Content, Distribution or Discovery-Which Fuels Streaming?

So I read this article over at IPTV where they ask the question, what’s “king”?  Is it content, distribution or discovery?

Discovery is something of a new element to the debate, and represents the “how” of the mix.  While content serves as the “what” and distribution the “where”, it’s discovery that determines how the marketplace will actually find the what on the where.

To that end, I assert that there is no “king”, because each without the other is useless.  Imagine if you will a streaming website where everything is free and can be searched in a heartbeat, but every one of your searches turns up the phrase “file not found”.  No content.

Try one where every movie ever made is available for instant free streaming, but none of the links work.  No distribution.

And now, just for the heck of it, try a website where every movie ever made is available for instant free streaming with blindingly fast search algorithms that turn up results in an eye blink…but no one knows the URL.

No discovery.

This is not a debate over what’s “king”–this is a perfect example of a three legged stool.  Each cannot function without the other.  The marketplace must know where the material is, how to get it, and that it will be there.  Content isn’t king over distribution and discovery–it’s king ALONGSIDE these two!

None of them can exist in isolation, because without all three, the two that remain serve no purpose.