Ovum’s TV & Video analysts were out in force at TV Connect 2016. Here’s my pick of the many trends we picked up from the conference stage and the show floor.
Multiscreen, no longer a subset of TV, is rapidly becoming the norm
Jonathan Doran, Principal Analyst, TV
From listening to the conference presentations as well as speaking with both delegates and exhibitors at TV Connect 2016, it becomes clear that multiscreen delivery has become integral to the concept of TV rather than remaining the value-added subcategory it was previously. While TV Connect no longer hosts conference streams specifically dedicated to multiscreen, it is now a dimension of video consumption and delivery that permeates virtually every aspect of the broadcast and TV industries. A panel session during the Millennial Monetization section of the event (itself heavily informed by the growing prevalence of multiscreen usage among 16–35 year-olds) touched on the potentially far greater challenge of how the TV and video industries should address the post-millennial generation that comprises an audience that was effectively born into a multiscreen environment.
As audiences move further toward a multi-device environment, content producers and broadcasters should be thinking in terms of cross-platform content rather than TV programming. This shift must cater to future demand for differential, device-specific content.
Broadcasters and pay-TV distributors will have to rethink both their distribution and business models, as consumption of professional video entertainment content gravitates inevitably toward multi-device – and in many cases mobile-first – TV.
Both traditional and next-generation infrastructure and consumer tech (e.g. set-top box) vendors will need to work across any silos that exist between them to ensure that there is seamless delivery and a seamless user experience (UX) across both regular TV and mobile/multiscreen delivery channels.
Adam Thomas, Lead Analyst, TV
One of the most frequent conversations that I have had over the course of all three days of TV Connect 2016 has been centered on how the visual entertainment proposition will look, and change, over the next few years. There seems to be a general acceptance that the long-established channel-bundling model will continue to come under pressure. In its place – fueled by the gathering and analysis of more granular data on audience consumption patterns – there will increasingly be a new, much more personalized way of dealing with content aggregation. This will create an ability to target individuals with content that is specific to their interests rather than the interests of their household. As this emerging capability is rolled out, there will be some significant impacts across the TV value chain.
Pay-TV operators need to invest in online/mobile audience-tracking and advertising expertise. This will enable them to effectively aggregate audiences and target content and advertising across all distribution platforms and media types.
Broadcasters should position themselves to ensure that they have (either direct or indirect) access to audience consumption metrics and reap the benefits in terms of content commissioning and the targeting of advertising.
For technology companies, it is important that their solutions can easily understand the new types of data becoming available and how to utilize this data for content targeting and its related advertising benefits.