Future of TV and Watching Video: Audience Shatters Into Million Pieces

When I was a kid in the early 90’s in Australia we had 5 analog free TV channels. These channels had big audiences because there was nothing else to watch except VHS tapes. DVD’s hadn’t been invented yet and home internet access was a few years away.

By the end of 2010 I’ll have 15 free digital TV channels to watch as well as DVD/Bluray movies and tv shows and the ability to access countless hours of video content via my 10mbit Internode ADSL2+ connection and Google Android smartphone running Telstra NextG.

Shattered Glass Shattered Glass”. photo credit: photine

The model of limited video content to watch on a handful of channels has been shattered and replaced by a multitude of options.

The audience has fragmented into viewing video content on Digital TV, Cable or Satellite Pay TV, DVD, Bluray, Youtube on a Computer/TV/Mobile, Video on Demand delivered via the Internet/Cable TV/Satellite, Mobile TV on a Smartphone or Tablet, Personal Media on home networked storage and much more.

Future of TV and Watching Video: Options in Australia

One trend is watching multiple screens at once. While not everyone will watch 3 screens at once like the photo of me below it’s likely more people will be splitting their attention between their TV and mobile phone screen or Laptop and Mobile phone screen.

Watching Multiple Screens

As a freelance technology journalist I’ve been able to investigate this general area of the Future of TV and How We Watch Video and will continue to do so in the future.

These are some of the video delivery systems I’ve tested or been briefed about so far. Over time I’ll try to review as many as possible in depth.

Free to Air Digital TV in Australia: Benefits, Channels, Freeview and Availability

mythbusters on sbs1 digital tv

Sony Bravia Internet TV (on TV and Bluray Players)

Foxtel Mobile Internet Pay TV

3 Mobile tv pack

ABC News 24 – Free TV internet stream viewed on Android Mobile Phone

ABC News 24 TV streamed on Android Mobile Phone

ABC iView Free Internet TV – Through Computer, TV, PS3, Mobile Phone, Bluray Player and more

abc iview viewed with sony ps3.jpg

Apple TV – Streaming Pay Per View Internet Movie Rentals

apple tv

Telstra T-Box offers Free Digital TV + Paid Internet TV and Movies

Telstra T-Box

TiVo offers Free Digital TV and CASPA Free Ad Funded Internet Pay Per View TV and Movies

TiVo CASPA

Fetch TV offers Free Digital TV + Internet Pay TV

iinet Fetch TV

Playing Video Files from Networked Home Storage using DLNA

Samsung DLNA DIVX Playback

Illegal TV and Movie Downloads + USB Drive File Sharing

These are the elephants in the room. The rapid rise in internet broadband download quotas and internet speeds has resulted in piracy becoming much easier and faster. Large storage capacities mean its easy to swap hundreds of TV shows with friends through USB Drive File Sharing.

Future of TV and Watching Video: Audience Shatters Into Million Pieces

If the free to air TV channels and content creators like movie studios want to retain a big enough audience to survive in this brave new world where the audience is shattered between many video watching platforms they’ll have to be present on as many platforms at once and make the experience of paying for and watching video content so easy and frictionless that people won’t bother pirating it.


Comments

5 responses to “Future of TV and Watching Video: Audience Shatters Into Million Pieces”

  1. How times have changed but nice post tho.

  2. Kevin Herbert

    Technology is so fast now its hard to keep up. The next move will be that we’ll all be watching TV in 3D.

  3. I don’t buy into the 3D TV thing. Watching TV is supposed to be easy and relaxing. It shouldn’t involve putting unwieldy goggle-thingies on. It’s arduous and unpleasant.

  4. […] audience has fragmented into viewing video content on innumerable devices including: Digital TV, Cable or Satellite Pay TV, DVD, Bluray, Youtube on a Computer/TV/Mobile, Video on […]

  5. […] other as competitors. How they must long for those good old days because modern audiences have a plethora of choices for watching video content on demand over the internet, which means every foreign broadcaster and video content network is […]

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