“The End of Channel Surfing?” Yes!

Live TV and the Evolution of Social TV Services

8.7.2012—The end of channel surfing IS coming. It is what we at Boxfish have been saying for a while now. However, it is good to see the sentiment making headlines, as the future of TV content is being realized. Shayndi Raice’s piece for the Wall Street Journal, titled “The End of Channel Surfing?” is a good rundown of how those in the social TV space have evolved their respective products in such a short time. 

While the social TV space has been seen as promising ground for business/product development for a few years now, it has only been in 2012 that its true potential is being recognized. Apps that were once touting “check-ins” and social connectivity based on “what your friends are watching” are starting to see that you need to offer more engagement with the content on TV, not just with users.

It’s not just tooting our own horn in stating that Boxfish has steadily been one of the few services that provide a two-way street with TV, bringing users from the web to television. Improving the process of connecting the user to the content on TV that he or she cares about should be the goal of all of us operating in the social TV space. Otherwise, what are we doing this for? Curating tweets about shows? I think we are all in this for the same reason, to revolutionize TV. We are all here and all have the same idea, now it is just the time to see who will actually do it. 

Convenient Monopoly Vs. Live TV Reality

People Still Want Live Olympic Coverage, Despite Tape-Delay Success

8.6.2012—NBC started off the Olympics with a rude awakening via social media when they announced that they would show the Olympic opening ceremony on tape delay. Twitter and Facebook was awash with negativity toward the event being postponed to air on primetime in the US, hours after the rest of the world watched it live. Many, including us, saw it as a sign that NBC was out of touch with the reality of TV viewing in the digital age.

However, since the negative tweets have subsided a bit, the opinions have been split. While criticism of NBC’s handling of the olympics, from commercial-heavy broadcasts to reporting the results of events they plan to show later on primetime, there ratings continue to skyrocket. 

Critics were later lambasted when the numbers came back, showing that NBC’s tape-delayed airing of the opening ceremony earned higher ratings than any opening ceremony the network aired in the past. 

Even from a social media aspect, apart from the PR nightmare of #NBCfail, the splash that a live event makes is just as much as NBC’s tape-delayed airing seems to be the same. Yesterday, Jamaica’s Usain Bolt solidified his title of “fastest man in the world” when he won the gold in the 100m track event. Lost remote reported that Bluefin Labs’ social TV data clocked the live event as generating nearly the same amount of social comments per minute.

So the question remains, is NBC doing it right in an age when the old model of TV is seen as something of a dinosaur? The network’s executive producer, Jim Bell, seems to think so, as Bell told the Hollywood Reporter that “the numbers speak for themselves” regarding ratings vs. the negative rhetoric surrounding their tape-delay. However, it should also be stated that NBC has exclusive rights to broadcast the Olympics in the US. 

Had there been live coverage of the events on another network, while NBC stuck to its tape-delayed method, would Jim Bell and NBC be so confident in their decisions? Maybe it is a hurried assumption that they would stick to that plan in the face of direct competition, but NBC’s handling of the Olympics is an Old Media way of providing content in the new age. While the monopoly on Olympic content lends itself to giving NBC these high ratings and $1 billion plus of ad revenue (even though they may only just break even), as the next wave of tech brings TV into a new age, this approach to content in the future may backfire in the face of old media.

TV For the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Screen

One Network Makes a Move Toward The Future of TV

7.19.2012—Yesterday’s Pew research report showing that over 50 percent of TV watching adults do so while on a mobile device is a glimpse into what the future holds for TV/2nd screen interaction. While I am sure that broadcasters took notice, Mashable published a piece by Brian Solis about how cable network USA has already announced their plan to provide viewers a with a TV experience that spans multiple screens, from TV to laptop to tablet to smart phone. Each screen will have content tailored to that viewing platform.

It’s a very ambitious undertaking, being that everyone’s interaction with 2nd screens and TV is still a budding relationship, but maybe USA’s move is something that may soon be required by all networks to consider as TV becomes more connected.

Seizing the Future of TV by the Screen

Over Half of All Adults Use a 2nd Screen During TV Watching

7.18.2012—A story by Kit Eaton for Fast Company that shows a telling glimpse into the future of 2nd screen usage around television. The Pew Research Group conducted a report showing that 52 percent of all adult cell phone users incorporate mobile devices into TV watching. It’s a great article and a promising litmus test for what the future holds for TV and viewers.

Without Update, Google TV Stays in the Past

       

No Google TV Update Announced During Keynote I/O

6.28.2012—We released a post earlier this week about how the rumor about Google TV’s update is a sign of tech companies getting that them adding innovations to the TV space will not only bring TV up to the same levels as phones and tablets, but that it could surpass both. Perhaps that sentiment was expressed too soon, as the Google TV update was absent from their two keynote I/O events. 

While they did release their Nexus 7 tablet, the newest Android version, and their Google Glass eyewear, Google TV was nowhere to be seen. There was however a device for streaming video unveiled at the event, the Nexus Q, which takes content from the web and lets you watch it on your TV. Still, the absence of interacting with live television is noted. 

Looking at the race between big tech over who will reach living-room dominance first, the new Xbox upgrades Microsoft announced earlier this year seem to put them in the lead. However, Apple is hushed as always about what the have in store and Google TV could still get an upgrade before the year is out…or some scrappy start-up beats them all to it. We’ll just have to wait and see. 

The Traditional Remote vs. The Second Screen

The Traditional Remote Shall Rise Again

6.18.2012—VideoNet put out an article explaining why the tablet will not replace the traditional remote control. The features that manufacturers like Ruwido are bringing to the regular remote control, which will make it not so regular (features like voice-recognition and fingerprint scanner to match TV user profiles).

Another point brought up in the article is the importance the traditional remote plays in network branding. 

While there are valid points brought up in the article, the traditional remote has more of an uphill battle against the tablet than this story lets on. While the remote is centrally reliant on the TV and what it can offer, a tablet straddles the crossroads of nearly every media outlet. The internet, ebooks, TV, music, gaming, etc. are all at your fingertips, while the traditional remote is at the mercy of how far along the TV to which it’s tethered has advanced.

Likewise, the tablet can work with televisions of different makes and models, the traditional control is stuck with its brand.

Still, remote controls seem to be moving along with the times and this article highlights what they could mean for the future of TV. 

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