Broadcasters, take note: the way we watch TV is changing
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By Edward Norton, Digital Content Specialist
Nothing is certain but death, taxes and TV.
I may have added TV, but it’s hard to imagine home entertainment without it. We’re not all wearing VR headsets and completely ignoring each other while we watch, not yet anyway.
The way we watch is changing, but maybe not as much as some in our industry would have you believe. In truth, the last time there was a truly monumental change to the way TV is delivered and consumed, was in 2012.
That was the year that the UK completed the switch from an analogue to a digital TV signal. It was accepted by broadcasters as a natural evolution to a richer experience for viewers.
Streaming and OTT are to Digital TV what Digital was to Analogue, the natural evolution. Not just something to sit alongside that experience as an alternative.??
Broadcasters need to embrace OTT as the next big switch ???
The issue is that broadcasters are still not completely embracing OTT services as the natural evolution for TV. Viewers by and large are going to make that choice for them, especially when they look for the path of least resistance to the next source of dopamine.
Streaming accounts for nearly 40% of US TV consumption. It’s a similar story in the UK, with Ofcom reporting a drop of 12% in the time people spent watching broadcast TV.
We still do watch them though ??
As much as it’s reported that streaming is overtaking broadcast TV for viewership, most of us still enjoy the content broadcasters have to offer.
The BBC aired 9 out of 10 of the most popular shows on Christmas Day, with BBC One alone boasting viewing figures bigger than the whole SVOD market in the UK that day. Across all BBC TV channels, it was around 39.3 million viewers.?
When you think about bringing the whole family together on days like this, it is easier to just switch on the TV and relax. The alternative in those situations is finding something suitable from grandparent to grandchild - the choice paralysis is real enough alone.
The ideal viewing experience is all about context ???
There’s a time and a place for everything, and this includes our ideal viewing experience. Not everyone has completely switched from broadcast TV to streaming services, most of us sit somewhere in the middle.
The middle is comfortable because it can mean the best of both worlds.?It’s all about context really, because even though millions tuned into BBC TV programming on Christmas Day, their BBC iPlayer OTT service recorded 177 million programmes streamed during 25 – 31 December.
Stream it or just stick the telly on ??
Everyone will tell you content is king, and it’s usually true.
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However, I don’t care how good the content is if I can’t access it at my leisure. I’m not waiting until 9 pm rolls around on a school night to watch that film. I’m streaming it, or anything else I can find.?
Those viewing figures about the BBC don’t tell the whole story.
It’s a snapshot taken during a holiday period, with everyone at home. You know, that time between Christmas and the New Year when you’re not sure what day it is, and you’re certain those trousers used to fit? You’re probably watching anything or everything.
The future is OTT, and it’s now
When the analogue TV signal was switched off in 2012, most people didn’t even notice. That’s because digital TV provided them with more channels to watch, increased functionality, and reliability.
The TV experience now is a mess. We have digital TV, catchup, apps, connected devices, and just a lot more than we want when it comes to choosing a platform to watch on. I’m not even going to mention the amount of content available.
Sometimes we want content on demand, and sometimes we just don’t want to choose. This is why even in OTT, there’s live and on-demand content available.
What broadcasters need to do, is offer both – while making the switch to that not-so-new signal – I think they call it IP?
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URC TV chooses Simplestream
URC TV – an award-winning, global OTT sports streaming service created as a partnership initiative between the United Rugby Championship and RTé – chose Simplestream as a technology partner to power its new offering on the back of a reliable, flexible architecture, and new applications for Android and iOS, distributed globally.
The OTT service provides fans with live and on-demand viewing access to the United Rugby Championship games through a paid subscription model.and enhanced viewer experiences in foreign territories.
?Tom Lister, United Rugby Championship’s?Chief Marketing Officer, highlighted: "Reliability is the key deliverable when it comes to streaming live sport as fans expect a seamless, uninterrupted experience from sign-up right through to the final whistle."
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