Newswise — As television season premieres make their debuts this fall, experts predict major changes in programming in the near future.
Nowadays, viewers can DVR, TiVo, live stream or use onDemand to catch their favorite shows via a variety of mediums. Entertainment is available at the audience’s fingertips - on televisions, computers, iPods and Smartphones - and will continue to change with the technology.
“If current trends continue, TV will be quite a different experience in five to 10 years,” says Saint Joseph’s University Professor of Marketing and Director of the Center for Consumer Research Michael Solomon, Ph.D. “As Internet-connected TVs start to come online in the next year or two, we will see greater convergence with other platforms such as computer screens and cell phones.”
Internet-connected television is still being developed, marketed by top Web and television broadcasting corporations as the ‘entertainment of the future.’ Packages that are currently available allow viewers to connect to the Web while watching television by using widgets or on-screen tools. As the technology of TV watching changes, so will the types of programming.
“Programs themselves will be group-oriented as social media allow multiple viewers to watch ‘together’ and even vote on plot developments,” says Solomon, adding “more program content will be provided by viewers.”
Solomon suggests that these changes in television programming will ultimately lead to a revolution in television advertising.
“There will be a much stronger e-commerce element as viewers instantly purchase the products they see show characters using.”
Michael Solomon, Ph.D., is a professor of Marketing at Saint Joseph's University whose research interests include lifestyle issues; branding strategy; the psychology of fashion, decoration and image; and the symbolic aspects of products. His textbook, Consumer Behavior: Buying, Having and Being (Prentice Hall) is in its ninth edition and has been translated into several languages.
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