Television and Online Media – Evolving, Merging, Colliding

(Part II) The digital media industry has changed dramatically in the past few years. Craig Montgomery, principal at CMG Partners, a marketing strategy firm, thinks that changes in the mobile and social world represent the most fascinating aspects of the industry’s evolution.

“Tablets and 4G phones are transforming how and when we consume media,” he says. “Most homes have multiple devices, and use them in tandem. Many of us have our laptops or phones nearby when watching television. Imagine the possibilities to truly align these channels and drive better synergies between digital media and traditional media.”

Television is fast evolving from being a traditional vehicle of “made-for-TV” content into a vehicle for online content and media as well. “The reverse is happening too – online media is being shaped in part by television content, which helps create new online advertising platform. The genie is out of the bottle and soon we will no longer be talking about television and online media as separate things. They are on a collision course.”

In terms of digital media’s future, Montgomery thinks about how that future looks from the point of view of CMG’s clients, who are marketing leaders. “Online media is still just emerging, if you can imagine that. We tend to think that the Internet is maturing, but it is still in its infancy compared to television. There is a bright and exciting future ahead of digital media and the online world – we will see the industry take risks and transform. There will be some incredible success stories and even more sensational failures.”

Best of all, Montgomery says, we may see the emergence of the next medium that will eventually replace digital.  “If the past is a good forecast of the future, the digital world may see its successor in about 15 years or so. How exciting.”