As web-connected TVs start to go mainstream, how can content providers and advertisers capitalise on the new medium while keeping their costs down? Bruno Periera, Director & Co-Founder, TV App Agency, takes a closer look.
In an increasingly interactive world, the TV has an important role to play. Historically, internet enabled TV has been accused of being difficult to use but that has changed a lot in the last couple of years. In a world with 4 billion TV watchers, a billion more than the number of web and mobile users combined, the future of TV looks connected.
The latest stats from Informa suggest there will be more than 1.8bn connected TV devices in homes worldwide by 2016, with analysts predicting that over 60% of households in the UK will be watching connected TV by 2014. Most people are also using smart phones and tablets while watching TV – according to the latest Nielsen figures, 70% of tablet owners and 68% of smartphone owners.
Connected TV is already offering dual screen apps that let consumers experience connected TV across multiple devices, allowing users to control their TV apps from their smart phones or tablets. Dual screen apps allow interactivity to complement the user’s TV experience, enabling consumers to dynamically interact with content on their TV sets, and make the experience a lot more immersive.
Many expect the connected TV market to follow the path of mobile growth – a few years ago only the most cutting edge brands had mobile apps and now it seems a basic requirement to build a business. In 2011, mobile devices outsold PCs for the first time, and leading apps can now build an audience in months that used to take years to reach. The consumer electronics industry has finally transformed the TV set into a computer that can be connected to the Internet so the big question for those who have been playing catch-up in the mobile space is how to get a head start in connected TV?
The TV industry may be worried about how to maintain its revenue models in a new connected world, but there’s a world of opportunity for brands looking to set a stake in the newly interactive world of TV viewing. But the major stumbling block for connected TV is how to get development right, and how to pay for it. The BBC may be one of the world’s best known broadcasting brands, but in supporting its audience it has developed and supports services for upwards of 35 platforms, ranging from mobile devices, gaming consoles, tablets, set-top boxes and connected TV. Very few brands can compete with that kind of investment.
In the mobile world, the complexity of mobile platforms, and predicting which will prove most successful, remains a challenge. Brands can be paralysed trying to prioritise between iPhone, Android, Windows, Blackberry or Nokia. Just like the early days of mobile, there are a multitude of connected TV platforms and the complexity of the market has been slowing brand adaptation. In order to be effective, TV apps have got to be easy to use, device optimized, compelling, and highly functional on every platform. In the connected TV world, that means developing for at least six different platforms, with others on their way. Today, apps need to work across Samsung, LG, Sharp, Philips, Panasonic and Google TV devices.
That’s the problem that the TV App Agency Engine can solve. By using an engine which can use a single source code to create apps across multiple platforms, it can cut development and maintenance time by a factor of five. That means saving up to 80% of your time and budget on developing and maintaining a series of apps that can work on every connected TV platform.
Our cross platform compiler enables developers to create native TV apps in minutes rather than months. It means an end to the current approach of duplicating development and quality assurance and provides true innovation in the connected TV app development process. It means that the brand can extend its reach across the full connected TV audience and update and maintain information across multiple apps with no duplicated effort. The challenge is then no longer the complexity of the market but how to create the best, and most engaging, content.
By Bruno Periera
Director & Co-Founder
TV App Agency
http://www.tvappagency.com/
