Television: demand more - Telegraph
How we watch the BBC, Sky, Freesat and YouView is on the cusp of major change. Matt Warman reports
At the beginning of this week, the BBC announced changes to the worlds most popular TV on demand service, the iPlayer. Yesterday Sky confirmed that the electronic programme guide in 8million homes will go through its biggest change in a generation from Monday. And meanwhile Freesat, the free satellite service, announced a major deal with Panasonic, while BT announced that its new free catch up box will offer new services to millions. It has been quite a week for television.
At the back of all this is a rapid shift taking place to viewing on-demand. Skys new EPG means films and TV that come over the internet rather than via a satellite dish get equal prominence with live TV. Part of the BBCs plans involve moving youth channel BBC Three entirely onto the internet, with director general Tony Hall betting that his relatively young audience is particularly amenable to the latest technology. BTs YouView box is now smaller and quieter than ever, with the interface emphasising that what was on yesterday is just as accessible as what is on now because a single press of a button will start it downloading.
For those using a free-to-air satellite service, too, the new deal between Freesat and Panasonic means that the manufacturer will offer the first service that integrates satellite services with on-demand TV (again via broadband) and is also built directly into new Viera TV sets.
It is Skys move, however, that will make the single greatest difference to the largest number of people. The broadcaster claims that in just under two years 4.4 million of our customers have already connected their HD box to broadband to get full access to on demand. It makes Sky+ the UKs most popular connected TV platform, and last year Sky customers watched more than 1.2 billion pieces of content through the Sky Go app or via their set top box. Thats double what it was in 2012. In the last quarter alone, 11,000 customers were connected each day. These connected customers are both watching more TV overall, 3hr 58mins hours a day vs. 3hrs 41mins for non-connected customers, and taking much more control over what they watch, says Sky. In some cases repeats and on-demand views account for more than four times as many viewers as even a major shows premiere.
The new BBC iPlayer will encourage more people to register and, like Sky, it will increasingly emphasise recommendations too. Sky says even with its current search options hidden awy, its already seeing more than million a day as viewers look for programmes they want but cant immediately find.
And while the BBC was happy to emphasise that its changes were relatively minor, Skys move is not without risk: although the companys head of brand, Stephen van Rooyen, called the new look Skys iOS7 moment, and hailed it as the most significant shake-up to Skys EPG since its introduction at the launch of digital TV in 1998, it also knowingly pushes viewers to on-demand TV, and makes live TV harder to reach.
Luke Bradley-Jones, Skys Brand Director of TV Products, said its now much easier to quickly find what you want, when you want to watch it - whether thats the big Premier League clash or catching up on Game of Thrones.
But in an age when viewers are used to simply turning to a channel and being spoon-fed content, it remains to be seen whether the push to on-demand has come just at a natural tipping point or whether its a nudge too far.
Quote:
How we watch the BBC, Sky, Freesat and YouView is on the cusp of major change. Matt Warman reports
At the beginning of this week, the BBC announced changes to the worlds most popular TV on demand service, the iPlayer. Yesterday Sky confirmed that the electronic programme guide in 8million homes will go through its biggest change in a generation from Monday. And meanwhile Freesat, the free satellite service, announced a major deal with Panasonic, while BT announced that its new free catch up box will offer new services to millions. It has been quite a week for television.
At the back of all this is a rapid shift taking place to viewing on-demand. Skys new EPG means films and TV that come over the internet rather than via a satellite dish get equal prominence with live TV. Part of the BBCs plans involve moving youth channel BBC Three entirely onto the internet, with director general Tony Hall betting that his relatively young audience is particularly amenable to the latest technology. BTs YouView box is now smaller and quieter than ever, with the interface emphasising that what was on yesterday is just as accessible as what is on now because a single press of a button will start it downloading.
For those using a free-to-air satellite service, too, the new deal between Freesat and Panasonic means that the manufacturer will offer the first service that integrates satellite services with on-demand TV (again via broadband) and is also built directly into new Viera TV sets.
It is Skys move, however, that will make the single greatest difference to the largest number of people. The broadcaster claims that in just under two years 4.4 million of our customers have already connected their HD box to broadband to get full access to on demand. It makes Sky+ the UKs most popular connected TV platform, and last year Sky customers watched more than 1.2 billion pieces of content through the Sky Go app or via their set top box. Thats double what it was in 2012. In the last quarter alone, 11,000 customers were connected each day. These connected customers are both watching more TV overall, 3hr 58mins hours a day vs. 3hrs 41mins for non-connected customers, and taking much more control over what they watch, says Sky. In some cases repeats and on-demand views account for more than four times as many viewers as even a major shows premiere.
The new BBC iPlayer will encourage more people to register and, like Sky, it will increasingly emphasise recommendations too. Sky says even with its current search options hidden awy, its already seeing more than million a day as viewers look for programmes they want but cant immediately find.
And while the BBC was happy to emphasise that its changes were relatively minor, Skys move is not without risk: although the companys head of brand, Stephen van Rooyen, called the new look Skys iOS7 moment, and hailed it as the most significant shake-up to Skys EPG since its introduction at the launch of digital TV in 1998, it also knowingly pushes viewers to on-demand TV, and makes live TV harder to reach.
Luke Bradley-Jones, Skys Brand Director of TV Products, said its now much easier to quickly find what you want, when you want to watch it - whether thats the big Premier League clash or catching up on Game of Thrones.
But in an age when viewers are used to simply turning to a channel and being spoon-fed content, it remains to be seen whether the push to on-demand has come just at a natural tipping point or whether its a nudge too far.