The phenomenon of Internet television is rising many controversies among the supporters and owners of traditional corporate TVs, because of the potentially devastating changes it might provoke in the mass media world. The unstoppable growth of the online social media networks automatically leads internet users to question whether there are alternatives to the corporate media decisions and how they can put them in practice through the use of the internet.
With the diffusion of P2P networks, internet users have increased their opportunities to share information and also set the stage for personal broadcasting and independent news production. The P2P technology – which is remarkably supported by an authentic peer-to-peer network culture – is progressively changing the way people relate to the traditional corporate TV, by enabling them to actually choose what they want to see and in which way.
On the other side, P2P networks bring with themselves a long trail of issues, which span from copyright infringement to violated broadcasting rights, along with all those things that relate to the interests of the major corporate TV channels and movie studios.
While many businesses, corporations and artists have recently started to take advantage of P2P technologies to spread information and deliver their works, those advantages are actually becoming disadvantages for corporate TV, the most important mass medium.
