Packing an Unfair Advantage? Internet Culture and Commercial Television

Abstract

An examination of the strategies of Packer's PBL, owner of Channel Nine and the Internet portal ninemsn, suggests that the commercial agenda of the mass media — and the quest for audiences — has translated into an attempt to control access gateways to the Internet. Strategic alliances with MSN and partners who can provide transaction-driven services, such as Ticketek and Schwab, are core elements to ‘channel’ users through the ninemsn portal. Its exemplary use of interactive capabilities to establish lasting links to Web users reflects a changing notion of audiences as active, globally connected consumers. The dialogue which unfolds between the technological environment of the Internet and the existing culture of the television industry will impact on future digital cultures and upon regulatory responses.