Commentary

TV Everywhere - A Broader Definition

“TV Everywhere” is a term that has all but entered the media lexicon.  And yet, curiously, this seemingly all-encompassing label is still somewhat limited in what it encapsulates.

Sure, it refers to the ability to distribute and consume one’s programs of choice (starting from a TV-centric perspective), to the slowly growing array of devices capable of displaying those programs. But that is a purely device-oriented definition of “Everywhere."

It’s not a definition that takes into account the inevitable consequences of being able to consume video across fixed, mobile, linear and interactive devices.

Ask an average person what “everywhere” means, and you’ll hear liberal references to location -- or more precisely a multiplicity of locations. Mobile devices -- be they phones, tablets or laptops -- make video consumption possible in most locations. And that reality introduces different factors that impact how –- and to what extent -– people absorb what they view.

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It also impacts the relevance of promotional messaging they may encounter while at work, at an airport, in the back seat of a car or in the mall.

Similarly, this portability of video creates a wider set of social environments when viewing. Today, we are much more likely to view in the company of co-workers and friends (or even strangers) than in the past.

TV remains the dominant medium overall and certainly in the home; it will continue to deliver the largest slice of family viewing (and probably the largest device-driven slice of viewing) for the foreseeable future. If the advertising and marketing community is to take full advantage of the reality of TV Everywhere, it needs to move beyond the simple fact of content distribution and consumption across devices.

The industry needs to develop campaigns that take advantage of the growing number of people that will view -- and interact with -- video in the environments that make up the “Everywhere” of where we live.

3 comments about "TV Everywhere - A Broader Definition".
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  1. Richard Lyons from PVP, July 25, 2012 at 6:57 p.m.

    Today, you can walk out of a big box retailer like Best Buy or Costco carrying a flat screen TV equipped with WiFi, QWERTY keyboard remote control, entree to app stores and one-button access to such streaming TV services as Netflix. Cable, telecom and IPTV operators are showing OTA content plus others content channels (Discovery, AMC, History, USA, Military, HGTV, ESPN, ABC Family and Bravo). Large internet companies are adding as much outside content as possible to increase their basic social network and application revenues. … VOD is leading towards “Everything on Demand” (EoD). Video-on-demand (VOD) technology has become a balancing act for executives weighing how to offer more programming without threatening traditional ad revenue. …. (There are no industry standards). …. TV stations cannot stop the competition, but they can become better competitors. Complacency is their biggest enemy. Internet based companies want your broadcast advertising sales revenue, and not just a piece of it, they want ALL OF IT! …. I am speaking from the heart when I say, “have your people contact me”. . It is a good story on the reasons why station groups have to open their minds (at the CEO level) to the broader world of the internet as a revenue model… Rich Lyons 818 516 0544 .. lyons.rich.pvp@gmail.com

  2. Barry Dennis from netweb/Omni, July 26, 2012 at 5:46 p.m.

    If the FCC is smart (no guarantee; they are sssllloooowwww to put the public first) they will reclaim the broadcast spectrum now licensed to over-the-air broadcasters, and auction it to wireless users to substantially broaden the bandwidth available leading to more content at higher quality, and more services. Convergence AAA (AnyThing, AnyTime, AnyWhere) is no longer a blip, it is a growing soon-to-be-dominant force, held back primarily by the wireless bandwidth available. Reclaiming underutilized/unused(government, primarily) spectrum is the logical step.

  3. Richard Lyons from PVP, July 26, 2012 at 6:27 p.m.

    Selling the spectrum to the telecoms might not be a good idea; broadcast spectrum is one-way with lower bandwidth limitation to many people. …. The FCC is about herding big fat cats and motivating good choices. …I think the FCC gets-it! … “They do not want to lose quality local reporting under their watch, it is not a good thing to be attached to in the history books”. …. Internet companies don’t not care about OTA local strength (they will equal it) and our disadvantage is that OTA can not be parlayed into a larger on-line scale and lower cost model which exists in the internet industry .. (The MPC plan would change their perspective). Rich Lyons 818 516 0544, lyons.rich.pvp @gmail.com

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