At the recent re:publica15 conference in Berlin, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings gave some predictions about TV and technology – over the next two decades. Noting that just 10 years ago, there were no smartphones, Hastings did express confidence in this trend:
“We will come to see that linear TV declines every year for the next 20 years and that Internet TV raises every year for the next 20 years.”
It’s hard to believe that just a few short years ago, people were sending and receiving DVDs through the U.S. Mail in little red pouches. Since Netflix initiated its streaming platform and started producing its own shows, like House of Cards, the revolution in TV that started with TiVo has accelerated at a rapid pace.
And this has implications – and opportunities – for radio.
Consider that in Techsurvey11, more than four in ten respondents told us they own a Smart TV, Internet enabled with apps. More and more people are using their televisions in the same way they used a home stereo, playing music from a wide variety of sources – including Pandora. Of course, this also opens up the possibility that radio stations can embed apps on millions of TVs throughout the country, reviving at-home radio listening. In much the some way that smartphones has revitalized radio’s portability, app-equipped televisions could have that same impact on the home front.
But it doesn’t stop there because the ways in which Americans watch TV are changing, underscored by Hastings’ predictions. In TS11, we broke out the brands and platforms that respondents use on a weekly basis. And we learned that YouTube and Netflix are accessed by more radio listeners than Pandora and Spotify.
That’s not to say that streaming radio isn’t important, because it is. But more people are involved on a regular basis with new, on-demand, and customizable ways to watch television/video that simply weren’t available just a decade ago.
But those are the statistics. The more powerful “data” are in the conversations that people are having day in and day out about television prrogrmaming. Was the Mad Men finale a letdown, will Tyrion ever meet Khaleesi, will Carrie Mathison ever get her life together? Those are the questions people discuss during coffee breaks, at business dinners, and on dates.
It comes together from a combination of great content coalescing with ease of access. Americans can now watch whatever TV they want whenever they want and on whatever device they choose. While this is creating all sorts of other problems for “linear TV” (think local news), as well as the ongoing question that no one’s watching commercials, financial models are being tested, evaluated, and rethought as you read this post.
For radio, this is ultimately a hopeful sign, but it also presents a daunting challenge. Can the industry and the creative types on its periphery connect those dots and create the same but different type of audio experience? A menu of exciting and entertaining on-demand content available wherever/whenever is the trajectory that many are beginning to chase.
The world of television shows that there’s promise, suggesting that there’s a market for on-demand programming the user can control. And as many TV shows and series have now proved, there’s growth and flexibility here, whether it’s about the length and numbers of the programs or the talent that produces it. Instead of creating content within the usual constraints, dayparts, schedules, and boxes, podcasting allows radio a sense of freedom it has rarely enjoyed.
The world is no longer about prime time, the 11 o’clock news, or afternoon drive. More and more, it is about an on-demand user experience that consumers can control.
Many have argued that audio isn’t as easily shared, won’t go viral, and couldn’t possibly dominate dinner table discussions like TV does. But public radio programs like Serial and Invisibilia suggest otherwise.
What will be the first commercial radio-produced podcast to go viral and capture the imagination of consumers?
The reward from being first in this space could be greater than creating the next national format, another couponing program, more talent competitions, or the next festival. Those have all been done.
It’s time to try something new, and perhaps come up with a novel way to produce it.
In the same way that United Airlines is putting up $1 million to learn whether their web assets can withstand hackers, why couldn’t a crafty broadcaster put a bounty on finding that killer podcaster that propels the entire industry?
A big podcasting win could be seismic for commercial radio.
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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