Interviews with Digital Media Thought Leaders
Future of Television
Podcast Video | Posted by Phil Leigh on March 11, 2008
Summary: If you would like to watch a video that demonstrates what television might be like in the future, this show is for you.
Just before the Democratic primaries in Ohio and Texas, Clinton and Obama had yet another televised debate. It started at 9:00PM EST and I just wasn’t interested in staying up to watch the whole thing. However, the next morning the online edition of The New York Times had the entire video available in a clever package.
First, there were no disruptive commercials, so the maximum viewing time was cut to one-hour-and-fifteen minutes.
Second, to the right of the player, was a column that displayed a scrolling verbatim text of the comments.
Third, a column to the right of the scrolling text contained links to the topics covered in the debate. Thus, viewers could merely click on the topics of interest.
In combination, the video player and the accompanying multimedia columns point the way to the future of television. As Marshall McLuhan put it decades ago, “Content follows form”. Since the form of the Internet is multimedia we should expect text and video to be displayed simultaneously, if desired. Additionally, the Internet is inherently interactive, so the ability to jump to topical sections will become a natural viewer expectation.
The chief missing feature was a methodology for delivering non-disruptive advertising. However, it is becoming clear that clickable overlay ads are going to become important. That’s because overlays can be associated with the topic contemporaneous to the changing discussion. Also they enable consumers to actually buy merchandise from the screen.
Once the TV gets jacked into the Internet, the accompanying video is likely to describe the television viewing experience of the future.
Categories: Podcast Video
Tags: digital media, Digital Video, Future of Television, Internet Media, Internet video, New York Times, Phil Leigh, television, TV
Permalink | Email This |
Leave a Comment
If you would like to make a comment, please fill out the form below.
[…] 15, 2008Future of Television Might Be Without Disruptive Ads In this video interview with Phil Leigh of Inside Digital Media he articulates what it will be like for the TV viewer in the future. Your Television will be […]