Industry Chatter: What TDG Members Are Asking This Week
Greg Stockard, Research Services Manager
September 14, 2009
Each week, we are privileged to work with dozens of technology innovators, content creators, and service providers. We can’t help but notice the cyclical nature of the questions our TDG Members are asking. Indeed, issues that impact one client tend to impact the industry and several patterns always seem to emerge. This week we thought we’d share some of these trends and questions – not to divulge any proprietary discussions, but to examine the spectrum of topics facing the digital media ecosystem.
This week we are publicly releasing our latest report: Broadband-Enabled TV: Rise of the OTT Provider, an update to our 2007 Broadband Video report. Since our Members get our reports before general release, we’ve already had several discussions around the study’s findings and implications to their strategies.
Theme One: PayTV Service Providers: From Content Aggregator to Experience Aggregator?
Service providers have always been known to consumers for providing an adequate amount of premium content and packaging it appropriately for the masses. But with the movement towards “TV Everywhere” and OTT virtual operators, Service Providers are recognizing that they must be able to serve the consumer in multitude of locations and devices – providing relevant experiences in each. They are recognizing a need to become an “experience aggregator” instead of just a content aggregator.
We’re looking at this issue in our upcoming study: Models, Messages and Must-Haves for a TV-to-Web Delivery Service.
Theme Two: The Impact of the UI
Unlimited choice yields unlimited confusion – this is nothing new. Recent news about upcoming widget releases is sparking conversation around just how important the user interface will be in differentiating new CE devices, especially as devices incorporate more and more web-delivered content. Companies are recognizing the importance of metadata to power the experience – just look at Rovi’s Liquid Guide or Digitalsmith’s Metaframe and free form search.
Beyond just the UI, input devices are once again emerging as a theme. While Hillcrest’s Loop has gained attention in recent months with their motion sensitive controls, this week we’ve also spent a good deal of time discussing the importance of touch sensitive devices and gesture-based functions within the remote control.
Theme Three: Clarifying the Language of the Industry
Each week, TDG Members receive our mini-analysis called Chart of the Week. Last week’s started off with the words: “So what is meant by the phrase ‘broadband-enabled TV’?” It is amazing the sheer number of models for electronic distribution of content - each model containing different meanings for the similar word. The simple truth is that many in the industry are asking for a basic primer on the differences in technology and terminology. We’ll be hosting a webinar on Sept 24th (free to attend) and try to address these differences. Sign up now...
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