Register for the DTG Summit -‘Television Beyond Imagination’ here
Tell us what it means to be a futurist!?
Bottom line, it’s about being curious. Constantly looking for new emerging trends and technologies and immersing yourself into it enough to start to anticipate their impacts. Observing people’s behaviour, how they experience and consume content, how they relate with each other, in a wider sense. Scanning the market, in your industry and beyond for new things that are rising in relevancy. Eventually, try to articulate for others a synthesis of what you have found out, to inspire them.
What do you think is the biggest challenge that the television industry needs to address?
There may be a few, starting from the definition of the term “television industry”.
- The platforms/creators economy which have carved out a lot of people’s time from the hands of traditional media and hence changed users behaviours and also the content, formats, and language
- The continued reluctancy of the traditional media space to inject new talent from a more digital and DTC background
- Lack of diversity at the top
Which area of innovation excites you most and why?
Any place where innovation meets consumer adoption
What is your take on the metaverse?
It is too early to judge if it will be adopted mainstream and have a wider impact than the current potential. It is also unclear what form it will take, if decentralized and interoperable or, like social today, managed by a few big entities. The real metaverse, I expect, will be deeper than what we have seen today, blending physical and digital in unexpected ways.
Does the TV industry need to care about the metaverse?
Technology will continuously move ahead and accelerate, and you need to be on top of it to avoid the risk of being excluded from the next phase. I would say the TV industry needs to follow it closely and understand when the right moment to invest serious money arrives.
What might “watching TV” look like in 2030?
This is a tricky question as even today, I am not sure what TV is. Does it mean simply watching a big screen? Or is it consuming or experiencing content?
I expect more interactivity if we can find a frictionless way to integrate that, more ways to share video experiences with others, and perhaps video accessed through the metaverse…
What is your current favourite TV Show?
I have been watching industry-related original series like We Crashed, The Dropout, White Hot and Dopesick.
What is your desert island luxury item?
My wife and kids.
What would people be surprised to learn about you?
I am an electronic/nujazz creator/musician, my work is available on 12+ platforms as “Abe Murakami” and “An Ignorant Soul” for the NEOM record label.
If you weren’t working in this sector, where would you be working?
Art and music, I guess.
