While my last blog was about the opportunity for casual gaming on ‘social TV’, this one is about how the TV experience is becoming more social as TV is spread across different screens and TV platforms.
I particularly like the way Anthony Rose (ex BBC iPlayer) summed up the environment. In an interview with Videonet, he talks about the way we’ll watch TV as “veg [vegetate] 2.0”.
Veg 2.0 may not be an attractive behaviour but it is part of human nature.
It’s certainly a truism for the TV industry that people like to ‘veg’ and sit like couch potatoes in front of the TV, but the TV user experience of tomorrow is going to need to support more interactive services while accommodating this viewer inactivity.
We are going to see more and more services that help people discover and watch content from recommendation engines to harnessing devices such as tablets to allow people to engage around live content (social TV), but this isn’t about using keyboards and mice. It cannot be any more difficult than it is today to find and switch between content.
Anthony Rose (ex BBC, now with tBone) is investigating what a 'second screen' means for the future of TV but what will happen to the humble TV remote?
Rose talks of “flipping through friends” instead of the EPG to find something to watch but has he thought about the control device? Clearly today’s remote controls are limited and aren’t able to deliver this type of interaction.
It requires a much more sophisticated device that enables motion controlled pointing & clicking.
A ‘Remote Touch’ experience would enable consumers to enjoy a ‘lean back’ TV experience from the sofa while providing manufacturers and operators a device that allows them to develop and deploy new and more interactive experiences.
