Apple, Google and Others: Vying for Prime Time in the Digital Living Room

The digital living room as a concept has been around for years. The vision: Television will be connected to the Internet, and viewers -- who are generally passive consumers of content -- will become more interactive participants.

Through their televisions, viewers will start microblogging via Twitter, updating Facebook with comments about the shows they watch and sharing YouTube videos with friends. Meanwhile, they will access whatever programming they want, whenever and however they want. The problem, according to Wharton faculty and other experts, is that consumers are not likely to change their television habits very quickly. The challenge for companies looking to conquer the digital living room is finding a business model that works. Models will vary, but experts at Wharton generally agree that content subscriptions will play a key role.