In the fragmented world of my brain a number of thoughts have been
jealously guarding their borders. In an effort to encourage them to
start chatting over the fence, James (Cronin) suggested I write them down and
(shudder) share them with a larger audience.
Background:
PVRs have long fascinated me. They are cool tech but more interesting
for me is the fundamental change in the relationship between consumer
and broadcaster that must(?) ensue with the use of PVRs.
PVPs - hands up who can view a/v on the move? John just got back from a
trip OS and commented on the level of excitement around PVPs. In itself
not big news but when this thought set up house in the same
neighbourhood as "PVRs" a bunch of other thoughts came out on their
verandas to say hello.
So loosely under the grandiose heading of
what might the bbc look like some years hence...?
the following seemed kinda interesting to think about.
PVRs find and digitally record broadcast products according to personal
criteria. You want Buffy - it figures out when buffy is broadcast and
records it.
Key points here are "digital" and "it figures out". This is an informed
device that captures broadcast products digitally.
Combine this with PVPs and you have a really interesting world in which
TV consumption becomes much more akin to audio consumption - "always
with" kinda consumption rather than "at home sitting on my couch" kinda
consumption(unlike audio consumption however, it is not completely
mobile consumption - you don't walk along watching video) .
So I imagine a scenario where I am sitting on the tube watching my fave
show (Buffy & Angel - together again) completely oblivious to the fact
that my PVR recorded it at 3.36 am and downloaded it to my PVP.
So what does this mean in the context of the BBC -
I think that it means four key things:
1. Content Making
We at the BBC need to start thinking about how an increase in the
diversity of environments (and devices) in which we consume tv media
products might/should effect the kind and format of programming we
create. If we look generally at media consumption we are seeing a desire
for small, snappy media products - you know the arguments, media
rich/time poor et al. In some areas we are already producing little
nuggets of broadcast content - News & Sport for example. We also have
nuggeted programmes when we buy tv products originally intended for
commercial release - Joss Whedon makes ~8 minute segments, often repeats
frames across segments to allow for ad breaks. But what about BBC built
drama, docus, natural history etc...they are explicitly geared for what
I think of as "event viewing" - that is they are geared to a continuous
viewing experience that is ad free, sitting on the sofa, completely
absorbed by the programme for an extended period of time.
2. Branding
Old ground here but bear with me. Large capacity PVRs (Tivo currently
offers 80hours of storage) encourage us to build our own channel. Why do
we care that buffy is on SkyOne? - we won't - all we care about is that
we have Buffy stored.
I would argue that channel brands become much less important (see a
future post on "reality tv becomes realtime tv - event viewing" for a
revised role for channels) and that new collective brands take over - in
BBC terms this might mean genre + BBC becomes a much more meaningful
brand - eg. BBC natural history.
I need to be clear that brands become more important not less, it is the
channel brand that I question.
3. Scheduling
Does scheduling still exist? Yes but not in the sense that you think
about when will people be around their telly. Scheduling becomes more
about release dates.
A bunch of thoughts start to knock on the door at this point -
programmer creators faced with new variable...to be continued
NOTES:
notes to self:
why broadcast at all? is broadcast cost effective distribution
mechanism? if so then retain limitation around amount of programming
available.
stuff to work on for above -
CONTENT MAKING
programme makers already make programmes in short sharp bites - Joss
Whedon makes ~8 minute segments, often repeats frames across segments.
Ideal for consumption in mobile environments. News, sport also ok. Only
folks not ok are the made for bbc drama, doco, entertainment cos they
plan for ad free longish stretches. How do we make programmes for the
diversity of consumption environments? How do we think/plan for new
formats that cater to niche consumption environments?
SCHEDULING
traditional scheduling...still have a role to play? or does "release"
time become more important - also random thought on the definition of a
finished media product - when does a programme start/finish - tie into
interest on Interactive tv in the "making of" - does the programme now
start (get released?) from the first production meeting? do you pay a
premium to have a say at the first production meeting :)
ROLE OF BBC
so assuming channels are dead or live on but as news 24 - realtime tv.
what role does bbc play in this world?
market failure - this becomes completely defining - can't possibly
justify populists media products in a world where you are not competing
for timeslots or trying to build channel brand. only media products bbc
should make/commission are those that fulfill gaps left in market.
Industry builder - bbc as distributor on grand scale for indie/niche
programming. Commissioning would really only be for those media products
that the industry has completely failed to conceive and deliver.
Otherwise role of BBC is to distribute (?? - think about
terminology)...particularly if broadcast proves to be the cheapest way
to distibute?
Filter - how/should bbc leverage incredible brand values by
providing filtering service - uber kazaa? or maybe it is at the creation
stage...does bbc have role in devising/maintaining/policing standards
around metadata associated with media products that means consumers can
safely(?), confidently find quality products?