UK launch of Netflix likely to ruffle loveFilm's feathers

Netflix’s online film and TV subscription service was launched in the UK yesterday. While this will certainly ruffle LoveFilm’s feathers this month, it is what falls out of it, that will be interesting. I expect the entire connected TV market to be shaken up this year as viewers get a plethora of next generation TV services offered to them. TV technology is becoming increasingly sophisticated in response to consumer demand for a more interactive, on demand viewing experience and we expect to see a wealth of innovative TV services follow in the footsteps of Netflix.

The connected TV has been critically overlooked in the past; as viewers were buying these devices but not being educated on how to connect them and enjoy the connected experience. 2012 will no doubt be the tipping point for the connected TV - as viewers realise the opportunity to explore and discover exciting new applications and services through their TV set, whilst still being able to sit back and relax.

Adobe abandons Flash for TV

Much has been made of Adobe’s recent announcement that it is halting development of the mobile and TV versions of Flash, but it’s worth looking a bit closer to see what this really means for the TV market.

While some pay-TV operators have used Flash, they have been in the minority. HTML, Java and native solutions have been the most common approaches to UI development. Most Flash content on the web is not suited to TV displays or TV remote controls, and so Flash has often been a “tick list” feature in the TV market rather than a must-have. This becomes especially obvious when you start asking the question “what revenue stream will cover the costs of licensing Flash?”

Many people have asked what this means for YouView: the answer is probably “not much”. What Adobe have actually stopped supporting is Flash Player for web browsing: the focus has shifted to AIR and to applications. This is the category the YouView user interface falls into, so is likely to be unaffected by the announcement.

This is probably a wise move by Adobe: it enables them to concentrate on their key products (AIR and development tools) while minimising the pain of supporting companies with porting Flash to new platforms and integrating with new browsers. As HTML 5 and related standards have become almost ubiquitous, the demand for Flash has decreased in the Web world. This announcement lets Adobe strengthen their position in the world of app stores and in the changing mobile market. Flash-based technologies will still be a force in the TV world for some time to come.

By Steve Morris

US television homes set to decline

The number of homes with a television set is expected to decline in the US, according to to a report from The Nielsen Company. Digital transition, economics and multiple platforms have been cited as the reasons for this decline.

The transition from analogue to digital has meant that consumers need to buy new TV sets in order to view digital content. The report suggests that consumers have been reluctant to invest in new TV technologies due to cut backs after the recession and the increasing amount of content available online.

In the UK we are currently seeing the opposite trend with the digital switchover and the desire for HD driving sales of over 9.5 million TV sets in 2010 alone.