The Notting Hill set and thoughts on broadcast media in 2015

Was it priced in error?

Not as planned I ended up in Notting Hill area yesterday afternoon and browsed a couple of bookshops - In Waterstones I found 'The Story of Philosophy' and couldn't believe that it was only £2.99 not much more than some magazines - I've already started reading it and have high hopes as it does seem well constructed in it's narrative style.

Strangely even after so many years I don't really know the area around Notting Hill underground but having a brief promenade there I can see that there's money in the area - expensive one-off shops and small galleries.

Is it a 'real' pub?

My eye was also taken by the Churchill Arms pub - what a shame that pub's have changed so much, the gentrification reflecting an increasingly 'middle class' sensibility - how can it be that in my own life we've moved from the glory of a pub where someone would take there caged ferret with them for a drink to the horrors of soulless 'Gastro-pubs' with a synthesised history of suspended agricultural artefacts?

Well we're unlikely to see pubs that have life written into the DNA so let's instead take them for what they are second rate themed eateries.

Media Outlook for 2015

Well looking at the tea leaves for Broadcasting in 2015 the picture is like an analogue television picture with a dodgy indoor aerial-  far from clear.

We can  anticipate mixed results for 2015 in the European TV  market and  expansion especially eastwards looks problematic- there the continued uncertainty, particularly around the effect of lower oil prices on the Russian economy and how this will impact on Europe is likely to lead to entrenchment in the sector.

Unlike 2014 there is no  major international sports event to drive live media consumption and it will be more down to individual country events and programming to create demand for channels and advertising .

What we can expect in the  technological areas are more non-linear consumption, continuing consumption on mobile devices and a further increase in channel choice driven by the burgeoning IP distribution.

Still in the living room but in other places too.

We  also  see that the effect of ‘cable cutting’ is a mixed blessing for the USA, good for many viewers and the ‘long tail’ of content  but for the big network operators and cable companies  in North America it appears to be a time for a forced re-evaluation, in Europe where national (non-commercial) state broadcasters remain strong the impact of Netflix and the like will still be a significant element 

Amazon, Apple and Google are continuing to innovate and I expect this will continue along with the further refinement of Smart TV offerings.

Google in particular with its search expertise should not be overlooked.

Here in the UK we can expect renewed pressure on the BBC from the Conservative party as we move towards the 2015 election and a licence fee arrangement -as they say 'interesting times'.