21
Dec
The ubiquity imperative: Why content needs to be everywhere
Viewers were formerly beholden to the whims of a select group of programmers: If they wanted to watch a show, they were forced to be home and tune in at the time it was broadcast. That world has changed, thanks to the broad proliferation of time-shifted viewing options — whether they be DVRs, cable video-on-demand services or online options like Hulu. Just as importantly, viewership doesn’t just happen on the TV anymore; it happens on laptops, on tablets and even on mobile handsets.
In other words, consumers are now in charge of when and how they watch video content. No longer content to be stuck to someone else’s schedule, consumers expect to be able to access their favorite content whenever they want and on a wide range of devices. As a result, the media companies that will win are those that recognize the need to be everywhere.
When it comes to capturing consumers’ attention now, a piece of content is only as good as its distribution. If it’s not available on the device that a user wants to view video on, then they’ll watch something else. Which is why now is such a critical time for traditional media companies. If they don’t have a strategic plan to distribute their content on whichever device the viewer uses to watch content, they risk alienating and eventually losing that audience.
