The informal vote took place amidst a lively debate on changing consumer habits, with a significant portion devoted to ‘appointment viewing’ - the practice of scheduling programming for viewers - and whether or not it had a future.
“This market is unique because they broke the practice of appointment viewing many years ago,” said Laureen Ong (pictured), COO, Star Group. “Customisation of when you want to watch it was probably invented here. But things like sport and live television like American Idol will endure, because people will always want to be part of the water cooler crowd.”
Sean Cohan, SVP International A&E Television Networks said: “Appointment viewing is not dead. Let’s not forget this is the core driver. I wouldn’t diminish the importance of reaching customers through other channels, but linear is still at the core of what we do.”
