30 Apr 10

It's like evolution, only quicker.

Sourced from Angela Natividad’s reports from MIPTV 2010

The topics, trends and gizmos that stood out most prominently at MIPTV 2010* were iPad, 3D television and mobile integration but perhaps more important was the overall attitude that seemed to permeate the conference atmosphere; the sense of interest in how digital connectivity, particularly mobile, can contribute to TV formats.
A lot of networks are doing interesting things, like BBC and The History Channel. But by and large there remains the desire to find a silver bullet that isn't there: the winning idea that will somehow recoup the profits television has lost to media fragmentation. 

Fact: the arrival of more distractions on traditional media's turf means attention is divided in ways it's never been before. Audiences and consumers adapt faster than giant media companies and a vast array of entertainment options has become standard expectation. That means none of this is going away.

But delegates were asked by a number of speakers to divorce themselves from the idea that the 'net will swallow TV whole. Formats and major players are going to change, but there will always be a market for scripted, or at least consistent and properly-produced, formats and content. And these are things that broadcasters and production companies can still deliver.

The essential message is that this isn't about the death of TV, it's about the evolution of storytelling. Content producers and advertisers would do much better to ignore the narrow focus on the type of screen because in the very near future virtually anything will be able to serve the purpose screens do now.

The faster producers understand this, the faster they'll be able to change. Fears of losing generation Y's attention maybe true, but there are now a host of new ways to engage them. Vive L’evolution !

*MIPTV is an event which takes place annually in Cannes and is a content market for co-producing, buying, selling, financing and distributing entertainment content. It attracts around 13,000 entertainment and media professionals from TV, film, digital and audiovisual content, production and distribution industries, media and creative agencies.