How To Save Cable

[Commentary] One of the main choking points for the cable industry is actually the hardware, meaning set-top boxes and the remote control.

It is nearly impossible, as we have seen, to drastically improve the TV experience when the technology infrastructure in place simply won't allow this. Some conversations are about set-top boxes that are over 10 years old and still in market. Think about that for a second. We change our phones yearly, or computers every two or three years, but the device with which most people spend the most time with media might be a DECADE old. An easy example of how hardware is holding back innovation is the lack of a keyboard.

Think about the last time you tried to type a word into your cable box. Most likely you were given a cursor and used the arrows on your remote control to move to each letter. How is content supposed to become interactive with this hurdle for usage? How can there be a consistently better user experience? And, maybe most importantly for this audience, how can marketers better engage consumers without rapid innovation?