As a follow up to Part I where we dissected the functions of TV6 News via MediaZone, we now add some observations based on the experience with the service.

So is it any good?

Well beside the fact that it is currently an Internet Explorer exclusive and the content being delivered consist of only the news programming it is on par with the expectations one should have of online streaming content as you are subjected to connectivity issues based on your network speed.

I suspect that TV6 is unable to stream other programming as they license content from overseas broadcasters without the rights to stream them and are therefore limited to streaming their own locally produced content.

As a testament to that, the reason that they are currently offline is due to the licensing of the cricket world cup and are scheduled to return on April 29th. (see image)’

Media Zone does however have a standalone player called a “Social TV Player” that can be downloaded and acts as a Media Player to the content. This player in my opinion is more effective than following the links at the website, however it does not contain the TV Guide feature of the “in-browser” experience. This was not a cause for concern however as the programming is already limited.

The blog section with its two posts and smattering of comments feels like a work in progress, and doesn’t seem to be integrated with either the portrayed programming or the Express experience. The reason for this may be that the feature set comes with the MediaZone package making it more of a standalone for a pure TV experience rather than a Media conglomerate.

One would hope that the blog could evolve to discuss the content of the programming or at least to give updates on the programming.

So we are left to wait for cricket to come to an end in order to experience TV6 News. Hopefully they are currently working on improving on the solid base as they have been afforded the downtime courtesy of the ICC.

I believe it to be a step in the right direction in adding value to their broadcasts and expanding their audience. What do you think?