Advanced Television

Blockchain TV is a story we’ve heard before

May 21, 2024

Despite decades of research and innovation, TV remains one of the more static technologies entertaining British households.

However, as its history stretches back to the 1920s when Scottish engineer John Logie Baird started experimenting with his ‘Televisor’, it’d be understandable if the nearly 100-year-old invention felt a little sore with time.

It’s perhaps fairer to put it another way: TV doesn’t need fixing.

3D TV

Plenty have tried. Incredibly, Baird trialled several TV quirks that still crop up in conversation today in the inter-war years, including 3D TV. That idea was reborn in the 2010s to become one of the biggest failures in television history, lasting just three years on broadcast between 2010 and 2013.

Its decline wasn’t due to a lack of interest from networks (the FIFA World Cup 2010 competition had 25 matches screened in 3D, for instance). The public wasn’t interested in another expensive fad so soon after the recession of the late 2000s.

The last 3D TV was manufactured in 2017 but it’s still possible to find the technology installed on some mixed-media TVs.

Other failed enhancements to the television include voice and motion detection, curved displays, and an array of recording media, including Betamax. Except for ‘smart’ and plasma devices, the humble television is almost as Baird left it upon his passing in 1946.

Blockchain

This brings us to the blockchain and what could be TV’s next ex-partner.

Blockchain is a database often associated with the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. The network gains frequent attention in the press for spawning ideas like NFTs but its popularity is arguably driven by its use as a payment option. It’s anonymous, easily crosses borders, and is highly secure.

The crypto and blockchain niche hasn’t had much luck ‘making it’ on the high street. It’s a beloved tool in the casino industry, though The CasinoStake website notes in its Sweet Bonanza review that the game can be played with at least seven digital tokens, including Bitcoin, Dogecoin and Ethereum.

This financial aspect of the blockchain is important, as plans to integrate the technology with other concepts often utilise a play-to-earn system. Just as the video game Axie Infinity rewards players with the AXS crypto coin for winning battles, blockchain TV would let people earn by watching TV and films.

An Incentive

Admittedly, this is a gimmick within a niche so it’s unlikely to find half the legs that curved TVs once had – unless a broadcaster like the BBC or ITV picks it up. Existing examples, like EarnTV, lack meaningful content at present, too.

There’s a kernel of a good idea in blockchain TV. Low-budget movies, especially horror, always find a home on growing TV channels, suggesting that this is a guaranteed way to get that product across. A focus on up-and-coming creators on a platform that incentivises viewing would be a gift to the industry.

Unfortunately, this type of thing is usually provided by governments and universities to students so blockchain TV’s purpose in the wider industry still seems vague.

Categories: Articles, Blockchain

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