TV schedule still important
March 20, 2009
From Colin Mann in Cannes
Despite its oft-rumoured demise, the linear TV schedule still has a role to play in the multi-platform age, according to Simon Nelson, Controller, Platform and Portfolio, BBC Vision,
Addressing a MIPTV Digital Forum on 'International Cross Platform Strategies', Nelson refuted suggestions that increasingly powerful search and recommendation engines make the linear schedule irrelevant. "The power of the schedule is increasingly important," he told delegates, advising that BBC iPlayer requests often come close to transmission. "People don't want to wait three or four days to find out the result of one of our entertainment programmes," he remarked.
Nelson said that digital media had enabled the BBC "to completely transform" its approach to content, with the Internet being more than a means of allowing the streaming of content. "It's a transformation in convenience and accessibility," he suggested, noting that all BBC programmes now have automatic web support, with certain selected shows receiving '360 degree' treatment, of full support, mini-sites and links to related BBC sites.
Michel Mol, Director of Innovation at Netherlands Public Broadcasting, recognising that users wanted different formats on all platforms, advised that the broadcaster was creating four separate online presences related to particular content: Hasty, for the mobile consumer; Multi-tasker, for the TV viewer; Focus, for the Internet viewer, and Active, for the Web, which offered a wider selection of related content.