EUscreen organises its third and final conference on the topic Television Heritage & the Web:
The television landscape is evolving at tremendous speed. According to Eric Schmidt, former CEO at Google, "the Internet is fundamental to the future of TV". Most broadcasters are struggling to grasp the pitfalls and potentials of the net. Emerging viewing patterns involve increased interactivity, non-stop availability and the evidence of choice.
The current shift suggests new ways of looking, where a web-centric view becomes more and more popular. Broadcasters' resources are being redirected to web based forms of TV and the 'archive' increasingly becomes an asset, since it can attract potential users online. The major question for audiovisual archives, educators and researchers these days, is what the current web-based shift implies for television heritage.
The EUscreen project puts more than 30.000 televisual items online in an act to make historical audiovisual content widely accessible. The conference Television Heritage & the Web attempts to discuss and analyse the potentials and pitfalls of the current media transition.
Conference outline
The contemporary convergence of television and the Internet is occurring at a tremendous speed – and according to some "the Internet is fundamental to the future of TV". The quote might appear as banal given the rapidly changing televisual landscape. Yet if delivered by Eric Schmidt, former CEO at Google, it somehow makes a difference. Most broadcasters today, as for example national European ones, are struggling with the potentials (and problems) of the net. New emerging viewing patterns with increased interactivity are a game changer and the stakes are high. Executives within the industry -like in other media sectors- think hard about, and try to come up with viable commercial and public service strategies for 'old media' in digital forms. The current shift literally suggesting new ways of looking, where a web centric view -with various forms of catch-up and on-demand TV services like the hugely popular BBC iPlayer- is becoming more and more popular.
Today, most of broadcasters' resources are, as a consequence, devoted to web based forms of TV – in both a contemporary and historical fashion. The 'archive' is, in fact, increasingly becoming an asset since it can potentially attract users online. The major question for audiovisual archives is, hence, what the current web based shift actually implies for television heritage? The EUscreen project has put more than 30.000 televisual items online in an act to make historical audiovisual content widely accessible, and the conference "Television Heritage & the Web" will try to discuss and analyse the potentials and pitfalls of the current media transition.