Television Research and the 12-18s: the FutureTV Viewers Speak

By Matt Walters – @matthew_walters – matt.walters@decipher.co.uk

Head and shouldersIt has become a recurring theme among observers of the TV industry that young people have rejected broadcast television and “don’t watch TV any more”.  The huge take up of alternative video formats and new devices is continually interpreted as evidence of this rejection. Recent analysis of viewing patterns and quantitative research from Ofcom and Thinkbox has shown that linear still plays a significant role in the viewing mix for young adults. These reports also show that over half of viewing amongst 12 – 18 year olds is now non-linear VoD and OTT.  While the new data has reset our understanding of “what” is happening, what we haven’t known until now is “why”; what is motivating this shift, and will it remain in the future? more “Television Research and the 12-18s: the FutureTV Viewers Speak”

A Great Idea For A TV ‘App’!

Samsung announced this morning that it’s launching a contest in the U.S. to find innovative new apps for its connected TVs and Blu-ray players. Samsung will give away $500,000 to developers who come up with the best new TV apps.

Now, I think that I have this one in the bag!  I have come up with the perfect TV ‘app’ – called a ‘cluster’.  It is based on a video file that automatically starts when the previous one is finished.  This type of video file could allow the TV industry to create ‘clusters’ of video files that play out continuously, in a line for people who don’t like having to press stop and start all the time.

more “A Great Idea For A TV ‘App’!”

The Burden of Choice

Writing in this month’s Television Magazine, Nigel Walley writes: If you live in a reasonably advanced TV household, the number of ways to get hold of a TV show have multiplied in the last couple of years. If you want to watch tonight’s Hollyoaks and can’t get back in time, you can record it on your PVR, get it via ‘Catch-Up’ on the TV or stream it from the PC. At some point in the near future, you will be able to download it directly to your iPod or your PSP. In last month’s Television Roger Graef made the leap to suggest that, because of these technologies we won’t need broadcasters and ‘as more content becomes available online, schedules will go to pot’.

Now I spend my life examining these technologies for clients. I have had access to both a PVR and on-demand programmes on my home telly for at least five years, and am a big consumer of online video.So as I read Roger’s piece, I felt the nagging question ‘if this is the case, why do I still watch so much broadcast TV?’

more “The Burden of Choice”