The future of TV excites us… rather more than our millionaire MPs!

I attended two events on connected TV last week, and, accepting natural bias, one (our own!) enthused me and left me scratching my head at the number of “hedging your bets” alliances that are going on out there across numerous exciting platforms; whilst the other left me, well… just plain concerned.

Let’s start positive. Our second breakfast event on this subject illustrated, above all else, how much is happening around connected TV, how much more needs to happen (everything from technology to measurement), and an interesting dichotomy. Sarah Rose, Channel 4’s head of VoD & channel development, pointed out how TV delivered via the internet opened the market up so that niche players could now have a real presence; whilst Dan Saunders told us that Samsung, the leading TV manufacturer will shift more connected TV sets because of the presence of the BBC iPlayer logo on the box.

If our event partners Rovi are good enough to support this panel debate again in twelve months’ time, things are going to be really hotting up. We will have a clearer view on Google TV (can it get enough content?); on YouView – launched and probably the biggest consumer driver for everyone in the market; and on the impact of the smart TVs from the CE heavyweights such as Samsung and Sony, packed with TV apps. And (I think) we will be heading for some serious consolidating of players right through the Connected TV eco-system… despite Sarah’s thoughts.

Now the less positive. Last Tuesday, in the company of a few other media folk, I was at the Westminster Media Forum to hear discussion on very similar issues – although it ended up with a far too long debate around regulation and parental control. The chairmen were respectively chairs of the All-Party Parliamentary groups for New Media and for the BBC. I don’t know if these groups are obliged to publish anything publicly, but if they do I can’t track it down.

Our first chair, John Hemming MP, rounded up his session by taking the opportunity to tell us how he had made a few million from his business JHC plc, (“products include trading, asset management and settlement systems for brokers and investment managers”), but made no reference at all to anything we had heard from a knowledgable selection of speakers as he stood over each with his stopwatch. He introduced Richard Halton of YouView as coming from YouTube (easy mistake to make…twice!) and again had nothing to say about one of the first public statements on this new service – and nor did the vice chair of the BBC Group, despite the lengthy issues that have surrounded Kangaroo and Canvas/YouView.

There was a chance to add just a little insight, to show that the government is interested in new media and gets some of the issues. In common with a few other people I spoke to after, on this evidence I rather doubt they are or do!