New custom cable solutions are breathing new life into the ‘first screen’ of home entertainment, according to industry analyst Nielsen. For decades, the television wasn’t just the ‘first screen’ – it was the only screen households saw on a daily basis.
Since the 1980s, home computers have introduced a second screen to the home entertainment mix, while mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones are now adding a third screen to the line-up. And while many critics have claimed this sounds the death knell for television as the dominant format, Nielsen disagrees – and cable solutions are the answer to the problem. This is thanks to Internet Protocol Television, or IPTV, which allows on-demand content to be streamed directly to a TV set via a broadband internet connection.
Pat McDonough, Nielsen’s senior vice-president of insights, analysis and policy, says: “IPTV has grown dramatically over the course of the last year. “People talk about ‘the TV is dead’, or that it’s dying, but it doesn’t look like it yet.” As technologies such as IPTV emerge, UK cable manufacturers will be on hand to produce the custom cable solutions required to enable connectivity, and to ensure home entertainment is able to develop throughout the 21st century.
