World Television Day

In celebration of World Television Day this Sunday (21 November), an event created by the UN to recognize the role of TV in informing and shaping public opinion, we asked Sophie McCormack, Product Manager - Video Experiences at Deltatre, for her thoughts on the topic...

What does TV mean to you?

I think the meaning of ‘TV’ has very much evolved from the traditional meaning of the word, and is no longer just tied to the device sitting in our living rooms. It still includes entertainment and sporting content that we all know and love, but ‘TV’ is now accessible on any device that suits me and is available to me whenever I want to access it.

It’s important to me as a method of staying connected to my community and understanding what is going on in the rest of the world through news and current affairs. This has been particularly useful throughout the pandemic in terms of staying up to date with restrictions and hearing how things are evolving.

What do you think 'TV' means for the everyday consumer/their demands?

TV has gone from being a mainly static and passive experience where networks programmed the content of their choice, to being dominated by on-demand and live streaming platforms where the consumer is now choosing what they want, when they want it and how they want to consume it.

This is in reaction to the busy, varied and inter-connected lifestyles of the average consumer which can no longer be catered for with one universal schedule.

What will TV consumption look like in five years' time?

In five years' time, consumption will be even more personalized. It will no longer be on the consumer to dig through huge libraries of content to find what they want to watch, or to have to search for it across multiple providers. They will expect to automatically be served the content they’re interested in.

Additionally, due to the growing interconnectivity between consumers across the globe, I think that content will not be so tied to the location of the consumer, and content owners will take a more global audience approach. Consumers now want access to what their friends in other countries have or what is trending online, so I think that global mindset will be a natural progression in response to this.

Can TV be made into an 'active' experience, and if so, how?

TV has already somewhat progressed into a more active experience lately in reaction to the pandemic. TV operators have been trying to digitally recreate the ability to watch and consume content with our friends and family in person, but from the safety of our own homes.

This change has seen the rise of ‘watch together’ and other social interaction and engagement technology, enabling consumers to remain connected by hosting watch parties with their social networks.

In a sporting context, being able to interact with other fans and feel part of the action – while games, races and competitions have had no live audience – has been achieved through interactive polls, gamification and chat feeds that connect viewers with other fans watching the match events and moments they’re also watching. This results in a far more active experience that will become more and more enhanced as technology advances.

In your opinion, what is the single greatest TV innovation from the last five years?

I think the growth of technology in Smart TVs or even casting technology has been extremely game changing. Now the consumer has full control over the content they watch on their TV device, as they get a view of all on-demand, streaming and live TV content in one spot and can easily control it from their phone.

What should every TV operator be considering investing in next year?

Every TV operator should consider investing in products that enable them to get to know their audience and target content to their specific needs in order to stay dynamic and relevant. It’s not enough to adopt a ‘one size fits all’ approach with content curation, and consumers will expect operators to deliver the right content for them, at the right time and on the right device.

The good news is that Deltatre can help operators and content owners to reach their audiences in this targeted way through our innovative suite of products.