Are you sick of turning on MTV to watch an endless stream of commercials? Tired of watching videos you dislike while you wait for your favorite song to appear? Fed up with missing the new episode of 24? Well, ManiaTV does NOT have a solution.
The Web site, broadcasting from maniatv.com, is a self-proclaimed “television set for the new millennium.” The Web site presents Internet television that shows music videos, action sports and short films presented by “Cyber-jockeys.”
Unfortunately, the site has to be ad supported, which of course means there are still commercials. Also there is only one channel, so what you see is what you get. Of course, we are comforted by more than a hundred channels to surf.
The most significant drawback to the site is the video quality. With inconsistent and sluggish Internet connections, you are forced to watch a choppy picture where the sound rarely synchs up with the picture. Mac users are not able to access the stream at all.
There are a few redeeming qualities to the site. Since the Web site is 24/7, it is a great means of procrastination. ManiaTV is always there – even allowing you to minimize the screen in one corner so you can watch while working on your term paper.
The site has enjoyed considerable success since its launch on Labor Day 2004. It has been viewed in 85 nations with 15 million hits in its first ten weeks. It currently has twenty partners including Dell, The Princeton Review and Intel.
Their target market is 12 to 34-year-olds and has a library of over 5,000 videos according to Christy Kruzick, public relations of ManiaTV.
“The Internet becomes essential- it’s the same as having a phone; people can’t imagine life without it,” said Kruzick.
“The actual TV box is a thing of the past,” she said, “and the fact remains that people are starting to spend more and more time online than in front of the TV.”
It’s hard to imagine this becoming completely true given the difference in size and picture quality between computer screens and televisions. It’s also hard to imagine one preferring sitting stiff on a hard wooden chair watching a computer screen, when they can immerse themselves in the pillowy comfort of their sofas and big screen TV’s.
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