Category Archives: User Experience
Heresies
Every so often it’s a good exercise to examine some of the core beliefs of a company or industry and call out the ones that don’t make any sense. In the short run, saying out loud what a lot of people have been thinking pisses off those who are heavily invested in these now outmoded ideas, but in the long run, it’s healthier for all involved to recalibrate. TV Everywhere Wasn’t Worth The Battle. It sounded like a great idea at the time: you can take your television with you anywhere you go and watch it on your tablet or smartphone. The reality, however, shows a very limited number of use cases beyond sports and live events. Because seriously, when are you going to have a half hour to an hour to watch live TV outside the house in a place where you have a decent 4G or WiFi connection? It’s not like you’re going to leave your bedroom or … Continue reading
The Problem With Facebook Data
The more I use Facebook Graph Search, the more evident it becomes that Facebook made a major mistake with their most ubiquitous feature: the “Like.” Follow this train: Facebook’s value, their kryptonite, is their data. They have a billion users, and they know the habits and preferences of all of billion of them because they can easily track that information by examining what they’ve Liked. Or can they? On the pre-Like Facebook, users were Fans of pages. That information – which brands, bands, books, movies, sports teams, etc. a user was a Fan of was prominently displayed on the user’s profile page. Which meant users spent a lot of time curating those selections, pruning and adding so that the list was an accurate reflection of who they were. Or at least who they wanted people to think they were. As a result, it was tough (or tough-ish) to get users to become fans of pages they didn’t think would give … Continue reading
From Beet.tv – KIT Digital Analyst Alan Wolk: The State Of TV Everywhere Is At An Impasse
This is the second of three interviews Alan Wolk did during Beet Retreat 2013 Wolk notes “As an indication of how fast the industry is moving, although we filmed this about 3 weeks ago, in the intervening period, Nielsen announced that they would soon begin counting views on iPads, Xboxes and other non-TV devices. Since that was the crux of the network’s objections to TV Everywhere (the fact that they’d lose ad revenue when people watched remotely on a iPad) it would seem to give a green light for a renewed push. One that may have the full cooperation of the networks, or at least their tacit blessing.” Read the rest at Beet.tv
The Meteor Cometh
So for a long time, we’ve been talking about the mythical meteor that was going to hit the TV industry and wipe out all the dinosaurs. Because there didn’t seem to be a logical out to the situation we were in, where everyone was making money and no one wanted to rock the status quo. Which left prognosticators like me talking about the meteor, the “something” that would happen and cause change in the industry. Only we couldn’t figure out where that meteor would come from or what it would look like. Then suddenly this morning, the meteor appeared. I’m talking about the lawsuit that Cablevision filed, asking the court to void the late 2012 carriage agreement they signed with Viacom because Viacom had “coerced them” by “threatening to impose massive financial penalties” unless they complied with Viacom’s demands.” There’s a wonderful irony in this too, given that it was Viacom who successfully shut down Cablevision’s TV Everywhere play back in … Continue reading
From RapidTV News: KIT digital Delivers Video On Demand on Windows 8
KIT digital has launched a new app for Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system that will enable viewers to access the 4oD video-on-demand (VOD) service. The UK’s fourth largest broadcaster says that it commissioned KIT digital for its experience and knowledge of the 4oD architecture to develop the new app, which was the first UK VOD app to be made available on Windows 8. KIT digital had already developed a similar app for the Xbox 360. “Channel 4 recognises that its audience expects to be able to access its programmes on the platform of their choice, at the time of their choice,” explained Mark Christie, chief technology officer of KIT digital… READ THE REST AT RAPID IPTV NEWS
The TV Business: A Primer For The Uninformed
It’s a relentless drumbeat: the TV industry is dead. It’s just like the music industry. 20somethings are avoiding the cord. I want HBO a la carte. YouTube will kill cable. The TV industry is dead. And yet, if there’s a common thread to all these articles and blog posts, it’s that so many of the people writing them have a limited idea of how the television industry actually works, particularly from a business perspective. So here’s a little primer on how the US television industry works (there are significant difference in other countries), just to clear the air. The Players: This is step one – knowing who is who and what their relationships are. We are going to look at the 7 key players, circa 2013: The Networks, The MVPDs, The Premium Networks, The OTT Networks, Smart TVs, Third Party devices and Social TV. PLAYER #1: The Networks: The networks (ABC, CBS, MTV, et al) provide content and right now, … Continue reading
From Beet.tv: KIT Digital Turns Video Ads Into Retail Experience With Ad Locker
KIT’s Alan Wolk was interviewed at the 2nd Screen Summit at CES by Beet.tv’s Megan O’Neill LAS VEGAS — As second screen technology continues to evolve, consumer desire for the second screen experience is on the rise and video software and services company KIT Digital is at the forefront of this evolution. At the 2nd Screen Summit at CES we had the opportunity to talk with KIT Digital’s Global Lead Analyst, Alan Wolk, to find out what the company has in store for the coming year. In our video interview, Wolk discusses a Windows 8 app, which KIT Digital recently created for 4oD, channel 4 in the UK, and is “already one of the more popular apps on the Windows Store.” Wolk also told us about updates to KIT’s Social Program Guide, a white label solution enabling cable television providers to offer subscribers a second screen experience. Talk explains that KIT is prepared to launch a major update which is … Continue reading
“TV” or “Video”: A Rose By Any Other Name…
It is frequently debated nowadays whether “television” is still the right word for all the video entertainment we watch these days on a multitude of screens, given that so much of it comes from sources other than the main TV networks and is watched on devices other than a TV. The suggestion is that we just start calling all this content “video.” Logically it makes perfect sense. But logic and consumer behavior are rarely in sync. In the mind of the consumer, the people using the product, the distinction is not as easily made. To them, “television” is high production, long-form video content, something that’s worthy of being watched up on the big screen, while “video” is of lower production value and, unless it involves one’s own pets or children, better viewed on a smaller, handheld device. That, and television is always television, no matter where you watch it. Take in an episode of Seinfeld on your iPhone on the way home … Continue reading
Why “Cord Nevers” Don’t Worry Me
The latest study to put the television business in a tizzy is a study from TDG that shows the number of “Pay TV refugees” — users who have broadband but not TV– growing from 9.5% to 12.5% over the past 2 years. Particular attention is being paid to “cord nevers” — people (usually in their 20s) who have never had a cable subscription. The easy conclusion is that because this generation grew up with a wide array of online video options, they are going to abandon TV en masse and that it’s just a matter of time until pay TV dies. Not so fast… The problem with making sweeping generalizations about generations and their behavior is that the generalizers forget that the behavior often has more to do with life stage than with birth year. Millennials switch jobs and careers a lot because they’re in their 20s and people in their 20s have always switched jobs and careers a lot: they’re unburdened by families … Continue reading
Still Not My Friend
I was at a conference the other day and much to my dismay, I heard an entire panel of what seemed to be reasonably smart people repeating the old canard about location based advertising and how great the world will be once it’s up and running. Not at all. I remember reading a piece by Robert Scoble about 4 or 5 years ago where he waxed enthusiastically about a scenario where he’s walking down the street in his hometown of Half Moon Bay at lunchtime, receiving text messages with offers from every restaurant serving lunch. And all I could think was “this is the seventh ring of hell.” Users, guys. Users. So easy to forget, yet so critical to the success of whatever it is you want to do. So, to use an example from someone on stage at this panel: I am walking down the street and pass a pub where I have had dinner before. The pub texts … Continue reading
Four Things Australian TV Broadcasters Could do to Become Better User-Centric Companies in 2013
2013 is shaping up to be a massive year in the Aussie broadcast TV industry. Online ad revenues are about to overtake free-to-air (FTA) TV ad spend, there’s talk of a consortium of FTA channels launching a Hulu-like aggregated TV service and sole Pay-TV operator Foxtel is aggressively seeking to improve its subscriber numbers by pursuing content deals like its recent exclusive one with HBO. On top of that, almost every broadcaster is rushing to launch a fuller suite of connected device apps to meet the demand for content at any time and on any device. Connected device availability, depth of quality content and affordable (or free) data usage are all critical to attracting customers. However, as the competition heats up, so too is the urgency to deliver on expectations of a world class, multi-device user experience. Users are a fickle bunch, and they tend to flock not only to the best value experiences but also to the simplest ones. … Continue reading