The Threat of Metaverse: “Television Will Die With Its Audience”

Experts warn that if television companies want to survive, they will need to fundamentally adapt to the fast-growing online entertainment world. Broadcasters are already catching up with online game giants in the battle for the attention of young viewers and the consequent advertising fees.

On the horizon is the so-called “meta space” – a broad term that covers the ecosystem of the growing interactive online world, games and 3D conference venues, which has attracted millions of users.

According to Statista, although older consumers remain loyal to traditional television, viewers under the age of 35 have halved in a decade, and their ratings will decline sharply with the development of the metaverse.

Frederic Cavazza, co-founder of Sysk, a French company specializing in digital transformation, said, “Young people have evolved from being passive viewers of television to active participants who have moved from screens to smartphones.”

Immersive Experience of Metaverse

In order to reach young people, broadcasters will have to compete with game platforms such as Roblox, Fortnite and Minecraft, which are regarded as pioneers of metaverse and have established a dominant position.

According to media research firm Dubit, half of all children aged 9 to 12 in the United States use roblox at least once a week – from playing games to going to concerts to playing with friends.The audience can be huge: in 2020, 33 million people watched rapper Lil Nas X perform on Roblox – more than three times the number of people watching his TV at the Grammy Awards this week.

Broadcasters must choose whether to stick to the shrinking market for traditional TV programs or start bringing their roles and brands into the metadata platform, said Matthew Warneford, Dubit’s co-founder.

“It means bringing people into a world, making them part of the story and playing with their friends – just as Disneyland allows you and your friends to enter their world with Mickey Mouse.” he said.

Download App for Android

Download App for iOS

Tricky Dilemma

TV companies have time to adapt, but they face a major challenge: meeting the needs of the elderly who watch traditional radio, the middle-aged who turn to streaming media, and the young who want interaction and social entertainment at the same time.

“If we want to remain relevant, we will have to position ourselves in all these uses.” said Kati Bremme, head of innovation at French television.She said that NBC is still in the research mode and is playing with augmented and virtual reality technology to build an immersive cultural and sports experience.

However, the biggest challenge may be financial issues.So far, television companies have been insulated from technological disruption because their advertising revenue is largely unaffected – unlike other traditional media such as newspapers.The situation could be “faster than people realize,” Warneford said. And this was difficult to do before.