Bill Gates' Prediction: TV Future is Nearly Here

Date: 24 March 2009 | Source : QPIX

In 2007 Bill Gates addressed the World Economic Forum and predicted that TV will be completely transformed in the coming years. He stated that ‘5 years from now, people will laugh at what we’ve had.’ If you consider Bill Gates a reputable trend predictor in the world of technology, then by 2012 the TV industry will be unrecogniseable and desperately in need of an injection of skilled workers for the new media world.

Already the proliferation of online video content on websites such as You Tube, has seen TV audiences make an accelerating move to online viewing. ‘Fixed program slots and advertisements that interrupt shows’ were elements of conventional broadcast television that Bill Gates cited as things that viewers no longer tolerate. Why would they when they can go online and view a live, uninterrupted stream? This is particularly true of programming such as the Olympics or elections where Bill Gates notes that ‘the internet presentation of these things is vastly superior.’

For the time being video clips watched on computers are generally separate to what’s seen on TV but Mr Gates confirmed that the convergence of TV programming online is coming and will force massive infrastructure changes on the TV and communication technology industries.  "TV is moving into being delivered over the internet - and some of the big phone companies are building up the infrastructure for that.’ Mr Gates said.

For an industry that is supported by the advertising dollar the best indicator of trends are where the dollars are going. Senior Media Planner at ZenithOptimedia Peta Stratford (one of the world’s top 5 media buying agencies) states that ‘increasingly online is becoming a vital part of many clients’ strategies with many clients shifting dollars away from the traditional media channels.’ Senior Analyst at eMarketer (an e-trend analysis company) David Hallerman goes on to say that ‘video ad spending will run counter to overall economic developments rising, by 45% in 2009. ‘ One of the key factors that supports this trend is the ‘sharp escalation of professional video content on the web – mainly from TV Networks…’ David Hellerman commented.

Bill Gates’ prediction is nearly here so it’s time to whip our TV industry into shape and start creating content for TV, web and mobile.

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Bill Gates' Prediction: TV Future is Nearly Here