Top execs weigh in on the future of TV

Back in 2023, Liliana and I spoke to some of the biggest names in the media business. We wanted to know what they thought the television industry would look like in 3 years. >> We heard a lot of predictions, some of which did happen, like media mergers and spin-outs, expanded streaming bundles, and the growth of AI. >> Other predictions didn't age as well. We probably won't be watching TV in the metaverse anytime soon, and Apple still isn't making TV sets. >> Now, 3 years later, we wanted to revisit this idea, talk to the top names in the media industry, some from last time and some new voices, to hear what they think the future of TV will look like 3 years from now. >> We asked the same five questions to 10 industry leaders to hear their takes on sports, cord-cutting, streaming, mergers, and more. >> Here's what they had to say. >> Are we in a sports viewership ratings bubble? Will the big sports, NFL, NBA, MLB, will those ratings be lower in 3 years than they are today? >> I believe the answer is a a fast no. Uh first off, measurement is getting better, uh and much more accurate, including, of course, uh out-of-home and and now streaming usage being accounted for. So, so that's obviously very helpful. But but, Alex, every time the industry expects a downturn, uh numbers continue up and to the right. >> It's really important to understand that Nielsen has made some methodological improvements that impact sports and everything in general, but in particular, sports. Um the number one thing there is we've expanded our out-of-home measurement. And with sports, it's really, really important because as we've added markets to measurement, home markets are super important to sports ratings. So, we have seen increases um directly attributable to that enhancement that, you know, we we expect to continue, but we won't see a big uh year-to-year bump.