SCENARIO #1:
"So what should we do tonight?"
"I don't know.  Let's see what's on TV."
"Okay."

SCENARIO #2:
A family sits down to dinner and turns on the TV. The 14-year old flips from station to station until his sister says, "Hey, let's watch this. I've heard it's funny!" 

SCENARIO #3:
"Kids, your father will be watching the TV tonight from 7:30-10:00. There’s an important game on."

These are familiar to anyone who has grown up in the last three generations.  Television is both a destination and a part of the background of our lives.  Sometimes, we know what we will be watching before we turn it on. Other times, we have absolutely no idea what we will watch, but we're confident that we'll find something.

Today, the trend is heavily on the side of content being viewed on alternative screens, such as tablets, computers and even smartphones. IPTV and Over-the-Top (OTT) content is becoming more and more popular, and VOD is no longer an unusual form of content delivery.

And ever since video has become prevalent and accessible via the Internet, there is an assumption – based on the buzz surrounding sites like YouTube and Facebook – that the new paradigm for video content consumption is search-based only.

But that's simply not the case. Users might time shift more than before, stream more, and even use more mobiles for watching VOD content, but the fact is that many watch more TV than ever before. Sometimes, people want to watch something that is only available on television, and they don’t want to have to spend time searching for it. They just want to lay back and rest after a long day at the office. Moreover, there is a heavily invested, high-quality content delivered to us via our beloved channels. High-quality series and live events that are simply only… there!

Throw into the mix the blazing-fast move to mobile that we are all seeing, and you have a bit of a challenge. How can we provide consumers with the programming they want on the platforms they want at the times they want to watch it?

Because one thing is clear: Consumers want live channels and right now, there aren’t enough of them available on the internet and via mobile – not yet.

Obviously, it all starts with figuring out a way for live broadcast content to be provided on an ongoing basis via mobile devices. Of course, the question here is whether the broadcasters allow this to happen. Will new innovative attempts arise – such as Aereo succeed in bridging the gap between live TV and the internet? Or is it doomed to be killed off before it’s even gotten started, until profound business models allow live TV broadcasters to provide it themselves?

What do you think?

Feel free to let me know at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.