The Greatest TV Story of 2015 is the Rise of Smart TVs

My early candidate for most important story one incidentally that will have a huge impact on that scripted content growth isn39t getting face time in the TV or technology trades and consumer press It isn39t drawing considerable space on Web sites like Deadline Hollywood Daily or Recode or TechCrunch It has been passed over by the business news networksBut to quote Arthur Miller attention must be paidMy candidate for the most seismic TV story of the year is the public embrace of smart television sets Even more the public embrace of devices which make TV sets smart Either way we are evolving into a culture where people watch the Internet not just Internetcirculating videos play sophisticated video games transact and interact with content services and applications amp8211 all through the TV setWhat39s more because software is the delivery agent of all this software which can be upgraded electronically we have no inkling of the ultimate capacity or capabilities of these advanced sets or gear and no inkling of the imagination called into play through this capacity and capabilityMore than 10 million people now access a Rokuprovided streaming stick settop box or TV set with more than 2000 channels games and services at their disposal Google39s Chromecast plugin has worked up more than two billion views in 24 months Amazon Fire TV39s settop has sold out its initial hardware inventory in 16 months despite the Gary Buseystarring ad campaign which dumbfounds you every time and stick sales continue strong Nvidia39s Shield box out since late May gives Android application developers a path to create all sorts of services starting with games that hold their own as well as those on personal computers or consolesAs all this activity moves forward Samsung Vizio LG Panasonic Sharp and the other set makers see steady purchases of their latest smart models most with ultra highdefinition tech incorporated at everlower pricesIf all this doesn39t turn your opinion keep two other things in mindFirst it looks like Apple is finally on track to turn its Apple TV settop from a pure program delivery mechanism to a smart TVmaking unit one capable of allowing those hundreds of thousands of iPhone and iPad application developers the option to adapt their smartphone and tablet services to TV besides creating any madeforTV apps they want September 9 could be a big redletter day for all of TV if Apple carries through this initiative This is the consequence being passed over by all the reporting on Apple39s delay of its streaming TV effort One exception was Squawk Alley CNBC39s latemorning tech hour which led off an episode last Tuesday with a brief overview of Apple TVamp8217s settop strategy and expert analysis Even here no one brought up what this box could do with heavy participation from Apple39s app developer ecosystemSecond consider the public admission from top executives at Netflix Hulu Amazon Yahoo and their like that more people are watching what they offer on the TV set not the PC not the smartphone not the tablet Whether through interviews or TV appearances these execs make clear how people see their everincreasing original work scripted and otherwise More than a few of the ventures participating in this spring39s Digital Content NewFronts acknowledged their increase in delivery via TV using graphics or executive remarksNo wonder Netflix now has the ambition of being the universe39s biggest generator of original scripted fare No wonder Amazon Hulu and Yahoo are picking up the scripted pace with YouTube Fullscreen BitTorrent and other Web outposts looking to enter this territory Smart TV is the end game for the biggest audience As they set a bigger scripted agenda broadcast cable and multicast channels increase their commitmentsIt39s getting clear that we39ve got a society moving towards TV as the access point for anything worth watching perhaps anything transactive or interactive What39s not clear yet is whether multichannel customers will have smart TVs and devices supplement what they39re accustomed to now or the replacement for multichannel service no matter how wide their cord or big their bundleThe next few years should clarify things However the time is now for everyone in the business of covering TV somehow to put this trend front and center above everything elseUntil the next time stay well and stay tunedThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillageMyersBizNet management or associated bloggers

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The Greatest TV Story of 2015 is the Rise of Smart TVs

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Simon Applebaum

"About That with Carl Mayer:" Alaina Donnellon (Episode 10: Political Spending) - By Carl Mayer

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The Greatest TV Story of 2015 is the Rise of Smart TVs

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