Immersive Real-time Experiences Across Multiple Mediums
I don’t tout myself as a futurist, but I do have an inkling as to what it needs to look like with respect to sharing real-time experiences with others across multiple mediums. This year there have already been some high profile facebook-connected events, such as: the inauguration, the Oscars and SXSW (see prior posts on pepsico zetigeist). Today I want to bring to light one that is a bit less mainstream, the Masters. From the time the first group reaches Amen Corner until ESPN picks up live coverage at 3:00 CST, the only place to watch the tournament is on the Masters’ website, where you can PIP multiple holes as well as discuss the action in real time with other users. So as not to cannibalize viewership, the online coverage goes dark when ESPN begins broadcasting. While the Masters has been successful in getting me both online in the mornings and watching ESPN in the afternoons, I would of course prefer to watch when and where I want, and continue my conversations across those mediums. The reason they won’t let me is because they don’t want to dilute their advertising revenue. They, like so many others, are afraid of what they don’t know and can’t control. The winner here will be whoever can track when a user goes from one medium to another or is watching across multiple mediums. Why aren’t there the equivalent of cookies on television? And why can’t my computer talk to my television, and vice versa, without additional hardware? Whoever can answer these questions and create a unique solution stands to make a lot of money.
