Tablets eliminate one premise of connected TV

Connected TV suffered several blows recently:

• Broadcom and Intel abandoned the TV market.
• Logitech abandons the Google TV ecosystem.

So far, connected TV was all about:

• More content: internet-to-TV, multiple VOD, apps (widgets)
• Better content discovery: UI/menus, EPG/IPG, remote control, keyboard, recommendations, search, browser, social, personalisation, voice control, gesture-based control
• Around the home: second screen, multi-screen, multi-room
• Companion screen: complementary content, interactivity.

But an important new aspect was added: the tablet, both for second screen and companion screen

Implications:

1. One of the premises of connected TV was knocked out from under it. Connected TV wasn't justified by the notion bringing additional content to the TV and putting the viewer in the driver's seat (the rise of on demand), but also: any video content is best consumed on the biggest screen in the home, i.e. the living room TV. The tablet has proven that this is not the case. People are happy watching TV/video on a tablet screen.
2. Real interactivity (beyond ordering movies or pausing live TV) is stil in its infancy. Yahoo! IntoNow is interesting, and AT&T made somes moves. But it remains an underexplored area.