A Time of Change; A Time of Oppurtunity

Technology has not stopped evolving and as Lotz & Haven said "media industries fear and depend on this evolution."  There fear comes from the ability to be rendered ineffective, obsolete, or any other technological curse.  With the advancement of technology and the open source internet this problem because especially hazardous for advertisers.

What would you do if your business model which worked for eighty years suddenly became obsolete?  This is question many advertisers have faced not once but a multitude of times since the rise of the internet, DVR, Netflix, and other accessible media sources have started taken the place of T.V.; but why have these things taken the place of T.V?

The answer to that question is complex but lets just scratch the surface.  First of all T.V. itself has evolved it has expanded channel choices and programs available on those channels (assuming basic cable is available); to keep it short T.V. is no longer primarily a news source with some entertainment value it is purely an entertainment product.  Even the news and informational shows are turning to programming which while still fulfilling as "news" provide entertainment as well.  T.V. has become a leisure product, something we do in our spare time; and now their is competition for that leisure.

Curtin list a few of these examples that compete with T.V.; video games, online video streaming, and general internet are just the beginning.  These sources have created a battle for our leisure time and by default our economic and advertising value.  This is the fear aspect of Lotz and Haven's definition but with this change comes great opportunity.

Advertisers, while they have to change, they also have the ability to make major advancements in their viewing audience.  The amount of technology available has seriously increased the amount of people who view these media sources.  They also spend a majority of their leisure time on media sources these two factors alone seriously increase the opportunity for advertisers to reach more people in less time with less effort.

Technological advances lead advertisers to have to constantly evolve and change and adapt.  Even with the unknown and the changes these advertisers have the amazing opportunity to reach countless viewers with relative ease.  This unrivaled change has led to an era of fear but also an era of unparalleled opportunity.