Television industry’s adoption of the internet: Diffusion of an inefficient innovation

The adoption of the Internet by the television industry has been a considerably turbulent and drawn-out process. The Internet problematized television as a product and threatened the industry’s longstanding business models, resulting in pervasive uncertainty about its adoption. For the rst time, television networks had to adapt their offerings to an entirely new platform with capabilities much different from those of traditional platforms, yet maintain their relationships with support industries. Their ongoing struggle with how to pro t from making content available online warrants an inquiry into the challenges and opportunities the television industry faced throughout the process of adopting the Internet.