TV gets social

Every TV viewer is likely to have had a moment when they've called out at their set, whether it was a 'Look behind you!' during a tense moment or an angry curse after the fifth break in transmission. Could future innovations see it answering back?

Perhaps not, but the reality of increasingly connected, intelligent and interactive TV is definitely on the horizon, and evolving all the time. As more devices in the living room boast Internet connectivity, TV viewing is likely to allow much greater engagement through social networks.

“In the past, the consumer relationship with TV content was linear and by appointment only,” says John Kotsaftis, CEO of DStv Online. “The family used to gather around their TV like a campfire to watch a particular show. Nowadays, viewers are consuming their content on-demand and on any device.”

He adds that consumers often watch TV and participate in social media at the same time on their mobile device. “For us, social media is a form of content, as well as a great way to enable our experiences to be shared virally.”

This is why DStv has focused on a multi-platform distribution model and viewing on-demand with deep Facebook and Twitter integration, says Kotsaftis.

Senior ICT analyst at Frost & Sullivan, Vitalis Ozianyi, notes that multimedia-capable devices are beginning to dominate because the market for basic services like voice and messaging is relatively saturated. “Users want more or less the same experience whichever device they're on,” he says, which is leading to greater convergence in order to deliver an enhanced experience.

A recent Pyramid Research report notes that devices which have traditionally had distinct purposes, such as TVs, mobile phones, PCs, music players, and game consoles, are becoming Internet-enabled and multifunctional. As a consequence, new partnerships are being forged as consumer viewing habits continue to evolve and spread across devices and networks, it adds.

“For example, TV content providers have the potential to recover traditional TV advertising revenue that has been lost to the Internet, by partnering with Internet video aggregators and ecosystem-based, Internet-based distribution solutions.”

According to Kotsaftis, the challenge for the market is to make it simpler and easier for consumers to navigate all this choice and aggregate the river of content from various sources.

“The old Bruce Springsteen song '57 channels and nothin' on' is truer today than it was 30 years ago when it was written. Faced with too many options, consumers become overwhelmed.”

Traditional tech players like Apple, Google and Microsoft have also gotten into the TV game recently, as mediums and platforms become more fluid and accessible.

Google TV comes preloaded with several apps, such as Neflix and Twitter, and enables users to search for live shows, watch Web videos, play games, and chat with friends. However, some broadcasters have blocked access to their Internet content via the Google TV Web browser as they're reluctant to let people stream these shows on TV for free. The list includes News Corp, NBC, Universal and Disney, revealing a tendency by content providers to guard their turf.

Microsoft is also in talks with TV networks to create a subscription-based TV service on its Xbox gaming console, according to Reuters. One option includes allowing cable TV subscribers to use the Xbox to watch shows while engaging interactively. Viewers could, for example, message friends over the console while viewing their favourite shows.

At the Reuters Media Summit, held in November, executives predicted the TV experience will only grow richer, but added that major changes still lie a good five years away. A Reuters report quotes Technicolor CEO Frederic Rose saying he hopes by that time the living room would feature one screen, one remote, and one set-top box, allowing viewers to connect to the Internet, watch live TV, and search for video and movies.

Paul O' Donovan, principal analyst for Gartner's consumer electronics research group, maintains that services like Google TV are taking the wrong approach, by providing a PC experience in the living room. “TV in the living room is an entertainment device not well suited to surfing the Internet,” he explains.

“For a consumer who isn't PC-literate or a games person, there's still a lot of mystery involved.”

He adds that for those who are tech-savvy and looking to extend their TV experience, something like the PlayStation 3's video-on-demand service offers a look and feel very different to a PC. “It's much easier to access and that's really the point - whatever the content, it must be in a format that suits TV.”

O'Donovan foresees a significant number of more connected TVs coming to the market in future, more so even than 3D TVs.

With TV programming being extended to the Web via IPTV or Internet television platforms, one concern is that viewers will be inundated with advertising while trying to watch their favourite shows. Will watching TV content online mean putting up with 30-second ads for snackfood and shower gels?

“TV-style breaks in online shows will be a disaster,” says Arthur Goldstuck, MD of World Wide Worx. “It is simply not feasible, given the ability of the user to escape with one click. The subscription model itself will be a key, as will advertising that surrounds the frame of the viewing area.”

Turner Broadcasting in the US, which is looking into extending its cable and subscriber services to the Internet, conducted research into whether viewers would tolerate TV-style ad loads on the Web. It found the retention rate for online video was higher than for traditional TV, according to a New York Times report. It seems most viewers watch for the same number of minutes no matter how many ads are embedded in shows, apparently putting up with ad exposure in exchange for access to programming.

“Advertisers and publishers have to find creative and innovative ways to allow for advertising to come into programming and new delivery mechanisms, so as not to disrupt users' viewing experience, but yet still have a meaningful impact,” notes Kotsaftis.

For a consumer who isn't PC-literate or a games person, there's still a lot of mystery involved.

Paul O'Donovan, principal analyst, Gartner

He points to models being used abroad where users can select the adverts they would like to see before watching an online video.

“I think this is where advertising in video is going, in that the adverts are considered content and have inherent value to the consumer. This is not dissimilar to the Google search advertising model, where adverts served to users often have just as much value to the consumer as the search results themselves.”

Ozianyi believes new delivery platforms will enhance broadcasters' target market, as it allows more communication between the broadcaster and user. “Providers like SABC and MultiChoice, for example, advertise to their whole broadcasting base, and with IPTV coming to more intelligent devices, they can gain a clearer view of the market.

“The experience is more personal and they can target people directly,” explains Ozianyi. “If you access these services through a cellphone, they know who you are and can learn more about you and personalise their advertising.” He adds that this will obviously bring concerns around privacy and access to personal information.

Pyramid Research predicts that in future an increasing amount of video content will be made available in the cloud. “This means it will be stored on network-based servers in multiple video resolutions and formats, so it is deliverable to any consumer device over any network. This will include time-shifted live content, on-demand video and user-generated content,” the firm adds.

The demand for anytime video content is also causing traditional TV players to rethink their strategy. MultiChoice released its upgraded DStv on Demand service earlier this year, and now reportedly plans to expand this with a pay-per-view 'Box Office' offering.

This video-on-demand service will potentially allow subscribers to order and watch movies before they become available on TV. Like the DStv on Demand TV shows, which viewers can access for a number of days, a rotating number of movies will be available for DStv premium subscribers.

Andre Joubert, GM of MWeb Business, a sister company of MultiChoice under media giant Naspers, says video is driving massive growth in data consumption, and that the momentum will only pick up in future. “We haven't even hit full steam yet, and growth at consumer level fuels everything; it's not business that keeps the economy going, its consumers.”

He says it's not certain whether something like Box Office will suddenly cause a leap in consumption overnight, as a lot of video viewing already is going on in the background.

“But as consumers become familiar with watching what they want when they want, their need for speed will mean the old four-meg line will no longer be sufficient. It's going to come, without a doubt.

“It's a data-hungry world now.”