The CEO of Telestream has warned traditional broadcasters are risking letting the “most tremendous opportunity of our generation” slip through their fingers by failing to acknowledge the ongoing changes in the way younger viewers consume content.
Scott Puopolo said that broadcasters need to be more aware of the “revolutionary change” in the way millennials and younger viewers now watch content. “The evidence is irrefutable,” stated Puopolo. “Research shows that for the increasingly influential millennial consumer audience, 24 per cent of viewing takes place on a TV set, down from 48 per cent in 2015. Over the same period, viewing on mobile devices has jumped from 19 to 36 per cent of all TV viewing among teens.
“Some commentators suggest that new streaming services are costing their parent companies dearly, but to us the risk and potential cost to broadcasters of not embracing streaming workflows in a whole-hearted and ambitious way is far higher,” he added.
Puopolo admitted there is a need for technology companies and broadcasters to work more closely together in order to develop new infrastructure around video as well as business models. “In this environment, tech firms need to be international beacons to shine a light on knowledge and ideas in the broadcasting world irrespective of the channel of delivery, and yet there is one overriding issue that is being overlooked by many broadcasters,” he said.
“If you plot the rate at which new media viewing platforms are being created and look at the cost of illuminating those platforms with broadcasters’ rich content, then only the companies that radically alter their streaming workflow strategies can afford to stay in business,” he continued.
“At Telestream, we are working with many linear multi-channel broadcasters that seek to create an OTT network that is directly comparable with linear television in terms of quality of service and experience. The transition from OTT being a novelty to having the same consumer expectations as the linear TV experience in your living room is massive.”
