Imagine, The End Of The TV Network As We Know It

TV Content sourcing has become a grayer and grayer area in recent years. It bleeds across channels and devices, and it’s only going to become murkier as time goes on and more technology evolves.

In fact, eventually we may come to a day when the very concept of networks all but disappears, according to a new report from Barclays Capital on the future of media. It’s a prediction that would have a huge impact on media buying and planning.

“The concept of a ‘network’ could become obsolete,” observes the report, according to Media Life magazine.

“With the emerging aggregation platforms being organized by consumer tastes across platforms rather than networks or timeslots, over time, the aggregation platform will become akin to the concept of a cable network today for consumers, but micro-customized to individual preferences.”

The report predicts that content will become divided into two main buckets: scripted shows and live events.

Live events that draw large numbers of viewers will migrate to broadcast.

“Cable networks on the other hand will either have to adopt a more broadcast-like business model with more event programming (and consequently higher costs) or else be relegated to compete with OTT platforms for eyeballs,” the report predicts.

The report also predicts online and offline platforms will converge.

“For the most part, when consumers switch on a TV set today, it defaults to live TV,” the report says.

“Conceptually, everything like VOD, DVR and OTT is an incremental service. The end state of the evolutionary process, in our view, is likely to be the exact opposite of present state of the world.”

So, essentially, offline TV no longer becomes the default. Instead, people will boot up connected TVs or go immediately to the video-on-demand function, or switch to over-the-top service HBO Now instead of HBO by default.