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Digital television, IPTV & convergence will
change viewership patterns drastically. And the signs are visible
- from in-flight TV to WiFi TV to mobile TV Channels.
Here's an interesting take on how the technology of "anywhere
television" promises to slowly, but surely redefine television
viewing habits.
In-flight Television
Starting this February, international airline passengers will
have a new option on their in-flight menu - live
IP television on their laptops! This service is provided by
Connexion - a venture promoted by Boeing. Connexion launched its
In-flight Internet service a few months ago - for a fee ranging
from $ 5/- to $ 7/- per hour. From February '06, Connexion will
reduce its fees drastically to around $ 1/- to $ 2/- per hour. And
will simultaneously offer a choice of 5 TV channels via the Internet
for passengers!
Just to measure the progress, there are currently 9 international
airlines including Lufthansa, & Singapore Airlines who offer broadband
Internet access as part of their in-flight services. And soon, all
these airlines will offer their passengers channels like BBC World,
CNBC, Eurosportnews & MSNBC - for no additional cost!
Other airlines like U.S. based JetBlue Airways already offer 39
TV Channels from the DirecTV (DTH) bouquet as part of its in-flight
services. Another U.S. based airline Frontier, offers 24 TV Channels,
also from DirecTV. These channels are displayed on the standard
TV screens attached to the back of airline passenger seats & are
available for around $ 5/- per flight.
TV
Anywhere
For
the past few years, Personal Video Recorders like TiVo have combined
television & computer storage technology to give viewers the luxury
of automatically recording TV programs for viewing later. The recent
models of TiVo allow users to view recorded content on their PCs
over a network.
And there are new products like TV2ME & SlingBox which help viewers
watch TV programs in another city, country or even in outdoor ("hot
spots") via the Internet.
Mobile
Television
Mobile
telephony meanwhile, has been growing by leaps & bounds. It is estimated
that mobile video delivery & mobile TV broadcasting will dominate
the wireless industry in 2007. And almost all future mobile handsets
are expected to incorporate video player software.
Naturally, TV channels have started embracing mobile video. It started
with Korea, but today major global TV channels like CNN, MTV & Warner
Brothers have started working to make mobile video as the next exciting
delivery channel.
Ergo
..
The Internet
as a medium is finally here. And Internet technology along with
mobile technology, is changing the very nature of old media like
television in many ways. And one of them is by bringing the "TV
set" out of the living room.
How "TV audience measurement" will keep up with these developments
is anybody's guess!
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