BBC throws its weight behind connected TVs

Last week saw the launch of the BBC Sport connected TV app which has been designed to augment the coverage of Formula 1 via internet connected televisions. It will initially be available via Virgin Media TiVo with plans to roll it out across other platforms. The BBC has also launched a smaller news service that will run alongside the sport app. The broadcaster plans to use the new service during its coverage of events such as Euro 2012, Wimbledon and the London 2012 Olympic Games.

At launch the app will focus on Formula 1, allowing people to watch key moments from recent races, as well as content from the race that hasn’t been transmitted during the main broadcast. It means fans of the sport will be able to watch full coverage of the practice sessions, qualifying heats, and multi-feed coverage of the race itself.

It’s an important development for the BBC and one that we’re likely to see more of in the future. Internet connected TV’s give broadcasters an opportunity to deliver additional content without disrupting the broadcast schedule with very little extra cost. For consumers, F1 enthusiasts in this case, connected TV’s provide the ability to receive in depth on-demand content. As the host broadcaster for this year’s Olympics, the eyes of the world will be trained on the BBC and by embracing connected TV’s the BBC is maintaining its industry leading reputation which has been established by the development of world class services such as the iPlayer.

For the connected TV market, the fact the world’s largest broadcaster is beginning to embrace this technology is a very positive sign. By having the driving force of the BBC championing connected TVs, it can only help manufacturers to convince consumers to upgrade to the new generation of TV devices and even more importantly, to connect them to the internet. 

How real is the death of linear TV?

With the growth of PVR devices and the increased use of on-demand services, the death of linear TV has been widely predicted for several years. These predictions seem to ring increasingly hollow, however. Recent research from the IHS Screen Digest TV Intelligence Service predicts that by 2015, non-linear content will still account for only 15 per cent of people’s viewing time in the USA. This is in line with several other recent surveys indicating that linear TV is still very popular with consumers and likely to remain so.

The digital switchover and the increased choice it offers, combined with the growth of HD and 3D content both play a part in this – even with fast broadband connections, reliable on-demand delivery of HD content still has a number of scalability issues to address. Another important factor is the effort required to find something suitable to watch: people who are in the mood to watch TV don’t like working for it.

Over time, the growth of high-speed broadband and innovations in user interfaces will undoubtedly improve the take-up of non-linear content. We can already see this beginning with Virgin Media’s Tivo service, where 25 per cent of all viewing is originating from search or other discovery mechanisms rather than from the EPG. As more people connect the different devices in their homes to share media, this will also encourage the consumption of non-linear content as the concept of finding content outside the home merges with finding content inside the home. Growing use of tablets and smartphones as companion devices for viewing content only drives this further: our recent announcement of ANT Galio Move as a companion device solution for Galio-enabled platforms shows that this is something we believe will be a major part of the way people consume content in the future.

Without a doubt, linear content still has the edge for viewers in terms of convenience, and this is a powerful force to overcome. On-demand content providers will make inroads, but “more of the same” will not be enough to tip the balance.

By Steve Morris

TiVo Returns to the UK

Virgin Media’s eagerly anticipated TiVo set-top box was made available for pre-order last week, and it’s up take will be carefully monitored by many industry analysts. The set-top box will enable consumers to access an interesting mix of applications, content and services.

TiVo is a leading brand in the US, however its previous UK partnership with SKY in 2000 was short-lived. So Virgin Media will be hoping for a more positive response from the market with this new offering.

The TiVo service makes recommendations to viewers based on their previous programme choices. The new box also has a ‘Wish List’ feature where the consumer can add keywords and then all relevant programmes will be added to their personalised list. It also boasts an EPG that goes back 7 days, a feature that YouView also hopes to roll out in 2011. In a market where the level of media content is rapidly rising, personalisation is a key strategy in harmonising broadcast and broadband content for viewers. By working with TiVo Virgin Media is addressing this growing need for ‘personalised’ TV.

Virgin Media commented that the UK audience was perhaps not ready for the full internet experience on their TV screens, a concept that we’ve discussed many times on this blog – the internet experience needs to be tailored for the TV. Virgin Media appear to have addressed this by ensuring consumers can easily navigate the new user interface with preinstalled TV widgets such as YouTube, eBay and iPlayer.