The Chairman of the Board of Directors of Alter Ego Media, Spyridon Zavitsanos, spoke at the OT Delphi Economic Forum XI about the future of television. During his remarks, he referred to the changes taking place, the needs of the new era, and the company’s goals.

In response to a question by Antonis Sroiter on whether television has reached its end or a new era has arrived, Mr. Zavitsanos noted: “It is inevitable. I will never say that the end of television has come. Television is a superpower that humans once imagined and have now achieved through technology. It is changing, evolving, transforming, and content is becoming richer. There are many channels through which we can watch this content. I do not think there will be a return. The issue is how you move forward within this process.

At Alter Ego Media, we will follow two paths in parallel. One is data; Alter Ego Media is a data-first company. What does this mean? All strategic decisions, as well as decisions of lesser importance, are made based on data and information. This results in our effort to expand our data base and enhance the tools and methodologies we use to leverage this data, so that the information becomes more useful.

The other path is investment in technology and infrastructure, as well as in our people, who—with their talent and knowledge—guarantee progress. We are confident that we will succeed, always with respect for the viewer.”

Within the constantly evolving technological world, the issue of changing viewer habits also arises. Mr. Zavitsanos noted that “my sense is that viewers are doing just fine.”

“Language is a major advantage for Greek production”

When asked about the competition between Greek content platforms and those from abroad, Mr. Zavitsanos emphasized the importance of the Greek language.

“Language is a major advantage for Greek production. As long as we operate in Greece using the Greek language, this advantage is ours. Indeed, Greek fiction will always hold a place in Greek television, whether free-to-air or subscription-based.

Where free-to-air television truly has no rival is in the broadcasting of live events, live news coverage, and especially crisis management. Try to imagine managing the pandemic without free-to-air television, without the ‘daily gathering’ with Mr. Tsiodras at six every day, which gave us a framework for where we stood and what to expect.

This cannot be replaced; it is the great, incomparable advantage of free-to-air television, and I do not believe this can change. As a society, we need to watch and discuss the same stories, and this is what we, the free-to-air channels, provide.”

In response to the question regarding the provision of free content alongside advertisements, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Alter Ego Media stated: “I would challenge the notion of ‘free.’ By watching advertisements, I pay with my time and attention. Greece is a small market, and we have many disadvantages and some advantages. One of these is that we can get a glimpse of the future. We can see what has happened in other markets on this issue.

What is happening is that the viewer is being educated and, recognizing that content produced to certain standards and signed by professionals has a cost—and that this cost must somehow be covered—accepts participating in that cost. There is a shared understanding that this will be done in various ways. One is through subscription, where I may have few or no advertisements; another is by providing time and attention by watching advertisements; and a third is by providing my data, which is valuable to us. At Alter Ego Media, we use it to produce content.

So what will emerge is a hybrid model, a range of offerings from which everyone will be able to choose what suits them best.”