TV fights back
YouTube announced plans for dedicated channels back in October 2011.
It is YouTube’s answer to how television should be like in the 21st century and to allow google to compete head on with satellites and cable service providers.
From my point of view, these new channels on YouTube are not exactly new channels. Channels have been part of YouTube for a long time now. Action for AIDS, the organization I work at have had our own channel since 2009. The new introduction seems more like an extension of user-created channels. This new initiative will see professionally created contents such as “The family Guy” or from networks such as “Warner Bros” and “Fremantlemedia” (the company that brought us mega hits like America Idol and Survivor).
What constitute as professionally created contents? When YouTube was sued by Viacom, it took proactive steps and put in many measures to reduce piracy such as rampant uploading of music videos and television show, even full length movies. This in turn created a vacuum in content but was filled in with many original, professionally created contents from the users.
Which is what the new internet or web 2.0 should be about.
The company have been pooling videos and shaping the way people choose to watch videos when they kicked-started its YouTube partners programme. The users of YouTube have been watching original and pirated contents for a long while now. YouTube is now streaming 4 billion videos a day, that’s 4 with 9 zeros trailing behind it. What better way to cash in on this demand and allow consumers to choose contents that are other wise not available on traditional medias like cable channels.
Audience fragmentation brought about by cable networks was a response to the demand from its audiences and stakeholders. They saw the value in having dedicated channels because it was more immersive and offered lucrative targeted advertising opportunities to those who needed them. The interactivity of web 2.0 means that this fragmentation will only be further divided. Again, this illustrates my stand that the web and technology is evolving due to societal needs and this natural progression in YouTube’s strategy to gain more market share is a response to what we want.
Television as it should have been. We want to watch what we want, where and how we want to.
Television networks have been seriously losing ground when we could bring our content with us on the go and hard disc recording. We are no longer at the mercy of programing and having to be at a certain place to catch our favorite programs on television today.
Perhaps network executives predicted and understand that people would come to like digital content because it offers a new plane in interactivity and that brings about higher levels of immersion. Which is good for advertisers. So they tried to extend that kind of interaction in programming and program.
It is not just about call backs, live audiences here. The interaction that digital media can bring about allows the users to choose and have a direct impact on the outcome of the content they are participating in. Reality television programmes such as “Survivor” and “Britain’s got Talent” would go on to replicate this form of interaction and control. This genre continues to write a new chapter in how audience participates in contents they consume today.
Reality TV started with just showing “real” people doing “real” things, such as “Survivor” or shows that got people calling in; replicating what radio has done for decades. It evolved into today’s reality TV where audience actually has a say in the content or who wins the prize.
The shift from traditional linear communication could be attributed to the shift of how consumers consume content. “Live” programming, in my opinion is a reflex response from producers who are desperate to retain its viewers. The catch is simple; if you are not there to vote or take part, you will lose out on the most important aspect of the show. Watching a re-run or downloading it to watch on your mobile device will fail to replicate the effect “live” broadcast has.
This way, users are locked onto their television set and thus being exposed to advertisements and other messages or programmes that might follow. This could be an explanation about why producers love this format.
Reality TV has also taken Singapore by storm. There are various version of the famed “American Idol” here in Singapore. The Vasantham Star, Suria got their own version and no less than two programmes on channel 8 where viewers get to decide whom their favorite star or alternate ending to a drama serial is.
Testube: Experimental project by Mediacorp to woo new media Savvy TV viewers. Image from xinmsn.com/testube
Now, networks such as MTV and Mediacorp are allowing audiences more power to dictate.
Mediacorp announced Testube. According to its website “TesTube is a brand new showcase of content on Channel U where the audience gets to influence what goes on television, the internet and social media“
As the name suggest, it is new experimental format that I guess would be targeted at the tech savvy and younger generation of television viewers. Audience would get a chance to select, rate and vote for their favorite programme.
It would be interesting to see how this plays out. If it is just a real experiment to data mine or it will evolve into something more stable. Many other shows that functions like Testube have come and gone. Faster than you can register and be part of it.
The Internet and video sharing sites would still have the edge over these formats because the end users would still get full control over what would interest them and not settle for something that is crowd sourced and based on the highest number of votes.
Television programing would need to break out of the mould and introduce really exciting and immersive technologies that are not gimmicky but usher in a new way to watch television. As technology advances, it will only get more interesting. Opening doors to content that engage all the sensors and requires mass viewer participation. Such as getting viewers to shoot at monsters in a 3D film or download content to an accompanying device and interacting live with the movie, host or interviewees.
Already, we are seeing these in multi media theme parks and it will only be time when it will be cheap enough for mass adoption. TV sets are getting smarter. When all TV sets contain motion sensors and is able to connect to internet that are of higher bandwidth, it would also be able to deliver contents that would be highly customizable and immersive.
Till then. The TV will continue to fight back and hold its ground in the foreseeable future..
BTW, does anyone think that logo looks like the Apple TV advert?
