TV Being Installed On South Central Trains
TNX TV have just announced a deal to install their commercial TV offering in all of South Central's new trains.
The deal will last for 5 years and will see TV screens installed in carriages blasting out commercials and other programmes to trapped passengers onboard. The sound system is designed to compensate for the noise of the train and adjust itself automatically.
However there is hope for passengers who don't want to be subjected to this as a "quiet zone" will be provided. These will account for only 20% of the train.
The two companies have this to say about the new deal...
We are delighted to have signed this agreement with South Central Ltd, the first of the major London commuter train operators to convert their letter of intent into a formal agreement," said Stephen Ollier, Managing Director of TNCI UK Ltd. "We are confident that the TNX system will significantly enhance the daily commuting experience. The South Central commuter demographics also provide an excellent opportunity to optimize our advertising.
South Central is always seeking ways to improve the journey experience for its passengers" said Charles Horton, Managing Director of South Central. "We believe the TNX system will provide a valuable service to our customers, with a range of entertaining, stimulating and informative programming that includes news provided by ITN. In the future, we have the potential to use the system to improve passenger information and enhanced security through CCTV
Personally I don't think this is a very good idea. During the morning commute to London most passengers sleep, and having TV's blasting out ads will mean not being able to do so. It also means fighting to try to get into a quiet zone. On the way home I like to read and relax, and I don't think TNX TV will let me do that as it would be too distracting. Good news maybe for advertisers, but bad for me.
It would appear I am in a minority however. Apparently 80% of passengers want this installed. I can see it working on short trips, but I'm not so sure on longer journeys.
Looking at the technical details of the system, they are using wifi to transmit updated content to the train each time it stops at an enabled station. I wonder how long it will be before some sniffs the wifi network to work out how to hack the screens. That could be amusing :-)