Television employees, especially those in ITV companies, used to be among the most affulent workers in the country. Not so anymore of course, the economics of television mean that the licence to print money has been revoked and the struggle to make profitable television stations has become ever more desperate every year.
The cause of this is the explosion in digital technology as applied to providing communication and entertainment. Whenever a new technology arrives on the scene it does two things:
- Threatens the position of existing TV & communication players
- Offers hope to the existing TV & communication players
As we have seen, digital television systems, including the Internet, have enabled massive growth in the provision of televised material (video) and the big companies have lost the concentration of advertising revenue that kept them so well off.
Digital Terrestrial Television enables very small operators to compete with incumbent national providers and win revenue from reasonable audiences.
Entry costs are low enough for serious consortia to consider developing their own platforms with little financial risk. The technology is developing rapidly and the skills required to run such systems is much more widespread than for earlier generations of television systems.
Political barriers remain the most difficult to cross in many countries, however even here the winds of change blow.
And so to Mobile TV. The big buzz at IBC will be Mobile TV. How it is done, how it is consumed, how it makes money and who it makes money for are going to be amongst the most interesting debates going on.
Hugh
Waters Technical Services provide specialist advice to businesses setting up or running digital television platforms. Covering all areas of broadcast television, post production, play out and transmission.
