The Future of Television? Binge-Watching is Only the Beginning

With providers like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon, and more creative risks, network leaders are placing bets on how audience experience will evolve [Editor's note: the link may be paywalled]. From a report: 'What might we see coming down the road?' says Beau Willimon, creator of The First, Hulu's sci-fi drama starring Sean Penn and Natascha McElhone. 'Perhaps like [the characters] in my new show, we're all wearing augmented reality glasses, and we're experiencing television shows in a more intimate way -- a way that feels much more experiential than simply watching it on a rectangle.'

Television, as most people have known it for most of their lives, is no more. 'At some point you'll get to a place where thinking about television from a linear standpoint will be like dial-up internet,' says Hulu CEO Randy Freer. 'It's a great time for content; not a great time for cable networks. I think what will happen is: Cable networks that have been able to create brands for themselves will have an opportunity to expand and figure out how they present to consumers.'

Cable networks with a clear identity have a critical advantage in a subscription-based world, while networks with less-defined name recognition -- those that have been just another channel in the cable lineup -- will likely find it hard to entice the growing ranks of broadband-only consumers to buy an a la carte monthly subscription service. HBO is moving into the new era. 'In the domestic market of the United States, where there is a surfeit of content more than ever, I personally think that brands matter more than ever,' says HBO chairman and CEO Richard Plepler.

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