As new content distribution channels emerge and consumers show increasing interest in alternative sources of entertainment, Brian Fitzpatrick (Managing Director, Europe for Adap.tv) asks whether broadcasters are moving quickly enough to embrace the technological and attitudinal changes required for long-term survival.
Industry change is always a double-edged sword. On the one hand it is incredibly exciting as ideas that were once no more than pipedreams transform our daily lives. But on the other hand, we may also perceive change as a threat that must be stamped out in the hope that our current business model will continue to be successful in the coming years.
TV is of course going through a period of rapid and disruptive change. The developments in technology allow content to be consumed anywhere on smartphones, tablets, PCs, games consoles and smart TVs. At the same time people are increasingly coming to realise they no longer have to fit their lives round the fixed TV schedule – instead they expect to watch what they want, and on the device in front of them when they make that decision.
Can we finally stop talking about online video replacing TV? Video ad budgets are not coming predominantly at the expense of TV budgets, as was previously thought; in fact, advertisers are embracing online video as an ideal complement to their TV buys.
