About 20 years ago, it was a big deal to be on a TV network. In Nigeria’s media scene, the Nigerian Television Authority, NTA, was the darling of the industry.

Touted as the largest television network in Africa, NTA was the defacto TV network in Africa’s largest economy. The story is no longer the same. The business of a ‘networked TV’ has been disrupted by an Internet tool called- live streaming.

It is a huge paradigm shift that has led to the near bankruptcy of many TV channels who jumped on the ‘network bandwagon’ to cash-in on the appetite of brands and audiences for prime contents on TV networks. From Facebook, Twitter (Periscope), YouTube and SnapChat, live streaming is now a free for all.

The business model of companies providing live streaming also made them gained unprecedented popularity. For instance, YouTube actually shares 55% of its ad revenue with content owners which extend to live videos. This in itself not only provides a pecuniary motivation to people but a shift in power from corporations to the 15-year-old with a smartphone.

According to data compiled by the networking equipment giant, Cisco, Internet video traffic will be over 80% of all consumer internet traffic in the year 2021 and Live videos (live streaming) will be 13% of the total.So what then is the future of TV networks and traditional contents in general?

TV networks are expected to change their business model to fit the new normal. Live streaming or live videos are now making the production of videos cheaper. Editing and finishing of these contents would also require expertise. In essence, a value chain would be created that would benefit all stakeholders.

TV networks might end up acquiring media IPs, supporting productions and using their assets to relay these contents on the Internet.

Credit: SBI Media