INTERACTIVE TELEVISION 515- Connected TV. Th e sales of Internet-connected TV are booming across Europe. Reports
from both the Netherlands and Germany show that more than half of all sets sold
in 2011 are connected. GfK claimed that in 2012 around two-thirds of TV sets in the
Nether lands will be able to connect to the Web. Th is growth will lead to 56% connected
TV penetration in three years’ time in the Netherlands. Th ese fi gures only refl ect pure
connected TV sets, not those connected to the Web by using a separate set-top box or
games console. GfK’s fi gures for the Dutch market are in line with those for the German
market, where every other TV sold in Germany will be connected according to fi gures
from the German industry association BITKOM. Th e fi gures show an impressive growth
of 1000% from just two years ago. And the Germans are actively seeking these sets rather
than just buying sets that happen to be connected: 46% of Germans really want web con-
tent on their TV.^131 According to a report from Digital TV Research, the number of TV
sets connected to the Internet will reach 551 million by 2016 for the 40 countries covered
in this report, up from 124 million at the end of 2010. Th e Connected TV Forecasts
Report states that this translates to 20% of global TV sets by 2016, up from only 6% of the
end of 2010.^132 - Dual screening or second screening. Th is is rather new consumer behaviour. Back in 1999,
the future of interactive TV was what is now called dual or second screening , with people
interacting with their TV via their PC. Th e idea was soon overtaken by the use of the ‘red
button interactive TV’. But now, with cheap laptops, the increasing penetration of smart
phones and the rise of social media, dual screening is back on the agenda: 60% of people
claim to watch TV and go online simultaneously two or three times a week, while 37%
claim to do so every day. Th ere are roughly three ways in which people use TV and the
Internet together. Th ere is co-incident usage, where people are looking at something on
their laptop that is not related to what is on TV. To advertisers this is the same as someone
reading the newspaper. Secondly there are people using the PC/smart phone or tablet for
something related to the TV show but not in sync with it, such as visiting a brand’s social
media site. And then there is the group of people who are deeply synchronising with the
programme, e.g. playing along with a TV game, twittering about the TV show, etc. Th is
synchronous use is of big interest to advertisers.^133
Mediascope Europe 2012 revealed that 48% of Europeans are using the Internet while
they are watching TV and 16% of the time spent watching TV is done while using the
Internet. Th e heaviest Europeans online/TV multitaskers are the Norwegians at 70%, fol-
lowed by the French at 68% and 62% of those watching TV in the UK; 33% of all European
TV and online multitaskers claimed synchronous use. Th is means there is a signifi cant
opportunity for brands to engage the consumer via both platforms.^134
Connected TV off erings tend to fall into two camps: closed and applications-
based versus open and browser-based. Both closed and open systems vary widely in the
content and services they off er. A connected TV set or device may have all or only some
of these.^135 - Social TV. Connected TV creates social TV. Th e fact that TV is connected with the Internet
fundamentally changes the nature of TV by giving viewers access to VoD, web video and
new online services, such as social networking. Facebook is so large that it has a user base
in some countries equal to or even larger than the audience for the most popular broadcast
TV programming. Given the popularity of social networks, people are frequently talking
about TV shows at the same time as they are watching them. A September 2010 survey
conducted in the UK for Intel found 45% of individuals use social networking services
such as Twitter and Facebook to discuss a programme while it is being shown. Second-
screen devices used when viewing TV include a laptop (57%), a desktop computer (23%)
and an Internet-enabled smart phone (19%). Th e MTV Video Music Awards in September
2010 featured extensive Twitter integration so that music fans could respond to the live show
in real time. Th is show attracted its highest viewing fi gures since 2002, with 11.4 million
people watching and simultaneously sending 2.3 million tweets during the broadcast.
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