Will TV streaming be able to replace regular TV over the next 5 years?

Forum 1 year ago

Will TV streaming be able to replace regular TV over the next 5 years?

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is leaving us with a hyper-connected world. And this connection is primarily about mobility. Increasing amounts of data are being transmitted and received, which mainly concerns the traffic that occurs through our devices.

The most evident trend that has emerged so far is precisely this: an enormous development of the potential offered by wireless connections, which radically change our way of enjoying television: a medium that is progressively losing importance.

From TV to streaming

The potentialities of devices are incredible: thanks to 5G protocol transmissions, whole economic sectors have developed; for example, in the typical online casino, this potential is deployed to allow customers to enjoy beautiful games, often in a live streaming environment, where it seems to be inside the gaming room, and with a practically infinite choice.

Similarly, it is now possible to download an HD movie in seconds at the customer's request or watch a streaming episode of your favorite series. And this has made the fortune of companies such as Netflix, which kick-started the industry, and others have followed, such as Amazon Prime and Hulu, and traditional TV operators who have begun offering their content on similar platforms, with classic TV programming now in tow.

What to expect from the future

The change has been subdued: in the space of just ten years, we've gone from a situation with large, wired, fixed screens to a system of Smart TVs that take advantage of mobile connections. In a nutshell, a condition that favors the freedom of consumers to watch what they want, when they want, without excessive constraints.

This development involves three main points:

• Complete freedom of choice

• Change in revenue models

• Integration of TV with the Net
  

1 - Complete freedom of choice

Whereas the world used to think about programming (TV) or the offer of packages (cable or satellite TV), today, the consumer buys a service: it is then up to him to choose what he wants from the content available on that service. These can now also include music and games, with many of these platforms becoming not just content distributors but also producers.

2 - Changing revenue models

Remember how much prime time TV advertising used to cost? This is a model that is now part of history. New media are exploring new revenue models, which often involve flexible situations - with a base cost to access different channels and exposure to reduced advertising content, usually at the beginning of the programs themselves. This increases satisfaction in fruition - we are not interrupted every fifteen minutes by a series of commercials - and advertising content is calculated to affect us directly since the platform knows who we are and what our tastes are.

3 - Integration of TV with the Net

The progressive integration of the content of all kinds and types is leading these platforms to integrate more and more with our digital sphere. And we know that the new growing phenomenon is called the Metaverse - with all of its offerings and possibilities, namely its trove of AR and VR devices. Google Glass is the first step in this new integration, with more to follow shortly. We're going to "get inside" programs - and this will be the next evolution of entertainment.

At a glance

The data is there to read: in 2020, it tells us that over 46 million households in the U.S. have "cut the cord" and gone wireless, but there are still 77 million holding out. However, this suggests that this phenomenon is an unstoppable trend. While the transition may not happen in five years, it will happen sooner or later, consigning the famous "magic box" to history, next to VHS players and the telegraph.