TV In 2007
Alex North, head of commercial operations UK, AGB Nielsen Media Research, reflects on 2007’s television landscape, and looks at what the future might hold for the industry…
How do you grab the attention of time poor, channel-surfing, multi-tasking, ad-skipping audiences? With plasticine rabbits and drumming gorillas apparently.
I’m not sure many people saw that coming at the start of 2007, but those adverts are two of the many highlights of what has been a somewhat mixed year for the TV market.
With examples such as the Sony Bravia and Cadbury’s Dairy Milk adverts, this past year has shown that marketers can still find ways to cut through the clutter with innovative, engaging advertising. The drumming gorilla increased Dairy Milk sales by 9%, won Campaign magazine’s Campaign of the Year, had 1.6 million views on YouTube and put Phil Collins back in the charts.
It is not just the advertising that has been engaging. On the programming side EastEnders on Christmas Day drew the year’s top audience, with over 14 million people tuning in. We also had Jonny and the boys battling the odds again in the Rugby World Cup, drawing 13 million for the final, not including the millions watching in the pub.
Sport continues to play a vital role in reaching elusive TV viewers. However the absence of any home nation teams in Euro 2008 and the fact the Beijing Olympics will air on the non-commercial BBC will not help TV’s revenue battle with the online world. The BBC will enjoy a boon this summer, even if advertisers do not – 10 million people tuned in to see the likes of Paula Radcliffe and Kelly Holmes competing for gold in 2004.
In 2007, sports events unfortunately weren’t the only newsworthy broadcasts. Big Brother racism rows and ‘fake’ documentary footage have filled the headlines and the public lost faith in broadcasters after an array of phone-in scandals. An Edinburgh TV Festival poll in August found that 48% of people didn’t trust television very much at all.
Despite the negative coverage, people are still watching TV. Viewing levels have stayed stable year on year and increasing numbers are being lured to the choice offered by multi-channel television. 85% of households now have access to digital television according to the latest Ofcom figures, up from 73% this time last year. The people of Whitehaven in Cumbria experienced the advancing digital era first-hand when in October they became the first to have their analogue signal switched off.
With ever more people gaining access to multi-channel it is no surprise that the viewing share of the terrestrial channels has fallen again this year, although their growing multi-channel portfolios have stemmed this decline.
Aside from multi-channel platforms, technology in general continues to appeal to the viewing public. Sky+ is now in 2.7 million homes, and Virgin Media and Freeview have both joined the party with their own PVR offering. High Definition has become the buzz phrase for all who venture into Comet for a new TV. 358,000 have signed up for Sky’s HD service and users can now access 12 dedicated HD channels.
Internet television has also developed considerably in 2007, both with traditional broadcast content, as well as that generated by users. BBC’s iPlayer and 4oD among others offer catch-up and archive services and websites such as TIOTI make it easier to find and watch what you may have missed on regular television.
Niche video websites have also started to spring up, such as Will Ferrell’s Funnyordie.com and there are even regular broadcasts online such as Chad Vader on YouTube.
The range of content available online is increasing at an alarming rate but the key trend in 2008 and beyond will be the quality of this content, and the increased convergence of internet and television into one entity.
Microsoft recently announced a deal to build its software into Samsung and Hewlett-Packard TVs, enabling online content to be shown on the big screen. Apple have signed deals with several film studios to offer video-on-demand via iTunes, and Slingbox already offers a service where you can send TV content to your PC or mobile phone. The end result of these advancements will be one box through which you can download whatever you want and send it without the need for cables wherever you want, be it any TV in your home, your PC at work or your iTouch.
In 2008 the viewer experience will continue to evolve. The recent Consumer Electronics Show was dominated by TV technology, be it 150-inch plasma TVs, OLED screens three millimetres thick, or screens capable of showing 48 different broadcast streams simultaneously to help you choose which one you want to watch.
Television will remain a powerful medium in 2008, evolving, converging and stimulating debate. The key will be creative, engaging content, easily accessed, with the viewer at the heart of it all.