Television in Ireland faces fundamental upheaval, as we switch off the analogue signal (likely around 2012) to make way for digital.
Previous advances in TV – better sound, colour, definition – have been merely additive and broadcast television has changed little since 1934. Similarly the business models – whether advertiser funded (ITV) or publicly funded (BBC) or a mix (RTE) have remained steady; the public paid a license fee to watch scheduled programmes and/or suffered interruptions from advertising sponsors. However the IBM Global Business Services have termed traditional viewers ‘lean back’ audiences or ‘massive passives’ and has contrasted them to the ‘lean forwards’ who see television as just another screen to access content.
‘Lean backs’ are generally over 35 and get their entertainment from scheduled TV shows, at most perhaps recording them. ‘Lean forwards’ are under 35 and want entertainment ‘on demand’ – TV has to compete with YouTube, social networks, mobile phones. They want to watch TV programmes at whatever time suits them, and want to share enjoyment with their friends at the same time.
The challenge for today’s broadcasters is to manage the demands of these two distinct audiences.
Fragmentation on the broadcast landscape is not new. Anyone with Sky or NTL digital is familiar with niche channels, which are pre-cursors to highly individualised content ‘on demand’. Next up is IPTV.
IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) is coming to you soon through Eircom and BT in the form of BT Vision. It will likely contain a DTT tuner (picking up digital tv signals), a hard drive and a broadband connection. Other features may include Really Simple Syndication News (RSS) news-feeds, and the uploading of user-generated content, such as home movies. Television will change rapidly as it merges its functionality with the internet.
As a result word of mouth will become more important in regards to building audience share around programme content. Advertising will become more targeted and advertisers will buy access to the individual audience member as opposed to sponsoring an ill-defined primetime slot as in the current model.
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