Companies don’t innovate. People do.
But in today’s business world, the people behind the innovation and groundbreaking ideas and inventions can be overshadowed by their creations.
The television industry has never been one to warmly embrace change. Just ask the pioneers of the VCR and DVR business.
But as America becomes a country of second (and sometimes third) screens, broadcasters, cable and satellite companies are being forced to rethink how they interact with customers. With so much competition for people’s time and attention, good programming is no longer enough to turn heads.
The history of mobile television has been rocky at best. While the allure of streaming live network programming to viewers over their handheld devices is undeniable, delivering that content in ways that don’t abrogate rights agreements and can somehow be monetized has proven mercurial. Loudly trumpeted efforts have fallen short, victims of poor design decisions, overpriced services and/or confusion about the target audience.
While the idea of watching television on a 3.5″ screen might not make sense to anyone in their mid-30s or older, mobile TV is a logical extension of how Generation Me has grown up with entertainment. It’s also a way for broadcasters to reclaim some of the younger viewers who increasingly spend free time multitasking with their handheld devices and may be staying away from TV sets entirely.
Every Thursday, I join Chris Salcedo and Lori Lundin on the mid-day edition of America’s Radio News Network to discuss trends and news in the technology and video game space. This week’s topics were New York City’s installation of free WiFi in pay phone kiosks, Aereo’s recent court win, which green lights streaming of live television to your iPhone and an update on some of the most anticipated television sets of the year.