The Future of Broadcasting? Streaming

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By Jacob Maslow

Man using headphones on laptopThere are a lot of technical challenges to streamed entertainment television. It would be safe to say at this point in time that this technology is not ready for prime time. While most Americans living in large metropolitan areas have access to high quality and extremely fast wireless data communication, high speed internet connection should not be taken for granted across the board. There are vast areas of the United States that still suffer from lower than standard broadband speeds. It is no surprise that a large chunk of AOL’s business still comes from dial-up. Imagine that: dial-up in 2015.

With all that said, when it comes to the future of entertainment, streaming is the wave of the future. Streaming technology truly allows for a highly personalized entertainment experience. Currently, whether you are watching cable or regular TV, entertainment is dished out on one too many model. There is a lot of top-down decision-making involved in entertainment. The real future of entertainment is stream technology that incorporates a lot of personalization. It is not unthinkable to visualize a future where consumers would get exactly the kind of programming they need, based on the parameters they set and in terms that make sense to them.

This is not just a content customization issue where you pick your category, your cast, and your plot lines. It is also an advertising gold mine. The more personalized that content becomes, the higher is the level of engagement. The more people trust the content that they choose to customize, the higher is the likelihood that they would buy into whatever commercial messages are sent along with their personalized content.

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