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TYPES OFWEBCASTING 677Figure 3: ExtraNet TV.supports the webcast through sponsorship from advertis-
ers (Digital TV,2001).
ExtraNetTV (http://www.extranettv.com/) uses an e-
commerce model to provide more than 20 video shows
on demand free to users with an online store of over
3000 gift items (Figure 3). The shows available to visitors
range from comedy, horror/science-fiction, popular inter-
est, technology, to health. Each show has one or more
episodes and visitors can choose to view any version de-
pending on their own connection speed.
WebFN is a financial news network that is a joint
venture between Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting and
New York-based Bridge Information systems. Its webcast-
ing works on syndication as the primary source of revenue
(although it currently uses the broadcast model while it
builds its syndication business). At the time of writing,
it streams 12 hours of live video and data each business
day over the Web and also on two Midwest TV stations.
Programs are produced for use simultaneously on the
Web and on television. The WebFN.com Web site also of-
fers around-the-clock video on-demand service (Figure 4).
Its trademarked “Viewcaster” presents a streaming video
window and below it a window with interactive charts and
graphs that are updated according to the in-stream news
content. The webcast is presented in a “program wheel”
format, rotating the featured segments at regular inter-
vals during the hour plus five-program sector reports—-
“Markets in a Minute,” “CEO:FYI,” “Ask an Expert,” “BullSession,” and “WebFN University.” WebFN is working on
syndicating their content to other financial Web sites such
as Fidelity. They are also developing content partners in
Europe and Asia in order to eventually offer a 4-hour live
global webcast (Digital TV,2001).TYPES OF WEBCASTING
There are three types of webcasting based on the technol-
ogy that webcasters use to deliver the content or informa-
tion to the Internet audience: (1) push, (2) on-demand,
and (3) live streaming (Miles, 1998). Webcasting can be
streamed live or be downloaded and stored on the server
for later retrieval by the users. Table 1 compares the differ-
ences between the three types of webcasting technologies
based on consumers’ effort and revenue sources.Push Technology
Push technologies are computer programs that deliver
the media content or information to the audience’s com-
puter screen automatically without specific request each
time. The information may pop up as an alert, wallpa-
per, or screensaver on a person’s computer, as electronic
program guides on a TV screen, or as other displays on
mobile devices or cellular phones. How the webcaster
knows what content to push to the computer screen of
the consumers is based on some level of intelligence such
as the customer’s needs or interests, previous information