TV: when influenced become influencers, the age of content management

Live from NABShow 2010, facing huge changes in value constructions, among several major actors of the playing field, TV became more social, driven to another kind of content thinking and producing. Because audience becomes now the real influencers, because customer has, like any other sector, power to give voice and opinion, it burst the former theories of building TV. Getting it anytime, anywhere and increasing the effect of broadcasting progress, quality of picture and sound, and finding abillity to build new formats, new opportunities of consuing video, tv and online streamings, we’re facing a strong move in TV industry. Some lateral changes, and siding effects, because actors want to make other’s jobs, to add value, experience and increase their financial assets in their core business. But the essential quote now for TV, is a huge field of influencing: how medias, actors, audiences can live together and bring “social” and interactive concepts, to this industry. Trying to clear the situation, bringing some shifts like:

• Contents, with formats and new abilities to generate audience and keep it
• Quality: 3D, and sound improvements, bringing them to home market for a better experience ; the need for a standard to come (like HDMI 1.4 or middleware and soft enhencement with TV/box manufacturers). Like Sky said “re-defining the rule book”…; already saw large 3D screens for urban uses and ads broadcasting
• Online web tv, video and streaming platforms and the new opportunities for entertainment, and also brand reputation, brand exposure and personal ads ; these fields is particularly impacted with mobility and mobile winning platform for tv/video entertainment (as we already see the next generation for mobile cast, in 4G)
• Screens and equipment: LCD technology, 3D screens and cameras processing, dealing with existing settings
• Connecting: see how IPTV boxes try to build connected platform with services, embed in manufacturers equipment ; see adb (adbglobal.com) for example or sling box with Echostar
• Search: Google in the market for search TV, a function that never really existed, but can find a business model in targeting audience for ads, bringing search and indexation competences to TV with Dish tests-on. No evidence but the fact that everything is to come yet…
• Ubiquity with slingloaded box from Echostar, the TV everywhere strategy for now…
• Unseing middleware competencies, that stand the reactor for piloting datas, broadcast and services in a box/tv
• Voice and sound improvement, despite the fact that no device yet is planned to be piloted with voice recognition, which could be an interesting feature to come. Future will tell…

Seeing Sony, including some browsing services as Google or Youtube browsing and so long, we just wonder if, filling tv with services is sufficient enough to modify behaviors, to complete convergence in “social” trends for TV. I already wrote on the subject and there’s obvious limits by now. But the increasingly involvement of people in creation (acting, doing something online, chatting, creating videos, music, art design…) is real, and boosts on the “pc-like” screens. Seems that influenced (target), now influences contents and services too: TV media always considered as one way media (one-to-many) gets wings: the ability for modern TV to be plugged on audience’s desires is a bright step toward customer relationship management. As many shows has developped licences, goodies…temptation is straight to adress the audience with added revenues like these sources.

The diagram shows us that a passive audience (influenced) become active through interactive TV and contents “home-made”, that can fill the timeline. Is TV becoming a marketplace with collaborative (in a group idea) ideas and community, I don’t think yet, keeping a private household network and enable only personal communications. But the commoditization of uses on other screens (laptops, PDA, pc) could make an envy to transform our old TV device: game box, that can be considered as individual act on screen, already did invade TV.
So the infernal machine “TV”, grows energy by users now too, by the fact that audience doesn’t want to be passive anymore and wants to give a call. TV actors must now learn to listen other things than audiences monitoring, but start to consider audience as customers who want to express themselves. Nothing special in fact, in a competitive economy trying to get attention and to keep it…

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