Briefly describe how television and advertising on it has evolved over the years.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Television started with broadcast TV. Then came cable TV (and satellite TV) and now online TV (OTV). Television has been a key element of the advertising landscape for decades. Over the years there have been many changes and experiments to try to improve its advertising. For example, traditional 60-second ads were reduced to 30-, 18-, 5-, and even 1-second ads. As viewers increased their use of rentals, advertisers increased their focus on live events and reality programming that was more likely to be viewed in real time. As technology improved, programming and advertising experimented with 3D formats. All of these changes were attempts to adjust to the behaviors and preferences of consumers. The next big thing in TV is that programming will also be available through the Internet or online TV (OTV). OTV is the growing capability to view streaming video that is available online. This new capability has enabled viewers to view programming on desktop computers, laptops, tablets, and smartphones - anywhere and anytime. In fact, the availability of programming on these devices has prompted some households to stop using cable and satellite services, and to view all of their programming through the Web. Television rating company Nielsen has labeled this group "Zero TV" households. They watch television programming, just not on televisions! Hulu, for example, is an ad-supported subscription service offering streaming video of TV shows, movies, and other content from NBC, Fox, ABC, and other networks. Netflix, Apple, and Amazon also offer video-on-demand services. Microsoft is talking to TV networks about providing a package of channels to its 76 million Xbox users and 46 million Xbox Live subscribers. Advertisers are excited because OTV will offer targeted audiences who are engaged in the programming. Televisions, computers, tablets, and smartphones will all provide access to OTV.