Dear Readers:
There's been a lot of talk about guides recently. And program guides are a subject near and dear to my heart. I spent some time at "The Cable Guide" (a monthly publication) back in the day, and even helped market a monthly magazine ("See") for DirecTV. At that time, TV Guide published a weekly guide for DirecTV, and it really did look like a digest-sized Manhattan phone book! And when my wife's Aunt Jeannette passed away, we found a closet full of old TV Guides (calling eBay...). But just like Jeannette, the TV Guide digest readership also passed on, and we had to move on-screen.
I even fought my way through (the wrong side) of the interactive guide wars of the last decade. But just as we all found a smooth, easy-to-use interactive guide interface for our hundreds of channels, along comes YouTube to mess it all up again.
Guides and guidance are critical to the value proposition for a vast number of subscription television viewers. And we modify that experience at our peril. But to focus our thoughts, let's hear from Fred Everyman, a guide traditionalist, and Melvin Modern, a guide innovator.
First, Fred Everyman: "What's wrong with the guide the way it is? A grid guide, with time listed horizontally and channels vertically, makes perfect sense. It's nice and linear.
Think about it. Television programs are LINEAR: you go from the beginning to the end. And even if you have a DVR, you can only move along that horizontal line--backwards and forwards, beginning to end. Time is certainly LINEAR: 6:00, 7:00, 8:00 and so on. Science fiction movies have us moving back in time, and then Back to the Future. But it's all along a straight line. And television channels are certainly LINEAR: whether you're on cable or satellite, channel 202 follows channel 201, and it always will.
Not to mention the fact that I'm COMFORTABLE with a linear grid guide. I've used it since forever--the daily newspaper, the weekly supplement, TV Guide Magazine for heaven's sake (at least in prime time), plus cable's scrolly blue thing (the original on-screen guide) and all the electronic program guides I've seen. Grids. All Grids.
I can use the grid guide to program my DVR. I can choose my favorite channels on the grid guide. It's everything I need. I watch the shows I want, and if something really fabulous comes along, I'll see a tune-in ad and give it a try.
It's comfortable. It works. And it fits my lifestyle. Please don't change it!"
And now, here's Melvin Modern: "Keep the grid? Are you kidding, Fred? Do you still have a Betamax, too?
Let's get real. The grid was great in the days of a handful of broadcast channels, and even in the early years of cable, but those days are long gone. In this era of HUNDREDS of audio and video channels, can't we find a better way to find what's on television than to scroll, scroll, scroll through an interminable list of channels? And the magazine grids--they're so small these days, they should be read only when Visine is within reach!
Fasten your seat belt, Grid Guy. Change is coming to a television near you. Up in New York, they've got these newfangled things called 'mosaics.' You can watch nine kids' channels or nine news channels or nine sports channels live on a single screen. Or watch whichever channels you like full screen. It's not about Channel 201 or 202. It's about making it easy for you to watch the channels you want to see.
The next guides will be even smarter. How cool would it be to have your own navigational guide that's not just limited to what's on television, but could also bring in programming from the Internet, and even your own personal videos? A guide--all on one screen--that would 'know' what programs or videos you--you, Fred--want to watch. A guide that would let you search for good stuff by title, by genre or even by actor. A guide that could recommend programs based on what you've already watched, or on suggestions from your friends.
I know what you're thinking. You don't want a guide that can read your mind. Maybe you're concerned that it will suggest 'Rock Video Girls' while you're telling Mrs. Fred that you'd like to watch the climate change discussion on 'Hannity.' Don't worry. It's smart enough not to blow your cover.
So c'mon, Fred. Join us in the 21st century. It's not hard to find, as long as you're not using the grid."
===
The iTV Doctor is *Rick Howe*, who provides interactive television consulting services to programmers and advertisers. He is the recipient of a CTAM Tami Award for retention marketing and this year was nominated to Cable Pioneers. He is also the co-author of a patent for the use of multiscreen mosaics in EPG's. Endorsed by top cable and satellite distributors, "Dr" Howe still makes house calls, and the first visit is always free. His services include product development, distribution strategy and the development of low-cost interactive applications for rapid deployment across all platforms. Have a question for the iTV Doctor? Email him at itvdoctor@itvt.com
