BUSINESS: SPECIAL REPORT
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Phil Ward assesses the long-term effects of the pandemic on the global broadcast supply chain THANKS TO COVID-19, THE BROADCAST technology supply chain has no anchor. Detailed research by Futuresource Consulting reveals a very confused picture indeed, with global broadcast consumption making strange patterns in lockdown. Product development over the next few years will not be for the faint-hearted. For example, one major anomaly underpins everything. Although viewing figures and Subscription Video on Demand (SVoD) usage are up, advertising revenue is down. The usual assumption that bums-on-seats equals cash cannot be made, and the predicted global recession is likely to put the brakes on recovery in most territories – even though media and entertainment have historically proven to be slump-proof. One reason is the change in delivery platforms and how they are used.
Cheap tricks There are now far more alternatives to conventional broadcasting than ever before, and many of them are cheaper, if not free, and open to various revenue short-circuits such as password sharing. Meanwhile, the interruption to production, such as in drama, will have to be compensated by a drive to create content that could well put a strain on resources, while the rescheduling of the sports calendar is bound to challenge logistics. So, once again, a potential boom may not necessarily result in a smooth recovery. At the same time, will the current surge in SVoD be maintained by subscriber retention or dip as consumers leave the house? Surveys show that streaming services have followed a similar arc, with a significant trend towards older demographics. However, this has not been at the cost of Public Service Broadcasting (PSB), which remains trusted and familiar in uncertain times – witness The BBC’s nostalgic usage of Glastonbury and Wimbledon archive material over the summer – leading many to predict that the most likely outcome is a further acceleration of IP delivery for all networks. This raises the question of how well the internet backbone will cope. Netflix effected a reduction in traffic bitrate of 25% to ease pressure on streaming, with a concomitant downgrading of resolution, while YouTube’s similar measure of defaulting to SD has been necessary to withstand a 60% rise in content watched. Other providers have followed suit as concurrent streaming has rocketed – and a sharp rise in esports engagement has had a lot to do with that. According to gaming analytics specialist Newzoo and its Global Esports Market Report for 2020, esports revenues will grow to US$1.1 billion in 2020, a year-on-year growth of 15.7%, with three-quarters of this generated by media rights and sponsorship. Both NAB and IBC have latterly devoted areas of exhibition and showcase to esports technology, enabling Grass Valley to use NAB
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for a demonstration of its “decades of live production” in the new arena of professional gaming. Newzoo executive Cleo Sardelis adds that game streaming “will be a key component of future media strategies”. In the supply chain, this will mostly suit traditional OB players in camera channels, switchers, replay machines and graphics.
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Pod one out Is podcasting the punk rock of audio broadcast? Nothing suits the renegade aspects of remote production better than an inexpensive and hugely accessible medium that sits comfortably on IP and disrupts the establishment values of radio. A glut of online self-help tutorials – podcasts about podcasting, many of them – is encouraging outlets for new, established and in some cases very little talent, all exploiting the perceived improvements in audio infrastructure.
Blackbird’s browser-based digital video editing via the cloud, configured for news coverage
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Parcast has supported lockdown hosts with Røde mixers and NTG1 mics Professional podcasting studios have been able to set up remote operation quite easily. LA-based Stitcher, for example, normally has a consistent spread of Shure SM7B microphones and Allen & Heath Qu Series mixers throughout its campus. However, regular producers have been supplied with Samson Q2U cardioids, Sennheiser Handmic Digital mics and Focusrite audio interfaces at home, appended to the Zoom H5 and H6 portable recorders already issued; their guests have taken delivery of USB microphones, headphones and acoustically friendly reflection filters for the mics in order to maximise sonic quality across disparate households. In another sense, the pandemic actually legitimises established workflows. With an international team of sound designers, content creation house and Spotify-owned Parcast has used remote production since its inception some four years before the first cough of Covid, and, over a year ago, introduced the multitrack, multi-party and browser-based digital recorder launched by online studio link expert Cleanfeed for file exchange. Parcast has also reinforced its sheltered hosts with Røde’s Rødecaster Pro mixers and NTG1 microphones – raising the question of whether enterprises like this have already defined a future without central studios. Such a paradigm shift will not happen unless cloud-based storage and file transfer solutions stand up to the test. As Dropbox’s head of media Andy Wilson says, “bandwidth
Cinegy is a pioneer of IP-based production
Esports revenues will grow to US$1.1 billion in 2020 is the number one challenge, which is directly linked to the need to move large media files”. Cue timely start-ups such as London-headquartered Base Media Cloud, which promises “low-cost cloud storage with integrated media software tools, online and on-demand”. The company’s solutions are said to adapt workflows perfectly for today’s conditions, as well as tightening data security, reducing costs and allowing dispersed teams to work from anywhere at any time.
Also in the UK, Quicklink has been adapting its sturdier professional video conferencing platform for broadcast media use, even on game shows: today’s offer provides “software and hardware IP solutions for the transmission of live and edited video”, with unique codecs for the optimisation of variable bandwidth from one area to another, developed since 2003 and coming of age right now. Similarly, Washington DC’s Cinegy is a pioneer of IPbased production that might almost have been
26 PRO AVL ASIA September–October 2020
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21/08/2020 10:10
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