from Microsoft's Bill Gates on the Web talking about the death of DVDs," he said. "Other large companies realize DVDs will become the last hard media that you use. It's all coming down to hard drives and digital downloads."

Parents attempting to keep kids away from Internet pornography can buy software, such as Safe Eyes at www.safeeyes.com or Net Nanny, at www.netnanny.com to block these Web sites from home computers. More than 77 million kids are online today, according to ProtectKids.org. It's too early to determine how cable or set-top box operators might do the same.