Ever been to a classic car show? Those babies with all their chrome and fins and excess metal bring back memories of simpler times. Of course when it comes down to it, you wouldn’t want to drive one today, not when even the cheapest new models have air bags and seat belts and navigation systems and disc brakes.
But wouldn’t it be neat if you could put all those great advancements into the ’57 Chevy ragtop?
Television is kind of like a classic car. There’s no small amount of nostalgia associated with old TV sitcoms and gathering the whole family on Saturday night to watch “Leave it to Beaver,” which, incidentally, can probably be found somewhere amongst the myriad of choices today’s viewers have. Television, today, though, is so much better than that grainy black-and-white family show. There’s high definition and remote control and interactive program guides and digital video recording.
But wouldn’t it be neat to put that old family TV viewing experience into the new TV program guide?
Unlike modernizing a ’57 Chevy, TV can be revamped without a big retrofit. There’s been way too much written about watching TV on computers and cell phones when the fact remains that the best way to watch TV is on a TV. It’s time for everyone in the video entertainment space to stop wringing their hands and bewailing the loss of viewers to the Web and take back what’s rightfully theirs.
Interactive TV is the enhancer and the answer to putting television back where it belongs. Television is no longer the 10-foot passive experience; depending on the level of engagement, it can be a lean-forward or a lean-back entertainment activity that the whole family can enjoy.
Seriously, there’s no better medium for watching video entertainment than a television. TV shouldn’t be losing viewers to the Web, it should be taking the enhancements of the interactive age and putting them to work where they can do the most for viewers, advertisers and service providers.
For viewers, this means embedding just the right amount of information and making it readily available. A viewer doesn’t want to read e-mail on a television screen, but seeing background gossip about the latest episode of a favorite TV show is a program enhancer that will keep that viewer entertained and coming back. Why send viewers off to a computer for background information that’s available for the taking on an interactive offering?
Advertisers want quality eyes watching their product. Interactive TV opens consumers’ eyes by delivering more than just a broadcast stream and, in fact, offering an engaging, targeted experience.
And service providers, particularly cable operators, can get more for their investment in programming and delivery simply by enhancing the way the content is presented without a major network overhaul.
Let’s take back the TV.
When you think about it, the much-beloved 426 Chrysler hemi of the late 1960s was really a pain in the rear to keep tuned and running smoothly. It looks great at a classic car show but today’s new computer-enhanced hemi is a far better engine, performance-wise.
The same can be said of television. What looks good in reminiscence is, actually, a weak product that can be made so much better with today’s technology. Rather than abandoning television, the media industry should be taking it back and putting it where it belongs: in the middle of the family room, providing information and entertainment and enhancing everyone’s lives.
