At Bellyfeel we recently conducted a small, confidential survey with about 20 TV professionals and the feedback showed us that TV producers are worried about the unpredictable future of the media business.

Saturation

The market place is saturated with extra channels and networks. Audience attention is split between a mess of different platforms and devices, and digital technology is constantly changing. The traditional balance of power has shifted; tablets, smart phones and laptops move the audience out of the living room and we can watch what we want, when we want – Power to the People!

Scary Times?

For some yes… but there is also plenty of opportunity and potential too. The audience love their new devices and the flexible modes of viewing and interacting. There are many more ways for them to watch, connect, play, interact and drill down into great content. And that’s a good thing!

But it doesn’t match the old-school TV broadcast business model; it cannot be squeezed in, or tacked on as the audience expect more than that. So we need some new skills in order to deliver a story over multiple platforms – but it’s not that difficult!

Story and storytelling are always evolving as new technology impacts upon them. Just as the art of screenwriting evolved with movies, so will the art of transmedia writing evolve as the early experimenters continue to engage larger and larger audiences with exciting new content that will become more mainstream as the years pass. Many traditional media-makers will have to adapt to survive, and some will no doubt disappear.

These are exciting, challenging and pioneering times and that really is a good thing!