The Future of TV Experience

Two years ago, we’ve written an article on the future of sports broadcasting, and everything we said then is more accurate than ever. So what has changed? How far are we from the future we’ve imagined then?

Talk to any entertainment expert, they will tell you that the Metaverse is here, and ten years from now it will be everywhere. That doesn’t mean that one morning, you’re going to wake up and everybody will be wearing futuristic helmets transforming their reality. No, the transformation will come in a more subtle way. 

You’re not necessarily noticing it, but you’re already entering the metaverse every day: every time you want to post a story on Instagram and you’re using a filter, you’re in the Metaverse. Every time you’re playing Fortnite, or Roblox, you’re in the Metaverse. Every time you’re using the live view feature on google maps, you’re in the Metaverse. 

Google maps live view mode

The thing with the Metaverse is that it’s blurring the lines between the physical reality and the virtual world. And this is why it’s seamlessly taking its place in our daily life.

But one of the reasons the metaverse is so in right now is also because it’s responding to one of the most significant asks of the market right now: the need for interactivity. Interactivity with others, interactivity with our experiences. People don’t want to be simple spectators they want to be a part of it. With the Metaverse, AR, XR, and VR, you’re the lead actor of your experience. 

LA Rams x Immersiv.io AR Mini Game on the Snap Spectacle AR glasses

With the pandemic and the quarantine, people turned again to traditional TV. But if we look back to this last decade, we can see that people are asking for more than “just” TV. 

Even with the rise of streaming services, live television is far from dead, especially when it comes to sports on TV. In 2020, Mediamétrie – a french company specializing in audience measurement and the study of the uses of audiovisual and digital media – reported +22 minutes of live TV watching average time. In 2021, the time spent watching sports programs has shot up: +65% compared to 2019. The best live of 2022 was – obviously – the World Cup final, Sunday, December 18, which was followed by 24 million spectators on TF1. The channel announced “a historic audience record”. 

But on the other hand, on-demand programs are always and still strong, especially for younger generations. On average each day, 8.7 million French people aged 15 and over watched an SVoD program. Viewers want the entertainment to fit their schedule, not the opposite. 

This trend of adaptability and customization is old news, but it doesn’t make it less true. Mobility is a real stake when it comes to watching TV: in 2020, French people were watching TV outside their household or in mobility about 15mn a day (source: Mediamétrie). The TV must be reinvented to follow the viewers: mobile devices like smartphones, tablets, laptops, and XR glasses are the future of traditional TV.

Taking TV outside of the TV is today’s concern. By prolonging the immersion of the viewer in its program, and accompanying him outside of the house, on-the-go experiences are an answer to this matter. For example, take a look at what NBC and Verizon put together for the TV show “La Brea” : 

With augmented reality, your TV experience can extend beyond the TV. Wouldn’t it be nice, while watching your favorite Batman movie, to turn your living room into the Batcave?  This is what we call an immersiv experience! Well, we did about the same for the Bundesliga during last year’s Supercup. To take the fan experience a step further, you were able to decorate you’re living room in the colors of your favorite team.

DFL x Immersiv.io, Supercup TV experience

There is an undeniable craving for customized experiences. People want to own their experiences and feel in control. Sports fans make no exceptions.

If you’re looking closer at the behavior of today’s fans, studies as showed that they are craving for “deeper immersion” in live games in order to feel closer to the action (Deltatre OTT report). They are also deeply connected: 65% are using a second screen during the game to stay connected with their community on social media (Capgemini report).

As we’ve moved into the age of hyper-personalization, fans are looking for their own customized and engaging experience during sports events. They crave improvement in their game understanding and want to be part of a global community. 

With Arise, we’ve reinvented the sports fan experience. User-centric, the fan is taking control over the game and creating his own experience. He can choose which pieces of information he wants to see when he wants to see them.

The game evolves in real-time with players tracking and match info, while the fan can display player’s stats on the pitch (trail, speed, heatmap) for a fully personalized game show.

DFL x Immersiv.io, Supercup TV experience

While the live game is running, or during halftime, the fan can choose to rewind and relive key moments of the game, or even access exclusive videos and pre-match content. 

Available on mobile devices and AR Glasses, you can now watch your live game where you want, how you want.

AR is opening a whole new world of possibilities regarding entertainment, but also marketing, and communication. The urge for gamification and personalization is extending to other fields. AR might as well also be the key to a new way of advertising: 3D ads, sponsored AR mini-games, augmented merchandising… All new ways of interacting with marketing.