Byron Reese is typical of the new wave of internet entrepreneurs out to turn the economics of the media industry on its head. While traditional publishers and broadcasters struggle to adapt to a disruptive new medium, often by trying to limit access to their content and retain their premium pricing, newcomers such as him start with a different idea.

The approach is based on ultra-low cost, purpose-built content and the ability to tap into a rapidly expanding and highly diverse ecosystem of independent online distributors to build a wider audience. Many of these new distributors, however, are at an early stage of development and some important technological underpinnings have yet to be put in place.