1. Could you tell us about The DTG - what is the mission of the company and their vision for the Industry?

The DTG mission is to ensure a better future TV experience by bringing the best minds in the industry together. Our industry vision is of a robust, unified and future-proof framework, delivering seamless, frictionless, viewer experiences. Across all networks, locations and devices. At any time of day. Servicing all genres of UK and international content. Inclusive and accessible to all genders, backgrounds, income brackets, ethnicities, and all generational cohorts, i.e. from generation Alpha to the Silent Generation Demographics.

 2. How are Traditional channels and internet platforms adapting to the current and upcoming changes in the Television industry? 

Linear TV channels and traditional TV platforms have been laying the foundations to ensure their place in the future of TV. As the growth in streamed media continues, these platforms are recognizing that in order to keep pace with change and to compete with the likes of Netflix and Amazon, they need to develop streaming services of their own with original content that audiences will use in conjunction with linear TV and other streaming sites. It is also critical to remain competitive with the global streaming platforms through the introduction of UHD; 4K, HDR, Wide Colour Gamut, HFR and new, data driven human interfaces.

 3. What are the latest innovative technologies we need to look for? 

Brilliant video and audio in UHD with immersive next-generation sound is blowing audiences away in the home. And of course, 5G is certainly on everyone’s lips at the moment and what it means for the world. We recently held an event looking at 5G’s impact on the media industry and the potential advances in media that can be achieved simply by having a fast, seamless, wireless internet connection.

4. Content-wise: what are the strategies for reaching different generations from Baby boomers to Generation Z? 

We know, just as happened in the audio industry, new formats, shorter formats and box sets are changing viewing habits. The depth and breadth of content is just a given for younger audiences. Although, research shows they are less likely to pay so even though a critical audience, tougher to monetise! Again, we can take parallels from Spotify, Soundcloud etc.  We increasingly live in a data-driven world and so targeting and dynamically changing the proposition to keep their attention is key.

 5. TV and Smart Technologies – is it a next step for the TV industry? 

TV is already there; our devices are talking to each other and we are heading towards a converged media world. We use voice control through Alexa or Google home to search for shows to watch; use our phones to interact with TV shows through apps; we can even adjust lighting in the room for optimum viewing. Additionally, this is fuelling increases in demand bandwidth and demanding changes in communications because of the diversity and integration of new applications and devices accessing the network. New partnerships are forming to enable these changes.

6. What do you expect from this year’s Summit?

Take the temperature of converging media worldwide and see where we can both learn and help our international partners not just survive but thrive as we move into what we believe is a new gold-age for television.

Would you like to learn more about the World Television Summit? Then, request your brochure here.