Wii TV: Stuff of TV producers' nightmares?

Nintendo announced in December that it was working with Japan's Dentsu to bring video to the Wii video game console. And not just any video, but cartoons and original programming. Strategically, this a great move--trying to get the Wii to become the center of the digital living room.

The Times Online reports "the Wiinoma channel is expected to deliver a family- oriented blizzard of cartoons, "brain-training" quizzes, cookery, educational and other lifestyle shows: all of it original content produced exclusively for Nintendo."

News of Nintendo's move into broadcasting is likely to fill executives of many traditional television companies with dread. One senior executive at Fuji Television, Japan's biggest commercial broadcaster, told The Times that if plans by Satoru Iwata, the Nintendo president, to make the Wii "the centerpiece of the living room" took off in a meaningful way, Nintendo's ambitions were "the stuff of television producers' nightmares".

The prospect of content deliberately tailored by Nintendo for its audience, he said, could cause a deep dent in prime-time viewing figures and comes as Japanese broadcasters are being pilloried for relying too heavily on repeats and celebrity formats.

While I am sure producers will initially be concerned, this would seem to be a huge opportunity for them to deliver content and advertising. The big question mark is whether or not Nintendo will open the Wii up to content outside of their own network.

[slcagnina]

It sounds like a terrific idea, until you realize they have to produce -- really produce, compelling entertainment. A network's worth. It's a boardroom dream, but turning it into reality is beyond difficult.

Look at established networks -- how much compelling programing can they muster with their money and experience? This will not work.

[Sam Papelbon]

the article says 'produced for nintendo', not 'produced by nintendo', so they may not have to actually make the shows themselves, just find a studio willing to help. not all that different from a second-party game developer.

as for the programming, the type of shows talked about don't really sound that difficult to produce. we've probably all seen our fair share of the old nintendo cartoons and there's really no place for them to go but up. they could probably even get by with just re-airing some of the classic shows for the nostalgia factor. quiz and cooking shows require next to nothing. random trivia and recipes are easy to come by. educational programming would be the only real difficult thing in the list, because (i'm not sure about the situation in japan) there's a lot of competition and i can imagine a number of parents being leery about trusting a video game company with teaching their kids.

[Penguinisto]

Folks - a question: what makes this any different from an On-Demand video feature at the local cable company?

[kojacked]

It's different because it's original programming and not just time-shifted programming that you get on VOD.

[gopnick]

As long as the Wii doesn't handle HD, you won't see me using it for anything more than casual gaming.

[3rdalbum]

I have what most people would term "slow broadband". Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a way to have the Nintendo Channel buffer more than just a few seconds of video, so I get lots of stopping and starting. If Nintendo gets the content right for their new general-purpose TV channel, AND allows user-directed buffering (like on Youtube and other Flash video sites) then they could really be onto something.