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TV and Mobile Universe's collide [ Nielsen Media Universe

Nielsen’s published this great diagram that compares the TV universe and mobile.  Although these are treated separately, I believe we are in for an exciting evolution of the convergence of TV and Mobile.  This year at CES many of the large consumer TV manufactures have embraced internet TV as the next big wave with their own “Cloud” based frameworks for managing and distributing content.

This diagram shows the different sizes and breakdowns of the market in North America.  It is clear the Google TV and Android coming together is a “strategy” many of the players of the ecosystem need to reckon with moving forward.

Recently, Samsung, Sony, Panasonic, Sharp, Vizio, Toshiba, and LG have all show cased their own unique platforms for interactive TV.  It appears like the big winners that are providing services cross many of these platforms,  NetFlix, Huluplus as well as YouTube ( Google) are all leveraging this new channel to bring interactive content to the large screen.  They also have solutions and apps for the little screen, and this next step of a remote that is in the form of an application is something that will be big in 2011.

Here is an ad from LG’s new offers as well.  They have a great dynamic website that showcases this new interactive TV.  They actually have a separate “remote controller” in this demo, but in my mind it is just months away before we see this completely integrated as well into an application controlling the screen.

There are many early adapters already out there that just watch media on their PC’s, Mobile and do not even own a TV set.   Most likely they are in their 20′s or even younger and part of the new generation.   I myself grew-up with TV and still can not help coming home in the evening and turning on the Tube.  I like to lean-back and relax over my favorite news shows, sports, re-runs of Startrek and occasionally catch a move that I have either seen in the past or just never had the time for.  I have been frustrated with the programming of SHAW cable, but have not felt the need to pay more for additional channels.

However recently, I have felt a certain lack of need to turn on the TV set as much as I used to.  I am definitely an early adapter, but with media, I still enjoy the feeling of the newsprint through my fingers and the sensations of enjoying the high-quality content of a paper magazine.  This can not be helped as I grew up with this form of media, and it is definitely ingrained in my senses. TV had definitely been my main form of media consumption, but with all of the recent advances with content online my mind seems to be shifting.

I now imaging a great LCD hanging from my wall,  but with a connection to the internet as a main source of content to consume.  We just in fact might drop our monthly SHAW cable subscription, as the availability of free content on the web has started to embrace me more then the poor programming and choice over at SHAW.  Again, even though I am in my 40′s and a lover of traditional media, it has really started to die for me in the method of delivery.  Today already, I consumed several video’s from youtube, watched some favorite shows on Fora.TV and caught a couple of pod-casts.  I even watched some of the Masters over the weekend that was streamed.

So it  is starting to happen to me, then it is clearly a point in time that this transformation has really begun I believe.  Unless SHAW gets better at programming, the need to pay that monthly $50 or so will go away…

ADO was invited to Speak on the Mobile Panel at NAPTE. Come see us discuss the latest trends in the intersection between Mobile and Syndicated TV Programing.

In a recent blog post by James McQuivey of OmniVideo ( VP at Forrester Research), he mentions that the future of TV Remote is the mobile Web.  This is something I fundamentally believe in with the convergence of mobile with existing media platforms. As Companies like TVGuide, TiVo have started to release first release sites and products that have programing available via the site, the next phase will be to really change the channel from one piece of  Hardware in hand to another; total  access to content and hardware converged.

There was so much positive success by having an interative channel with American Idol with SMS thanks to AT&T with voting.  Can you image being able to be on the mobile-view of the TV Program American Idol at the same time, with the same services and more. Then being abile to change channels and make those EPG Settings.   Real time interactivity on screen will be a reality and the program themselves can control the back-channel for thier content programing and users.

There are companies such as Canoe, Back Channel Media that have been working on platform and technology solutions of interactive programing using overlays with the screen, but what they are missing are the core linkages to a mobile strategy and the power of having access via your mobile device simultaneously.

James, thanks for bringing this topic to surface as such a unique time.  In several years we will look back reflect at times when mobile devices and TV programs were not connected.