It has been a rough year for traditional media, whereas the prospects for digital media have never looked brighter. So what was it about 2008 that turned the tide for digital media? The answer is video.

Digital video delivery is changing everything. With the combination of improved technology, social acceptance, and content availability, it has finally become possible to enjoy a high-quality video experience online. This will undoubtedly change the parameters of film and television distribution forever. It puts distribution in the hands of the content creator and puts scheduling in the hands of the consumer. Who needs a broadcaster anymore?

In 2007, if you’d told broadcasters that within a year they’d be putting all their TV shows online, they would have said you were crazy. But as of this year, are there any shows that aren’t also streamed online?

Right now, the broadcasters’ websites draw about 65% of the viewers looking to watch TV online, but that percentage will decrease as more high-quality options become available. Viewers are realizing how much better on-demand content has become, and they get to decide when and how they enjoy it, rather than being chained to someone else’s program schedule. TiVo was just a taste of what’s in store; on-demand content is the future.

Just last month, the Financial Times reported that Hulu – the video site borne of the unholy union between News Corporation and NBC Universal – is on track to exceed Internet giant YouTube in revenue next year. And that’s just by showing old media content on-demand with a few interstitial ads; imagine what will happen once they figure out real advertising models for content that has been made for the medium.

It’s only a matter of time until someone figures this out, and not a lot of time either. As of this year, professional writers and directors across North America can all enjoy union rates for their work in digital media, paving the way for professional-quality storytelling specifically designed for the peculiarities of digital media.

This won’t make much difference for distributors whose business also includes creating content, but what about Canadian broadcasters whose bread and butter has always come from slapping their brand on other people’s shows?

The ones who make money in an on-demand universe are the ones who make content. The money really comes from distribution, and digital delivery allows producers to be their own distributors, too. It’s only a matter of time before producers start taking advantage of the opportunities that digital content delivery offers them.

Since digital media has finally come of age, now it’s time to start playing by the same rules as the big boys. As of next year, the CRTC will put aside the ‘wait and see’ decision it made a few years ago regarding if and how to regulate broadcasting over digital media.

Considering how new media is not just another medium, it’s a whole new way of distributing old media content – radio, television, or film – it’s a safe bet that whatever rules the CRTC implements for digital broadcasting will become the de facto rules for all forms of media distribution, regardless of what medium originated the content.

In a few years when we look back at 2008, it’s quite possible we’ll be saying that this was the year that everything changed.