TV is the Center of the Universe, Again.

Mario García Torres: Illusion Brought Me Here

The End of TV

For years (say, 2011) there has been incessant discussion on the death of traditional TV at the hands of the mobile revolution. Millennials are watching less. Cable companies are hemorrhaging subscribers. And of course, Netflix is the nail in the coffin. These changes to traditional television are being driven by technology, and it’s impace on consumers. As the internet settles comfortably into the age of the monopoly, everything is becoming television again.

All Internet is Becoming Video

there are Three major reasons why video is today’s driving force on the internet.

1. The ubiquity of mobile data has made streaming video much more viable than even a few years ago.
2. Mobile innovation has died aside from the camera. The mobile camera arms race has continued to equip amateur content creators tools to create consistently high-quality video
3. The platforms for video publishing have truly matured. Though YouTube, Twitch, and Netflix are the central video platforms on the internet, all major social networks have made significant changes to elevate video.

All Video is becoming TV

As it became easier to create new content, view that content, and then advertise on that content, the new television was born.

It is striking to consider how closely the internet corners where consumers spend most of their time look like television. Snapchat’s Discover is largely a collection of TV shows that air for one day. YouTube is internet’s Blockbuster, an organic discovery engine and endlessly growing archive. Instagram’s Stories are a new kind of channel-surfing. And TikTok is an exploding platform with a quickly-growing set of genres and leading “stations.” After years of experimentation (Twitter, Vine, Tumblr) the social internet has re-assembled to closely resemble traditional TV.

What’s Next

Here are a few thoughts on where the internet of tv is heading in the next few years.

1. Regulation will standardize. 2018 showed that major players still struggle to monitor the video content published on their platforms. This year all major companies will (some already have) announce major initiatives to more closely regulate all video on their platforms.
2. The consolidation will continue. Though video is the fastest growing type of content on the internet, the consumption platforms are continuing to consolidate. Google (YouTube), Amazon (Twitch), and Facebook (Instagram) will continue to exert their dominance over smaller video publishers by attracting ad dollars through more robust advertising platforms.
3. Genre will be defined by platform. We watch used to be makeup tutorials, DIY projects and food vids online. Now we watch IG Stories (Reality TV), Twitch (Sports), and TikTok (MTV).

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