The Prague Post - The metaverse threat: 'TV will die with its audience'

EUR -
AED 4.302888
AFN 81.916613
ALL 97.902049
AMD 450.136794
ANG 2.096812
AOA 1074.403591
ARS 1469.848083
AUD 1.794588
AWG 2.108971
AZN 1.994112
BAM 1.952659
BBD 2.367324
BDT 142.853889
BGN 1.957396
BHD 0.441704
BIF 3493.202692
BMD 1.17165
BND 1.498972
BOB 8.090986
BRL 6.384309
BSD 1.172565
BTN 100.422329
BWP 15.653531
BYN 3.837005
BYR 22964.349685
BZD 2.355128
CAD 1.602332
CDF 3381.383512
CHF 0.933815
CLF 0.028754
CLP 1103.414015
CNY 8.405479
CNH 8.416862
COP 4747.094292
CRC 592.730776
CUC 1.17165
CUP 31.048738
CVE 110.834423
CZK 24.648246
DJF 208.79039
DKK 7.461246
DOP 70.349915
DZD 151.915361
EGP 58.229393
ERN 17.574757
ETB 162.720143
FJD 2.632991
FKP 0.863233
GBP 0.862387
GEL 3.175781
GGP 0.863233
GHS 12.18599
GIP 0.863233
GMD 83.777767
GNF 10169.096726
GTQ 8.999755
GYD 244.988501
HKD 9.197398
HNL 30.659247
HRK 7.534062
HTG 153.886066
HUF 400.216482
IDR 19047.814996
ILS 3.924766
IMP 0.863233
INR 100.576119
IQD 1535.961483
IRR 49355.777276
ISK 142.999707
JEP 0.863233
JMD 187.136573
JOD 0.830733
JPY 172.250216
KES 151.693066
KGS 102.461195
KHR 4707.655966
KMF 492.670214
KPW 1054.459685
KRW 1610.246333
KWD 0.357904
KYD 0.977121
KZT 609.236063
LAK 25258.788623
LBP 105052.907426
LKR 352.46937
LRD 235.082884
LSL 20.853146
LTL 3.45958
LVL 0.70872
LYD 6.333192
MAD 10.550712
MDL 19.844334
MGA 5178.521534
MKD 61.525551
MMK 2459.888866
MNT 4204.537111
MOP 9.480393
MRU 46.564706
MUR 53.063981
MVR 18.037076
MWK 2033.019574
MXN 21.798902
MYR 4.980101
MZN 74.93866
NAD 20.853146
NGN 1794.547027
NIO 43.147681
NOK 11.838346
NPR 160.676127
NZD 1.953546
OMR 0.450484
PAB 1.170927
PEN 4.152912
PGK 4.916596
PHP 66.252143
PKR 333.331834
PLN 4.245312
PYG 9344.332196
QAR 4.265507
RON 5.075471
RSD 117.180281
RUB 91.977776
RWF 1694.216302
SAR 4.394421
SBD 9.767962
SCR 17.192081
SDG 703.572951
SEK 11.172057
SGD 1.501066
SHP 0.920733
SLE 26.370592
SLL 24568.92933
SOS 670.108684
SRD 43.730096
STD 24250.799675
SVC 10.259071
SYP 15233.951871
SZL 20.845049
THB 38.247947
TJS 11.261485
TMT 4.112493
TND 3.394536
TOP 2.744124
TRY 46.922963
TTD 7.954729
TWD 34.124668
TZS 3087.299325
UAH 48.973918
UGX 4209.229791
USD 1.17165
UYU 47.015583
UZS 14862.756687
VES 131.56206
VND 30626.943917
VUV 139.782501
WST 3.225978
XAF 655.769778
XAG 0.03195
XAU 0.000356
XCD 3.166444
XDR 0.815567
XOF 655.769778
XPF 119.331742
YER 283.363731
ZAR 20.835285
ZMK 10546.260708
ZMW 28.402891
ZWL 377.270981
  • CMSC

    0.0900

    22.314

    +0.4%

  • CMSD

    0.0250

    22.285

    +0.11%

  • RBGPF

    0.0000

    69.04

    0%

  • SCS

    0.0400

    10.74

    +0.37%

  • RELX

    0.0300

    53

    +0.06%

  • RIO

    -0.1400

    59.33

    -0.24%

  • GSK

    0.1300

    41.45

    +0.31%

  • NGG

    0.2700

    71.48

    +0.38%

  • BP

    0.1750

    30.4

    +0.58%

  • BTI

    0.7150

    48.215

    +1.48%

  • BCC

    0.7900

    91.02

    +0.87%

  • JRI

    0.0200

    13.13

    +0.15%

  • VOD

    0.0100

    9.85

    +0.1%

  • BCE

    -0.0600

    22.445

    -0.27%

  • RYCEF

    0.1000

    12

    +0.83%

  • AZN

    -0.1200

    73.71

    -0.16%

The metaverse threat: 'TV will die with its audience'
The metaverse threat: 'TV will die with its audience'

The metaverse threat: 'TV will die with its audience'

TV companies will need to radically adapt themselves to the fast-evolving world of online entertainment if they hope to survive, experts have warned.

Text size:

Broadcasters are already playing catch-up with online gaming giants in the battle for the attention of young audiences and the advertising dollars that follow.

On the horizon is the so-called "metaverse" -- a loose term covering the growing eco-system of interactive online worlds, games and 3D meeting places that are already attracting millions of users.

While older consumers are still wedded to traditional TV, viewership among under-35s has halved in a decade, according to Statista, and will drop precipitously as the metaverse develops.

"Young people have evolved from passive spectators of TV to active players, and they've turned away from screens to smartphones," said Frederic Cavazza, co-founder of Sysk, a French firm specialising in digital transformation.

"TV channels are going to die with their audiences."

- 'Part of the story' -

To reach young people, broadcasters will have to compete with gaming platforms like Roblox, Fortnite and Minecraft -- seen as precursors to the metaverse -- that are already establishing a dominant position.

Half of all 9-12-year-olds in the US use Roblox at least once a week, according to media research firm Dubit -- doing everything from playing games to watching concerts to just hanging out with friends.

The audiences can be enormous: 33 million people watched rapper Lil Nas X perform on Roblox in 2020 -- more than three times the number that watched him on TV at the Grammys this week.

Broadcasters must choose whether they are sticking with a shrinking market for traditional TV programming, or start bringing their characters and brands into metaverse platforms, said Matthew Warneford, co-founder of Dubit.

"It means bringing people into a world, making them part of the story, playing alongside their friends -- the same way that Disneyland allows you and your friends to be in their world with Mickey Mouse," he said.

- 'Stay relevant' -

TV companies have time to adapt, but they face a major challenge in catering at once to older people watching traditional broadcasts, middle-aged people shifting to streaming and young people wanting interactive and social entertainment.

"If we want to stay relevant, we will have to position ourselves across all these usages," said Kati Bremme, head of innovation for France Televisions.

The national broadcaster is still in research mode, she said, toying with augmented and virtual reality to build immersive cultural and sporting experiences.

The biggest challenge, however, may be financial.

Up to now, TV firms have been insulated from tech disruption because their advertising revenue was largely unaffected -- unlike other traditional media like newspapers.

That could change "faster than people realise," said Warneford.

It was previously hard to move TV ads into the gaming world because they were created by individual companies "who locked them down and captured all the value," he said.

But with the more open field of the metaverse, brands will have much more scope to promote themselves and sell goods directly to users.

Indeed, fashion and luxury labels are already making millions selling virtual clothes and accessories on Roblox, Fortnite and other platforms.

"If they want to reach young people, do companies keep going to TV or do they go to where young people actually are -- in gaming and the metaverse?"

V.Sedlak--TPP