Private: Intelligence

Will the two-screen experience crush the future of digital television?

I heard this question posed earlier last week and it’s possible that the idea has merit.  It’s taken awhile for digital TV to really come of age, and in that time Apple launched the wildly successful iPad and created the tablet market.   Consumers have flocked to the idea of watching television either with or on the iPad, and in doing so they have circumvented the need for a more interactive digital television experience.  This doesn’t mean that digital TV, or TV for that matter in any form, is not still important.  It just means that the bells and whistles of an interactive digital experience on your cable box may not be as necessary or desirable in the eyes of the consumer.

Consumers watch TV, and they watch it a lot.  That’s not going to change, but in recent years we’ve seen more instances of consumers watching TV with a laptop or tablet in front of them, effectively multi-tasking.   We also see more consumers watching their favorite shows online, detracting from the cable box itself, and creating a more seamless interactive experience on their internet-connected devices.  Lots of TV manufacturers are working apps into the TV experience, but after the initial wave of excitement, I haven’t seen much additional consumer interest. 

Social media is what consumers are using while watching TV, and that experience is better on a tablet, laptop or smartphone.  It’s not an experience consumers are shifting to on a TV, and I don’t know that they ever will.   

TV gets expensive very quickly because the cable companies nickel and dime you for every possible addition.  I recently moved and was setting up service at my new home and it took me hours to do so, and that was before I even got them on the phone.  The permutations of services are endless, so just imagine what it will be like when they offer fully integrated digital services?  I can imagine a world with messaging fees attached to my TV, and that world gets ever more expensive very quickly.   In that world, consumers are not going to be willing to pay for additional services when they already have them on a different device.  It would be redundant to do so, and that just doesn’t make sense.

If consumers are watching TV on their computers and tablets, then digital TV (in the industry sense of the term) just isn’t necessary.  There will be a portion of the audience that simply doesn’t want it, and they are more than happy watching TV and toggling between shows and social media.  That experience is all they need.

Digital television has been promised for 15 years now, and it’s starting to feel a little like mobile; always 2-3 years away from being viable.  As with mobile, it relies on consumer adoption, penetration of the devices, and the integration of the platforms into regular programming that engages the consumer and makes the experience interesting!  It’s very possible that Digital TV may have missed the boat.  What do you think?  Is there a future here, or has the future already passed it by?

Let me know on the Spin Board!