Exclusive: The TV of Tomorrow show kicks off in San Francisco today, continuing through the week week. The annual conference has been gathering the best, brightest and most curious in the TV industry, switching between host cities San Francisco and New York, for the last 10 years. And a lot can, and has, happened in a decade. Lost Remote talked with show founder and organizer, Tracy Swedlow, about what’s changed and what hasn’t.
Lost Remote: Ten years! Obviously things have changed, but how about this: When you started, what were the most popular sessions? What are your most talked about now?
Tracy Swedlow: Our show was mostly about new emerging forms of interactive TV rather than about OTT. That term hadn’t been invented yet. People were looking to things such as 2-screen vs. single screen. 2-screen is interacting with a tablet at the same time you were watching your TV for example. People were still debating the meanings behind all sorts of terminology like ITV, enhanced TV, advanced TV, new TV, on-demand, video-on-demand. It was a free-for-all.
The rise of social media platforms and full-on deployment of video, the rise of democratized livestreaming, and the rise of VR/AR as a new type of immersive video-hybrid with graphics entertainment [have been huge turning points for the industry].
LR: I feel like there was a time when TV industry leaders were sort of shuffling their feet about the future and now it feels as everyone is excited about what’s next. Do you find that, too? Is that just our media bubble?
TS: The industry has seen some times when it was very “up” and then static and then very “up” again. Things change a lot. Now, every 6 months, drastically, which is why we do our shows more often now. So much is going on and so many more companies feel it necessary to be in the video game.
LR: What are some marketing and tech trends you’ve seen over the years fizzle out?
TS: The 2-screen use of tablets when you’re watching TV has fizzled. People just want to use their phones and tablets to do other things rather than use an app that syncs up with their TV. 3D TV is another one. And cable use of on-demand videos on their platform. If they don’t upgrade these dramatically, cable will continue to see erosion. Also, DVD extras, which is a shame. I hope they bring these back online. I think it’s a huge opportunity and a money-maker!
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.