Why Linear TV Is Here to Stay and 4 Other Takeaways from ‘TV of Tomorrow’

Reports that linear broadcast TV is going to die a slow but inevitable death now with the rise of streaming and VOD services have been overstated. Attendees of the “TV of Tomorrow” show in San Francisco last week discussed – and sometimes debated – that point, as well as what consumer adoption of smart TVs means for addressable advertising and the evolution of the TV industry.

Here are some of my takeaways from this year’s show.

Despite the rise of streaming and VOD services advertisers continue to buy traditional TV.
For years, our industry has talked about an uncertain point in the future when consumers would be able to access TV content from any of their internet-connected devices, whenever they wanted to.

TV viewers want choice, but they may not like it when they get it.
There is constant chatter about breaking the bundle, and in many ways that process has started. However, it remains to be seen whether breaking the bundle is, in fact, in the best interest of the consumer.

Evolution, not reinvention, of the broadcast TV model is needed.
Some take the position that television has to be reinvented for a generation that wants to watch video programming on smartphones, tablets and laptop computers. But the majority thinks that TV of tomorrow is just an evolution of what consumers have enjoyed since the 1950s. Broadcast TV has been, and will continue to be, a powerhouse in the media world because of its passive viewing experience.

The future of TV is going to be driven by data.
Over 80% of Smart TV owners connect their Smart TV to the Internet. And the number of Smart TV households in the U.S. is projected to reach 100 million in 2020.

No one talks about local broadcast.
This is a glaring omission as opposed to a hot topic of discussion like my other takeaways.

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