Death of Television ? (summary of article 1)

While watching a movie on TV i was reminded of an article that I had read, it had said that there has been a reported drop in US pay TV market subscribers for the first time in history, most analysts blame the recent economic downturn but many agree other factors such as the increased popularity of on-demand offerings that are available over the internet also contribute to this drop.

Nielsen, a company that tracks US television viewing habits have reported a drop in ownership in tv's from 98.9% to 96.7%. But as DVD sales drop, Netflix, a subscription service which mails out DVD's has been dramatically growing larger in recent years. Also (according to IMS Research) there is a predicted increase of 7.8 million sat alight television subscribers between 2010-2015 (in the U.S).

Apple recently released 'Apple TV' which allows users to stream content from itunes or websites (such as youtube), directly too there television. Google has also released a similar service.

When Neil Gaydon, chief executive of pay TV technology developer Pace, was asked about the future of the tv, he pointed out to the rise in subscription figures of his companies satellite services as evidence of televisions health and later states that other internet services such as youtube only offer another service, not an alternative or replacements. He later goes on to also point out at google/apple tv poor take off sale figures, he believes that,

"The challenge to pay TV is greatly exaggerated”.

But he recognizes that recent events have woken television providers to develop hybrid services.

Not everyone agrees with Neil Gaydon, Suranga Chandratillake, founder of blinkx, a video search engine. He believes that in the future there will be a greater increase in the popularity of on-demand services which have access to internet, but believes television will live on in a new form. But wont survive in its current.

He sites the growth of Netflix as proof that consumers are willing to pay for reasonably priced services. And don't necessarily have to be free. But revenue could also be earned through advertisements on websites that provide the on-demand content.

Television is changing,

Average TV size in the US in 2009 is 46", will be 65" in 2015

Mobile has seen a 53% increase in video viewing over the past year

By 2015, some 463m TV sets worldwide will be capable of accessing video via the internet, 36% of those in the EU

Christopher Schouten who works for Irdeto ( a global software security and media technology company) believes that some linear content which tv provides, will always be in demand. Such as sport matches and reality tv shows such as Xfactor which he states a large majority of people prefer to view it in real time then as of later on.

Illegal downloading remains a threat to the industry with many seeing piracy as a competitor. But giving consumers what they want for the right price acts as a deterrent to turning to piracy sites.

Paul O'Donovan, of technology research specialists Gartner predicts that “the pay TV market will change from the multiple channels we have today because out of 300 channels available, most people only watch seven, but dip into others." which strengthen the belief that consumers prefer on demand content and the population of 'TV traditionalist' is falling.

To view full article go to : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13377164

I agree with many statements and the overall message of the article.
I think TV will live on but in a different form. I myself am subscribed to a digital satellite service, SKY+, and frequently use the 'on-demand' service and recording of live TV services, but this would be more common with my generation who have grown up with computers and no how to use piracy sites or legal on-demand sites such as '4od', unlike my parents who do not use the internet to view there shows. My parents do use the recording service provided by SKY+ but are more inclined to rely on the television guide.

But i find myself, in a weird way, taking a break from the internet to watch television, where with less choice its sometimes easier to settle for something, sometimes I find myself thinking for hours on what to watch on the internet and then finding a version that works. Its hard work sometimes.