Your browser is out-of-date!

Update your browser to view this website correctly. Update my browser now

×

Convergence: Now it’s TV’s turn

Without a trusted brand or channel to guide consumers towards the content they want viewers will get lost, argued Channel 4’s convergence exec in an IBC session that looked at how Connected TVs were democratising content, writes Ann-Marie Corvin.

Without a trusted brand or channel to guide consumers towards the content they want viewers will get lost, argued Channel 4’s convergence exec in an IBC session that looked at how Connected TVs were democratising content, writes Ann-Marie Corvin.

“As the content space becomes more crowded, people will look to broadcasters for a more curated experience. What they will not want is an overcrowded interface with reams of icons. Now it’s TV’s turn to join the party,” said Anna Cronin, commissioning editor, converging formats, C4.

With responsibility for a £2 million convergent formats fund, which launched this March, Cronin said that she was in the process of “casting the net wide”, adding that the UK free- to-air commercial broadcaster needed to forge new partnerships with new creatives “who may never have made a TV show in their lives”.

She added: “They could be gamers, user experience experts… We can’t solely rely on the same big production companies – new ideas can come from anywhere.”

According to Cronin, the only advice she would give potential applicants was to play to TV’s strengths.
“What’s happened to the market so far is that there are lots of apps, it’s very overwhelming, and there are very high barriers to entry, and it’s very hard to discover that content. I think we need to peel back a bit and think about what viewers want when they sit in front of a TV screen and how that might be complemented on other devices.” Without a trusted brand or channel to guide consumers towards the content they want viewers will get lost, argued Channel 4’s convergence exec in an IBC session that looked at how Connected TVs were democratising content, writes Ann-Marie Corvin.

“As the content space becomes more crowded, people will look to broadcasters for a more curated experience. What they will not want is an overcrowded interface with reams of icons. Now it’s TV’s turn to join the party,” said Anna Cronin, commissioning editor, converging formats, C4.

With responsibility for a £2 million convergent formats fund, which launched this March, Cronin said that she was in the process of “casting the net wide”, adding that the UK free- to-air commercial broadcaster needed to forge new partnerships with new creatives “who may never have made a TV show in their lives”.

She added: “They could be gamers, user experience experts… We can’t solely rely on the same big production companies – new ideas can come from anywhere.”

According to Cronin, the only advice she would give potential applicants was to play to TV’s strengths.

“What’s happened to the market so far is that there are lots of apps, it’s very overwhelming, and there are very high barriers to entry, and it’s very hard to discover that content. I think we need to peel back a bit and think about what viewers want when they sit in front of a TV screen and how that might be complemented on other devices.”