With Google’s Chromecast, we could be looking at the future of TV.
This tiny device plugs into any HDTV. It turns your phone, tablet or laptop into a remote controller that sends video, audio and other content up to the TV screen.
It gives consumers a remarkably easy way to upgrade their TV without having to buy a new set with a built-in computer (that will quickly become obsolete).
At a cost of only $35, Forbes calls it a game changer.
It was such a runaway hit at launch that Google had to cancel the free Netflix bonus within hours of its release. As of this writing it is still sold out at Amazon and Best Buy, but you can buy it directly from Google Play Store with a three to four week wait.
Besides being the ultimate stocking stuffer this Christmas, what is most compelling about Chromecast is what it could mean for Christian broadcasters and publishers.
1. Increased discovery and consumption. Mobile is squarely at the center of Chromecast as both the content source and the means of controlling the TV. Viewers can use their mobile device to search for gospel-focused content, broadcast it to TV with the “cast button” and easily share it with others. Television becomes an extension of mobile.
2. There will be scale. Roku has sold 5 million devices, and Apple has sold 13 million AppleTV devices. Chromecast’s low price should foster quick and early adoption. In a matter of months, the device could be deployed in millions of households. For broadcasters using online video and audio platforms this is a huge opportunity to reach new audiences via the big screen.
3. Gateway to innovation. The ongoing dream for Christian content owners is to more deeply engage viewers as they are being impacted by what they are watching on TV. Smartphones, tablets and laptops that are synchronized to TV viewing offer just that potential. The discovery app contains the interactive experience so there is no need to find a different app and the user is already engaged with the app so there is less of a context switch. The 2nd screen is controlling the first screen.
4. Level playing field. While secular cable, media, computer, and phone companies are battling over the licensing, sale, streaming, and viewing of content, Chromecast allows Cristian publishers and media companies with fewer licensing restrictions to “cast” their programming direct to a TV audience. If the content can play in Chrome, it will play to Chromecast.
5. Christian multichannel video programming distributors. Mobile and IP-based video distribution and increasing connectivity to the TV will result in a new set of Christian Media players in the video aggregation space who will increasingly look like ‘virtual MVPDs’, putting them on a better footing to compete.
New world of Internet TV rapidly approaching
Average time spent with digital media per day will surpass TV viewing time for the first time this year, according to eMarketer’s latest estimate of media consumption among US adults.
Chromecast gets us closer to a tipping point in which more programming to the TV will come through Internet streaming than traditional means. This can only be a positive for broadcasters, publishers and developers devoted to making Internet based products, services and content designed to reach more people for Christ.