This month the TV industry has gathered on the French Riviera for the annual Mipcom conference, trying to work out where the industry should be heading.
TV TRENDS
New networks
Subscription service Netflix recently won an Emmy for House of Cards, its remake of the British political drama. This is the tip of the iceberg of "original content" being commissioned by tech companies such as Netflix, Amazon and Hulu. With big budgets and more creative control, they are genuine competition to broadcasters.
Binge viewing
Netflix makes every episode of its series available at the same time, so people can "binge-view" them as they might a DVD box set. At Mipcom, the talk was about how this is influencing the shows: longer, more complex story arcs and deeper exploration of individual characters, with clunking cliffhangers rendered obsolete.
MinisodesBinge viewing
Netflix makes every episode of its series available at the same time, so people can "binge-view" them as they might a DVD box set. At Mipcom, the talk was about how this is influencing the shows: longer, more complex story arcs and deeper exploration of individual characters, with clunking cliffhangers rendered obsolete.
DreamWorks Animation boss Jeffrey Katzenberg came up with the surprise of Mipcom, revealing that he had offered the makers of Breaking Bad $75m to make three more episodes. The twist: they would then be split into six-minute episodes released daily for a month, for 50 cents a clip. His offer was rebuffed, but Katzenberg thinks such minisodes' time will come.
YouTube stars
The TV industry is simultaneously excited about YouTube and nervous about the way it is creating stars and companies without a broadcasting history. Children's video network AwesomenessTV attracts 60 million viewers a month on YouTube, while 23-year-old Swedish gamer Felix Kjellberg's PewDiePie is the world's biggest YouTube channel, with 14.3 million subscribers and 215 million views a month. He will be offered a traditional TV show soon, but does he need it?Social TV
Facebook and Twitter are courting the TV industry, promising that social networks are the key to persuading people to tune in. Facebook is copying Twitter's hashtags and trending topics features and telling TV firms that they will help its users discover their shows, while Twitter is working with US firm Nielsen on charts showing the most buzzed-about programmes.
