When then President-elect Obama was being sworn in CNN was allowing people to speak to each other through facebook on their site. There may be some bugs to work out but it opens the door for what I’d like to call TV 2.0.
Web 2.0 was characterized by being able to use the internet more intimately by leveraging connections with friends, and colleagues. TV 2.0 would bring the same innovations as a way of making programming better. This would be a win-win for both the audience, networks, and cable providers.
Most televisions being sold today are 16:9, which leaves a lot of real estate on these sets when not watching movies or optimized HD content. If the picture were to go back to 4:3, with the unused space used for social integration. Tons of people already watch shows together, discuss it online, via email or at the office. The discussion would be able to take place in real time. It could happen on both the web and on television at the same time giving network the ability to sell to viewers online and on air.
Hulu is great because it’s high quality video, and it’s on your terms. This most likely won’t change but cable providers are contemplating curbing internet usage because eyeballs are shifting online. If current television programming were made more interactive, people would shift back. It may not grab every single male 18 – 35, but it would provide a possible new stream of revenue with demographic insight which would help prevent them from being so quick to try to meter usage.
We’ll have to see what the future holds but as more web widgets are integrated into televisions, you have to wonder how long it will take before we get to TV 2.0.
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