I can’t tell you how many people have told me in the last year that TV is dead. Unlike the changes we’re seeing in printed media, this couldn’t be further from reality.

Nevertheless, the way we’re watching TV has changed. But there are some misconceptions about the way we’re watching TV. For example, that everyone is using DVRs now and this is going to kill TV advertising. Actually, DVR use is up with older folks but the younger, more sought after audience, is watching programs on Hulu. And Hulu is capturing more money per eyeball than traditional television. Also, more people are also watching programs on mobile devices. Some programs people actually pay for on places like the iTunes Store.

So what’s the takeaway here? People are watching. But TV isn’t just on the same old box anymore. So it’s going to take different ways for advertisers to engage consumers than just running a spot on the idiot box. And it’s going to take more than just selling ad space from networks if they want to continue to generate the same revenue from their programing.

People still want to watch Lost but they’re just not so interested in appointment viewing anymore without a really good reason to tune in on time.  Fox gave it to them with “tweet peats” and Barack Obama, CNN and Facebook hit a home run with the State of the Union. This is not to imply that social media the solution to all of TV’s problems, just one of many solutions that will be required for TV to adapt to a changing world.

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Posted on: September 28, 2009, by : Jimmy Gilmore