Future of Media: the Top Four Drivers Altering the Landscape

Until recently, the global media industry had been relatively stable, with a robust value chain and well-defined business models.
Today, multiple factors are tearing at the fabric of those finely tuned business models: new players such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and Apple offer consumers new ways of accessing professional video content; technology standards are in flux; and regulatory and macroeconomic factors undermine consumer and investor confidence.
via TelecomTV
Digital TV Homes in Eastern Europe will Reach 121 Million

Rapid conversion means that the number of digital homes in Eastern Europe will nearly double between 2012 and 2018 — totaling 121 million, according to Digital TV Research.
About 13 million digital TV homes will be added in 2013 alone. Digital TV penetration crossed the halfway mark of TV households in 2012, up from only 20% at end-2008.
HDTV will be in 228 Million Homes Across the Globe in 2013

High-definition continues to prove a hit with TV viewers around the world, with 49 million ‘active’ HD homes expected to be added this year, bringing the total to 228 million, according to Informa Telecoms & Media.
However, Ultra High-Definition (offering four times the resolution of 1080p HD) will be found in just 0.5% of all global TV households by the end of 2017.
via IP&TV News
Why TV Everywhere Equates to the Status-Quo Nowhere

It used to be that families would gather around the living room TV during prime time to watch their favorite shows together.
Even as the living room set has gotten bigger, the audience in front of it continues to shrink. Moreover families aren’t watching together — or even on the same screen.
via Fortune Tech
Transmedia: Why Multi-platform Storytelling will be Common

Lisa Hsia, executive vice-president of Bravo Digital Media at NBCUniversal, gives us five predictions for the Social TV industry over the next few years.
Transmedia storytelling will be a part of the social TV experience. Multi-platform storytelling will be commonplace, as will fan content co-creation based on the TV watching experience.
via IP&TV News
Exploring Second Screen Usage Activity in Australia

The proliferation of a multitude of web devices has provided marketers with new channels through which to deliver content, and internet users in Australia are taking advantage of them.
Nielsen’s survey found that 74% of respondents had split their attention between a television and a web-enabled device in 2012, an increase from 60% in 2011.
via eMarketer
The Lack of Imagination within Digital Broadcast TV Design

By end 2012, North America and Western Europe had effectively made the transition from legacy analog broadcast technology to digital terrestrial television (DTT) broadcasts.
So far, the shift from analog to digital hasn’t been a catalyst for product and service designers to re-imagine the TV experience.
Perhaps that innovation will come later, when someone will creatively utilize these digital video platforms to their full potential.
North American Pay-TV Subs to Reach 119.5 Million in 2018

Despite all of the talk about cord-cutting, pay-TV subscribers in North America will continue to increase at a slow rate, according to Digital TV Research. However, pay-TV penetration will remain flat.
Nearly 20 million analog cable subscribers were shed between 2008 and 2012.
via Digital TV
Global Social TV Market is Growing at a 40 Percent CAGR

The Global Social TV market is to grow at a CAGR of 39.6 percent over the period 2012-2016.
Gamification is one of the major trends in the Global Social TV market – it’s the usage of game design strategies in non-game apps.
The Global Gamification market was valued at $202 million in 2012 and is expected to reach $3,190 million by 2016.
Why More Canadians are Abandoning Pay-TV Service

The share of the total population in Canada without a pay-TV subscription service or off-air TV rose by 1 percentage point in 2012 to 8%, after doubling in 2011 to 7%.
It represents a growing number of residents who have decided they can still get all the TV programming they want — without the subscription they don’t.
via eMarketer