Technology and ads change, but TV lives on

By Paul Thomasch

NEW YORK (Reuters) - American broadcast television is here to stay, regardless of dramatic changes taking place in how, where and when viewers watch their favorite shows.

So concluded top media executives at this week's Reuters Media Summit in New York, where most predicted dramatic changes to occur in TV over the next few years, making it necessary to be more creative and flexible than ever before.

"I don't think broadcast is going away anytime soon," Anne Sweeney, the head of Walt Disney Co.'s (DIS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) entertainment and news television properties, told the summit.

Yet Sweeney's comments came as Disney's ABC experiments with making shows available in places other than broadcast TV, including its ABC.com site, where viewers can watch hits like "Grey's Anatomy" and "Desperate Housewives."

These days, network TV shows can also be purchased and downloaded from Apple Computer Inc.'s (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) iTunes, meaning they can be watched on iPods by viewers on the move.

And when Americans do cozy up to their TV sets at home, they can zip through commercials or watch shows whenever they choose, thanks to TiVo and other digital video recorders.

Not surprisingly, TV advertising is also starting to change. Audience measurement standards are being questioned, while marketers are looking beyond the traditional 30-second commercial spot to product placements and sponsorships.

"The TV industry has changed so dramatically," said Jessica Reif Cohen, a media analyst with Merrill Lynch. "I don't doubt things will change more and there will be more fragmentation of the business model and different ways of viewing."  Continued...