TV still tops in the digital age
Staff Writer | Tuesday November 26, 2024 12:51
Over the past 96 years the TV has endured, and today it is celebrated through World TV Day, marked annually on 21 November. People want to be entertained World TV Day is an initiative of the United Nations, which says that even in our digital age, TV remains the single largest source of video consumption in the world. “Think about that for a second. Even with phones and tablets that can stream anywhere and at any time, the humble TV is still the most popular way to consume video content. I believe this is because of TV’s ability to unite people around a common desire: to be entertained,” says Oluakemi Omotosho, Regional Director: Southern Africa, MultiChoice Group Holdings. That’s really what led to TV taking off back in 1938 when people started buying sets – the broadcast of the first TV shows, which people would enjoy together as a family in their homes.
The evolution of entertainment TV revolutionised entertainment, which until then had been relegated to live music and shows, and black and white films at movie theatres. Although movies had been shown since the 1890s, TV represented the first opportunity to bring this entertainment into the personal home environment. Just as TV changed the way in which people enjoyed entertainment, so satellite-tv transformed the way in which people watched TV. The first TV programmes to be broadcast via satellite took to the airwaves in 1976 and the first satellite-TV service for viewers, in 1990. It took a little more than 50 years for people to go from watching a single TV show in black and white to being able to access more than 200 channels of 24-hour programming via satellite. What happened next was probably even more remarkable. The size of TV screens in homes got infinitely bigger while simultaneously, the race was on to find ways to make sat-TV mobile and as such, TV screens smaller. Next-generation TV Just 13 years later, in 2003, the world was introduced to the first mobile TV in America through a service capable of streaming a limited number of live video and audio feeds. The service used the internet to do this, paving the way for the streaming services we have today. Although mobile streaming has taken off in recent years, with people increasingly watching their favourite shows and movies on their phones, this has still not been enough to tempt viewers to switch fulltime from their much-loved TV sets to their devices. According to the DASH 2023 TV Universe Study, only six percent of US households watch TV exclusively on their mobile devices.
The good-old TV set remains the primary device for watching video entertainment at home, accounting for 84% of viewing in the US last year. Similar statistics are seen in other countries where TV sets are still favoured over mobile screens. In fact, if anything, digital streaming has given TV as a medium a new lease on life, as satellite-TV providers – the original trailblazers of modern TV – have embraced streaming to offer next-generation TV. “In Sub-Saharan Africa, pay-TV remains the most popular way of accessing video entertainment. Findings released by Digital TV Research earlier this year show that around another 12 million pay-TV subscribers will come online in Africa between 2023 and 2029, pointing to the ongoing potential of satellite-TV to connect African viewers to the latest in entertainment, whether through existing satellite channels or new streaming products,” says Omotosho.
She adds that as convenient as it is for viewers to have a TV in their pocket, streaming on digital devices is unlikely to replace the joy of sharing entertainment together on a TV in the heart of the family home in the near future. TV will evolve, but never disappear As the leading satellite-TV provider in Africa, MultiChoice has seen viewing trends and digital devices come and go over the years as TV has evolved. Through it all, the broadcaster has been at the forefront of technological breakthroughs, innovating alongside TV’s transformation to ensure the best video entertainment was always just a remote click away. MultiChoice introduced its first DStv decoder in 1995 – a pioneer in its field offering digital satellite TV of European digital video broadcasting standards. This was followed by the first PVR and dual view decoder in the world (2005), Africa’s first high-definition PVR (2008), the award-winning Explora (2015) and the Explora Ultra (2021) with streaming capabilities. “In between these innovations we’ve had Box Office, Catch Up, Showmax and most recently, DStv Stream, our all-inclusive home entertainment platform. MultiChoice has consistently kept pace with changing technology to bring TV content to African viewers in the exact way they want to view it. “Since 1988 we have focused on the best quality TV content to become the continent’s most loved storyteller. But we have equally focused on technology to ensure Africa is not left behind in the advancement of the TV industry,” Omotosho explains.
The United Nations notes that although screen sizes have changed, and people create, post, stream and consume content on different platforms today, the number of households with TV sets around the world continues to rise. ‘The interaction between emerging and traditional forms of broadcast creates a great opportunity to raise awareness about the important issues facing our communities and our planet,’ it says. ‘Despite the shift in audiovisual content consumption to different platforms and the constantly evolving technology, TV remains an important communication tool.’ MultiChoice continues to stand as a reliable and innovative partner, evolving alongside the changing landscape of television and the way audiences consume information and entertainment. On this World TV Day, we celebrate companies like MultiChoice, which remain committed to providing platforms that unite people through the shared experience of television. 'TV has transcended its traditional role of entertainment; it’s now a dynamic connector in our daily lives. Whether through breaking news, cultural moments, or streaming platforms, it brings people together and drives conversations across devices and generations. Its resilience in adapting to a digital world speaks to its unique ability to inform, inspire, and connect us all,” - Omotosho