Weekend Musings: The Television of Tomorrow

I recently came across an interesting article which stated how online video streaming and the time spent on binge-watching is on a rise amongst Indians, jumping more than 23% from last year. This got me thinking about how content consumption has progressed and evolved over the years.

For the past many years, television has been the linchpin of the Indian diet when it came to entertainment and also enjoyed and still does, the largest slice of advertising spends by brands. However, with the constant evolution of the media landscape, with new devices, services and content formats coming in, the traditional preeminence that TV held might be a little different now.

This is primarily due to changes in the consumption patterns, low consumer sentiment and other industry developments. Earlier, it used to be just on TV, where the whole family would watch content together – prime time TV over dinner is the best example of what I mean. Now, the viewers have more content as well as more platforms to choose from.

The consumer is now able to customize their viewing experience. They are no longer limited to a strict TV schedule to view their favourite shows. The scope has widened with viewers opting to see content on different devices such as smartphones and tablets. With advancements in technology, there is a burgeoning market in India for people who choose to view content on over-the-top (OTT) platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Video, and Hotstar among others. TV networks, while catering to a specific audience through programming, are also investing in OTT platforms to lure different demographics. There is a good amount of audience willing to purchase a Smart TV to view their favourite shows on OTT platforms; however, many consumers are also gravitating towards online viewing on mobile devices. The online video viewing in India has increased and a considerable pie of this audience views the content on mobile devices.

However, in my opinion, in spite of changing consumption patterns, TV still has a key role to play in the future. TVs driven by emerging technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) will define the way consumers engage with TV in forms other than entertainment. A TV will no longer be limited to just entertainment purpose but will also be a command centre when it comes to a smart and connected home, allowing users to monitor the security cameras, temperature, air quality profiles of various spaces in the home, analytics of historic data such as energy consumption patterns of various appliances and much more. A viewer will be able to do all this with voice commands. The AI technology used in TVs will also be able to analyze a viewer’s online and offline behaviour pattern, leading to more personalized content and advertisements for the viewers, thus assisting various consumer brands.

As we prepare ourselves to embrace the next industrial wave, innovation in TV and its advantages will define how consumers are targeted in the new age. In the modern lifestyle, TV, packed with innovative technologies will become not just a source of entertainment but a device that makes everyday life more convenient.