The Internet comes to TV: The killer app for TV is TV

Wednesday’s invite-only ‘The Internet comes to TV – How will viewers find my content?’ event, hosted by MediaTel Group and Rovi, saw a room full of top industry executives absorbed in discussions about the prospects of digital television.

Delegates and panellists alike were positive about the “explosion” of digital media and what it means for the television industry.  There was talk of new fully-immersive television experiences, with VoD services coming to people’s TV sets and more and more platforms offering more content… and as Ray Snoddy says in this week’s column, “more television and video on ever more devices has got to be a good thing, hasn’t it?”.

For Sean Besser, Rovi’s vice president of business development, “digital media is exploding at an incredible rate, especially in the US”.  He says that we are increasingly entering a digital world where everything will be online and on-demand and available all the time.

However, despite the general optimism in the room, owner of informitv William Cooper was quick to point out that viewing habits haven’t changed significantly, and VoD figures may well be growing but they are still low in comparison to broadcast TV and “not that significant in the scheme of things” (with the exception of YouTube, of course).

Cooper suggests that this is due to VoD services being “very confusing” and people still being confortable with traditional media.

Cooper’s point may well be true, and panellists weren’t shy in discussing the challenges surrounding digital TV and increasing take-up, but with talk of Project Canvas, web-enabled TVs complete with user-friendly apps, improved EPGs and more, possibilities seem endless.  It is certainly hard to imagine the traditional television landscape not changing for the better, even if the killer app for TV is still TV for the immediate future.