Getting personal

The Government is making plans to broadcast a daily “Community Minute” with the aim of encouraging people to get involved in local community projects. The 60-second segments will be shown on ITV, Channel 4 and Five, showcasing local projects that viewers can get involved in.

The announcement follows news earlier this year of plans to introduce a ‘yellow button’, to deliver more localised TV news services to towns and cities.

It’s clear that there is a growing level of awareness throughout the broadcast industry as a whole, for the demand for more personalised services. But it doesn’t need to stop at a local level. Recommendation engines can be utilised to suggest TV programmes and products to consumers, based on their viewing history, allowing them to cut through irrelevant content. As consumers we’re already used to this on the web when using websites like Amazon.

The convergence of broadcast and broadband content through connected TVs has opened the gates to a whole new world of media content for viewers. But both advertisers and broadcasters are at risk of overwhelming viewers with too much choice. It’s all about striking the right balance; enabling consumers to access a wealth of media content and enabling them to access it quickly, so they can get the most out of their TV viewing experience.