World Television Day

  While the broadcast industry is constantly changing, the core value and responsibility of broadcasting remain the same—to educate and inform viewers.  We want to give a big thanks to Terry Eliasen , Justin Gehrts , Tim Heller , Lelan Statom  and Rodney Thompson  who provided their unique perspectives on the broadcast industry as well as key trends that will change broadcasting in the future and beyond.  With these sentiments in mind, broadcast marketers should remember that getting users the information they need is important but providing engaging and high-quality content is what allows your broadcast to resonate in the minds of viewers . What trends do you think are most important to keep an eye on?   We would love to hear your perspective on the changing environment of the broadcast industry. If you would like to learn more about keeping up with the broadcast media industry, contact us  today, or send us an email .

  According to Rodney Thompson , audiences are leaving linear platforms more and more often. Streaming usage has surpassed cable in July for the first time ever. This trend will only continue to increase when the looming recession causes users to switch from cable subscriptions to cheaper streaming and OTT options. 1. Make money! OTT can be far more lucrative, which benefits your audience moving off linear. CPM rates for OTT are higher than broadcast. However, if you produce enough of the right content, you can rake in the revenue. 2. Use your competitive advantage People can now get news as well as weather information from virtually anywhere in the world. Local broadcasters, on the other hand, offer unique regional knowledge and expertise. Pairing this expertise with trusted, recognized on-air talent creates news stories that competitors can’t match. Weather is an effective bridge that can carry your audience from linear platforms to your OTT platform because weather is key to the...

  I believe the biggest trends will continue to be content for OTT and social platforms and more local programming on broadcast TV. The latter was a major trend this year across the country. In my market, Nashville, 3 of the 4 news stations replaced syndicated shows with local news or infotainment shows. While stations and talent seem to have a good handle on the major social media platforms, how we provide content will evolve as we continue to get a better understanding of what works best but also to adapt to the ever-changing algorithms, and we can only guess what Twitter will look like in the year ahead. Our station group, along with others, is now providing more content to OTT apps like Roku and Apple. Our station's streaming channel was recently added to Samsung's TV app. To keep the news consumer coming back for more, it will involve providing more unique content in addition to simulcasting live newscasts. There could be more opportunities with weather, and I do think The...

According to eMarketer (link resides outside IBM), forecasted TV viewing time in 2023 will continue to decline. In 2021, the average viewing time of TV was 3 hours and 17 minutes , where it is estimated to backslide to about 2 hours and 51 minutes in 2023 . According to MarketingCharts, May 2021 data from Nielsen shows tha t TV households were spending more time streaming than they were watching broadcast TV. In June 2022 (link resides outside IBM), data from Nielsen showed this trend continuing, with streaming claiming one-third of television viewing time. In November 2022, this figure rose to 38.5% (link resides outside IBM). eMarketer has also estimated that by 2024, the number of these households will grow even further, reaching 46.6 million resulting in more than a third of all U.S. households no longer having pay-TV. Although streaming does represent a large margin of all television views, it’s important to remember that the market still consumes other forms of TV. In Nove...

With all of this in mind, The Weather Company, an IBM Business asked top broadcasters for their thoughts on what trends will change the industry . Here’s what they said. 1. "Expansion into OTT delivery systems" - Tim Heller via  HellerWeather . “Many TV stations are expanding their news coverage on OTT delivery systems like Apple TV and Roku. This creates a big opportunity for local TV stations and broadcast meteorologists. Just as weather is the reason people still watch local news, it can be one of the reasons people consistently check a TV station’s streaming app. However, OTT news content must include something more than the standard webcast. Live storm coverage along with a library of relevant pre-produced videos can keep viewers engaged, even when the weather is quiet. I am a big advocate for Max Reality . I believe it is the best story-telling tool available to broadcast meteorologists today. But it needs to be more than eye candy. Long-form explainer scenes might n...

With the rapid audience shift from television to digital , staying relevant in broadcast media is challenging but necessary for long-term viability. Broadcast television is not dead—but it is evolving rapidly and there is a need to transform to avoid becoming irrelevant. Transforming means shifting from serving a TV audience to serving audiences no matter where they are —essentially, going from a TV broadcaster to an overall broadcaster.