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Tellyporting in to the future of TV

Tellyporting in to the future of TV

Flatscreen Television

As Thinkbox and Decipher released their new ‘Tellyporting’ research at the Soho Hotel this morning, an expert panel continued the future of TV debate, which is generating excitement from all angles.

There was a strong feeling that this has been the year for TV, with endless launches and partnerships in the digital television arena.  However, it was also clear that there is still a lot more to come, as discussed at MediaTel’s own The Internet Comes to TV event last week.

Channel 4’s head of VoD & channel development Sarah Rose said 2011 will see “genuine convergence” with the launch of YouView and more connected TV services. And in terms of opportunities for next year, Rose believes the rise of apps on TV screens will be the focus for broadcasters and advertisers going forward.

Meanwhile, Richard Lindsay-Davies, director general of the Digital Television Group, said the aim for next year is to provide a platform that is stable, simple and in line with European (and hopefully Global) platforms. “Consumers don’t like market fragmentation – it’s too confusing… we need a common service,” he said.

Despite talk of all that internet TV has to offer, there was also a strong feeling that the latest developments will only enhance and compliment the current viewing experience. According to Rose, viewers do not want clutter on their screens and a second screen is no longer seen as a taboo.

The way they see it (well this panel at least), there will be an increasing number of opportunities to offer viewers a richer and more interactive experience, while not detracting from the more traditional big screen experience. This may include offering viewers the chance to buy an item of clothing that their favourite soap star is wearing; a link to iTunes to download the title track of the TV show they are watching; or the chance to talk about/rate programmes with their friends and family via a social network feed. Connected TVs may well offer this functionality on one screen, however, it is more likely that we will see these additional features used on a laptop (or second screen), for now at least.

This morning’s panel agreed that this new wave of TV viewing will benefit consumers, broadcasters, content-owners and manufacturers. “So far, we’ve been missing a trick,” said Rose. “We need to listen to the audience and we have a means of doing that now.”

However, what does this mean for advertisers? OMD’s Tim Forrest said the rise of connected TVs has seen “unimaginable changes” to the business. At the moment, Forrest says advertisers will struggle to take advantage of new technology opportunities until they make changes, which may include making more advertising content readily available (across platforms) in response to the main ad (as seen with the recent Old Spice ad campaign).

Rose sees targeted advertising as the future for the platform, while Forrest said the fact that the viewing experience is more trackable is a “great advantage”, adding that the focus will be on depth of engagement rather than reach from now on. There was also a brief mention of agencies getting paid once someone clicks on an ad, rather than on eyeballs. Forrest said this is “definitely possible”.

As for Google TV, Rose said there is a place in the “crowded market” for the service, although she “can’t see it being a mass” product. Although BSkyB’s Griff Parry said: “Google TV has implications for all of us – we should pay close attention.”

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