ABC Unbundles, Are They Missing Rebundling?

Praise seems to be raining down over Disney's announcement that it will be releasing its top shows for free downloads starting next month. (This quote from ABC president Anne Sweeney caught my eye: "none of us can live in a world . . . of just one business model."

Umair Haque (via Dennis) weighs in on the other side:

…Everyone in the industry is applauding Disney for having the courage to be so 2.0. Though Fred and Jeff are impressed, my take is different: I think Disney is making exactly the wrong move.

Certainly, unbundling TV from distribution is a good first step. It will provide a bit of a top line boost, etc. But it's the wrong first step to sustainably create value at the edge. I outlined and predicted this months ago in my TV 2.0 research note.

The point: unbundling media is only half the game: the value creation half. And it's exactly and totally the wrong half from a strategic point of view.

Rebundling is where value capture will happen – at communities, reconstructors, markets, networks – that direct people's attention to individualized 'casts. This is where branding will be reborn – and where advertising is already being disrupted, ripped apart, and reborn (viz, Google, PPC, pay per call, etc)

What does this mean for public media?