The colored buttons you see in your remote control are not simple direct accesses to give you more comfort, but They are the result of millionaire agreements between television manufacturers and streaming platforms Like Netflix, Disney+ The Prime Video.
And is that Every time you click one of these buttons you are being part of a huge commercial strategy carefully Designed to direct your attention and, incidentally, condition your entertainment consumption.
How a simple button became a millionaire business
When the first remote controls appeared in the fifties, their only function was to avoid getting up from the couch to change the channel. Over time, they went from being a luxury to becoming a symbol of power of those who had the command decided what was seen.
Today this object has become a privileged showcase within the digital war to capture users. Direct access to streaming platforms are not a gesture of kindness towards the viewer, but a space bought at the price of gold.
For example, Roku, one of the largest streaming devices manufacturers, came to collect a dollar for button in each command sold. It may seem little, but if you multiply by tens of millions of devices, the business amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars annually.
In practice, each button is a fixed announcement, embedded in an apparatus that you use every day in your living room. The impact on your habits is clear, if you have a direct access to Netflix, you are more likely to press it instead of opening another less visible application.
It should be noted that this is no accident, it is psychology applied to consumption, where The platforms they pay for being there know that this repeated gesture is translated into more hours of viewing, more loyalty and, of course, more income.
This business model, however, is not neutral, because large streaming services have resources to ensure a privileged space in the command, while local platforms, smaller services or even free alternatives are in the background.
Research already warned that this practice favors large technological ones, generating an unequal competition scenario. In Europe, the European Commission and the United Kingdom have opened the door to study if these tactics violate the rules of fair competition.
The command as a new source of income
Television manufacturers not only win by selling hardware, they have now discovered that the remote control can become a commercial asset as valuable as the screen itself. When renting or selling space in the form of buttons, they obtain recurring income that complement their increasingly adjusted margins in the television market.
This type of strategy is not unique, we see it in other technological spheres, such as mobile phones that integrate preinstalled apps from factory as a result of commercial agreements, browsers that establish by default a search engine in exchange for large sums of money, or connected cars that integrate music services or maps selected by contracts.
In all cases, the objective is the same, which is to guarantee recurrent visibility and consumption. The remote control is perhaps the most visible example because it is part of the daily routinesince being in your hand, it becomes a constant reminder of what services you should use.
The debate goes beyond a couple of direct accesses, the question is whether these practices limit the plurality of options you access as a user. If the command always privileges the same global platforms, local or independent services have more difficult to reach you.
Hence, some see the need to force also to include access to free or public content, to balance the offer and avoid a monopoly. The problem is that comfort plays in favor of great technological ones.
For many, It is usefulwhere advertising ceases to be perceived as such and is confused with a basic function.
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Tags: Smart TV