Page 31 - The Channel Issue 2 2010

Single and multiple-screen Social TV can enable parallel consumption and interaction with TV content, creating engaging experiences. Like… instead of voting who will win Britain’s Got Talent – why not have a voting widget on your Smartphone, iPad or TV and help Fremantle with pre-selection to decide who makes it to TV? Viewers could make themselves part of the experience early in the production cycle. Think about what impact that would have on media value for advertisers…and the value to brand sponsors – the parallel and single screen reach, measure and support conversion of a highly-targeted audience.

At the moment, about 25% of US TV sets shipped are web enabled. Convergence is happening now. In the near future, there won’t be much of a distinction between web and TV content consumption as web and mobile applications will cross-over to TV to deliver in-screen interaction with content and formats. Google, Microsoft and Apple are rushing to the scene. CEmanufacturers such as Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, and Philips are cutting in. There are over 100 companies globally vying in the IPTV space, and cable, satellite, and traditional broadcast channels are all pushing hard. Web enabled game consoles like WII and PS3 are shifting. Intel is even having influence. Industry analysts now estimate the TV app market to be worth over £1 billion by 2013 with the availability of more than one billion TV apps downloaded by 2015. ITV Live could be an inspiring example. Its two screen solution, introduced shortly before the World Cup in June, gave interaction between soccer fans and parallel consumption of content. The project, led by ITV Live director Dominic Cameron, hit one million users within a week.

So the big screen can deliver both a lean-back and lean-in experience. Simply watch alone and watch content with interaction via embedded TV widgets. Or watch with family – everyone with a parallel device for personal interaction. Social gaming is expected to make the transition from Facebook to the big screen. With over 82m people already playing Farmville on Facebook, it will play a role.

How it’ll evolve is not clear. Despite ITV Live's success, there are many challenges – on all levels ranging from technology issues (standards), platforms (Google TV, HbbTV, Canvas, Yahoo TV, etc.), web sites and content (not fit for big screen now), content providers (Hulu, YouTube vs. NBC, RTL etc.), format creators (Endemol, Fremantle, etc .) and the old-school broadcasting industry itself. Two huge points are monetization and intellectual property rights.

Key in driving the convergence forward will be end user preferred experiences and consumption, closely aligned with the brands

The new breed of broadcasters, production companies, interactive developers and designers will lead the way and create the brilliant lean-back and lean-in formats needed. Technology will provide the synthesis between the brand sponsors’ need for new engagement advertising and the viewers' desire for a mind blowing Social TV experience.

At first glance, industry disruption driven by social media poses a serious threat. And to the players in the broadcasting industry who do not adapt to the new reality of Social TV, it will. They will have to consider taking down some of their fences and invite innovation inwards via using open standards – as Facebook and iPhone have done so well. The key to success may lie more in industry culture than in technology. If the broadcasting industry is able to open up to innovation, Social TV could be a match made in heaven. ■

Following articles in this series will analyse the impact on the broadcasting ecosystem – what will happen to existing advertising and business models? – and give guidance to the broadcast industry on how to survive or even thrive in the Social TV landscape