Is Periscope The New T.V ?
Periscope, the relatively new social media app that allows its users to broadcast live, is now available on Apple T.V. Periscope allows its viewers to watch live videos of what other people are currently filming.
Broadcasters and media companies have taken this opportunity to reach the millennial audience. As the younger generation is increasingly used to immediate responses and real-time marketing, Periscope works with this by allowing comments that flash up on the screen during the broadcasting. This can be helpful to have immediate feedback, as viewers can ask questions and direct what they see, for example, a different angle of what the user is filming. However, it can also backfire since the criticism being offered can often be at a surface level since both the broadcasting and the comments are coming out so quickly.
Periscope saw over 1 million sign-ups in just the first ten days of when it first launched its app on iOS. It reached number 167 in the US-Overall iOS chart and number 22 in US-Social Networking. Periscope has gone before its major competitor, Meerkat. Meerkat is no longer on the top 1,000 U.S apps and is only number 129 in the US-Social Media chart.
The head of Periscope sees Periscope, and video in general, as the future of Twitter. As Youtube and other alternative video sources such as Netflix are becoming increasingly popular, there is also a decline of traditional television. The target age group for Periscope is 18-34. A recent study showed that those polled indicating interest, 50 percent were within the age group of 18-34. On the other hand, the lowest group was age 65 and up, meeting only seven percent.
The millennial generation not only has the most experience with phones and technology, but also are the most excited about watching fun and interesting events being filmed on the spot. The rise of Youtube and how it has changed the television and music industry shows the potential of Periscope and other similar apps. Network audiences have gone down dramatically, and TV users are now shifting towards online video. It is convenient for the viewers to watch, however, it also brings in less revenue to the providers. Stars that have gone on after viral videos are now quite common, and Periscope feeds into the same idea of becoming famous quickly.
The main issue that Periscope currently has, is dealing with illegal broadcastings. Since it is all live-streaming, now users can easily broadcast sporting events or concerts to other viewers. This threatens the television industry, and there currently is no alternative business model to battle this issue.
The app has shut down illegal streams as they came, but it is difficult to control every stream being broadcasted as the social media channel grows. The implications of new technology such as Periscope are very clear and it is important for Periscope to be clear on their ability to police these streams.
By Chris Kyriacou
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