To platform or not to platform

As TV viewing behaviour continues to change at pace, and a new generation of platforms emerges, TV players face important choices
to keep hold of their audiences and remain relevant.

This report examines:

• Significant rise in choice when it comes to TV viewing, resulting in more choice but also poor user experience for the viewer
• Various players are battling to own the viewer relationship and to help the consumer navigate through the vast amount of content online, by aggregating content but also channels onto one “platform” seeing an opportunity to disrupt the sector
• The ‘usual suspects’ are all investing and targeting the space, taking steps towards becoming a ‘super-aggregator’
• If super-aggregators gain supremacy of the TV experience in the long term, c.£1bn of current UK TV industry profit is potentially at risk
• Broadcasters need to think carefully about their role in the future, from syndicating their channels to aggregators to opening their “players” up to 3rd party channels and becoming “aggregators” themselves