What Happens to Television? June 2, 2009

Formats, channels, creators, companies, revenues. There’s a lot that’s been changing in the world of TV. We’ve seen barriers to creating and publishing video-based content disappear, watched as viewing on ever-smaller screens has become popular, experienced the phenomenon of unexpected video stars shooting to fame via home-made footage and seen viewing platforms evolve way past the humble family living-room television. There’s a lot going on for TV while at the same time the future of traditional broadcast TV is far from certain.

There’s a lot to talk about, so be part of the discussion at ‘What Happens to TV?’, part of NMK’s Future of Media series.

So, if the recession is going to see a decline in advertising, does that mean all doom and gloom for the TV industry? How is TV faring compared to other media, and is TV-style content better placed to look at alternative revenue models?

With spending power going down and incomes shaky, it seems that more and more consumers are choosing to stay in, rather than going out. And what do they do when they stay in? Watch TV. Does this mean paying for premium subscription-based content will become a more financially-attractive option than an evening out?

Over the last few years we’ve seen a massive rise in user-generated video content via the likes of YouTube and citizen journalism sites. With the huge amount of data being stored at a massive cost to the website and, currently, zero charge to the uploader, are we likely to see a change in this model? Is the ability to share self-created videos with friends or colleagues important enough that we’ll start paying for it? And what about viewing figures? Will audiences start to shy away from UGC due to the variable quality, in favour of premium programmed content for a higher-quality experience?
What about mobile TV? Is it only news that will attract readers via this format or are audiences ready to watch their favourite programmes on an iPhone rather than a big screen television?

The Deloitte TMT Predictions for Media report made a good point recently. That despite all the changes to TV, last year the Olympics and the US Presidential Inauguration “demonstrated the unique attributes of television: its ability to inform and influence mass markets of viewers in ways no other medium can yet compete with”. With the rising ubiquity of broadband internet, will we see a movement away from the way we watch broadcast TV-style content, if not a change to the type of content itself?

There’s a lot to talk about, so be part of the discussion at ‘What Happens to TV?’, part of NMK’s Future of Media series. As ever, drinks and networking will follow the main session.
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