The New Normal

Introduction

In the past year we have seen several habits change because of the COVID-19 pandemic. People adjusted many of their “normal” behaviors – trying to cope with changes in their lives. Now that the world is finally starting to go back to “normal” we are realizing that some changes are here to stay. This introduces the concept of “the new normal” - returning to old habits but adding some new ones to create a new reality.

Television

On the eve of the pandemic, the television industry was transitioning from a “Pay TV” model to a “Direct to Consumer” one, and TV consumption had shifted dramatically, from linear viewing to on demand and time shifted viewing.

Originally, television was envisioned as a direct continuation of the old radio experience, placed in the middle of the living room as a “gathering place” for the whole family, to sit around and create a shared and uniting experience. It was a pure linear concept, based on live or live-to-tape content, with an emphasis on programs that were tailor made to suit all age groups, as family viewing was the only option (one TV set per household, limited number of networks and volume of programs to view).

With technological advancements and the move from free-to-air broadcast to DTH (satellite) and cable, the possibilities of catering to a wide variety of audiences with many niche genres became available, as well as the growing number of TV sets per household     meant that family viewing became less prominent. This change inevitably led to TV becoming a personalized and fragmented entertainment experience, where each individual chose their own preferred genres. In many ways, TV lost its place as a uniting force, and created the opposite result: separating the family members each to their own    , whilst also becoming a point of contention in the household (excessive viewing time for kids, “dumbed-down” content, etc.).

The digital/ internet revolution, combined with the introduction of many new devices to access content, meant that people could choose to watch what they wanted, whenever and wherever they wanted. This development, once again, changed viewing habits and diverted content consumption from linear to time shifted viewing, with the exception of news, sports and live events.

This change had also started to impact the major Hollywood studios and TV giants, as they gradually understood that the old days of cable Pay TV, as well as feature film “windowing” (theatrical release, then transactional VOD/ PPV/ DVD, and then Pay TV movie channels), were slowly coming to an end. The end consumer gradually started realizing that the “old ways” of consuming content were now changing, and many people started leaving their cable/ satellite providers (cord-cutters), while younger audiences were simply “cord-nevers”. More and more households started accessing content from Direct to Consumer services such as Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, NBA and more. This also led to an expansion of genres previously unavailable, including the introduction of a scientifically developed TV service for a new audience - Dogs!

DOGTV (dogtv.com) was developed to provide a video-based tool to help stay-at-home dogs cope with common symptoms such as loneliness, boredom, stress and separation anxiety. Unlike traditional TV services, it was not designed as a pure entertainment tool, but used the television screen as the delivery method to a product/ service tailor made for canines’ special senses to serve as a companion, to relax, stimulate and comfort dogs while home alone. It was a first of its kind service, opening the doors to the perception of TV not as entertainment-only, but also a tool that serves many other psychological and mental health needs.

Dogs

Since the beginning of domestication of dogs (25-40K years ago), they were created to become man’s ultimate companions. People developed strong relationships with dogs, enjoying unconditional love and loyalty in return to providing them a safe environment and an unlimited food source. In the past, dogs had an active role in the wellbeing of their owners, taking part in hunting, farm life etc. For the past 30 years, the humanization of dogs has accelerated rapidly, leading to modern days, where some 95% of dog parents consider their dogs to be an integral part of the family. The pet industry has become one of the few “recession-proof” industries, growing year-over-year and ever-evolving. With the change of perception of dogs from pets/property to family members, many products that were once considered esoteric are now fully mainstream, and adopted by major brands, including Gap (dog clothes in their stores), Ben & Jerry’s (doggy ice-cream flavor), Starbucks (Puppuccinos) and Tesla (the new “Dog Mode”). Awareness for dog’s specific needs and wellbeing has also led to the establishment of dozens of important, major organizations such as HABRI (Human-Animal Bond), Fear Free Pets, Pet Sustainability Coalition, PIJAC (Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council) and many others. Additionally, with growing research showing a clear correlation between the presence of a dog in the home to the positive contribution to physical and mental health of all family members, many more people are now adopting dogs annually. Numbers speak too; ~51% (that’s approximately 65 million!) dog homes in the U.S., and a $100 billion dollar a year industry including not just food and medicine, but also hundreds of products from clothes to toys, dog-tech to television for dogs.

 And then came COVID-19…

The appearance of a Global Pandemic was an unprecedented event. In just a couple of short weeks the entire globe was placed on hold. No passenger traffic between countries, mandatory quarantines and a near-complete halt of work. This placed a significant portion of the nearly 8 billion human global population inside homes for an extended period of time. Loneliness, boredom, stress and separation anxiety were now a substantial part of many people’s lives. Contact with the “outside world” became a rare commodity. Many households were looking for solutions to this new reality, a common one was introducing a new family member into the home by adopting a dog. Some industry sources report that as many as 11 million dogs were adopted during the first year of COVID, an unprecedented number (compared to approximately 3.5 million in the previous year).

Dogs provided people with companionship and proved to create a soothing and relaxing environment for kids and adults alike. A full year together at home created a unique and new bond between people and dogs and accelerated the process of accepting dogs as an integral part of the family. With people’s new understanding of the power of dogs in their personal happiness, and empathy to their dogs’ needs, dogs were finally accepted as family members. No wonder a common phrase among dog people is: “Dogs are people too”!  

Another result of the pandemic was the acceleration of changes and processes already taking place in the TV landscape. The TV industry had to adapt, as movie theaters were closed and TV became the almost exclusive form of entertainment for people. This meant that all major studios had to shift their focus to their direct-to-consumer propositions, hasting the launches of new services (HBO Max, Peacock, Paramount+, Discovery+), and leading content owners to tempt potential subscribers by adding their theatrical movie releases to their services on a day-and-date basis, bundling a variety of different services into a discounted offering and, on the ultimate strategic level, saw a number of mergers and acquisitions of major media conglomerates, in a long term effort to become the “new cable platforms” (Amazon and MGM, Discovery and WarnerMedia).

In regards to viewing habits, TV became a whole new thing: no longer pure entertainment but a source of comfort, a companion and a “window to the world”. It provided invaluable information about what’s happening and became a crutch for many people to cope with the loneliness, boredom, stress and anxiety that were an inseparable part of quarantine. In a world in which the definition/sense of time was dramatically altered, TV reduced anxiety and gave people the necessary reassurance that the earth is still spinning and that not all is lost to the pandemic. In many ways television for people became more like DOGTV - not just entertainment but a lot more.

COVID-19 is ending; but is the world going back to pre-COVID or to a New Normal?

After more than a year and with the unprecedented effort by Global pharmaceutical companies, research groups and massive financing and allocation of resources by governments - an effective vaccine was developed and is now allowing people to finally leave their homes again and re-interact with fellow humans. With the return to human interactions, we are observing many changes to what was previously considered the “normal” hence, creating a “New Normal”.

For our dogs, the new normal will also significantly affect their lives, changing many of the pre-COVID norms and routines, and in a sense will be even more extreme. Taking into consideration the time during which dogs discovered the advantages of spending time with their families 24/7 will make returning to the new normal even more difficult and stressful for them.

The new normal will include several key adjustments:

1.    Hybrid Work Models – many companies understand that in-office work 2-3 times a week is much better and more productive for employees, hence reducing the time spent away from their dogs.

2.    Dog Friendly Businesses – many companies understand that being away from our dogs is detrimental to our productivity and happiness, hence opening their businesses to our 4-legged friends. This will involve spending time outside the home and require adaptation of behavior and new rules and requirements. We know that some companies have already started investing in changing their offices and infrastructure in order to adapt to dogs in the workplace, adding not just drinking fountains, but also daycares, dog parks and TV screens within their spaces.

3.    Additional services and providers – those households not adopting the hybrid model or “bring your dog to work” policies, will translate their increased empathy to their four legged family members     by providing their dogs additional enrichment tools in an attempt to compensate for the hours of “home alone” time. This will include dog walkers, doggy daycare, doggy sitters, and at-home and on-the-go enrichment tools such as DOGTV.

From the Human Perspective, we now better understand the effects of physical and mental isolation and the needs of social beings (human and dogs alike). We require companionship, stimulation, and enrichment, and thus will likely be more involved in getting educated about the available tools to improve the lives of our pet companions as well as ours. It is clear that by being happier and less lonely, people and dogs are likely to be mentally and physically healthier.

 Some of the most relevant and enriching tools include:

1.    Home monitoring devices - enabling communication with our dogs when we are away, including the disbursement of food/treats, video communication and video/Audio content delivery (Radio and TV).

2.    Video Education Courses – all focused at improving and strengthening the human-dog bond, using training, behavior, veterinary, dietary and social tools.

3.    Optimizing our dog’s home environment – providing an individually appropriate environment for our dogs, including toys, treats, games, health monitoring wearables, furniture, food/treats dispensing devices, etc. – to make sure that time spent home alone is safe and as enjoyable as possible.

4.    Digital Enrichment - DOGTV provides a balanced mix of audiovisual relaxation and stimulation, helping stay at home dogs remain calm and entertained when their families are away, in addition to lots of enrichment and educational programs for dog families, providing tools to become better dog parents and have a more enjoyable life with our dogs, keeping the bond between us strong and consistent. 

Recommendation

If you found our short article interesting and would like to learn a lot more about making your dog’s life more enriched and help prepare your families to the “New Normal”, please join DOGTV’s “Your Dog’s New Normal….Navigating Life After Quarantine” - with 25 speakers, several panels and lots of enjoyable and educational perspectives from industry leaders!

Sign up for the New Normal Conference for free on this link:

https://land.dogtv.com/newnormal/