Seems there is no stopping the User Generated Content revolution as TV 1.0 becomes TV 2.0 (ala web 1.0 business publishing, web 2.0 self-publishing). TV 2.0 (you heard it here first – well actually not here first Wired Sep 05) is a world of programming created by people for the people, vanity publishing, sharing within interest groups and familys, telling stories that would never appear on mainstream broadcast and finally those very high production value stories that we are used to in TV 1.0. Personalized Media finds its greatest platform the ubiquitous TV in over a billion living rooms.
A report out from Points North entitled Consumers Crave Web Based TV is one of a handful of reports that reflect what is already happening with the larger media conglomerates.
“Getting Web-based content to the TV should be the industry’s primary goal and will unlock by far the biggest revenue opportunities,” Stewart Wolpin, senior consulting analyst for Points North Group, said in a statement. Interest in watching content on TV is even stronger among 18- to-34-year-olds–at 68 percent, compared with the 45 percent interested in watching on PCs–concluded the study, conducted in association with Horowitz Associates.
and further to my post a couple of days ago, People Casting, about the stampede that is happening at the moment with traditional media companies enabling viewer story contribution and upload. Proposals into broadcasters used to always need a cross-media component, now it seems broadcasters require some level of viewer participation and contribution across many genre. The report continues to also highlight technologies that pull web content to home devices…
Points North’s findings are hardly a revelation for many of the leading technology and content companies that are racing to accommodate consumer demand. Over the past month, America Online, Yahoo, and ESPN.com, among others, have announced partnerships with chip maker Intel to use its new Viiv technology platform, which allows users to consume Internet content–including AOL’s–over their TV screens. Intel is currently in partnership with NBC Universal to offer on-demand broadband video streams of the Torino Olympics to Viiv PC owners.
Finally the nirvana of connected TV is getting closer. I still recall the failed WebTV boxes circa 1998 and the slow take-up of MS MediaCenters, broadband PVRs and TV enabled Games Consoles – perhaps finally after waiting for the market the technology will finally deliver the goods. Lets hope though that once here the system will allow true democratisation, have easy to use video publishing software but also be self regulating enough to make sure most of the good stuff does get through the noise.
Posted by Gary Hayes Copyright 2006
