Opinion: The future of television is in the app

The demise of television has been discussed at length. Video killed the radio star, remember? Well, of course, that didn't happen, and neither is television at much risk of being killed by new media, games or apps. However, I have looked into the flat, multi-touch screen crystal ball of the iPad, and seen the future. The future has no room for Channel 13, 29 or even Channel 3. The companies that control the channels, the cable providers, may not have a future in delivering the system we know today. The ability for the cable provider to manage and control channels will fade to black. The bundled channel approach, whereby subscribers purchase bundles of channels from the cable company, has little future. There is no doubt room for channels to exist: The Weather Channel, ABC, CBC, Showcase, HBO, and so on. All these channels and many more have a bright future—but as apps. The new TV channels are apps. They don't require the cable provider. The just need an app, their users, and an Internet connection. Look no further than apps like the ABC iPad app, which after about one week streamed some 650,000 episodes to a few hundred thousand iPad users. And apps won't stop with devices that you can hold in your hands. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States is even wading into the area with its National Broadband Plan. The commission is looking for a new digital TV standard that would open up the Internet on televisions. Having a browser in the living room has been possible for some time but it’s not that compelling. However, apps in the living room are very compelling, especially apps that provide access to television programming and advanced features like social networking and screen shifting—from a television to a mobile phone to an iPad and computer. Switching channels becomes launching apps. If you have done both, you no doubt prefer the latter. And if your television operating system allows multi-tasking, picture-in-picture features will be supported. Speaking of operating systems on a television, Google has already released Android, its mobile phone operating system, to television set manufacturers. The first will be a 42-inch screen, available this summer from Lava. The TV app has the potential to replace “the channel” within a couple of years. This could mean that changing from Channel 3 to 49, and rotten video-on-demand menus, could soon be a thing of the past. Perhaps even bundled channel business models could be gone too. Trevor Doerksen is the CEO of MoboVivo, a digital media company focused on delivering content on alternative platforms.

Opinion: The future of television is in the app

Broadcast | April 19, 2010

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