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Now then, I’m willing to admit to becoming ever so slightly baffled with endless amounts of gadgets and services that are now available to watch what’s on the “box”.

Lord Sugar it would seem is not so exasperated by this proliferation of the market and so has decided to dip his finger into the rising pie. In partnership with the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, BT and Talk Talk, the collaboration have got together to bring us YouView, billed as the missing link which finally brings TV and the Internet together. The set top box comes with an interface that allows the viewer to watch broadcast television as well as the content on iplayer, ITV Player, 4oD and Demand 5 . The service allows programmes to be watched in HD along with the holy grail ability to record and rewind live TV and is available to purchase for £299.95, which gives some people the convenience of all the services along with free view channels without the on-going costs of a monthly bill.

Now although baffled I reckon this does sound somewhat familiar. An internet enabled TV device sounds pretty much like a Smart TV to me except without the use of the wider web. Taking into account that that the majority of TV’s sold within stores now are internet enabled I would ask the question of why not just  put that £299.95 towards a new TV or even the Google set-top box which is £100 cheaper (see Rami’s blog piece for more info).

The other reality of this launch was that it was meant to be two years earlier when this kind of technology was not so common. The reason behind this delay could be considered a pertinent one when taking into account the US flop of Google TV where the technology failed to come up to the mark. However although now it would seem the Youview interface and user experience has met that simplicity quality gage that we all seek when relaxing in front of the TV, I personally feel it has indeed come two years too late.

Considering all the other options available within the market such as Smart TVs, Google TV, Apple TV and even my PlayStation (or your X box or your Aunties Wii) which is connected to a TV and has access to most VOD services, this has just become another cluttered market rather than one monopolised by the simplicity of the far superior service. Released two years earlier and YouView could of taken significant steps ahead of the competition, released now and to me it seems like just another band wagon jumper.   

On the 4th July Channel 4 launched a new channel called 4seven (see what they did there?), and currently available on Freeview, cable and satellite.

Despite the success of 4oD, Channel 4 had been inundated with viewers telling them that they were still missing some of their best shows.  So they decided to create 4seven as another way to ensure you never had to miss a single one of your favourite programmes.  4seven shows their most popular and talked about programming from the past seven days, with viewers being able to follow it on Facebook and Twitter #4seven

My initial response, “what’s the point of this channel when there are other catch up services available?”

However, only 50% of homes have access to a PVR* and according to BARB only 15% of the UK watch via other devices each week. A small number of people, considering 25.2million households in the UK have access to Multichannel television.

Also, on the launch day over the transmission hours of 1900 - 2600, 4Seven averaged 47k Individual impacts. When compared with the launch of Channel 4+1 this is an increase of 21%, something which makes Channel 4 feel very optimistic about the growth of the channel.

With shows such as ‘The Bank of Dave’ delivering 117,000 Individuals and ‘Thelma’s Gypsy Girls’ reaching 126,000 Individuals on 4seven, it demonstrates that there is definitely a market out there.

If 4seven are showing the ‘best content from the past week’ it means that the viewers are more engaged as they are watching through choice. Thus resulting in a more involved and receptive viewer, which I believe is a great opportunity for our clients.

*Thinkbox A Year in TV 2011

Channel 4 recently came in to visit and gave us a great presentation regarding viewers’ use of TV+VOD, and some of the upcoming ad innovations we can look forward to working with.

According to Channel4 research, 7% of 16-34 year olds don’t own a TV!! This baffles me as a TV owner! (In the words of Joey from Friends… what’s all their furniture pointed at!?) However, in a world where social, financial, work and leisure pressures are at a constant high, many young people just don’t have time to sit down and watch linear TV at the allocated time that the TV guide denotes. As well as time shifted TV (such as Sky+ etc), many 16-34YO’s are becoming more and more reliant on VOD, catching up on TV via their laptops, mobiles, tablets, PS3’s etc…

But fear not traditional-spot-advert-buyers! Your ads will not be brushed aside and forgotten! An increase in VOD demand (4oD currently has 10million unique viewers per month!) inevitably provides an increase in innovative ways to target these viewers and catch their attention with different types of advertising. Here are a few exciting formats which we can’t wait to try out!

• Ad Bloom – This involves a separate microsite built into the pre-roll ad, which viewers have the choice to click through to and research the brand further. This will strengthen brand/consumer connectivity and will provide them with better copy content.
• Ad Social – Something that is already used in many online ads; this enables the brand to have a social media button laid on top of the creative, so that viewers have the opportunity to share the advert with friends via Facebook/Twitter etc. This is fantastic for brands that have exciting or experimental copy and gives them invaluable word-of-mouth talkability via their consumers.
• Ad Elect – Again, this is something that’s already been rolled out but is where the viewers are given 2 pieces of copy and they get to choose which they watch. This is a brilliant opportunity for brands who might want to target separate audiences such as men and women (e.g. perfumes), or perhaps young people and families (e.g. types of cars).
• Ad Pause – when any VOD content is paused, the idea here is that an advert will automatically pop up.
• Click to long play ads – Viewers will have the opportunity to click on the ad for an extended version. This is a great opportunity for brands with long-form copy e.g. movie trailers, or retailers who might want to showcase a range.

Another exciting ad form on linear TV, which we hope to see more and more of, is the Live Ad. A great example of this was run by V-festival last year. The advert was aired live from the festival and viewers were challenged to guess the track that the silent disco were dancing to, in order to win a pair of tickets to the sold out V-Fest the next day! What a great way to get viewers immediately interacting with a brand, and no doubt spreading the word on social networks. 

Of course, these innovations aren’t taking away the spotlight from the original TV spot advert, which is still one of the most effective ways to reach an audience. Instead it is adding a few more branches to the targeting-tree, providing us with incremental reach to those who are watching TV on the go, and we can’t wait to get on board.