Over the Top: How the Internet is (slowly But Surely) Changing the Television Industry

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CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2015 - 176 pages
Television is the last mass medium to be disrupted by the Internet. Given the intricacies of the industry, it's also going to be the most resistant to change. Alan Wolk, an industry veteran and longtime analyst and observer, lays out how the television industry is adapting to the digital era, explaining what's really happening in a tone that will appeal to laypeople and insiders alike.

In the first section, Wolk takes us through how the industry works today, focusing on how the various players actually make money and who pays who for what. The next section deals with the changes that are taking place in the industry today-everything from time shifting to binge viewing to cord cutting-and how those changes are starting to create some seismic shifts. In the final section, Wolk reveals his predictions for the future and what the industry will look like in ten years time.

Andrew Wallenstein, co-editor-in-chief of Variety says "Alan Wolk is one of the most insightful observers writing about the media business today. There's no better expert to help you navigate the confusing, complicated nexus of TV and the Internet."

David Zaslav, President and CEO of Discovery Communications says "Alan Wolk has a deep understanding of the complex nature of television today... this is a fantastic primer of the business and one of the most educated perspectives on the future of our rapidly evolving industry."

Adweek says "If you know anything about television, you probably know Alan Wolk."

Writing in a cover story for The New York Review of Books, Slate Editor-In-Chief Jacob Weisberg said "[to find an evidence-based analysis] [a]n excellent place to start is Alan Wolk's book Over the Top: How the Internet Is (Slowly but Surely) Changing the Television Industry.

About the author (2015)

As Lead Analyst at TV[R]EV, Senior Advisor at MediaLink and Chairman of the 2nd Screen Society, Alan Wolk has become one of the industry's most influential thought leaders and futurists. He was recently recognized by Wired as one of the Top 20 Thinkers In Social TV and Second Screen. Working with a team of top journalists, Wolk has helped turn TV[R]EV (tvrev.com) into one of the foremost sources of information about the changes coming from Hollywood, Silicon Valley, and beyond. Wolk has written and spoken extensively about these upcoming changes and offers his insights on an exclusive basis for clients around the world via Toad Stool Consultants, where he provides bespoke advisory services for clients in the media and entertainment industries. A frequent contributor to industry news sites, Wolk has been interviewed and quoted by everyone from NPR to The Guardian to The New York Times and recently appeared on a segment of public television's Brian Lehrer Show about the future of TV.You can find Alan Wolk on Twitter at @awolk

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