«Television is the bedrock of popular culture»

TV pioneer Bea Knecht was honored with the Digital Lifetime Award.This profile appeared in the current issue of «Marketing & Kommunikation.» Order now A subscription and find out more exciting monthly information on the topics of marketing, communication, digital, media and education.————————————-The fire in the fireplace crackles, the leather armchair is plush and soft, the tables are made of dark wood, and the coffee is served with fine chocolates. A place to relax, a spot right in the heart of Zurich where people meet and chat. Here, at the Park Hyatt, in this rustic lounge, it’s a pleasure to meet this year’s winner of the Digital Lifetime Award, Bea Knecht. The founder and chairwoman of the internet TV provider Zattoo received the award for her achievements in the digital marketing industry. She never would have thought that Zattoo would one day have such a profound impact on her life, she says.A lifetime achievement award—considering that the internet didn’t really take off until 1996, this certainly applies to Bea Knecht. Although Zattoo wasn’t founded until ten years later, her fascination with technology began much earlier. Specifically, in the U.S. The native of Aargau spent her senior year of high school in Palm Springs. At the time, she applied to various universities just for fun and out of an interest in computer science—until she was unexpectedly accepted at Berkeley, California. On the side, she worked in chip design. At some point, someone recommended a publication from Sarnoff Labs—the TV research lab in New Jersey—to Knecht. It was a prototype description of how digital TV might work. The computer scientist immediately realized that televisions would need to perform computer-like tasks in order to process digital signals. But if the television can become a computer, why can’t the computer become a television? Bea Knecht reasoned. It was only a matter of time before the chips were fast enough and the compression algorithms powerful enough. Others had already tried to launch a platform for Internet TV—Larry Ellison and Tim Draper, for example. In Switzerland, too, the first projects were launched by the Fantastic Corporation—but without success. Sometimes it’s best to wait and see, explains Knecht. For her and her team, the right moment came in 2005. By then, they had the technology, but not yet the product. It was as if they had an engine but were missing the body. The challenge was to design this «body» themselves. After all, a user-friendly product shouldn’t require users to make complicated settings. That should actually be automated. The same goes for updates. «Even back then, when there were no iPhones yet, we saw Internet TV as an app,» explains Knecht. Today, the majority of the Swiss population owns a smartphone, and the question is much more about how the whole thing will evolve. But even though modern people are offered more and more possibilities, television still holds great relevance for this digital pioneer. She sees it as the bedrock of popular culture, precisely because we live in a world with such a high density of interactions, activities, and information. That’s why content should be delivered to viewers in a way that allows them to access it at any time via smartphone, tablet, or PC. While this way of watching TV offers independence, the availability of hundreds of channels also leaves consumers spoiled for choice. Zattoo’s goal is therefore to recommend exactly the shows that suit each user. Since 2009, the company has also sought to establish itself in the field of television audience measurement. Unlike Netmetrix, it measures directly at the source. This determines who is watching what and when, and whether a user is channel-oriented or finds a program via the search function. Bea Knecht herself enjoys using the targeted search to find the programs she wants and invests a few minutes in making her selection. She is particularly fond of Kathryn Bigelow’s films.________________________________________Name: Bea KnechtVintage: 1967Function: CEO of ZattooTraining: Computer Science and Management Development at BerkeleyFamily: singleLeisure: Inline skating, art, hiking, traveling________________________________________Author: Melanie Granados