Global Information Inc. presents a new market research report, "Next Gen TV 2020" by IDATE.
"The trends that come under the microscope in this study are not just budding fads. They involve services or consumption patterns that, while still limited in scope for the time being, are gaining enough ground to soon be in a position to turn the traditional TV industry on its head," comments Florence Le Borgne, Head of the "TV & Digital Content" Business Unit and leader of the project. "We have identified six major trends for 2011 and offer our vision of the evolution of the market for each one and its prospects for success."
Six key trends to look for in next generation of television:
Catch-up TV takes the world by storm
Without a doubt, catch-up TV is already revolutionizing the industry. It is widely available and meets a real need among consumers. As a result these services have been adopted by TV viewers en masse, even spanning the usual age divides.
A potential renaissance of linear TV thanks to the tablet
Despite the head start that simulcast TV had on devices such as mobile phones, it never garnered even close to the same audience interest as catch-up TV has more recently. But we expect that the sweeping success of the tablet may spur new consumption of linear television on this larger screen.
The success of smart STBs: putting the reins in the TV viewers hand
The development of advanced TV receivers, or "smart set-top boxes (STBs)," is definitely the second most important change in the industry, although it is limited to pay-TV households. Smart
STBs are now at the center of the war between distributors of pay-TV offerings, for they serve as powerful tools for both building subscriber loyalty and boosting ARPU.
Connected TV is proving to be big news, but it will take time before its effects are felt
Over-the-top (OTT) content and widgets on the TV are decidedly hot topics. The number of connected TVs on the shelves has exploded over the past 18 months, as have the other options for connecting a TV set to the Internet. Yet while there are plenty of examples and more services and applications are being added daily, these environments have yet to stabilize and are hard for the general public to use and understand. There may be a lot of buzz about these innovations, but the promised revolution is likely to hold out for several more years.
A host of hurdles to overcome in rolling out 3D as a tool for enhancing the TV experience
Last but not least, 3D still seems to be running in beta mode, more of a marketing coup than an established service. The lack of content makes it difficult to put together a full channel offering. 3D will provide an enhanced experience when the many obstacles to its mass development have been overcome, but it is not expected to cause any major disruptions in the industry.
A revolution, yes, but not till tomorrow
If the groundwork for a revolution in the television industry is currently being laid, the current players are only expected to really start feeling the first major effects in 2013 for the United States,
2014 for the most advanced European such as the United Kingdom and France and 2015 for other European markets.
