So what is the future for TV?

There is evidence that the future of TV, if reliant on advertising revenues, is in danger. Articles by Bloomberg and the world advertising research centre indicate that TV revenues are declining. HSBC’s Chief Economist tries to suggest that media companies hold firm through the cyclical down turn in the market, but it is not that simple as the media marketplace is also going through a structural change and advertising spend was already migrating from traditional media to online.



The current economic situation is actually speeding up the need for media companies to re-align their cost bases to the future revenue opportunities based on a changing media mix, ITV is no different as Rupert Howell, ITV's managing director, brand and commercial explains in this article. Changes include current director of television Peter Fincham stepping into the new position of director of television, channels and online. ITV’s broadcast arm will form a joint unit with web properties like video-on-demand service ITV.com, social networking site Friends Reunited and Project Kangaroo, currently under development with fellow broadcasters Channel 4, Five and the BBC. ITV's online revenue from January to September rose by 6% to £25 million, with the number of unique users rising from 4.8 million to 5.9 million. The company's executive chairman, Michael Grade, argues that its web-streaming business is becoming a "channel in its own right. With content at the heart of our turnaround strategy, it now makes sense to integrate fully all our platforms to ensure the very best of our content is available to viewers wherever they wish to view it.”



According to Ad Age the US ABC and CBC networks are spending millions on research to make two arguments: Online-video ads have a bigger impact than TV ads and therefore deserve higher ad rates than TV, and that consumers don’t mind the intrusion. Their initial research from Magid Associates shows consumer recall of an unskippable ad online is 50% compared with 18% for an unskippable ad on broadcast TV. We say - Further evidence from world leading players in the commercial field that online video advertising works, and does so better than traditional TV advertising.