1. GuestCommentary By Ashwin Navin, CEO, Flingo
The TV Debate:
Transformation vs. Revolution
W
ith all the buzz surrounding cord- makes banking more manageable and transparent. Driving
cutting, AirPlay/Apple TV, the death of TV, from San Francisco to a cabin in Tahoe is a breeze thanks
and over-the-top (OTT) programming, if to Google Maps. None of these technologies replace the de-
there’s one thing we learned from the 2012 London sired outcome; they enhance the experience to achieve it.
Olympics, it’s this: People still love kicking back and My contention is that people are not asking for a TV
watching traditional broadcasting. Albeit with a few big revolution, but rather a transformation. The idea of lin-
hiccups, NBC streamed most of the Olympics live online ear, broadcast programming seems so arcane, yet no
and later showcased marquee events during primetime. app or Website comes anywhere close to captivating
Between the live streams, real-time access to event our attention for nearly as long as this 70-year-old para-
scoring and the medal count, we have never had this digm. That’s why every attempt
much access to the Olympics in history. Nearly every to yank the TV experience out
major event was available online, and usage was tremen- of television has been an abject
dous. But what everyone fails to recognize is the fact failure. Just look at the reception
that we did not give up the good old, big-screen, tra- to Google TV, or its predecessors
ditional television. NBC’s taped coverage averaged 31.5 Akimbo and Web TV. And if you
million viewers per night in primetime, up 12 percent look at your average TV viewer,
from Beijing in 2008. According to NBC, many people it’s clear why alternatives to the
who watched the events streamed live to a Web browser traditional experience have failed.
also watched them again on television! Ninety-five percent of television
The important point that many of us in tech-land programs will be viewed live this
miss in our pontifications about “the end of TV” is that year, even though more than 50
mainstream culture really enjoys TV. No question, on- percent of people in both the U.S.
demand, instant access to great programs on the iPad and the U.K. own a DVR. And even
is one of the coolest things ever. But what the Olympics though Americans are disgruntled
reinforced is that there’s little evidence of substitution. and recessionary in their outlook,
Rather, people love new options for consuming video, they’re not abandoning TV. With
and don’t want to give up their “traditional TV.” 25 million people unemployed,
only 1.5 million Americans have actually cut the cord on Flingo CEO Ashwin Navin
A New Way of Looking at TV their paid-TV service. In fact, Americans spend 32 hours
Maybe we need to stop thinking of cable TV the way we and 47 minutes a week watching traditional TV (4.5 hours
think of phone service. It’s easy for all of us technologists a day!), compared to 27 minutes a week watching video
to predict that streaming video will do to cable companies online, according to Nielsen’s State of the Media report.
what Skype did to the telcos, but I propose a new lens Isn’t the “Death of Television” and the cord-cutting
to filter TV-technologies: an app that replaces broadcast movement a lot like the candidacy of Ron Paul? Everything
television is like saying Yelp should replace McDonald’s. Paul says makes sense, and you want to believe his posi-
There’s a clear distinction that applies to all apps or Web tions are inevitable and true. But when you look around at
services. Great apps come in two flavors—those that are the public reaction, you realize that there’s a zero percent
Revolutionary and those that are Transformative. chance the guy gets elected…or that people will ever stop
Revolutionary apps fundamentally overthrow an ana- watching broadcast TV. It behooves those of us inspired
log provider with a digital alternative. Examples: Skype by the opportunity to innovate in the TV industry to stop
is a substitute for your landline. iTunes is a substitute for thinking about a revolution and start thinking about how
Virgin Megastore. Warby Parker is a substitute for buying to transform the experience surrounding a well-entrenched
glasses from your neighborhood optometrist. LinkedIn behavior pattern. It also follows that the absolutely gigantic
is a substitute for schmoozing. Match.com is a substitute industry ($170 billion in ad spend alone) makes any kind
for my pushy (but well-intentioned) Aunty in India. of overnight revolution highly unlikely.
Transformative apps make analog providers a more
pleasing or user-friendly experience. Examples: Fandango Ashwin Navin is CEO and founder of Flingo, publisher of
makes going to movies predictable. Foodspotting makes smart TV apps whose software products are available on
finding the perfect entrée a delightful experience. Mint more than 15 million TV screens globally.
30 broadcasting & cable October 15, 2012