New Project: Resurrect TV

Working on a new project is exciting. It’s especially exciting when the project is a result of the vision you had a long time ago but only NOW is the time it can actually come true.

It’s exciting to brainstorm an idea one day only to learn next day this is exactly what the people want. It’s exciting when you hear folks on the streets talking about, demanding exactly what you’ve been working on. And it’s also frustrating to know it will still take a few months (and sometimes years) for them to be able to use it.

But most of all it’s exciting. It’s like discovering new lands, inhabiting empty cities. I’m sure this is how Herman Cortez felt when he first came to America (before he eventually went insane, created his own little kingdom and died alone).

It’s the excitement that drives me and helps me do what I do, even though it might not entirely make sense to many of you at the very moment. I know it doesn’t make sense to any of you, yet 🙂

So let me explain.

Over the last few years millions of people in the US cancelled their cable subscription (here are the numbers) in favor or devices like Boxee, Roku or Apple TV where they can watch what they want, any time they want, straight on their huge TV screen. They watch movies on Netflix, shows on Hulu and other video content on websites like Revision3, YouTube or DailyMotion. They hated the dictatorship of cable providers, but now that thay have the freedom of choice, they realize they miss the live shows. It’s great to be able to watch what they want, but it’s equally great to watch shows together with friends, sharing the viewing experience with others.

They want live TV but without the networked programming part. They want to choose what they wanna watch but also share the experience. They want the TV to be personal and social at the same time.

People are sick of TV. Let’s change it!

For the last two years I’ve been building the best movie recommendation engine on Earth and deployed it on the mobile to help you find movies in nearby theaters, and on the web to let you discover movies and shows you’ll love. But I relized that discovering great content is more fun if you can watch it instantly on the device you’re working on. I want people to experience both live TV and VOD content and YouTube shows, and any other kind of Internet video on their TV.

We’re living in exciting times for TV. Cables are losing customers and need new ways to encourage subscribers. Great minds envision we’ll be watching TV on many devices like iPads or laptops. This is already happening in small scale. Startups around the globe work on hundreds of second-screen apps that make your viewing experience more social. I believe all these are great, especially for the geeks. But 90% of the TV viewing experience will stay on TV, anyway. That’s why I believe that the TV is the next place for Filmaster.

I think the first platform that allows us to fully experience both traditional EPG and on-demand video in a personalized way is Google TV. It integrates with your cable EPG, allows you to watch content on Netflix, YouTube, Vimeo and all other sources. It encourages interaction and is free of crazy restrictions. But it lacks one thing: a personalized guide that will know your taste and will let you discover movies and shows you’ll love and play them instantly on your TV. That’s why Google TV is the first platform we’ll be releasing Filmaster.TV on.

But this is only the beginning. I want Filmaster to be the service cables use to stop people from cancelling subscription. I want it to be the service new IPTV providers deploy to gain competitive advantage. I want it to be in millions of homes in the US and elsewhere. I want it to be what people first see when they turn on their TV and use it to choose what to watch.

That’s why I’m so excited. We’re entering a new game, we’re trying to disrupt the industry that hasn’t changed for decades. We’re trying to make TV more like the Internet, but filtering out all the stuff you’re not interested in. We want you to start your TV viewing experience with Filmaster to discover all the great content, whether it’s live or on-demand. And we’re gonna succeed because this is what the majority of the people want.

Let me know whether or not you agree with my vision in the comments!