Internet Protocol (IP) TV is internet based viewing that allows you to subscribe to channels of your choice online, purchase films, and watch your preferred content anytime you choose.

The business of technological development is as much a business of life changing innovation as it is a business of slaughter by default. Innately, technology means improvement and thereby new technologies will always replace older ones – resulting in a ripple effect of implications that are both positive and negative. IP TV is no exception. 



IP TV platforms such as Google TV, Apple TV, Netflix and others are steeped with incredible viewing functions and perks. However, breaking into the TV market has not been without obstacles. The TV industry showed strong resistance in accepting IP TV due to predictions of severe disruption.

What Google TV and other IP TV networks offer is better than what is currently available in the entertainment industry of TV viewing. It gives you control over your viewing material, and personalises all the content you receive according to your interest, preference and requirements.

• Web based, your options are unlimited. You could search anything from “Grey’s Anatomy 3rd season”, “Movies featuring Anthony Hopkins” to “How to make Italian Minestrone”. Access to various channels including YouTube channels allows this kind of diverse viewing options. You can choose from the global content library instead of being limited to what is available in South Africa only.
• It combines broadcast television and internet based television, which means that you can watch live TV or scheduled recorded TV.
• Additional information is accessible at a click.
• Google “gets to know who you are” through “remembering” what it is that you previously searched and selected and offering content that is relevant to you those indications. It keeps you in the know about all new and popular viewing content and suggests content that is relevant to you specifically.
• You can watch your channels on devices like PC, android, tablet etc. without needing additional hardware.
• A recent update enables full HD quality consistent on most viewing devices and coherent with industry viewing standards.

Google TV, launched in 2011, has somewhat struggled to break into the market. At least when considering the level of success that we expected for it. However, after ironing out some of the creases, it is quickly finding its way into our living rooms. But what happens to our old TVs, satellites and decoders? The cold fact is that the better the technology, the bigger the disruption. Google TV hugely disrupted its predecessors in the industry. The TV industry, especially American TV networks, showed strong resistance.

“Like other industries disrupted by the internet, the television industry is broadly suspicious of Google TV, fearing the company will steal its advertising revenues without contributing towards the high costs of programming.” - From News 24, Edinburgh

IP TV networks threaten to render local broadcast networks, satellite TV such as DSTV, PVR, and even the DSTV box office application redundant. Furthermore, it threatens to become a more popular domain for advertisers. Adverts shown on Google TV will have relevance to the viewer, and will therefore prove to be more effective.

The ripple effect of the scenario sketched above could result in a huge decline in the demand for broadcast television. What we know about consumer behaviour will be affected. Televisions that do not accommodate IP TV will suffer minimal sales figures. Video rental stores will disappear, as they have already started to. There will be people who lose their jobs and would need to try something new. In the end, the current industry would need to adapt in order to survive.

The disruption has started because of the benefits that IP TV holds for consumers. We want to have choice over what we consume, we want to watch our choice of content at times and intervals that suite us and we also want unlimited options. This is why we love our IP TV.

Developments in IP TV networks continue to move closer to the viewer’s exact requirements and desires. Updates in IP TV functionalities, updates in local broadband speeds and innovative application developments, like Google Play, show continual improvement in this technology. It will take over the industry for this simple reason: It is better! And while consumers are delighted, traditional broadcast TV will see its demise… and IP TV will thrive in the industry, until a better technology is developed. This is the natural course of technological development and discovery.

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