Over the past few weeks I've found myself re-engaging with TV. This isn’t because the programming has suddenly improved or because I’ve started subscribing to ESPN. It’s largely because of Zeebox. This is an iPad app that adds social integration to the viewing experience. Basically it’s a TV guide where you select a programme and see conversations around this programme from your Twitter and Facebook communities.
Although initially sceptical about this type of application, I now find myself not only watching more television programmes but also engaging with friends and family in discussions about the programmes I’m watching. In fact, this app is somewhat infectious. My wife is now also using it to talk to her social circles. What’s incredible about this app is how it’s starting to transform what could be considered the last ‘dumb screen’ in the house.
However, it’s the whole notion of connectivity that’s driving a dramatic resurgence in the popularity of the traditional family TV unit. There can be no question that over the past few years, the TV has started to wane as the central hub of family entertainment. The growing trend of cord cutting has seen a dramatic increase in the number of people watching programmes on computers, laptops and tablets and resulted in the unwieldy and disconnected TV losing popularity. Yet the dramatic growth in Internet-enabled TVs seems to be reversing this trend.
With TVs now connected directly to the Internet and increased opportunities to subscribe to IPTV services, people are now embracing more freedom than ever before. They are liberating their entertainment. The popularity of à la carte TV is one key driver, enabling people to pay for what they watch. Moving forward though, it’s the social aspect of TV that may prove to be one of the most vital services in TV’s resurgence. Connecting the TV to your social circles suddenly opens up a whole new element to the viewing experience.
Some commentators even claim that social TV applications, such as Zeebox, have the power to disrupt the whole TV industry and radically alter how we engage with programmes. Indeed, we’re only at the first stage of seeing these social apps impact upon our viewing habits. It will be fascinating to see what happens when they move from the iPad and are directly accessible on the TV unit itself.
One key issue to success here is connectivity. To truly embrace the future of the connected TV, our networks need to continue developing. There are many people who are still unable to access basic video streaming let alone HD quality programming. If the TV is ever to reassert its position within the connected household we need to continue driving forward universal broadband access.
We also need to consider the cultural aspect. The growing generation of digital natives may find the socially connected TV a normal part of everyday life. However, to older generations familiar with the TV being a standalone and isolated device, the sudden intrusion of social networks may be too big a barrier to overcome.
What do you think to this? Will Internet-enabled and socially connected TVs see a resurgence in the devices popularity? Will TVs once again become a family hub? Or are there now too many other competing devices for this to happen? I find this a fascinating topic and would be interested to hear your thoughts on this.