2 minute read
Telly Addicts
8 out of 10 UK adults regularly use ondemand content services such as BBC iPlayer, Netfl ix and YouTube.
Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, HBO Now, Disney Plus, ITV Hub, BritBox, Spotify, Now TV – the choice of platforms is vast, providing the viewer with a gargantuan array of TV shows, movies, music and online content.
Which, perhaps understandably, feeds addiction to an already favourite past-time – watching TV. “Have you watched any good boxsets lately?” is now as commonplace a conversation piece as “the weather’s starting to turn?” in today’s technology driven world.
WATCH WHAT YOU WANT, WHEN YOU WANT Of course, the introduction of on-demand technology, has seismically shifted our viewing habits. We now have enormous choice, not just in the content we watch, but how we watch it. Content can now be consumed via portable devices such as laptops, tablets, and most notably – smartphones (the UK is the world’s leading smartphone user with 83%1 market penetration).
BINGE WATCHING BRITS So, what does all this this mean? Well, simply speaking, the UK public are smartphone-addicted, hungry consumers of on-demand television & movie content. Binge-watching is facilitated by the choice, accessibility and portability of content – all leading to watch what you want, when you want consumption of content.
IS THIS THE FUTURE OF HOTEL TELEVISION? On-demand content is not the future, it’s the now! The future will simply see greater adoption of on-demand technology until it becomes as standard at the TV itself. Whilst linear TV still has an important place in the hotel room, it’s not nearly enough to satisfy today’s traveller on its own.
BEATING BOREDOM In the latter part of 2019, half of UK homes subscribed to at least one of Netfl ix, Amazon Prime or Now TV - this fi gure rose stratospherically during covid-19’s period of lockdown. 12 million new streaming subscriptions2 were initiated in this relatively short period of time, perfectly demonstrating the importance of content to a captive audience.
The parallel is obvious; guests in hotel-rooms, away from the comfort and convenience of home, look for ways to pass the time.
WHY IS ALL THIS IMPORTANT? There’s no getting around it - guests used to watching what they want, when they want, won’t be impressed with a standard line-up of terrestrial TV channels in the hotel room. In today’s technology-driven world, a hotel must provide a vehicle for the guest to watch their own content on the in-room TV. HOW DO I PROVIDE ON DEMAND CONTENT IN MY GUEST ROOMS? Many on-demand services can be embedded on SMART hospitality TV displays. Whilst this does provide the guest with a good amount of extra content, the line-up of available apps can be limited. Signifi cantly, the provision of certain subscription services (most notably, Netfl ix) is problematic due to licensing restrictions.
This can be remedied by the installation of Google Chromecast - allowing guests to simply cast their content from a portable device to the hotel’s television.
Whilst other methods of content sharing do exist (for example screen mirroring) Google Chromecast is by far the most secure, fl exible and user-friendly casting platform.
1 Newzoo's 2019 Global Mobile Market Report. 2 Ofcom. 3 BARB.
