THE BUSINESS OF DIGITAL CONTENT DELIVERY
An ITP Business Publication
WIRED FOR CHANGE
ON THE LEVEL
How the AP news agency is preparing for the digital age
Loudness and surround sound ignite audio debate
The
list
The 20 most infl fluentiall figures in the h Middle ddl East content delivery d l sector Licensed by International Media Production Zone
VOLUME 3 ISSUE 1 JANUARY 2010
The way to perfect picture...
OFFSET & PRIME FOCUS SATELLITE ANTENNAS TX-RX SATELLITE ANTENNAS LCD & PLASMA MOUNTS
www.gessat.com.tr
CONTENTS
2 WEB HIGHLIGHTS
15
What next for Arab Media Group?; top web stories; editor’s choice: DIFF conference videos.
6 THE BRIEFING Rotana signs Disney pact; Al Jazeera wraps up deal for ART sports content.
12 MOUSETRAP Disney’s Stephen Moore reveals the company’s plans for the Middle East.
15 COVER STORY: THE POWERLIST Digital Broadcast’s guide to the 20 most influential powerbrokers in the region’s content delivery biz.
32 MARKET ANALYSIS The number of people accessing the internet explodes as the wireless web takes hold.
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE...
10
24
28
TEN OF THE BEST
WIRED FOR CHANGE
ON THE LEVEL
Behind the scenes at the broadcast centre of Dubai-based Ten Sports.
Associated Press execs discuss the changing relationship between technology and news.
The potential of surround-sound and the problem of loudness bring audio to the fore.
www.digitalproductionme.com
JANUARY 2010 01
DPME.COM ROUND-UP
The online home of:
DMI SHIFT LEAVES AMG FACILITY IN BALANCE Dubai-based media giant Arab Media Group’s (AMG) Noor Dubai TV and radio staff shifted to Dubai Media Inc. last month, casting doubts over the future of AMG’s Dubai Studio City facility. digitalproductionme.com/news
READER COMMENT: “I am very disappointed that the backers of AMG have decided to merge with DMI, this stifles the resilience and flexibilty of Dubai to have more than one voice to call its own.” Tamer, Kuwait.
1
Google’s ‘iPhone killer’ breaks cover
2
Sony EMEA to abandon videoconferencing biz: report
3
Rotana and Fox sign $26.7m deal with Disney
4
Behringer parent buys Midas, Klark Teknik
5
KSA targets regional markets with new TV channels
DATE: December 22
MOST POPULAR STORIES M
EDITOR’S CHOICE VIDEOS
DIFF FILM MARKET
ALSO ON THE DPME SLATE THIS MONTH... ANALYSIS
INTERVIEWS
REDLINE FEVER
SON OF BABYLON
DPME.com goes backstage at the region’s biggest ever concert series.
Mohammed Daradji talks exclusively to DPME.com about his latest film.
digitalproductionme.com/analysis
digitalproductionme.com/interviews
TECHNOLOGY
COMMENT
CODEBREAKERS
WHY DUBAI SELLS
The key encoding technologies easing broadcasters’ multiplatform headaches. digitalproductionme.com/technology 02 JANUARY 2010
Why the Dubai International Film Festival continues to be the Middle East’s top industry event.
Delegates discuss the future of film funding at this year’s Dubai International Film Fetsival.
AWARDS
2010
Nominate now at: digitalproductionme.com/ dsawards
digitalproductionme.com/comment www.digitalproductionme.com
Build the solution you want.
Flexible, scalable video processing and transport across any network.
Format conversion, synchronizing, embedding and de-embedding, routing, JPEG 2000 compression, multiplexing, signal aggregation. These are just a few of the Nevion building blocks supporting content acquisition, production and media transport across fibre overlay, SONET/SDH and IP. Together Nevion’s Flashlink, Ventura and VikinX product lines provide the most scalable and flexible global video transport for any network. That’s why the world’s leading broadcasters and service providers choose Nevion for customized, costeffective and highly efficient global video transport. We specialize in building solutions around existing equipment or creating new solutions that integrate multiple protocols. All of this—including standard-setting SP&D and routing solutions—is controlled by a monitoring and management system that puts you in charge of your assets.
Tell us what you have in mind. We’ll be building together in no time. +971 (0)4 3901018, middle-east@nevion.com Come see us at IBC, stand 8.B70 Flashlink — Broadcast solutions • Ventura — Service provider solutions • VikinX — Routing solutions Control and Management — Integrated network monitoring
The Americas •
Asia Pacific
•
Europe and Africa
•
Middle East
info@m3sat.com booking@m3sat.com www.m3sat.com
● digital platform for radio, TV and data, on Hot Bird 13° East, 9° East, and many other position for a wide coverage in Europe, Middle East and Mediterranean Basin
Tel + 39 02 98284013 – Fax + 39 02 98282074
M-Three Satcom Srl – Via Brianza 15/17, San Giuliano Milanese 20098 Milano - ITALY
A full range of broadcast and transmission solutions for your company
● a state of the art teleport at your disposal, for transmission via fibre and satellite with worldwide coverage, access point in all Europe and Middle east for an easy access to services ● a complete fleet of DSNG trucks, fly away stations and production crew for coverage of live events, space capacity for occasional or permanent use ● system integration and turnkey solutions for broadcasting: encoding, receivers, satellite uplink and antenna systems, microwave transmitters, fibre optics connectivity and hardware ● connectivity services via I-Direct Hub and systems for bi-directional connectivity for wide area network or internet access on land and sea
With our teleport: your content, your concepts, we broadcast worldwide
COMMENT
Registered at Dubai Media City PO Box 500024, Dubai, UAE Tel: 00 971 4 210 8000, Fax: 00 971 4 210 8080 Web: www.itp.com Offices in Dubai & London ITP BUSINESS PUBLISHING CEO Walid Akawi Managing Director Neil Davies Deputy Managing Director Matthew Southwell Editorial Director David Ingham VP Sales Wayne Lowery EDITORIAL Senior Group Editor Aaron Greenwood Tel: +971 4 435 6251 email: aaron.greenwood@itp.com Deputy Editor John Parnell Tel: +971 4 435 6271 email: john.parnell@itp.com ADVERTISING Commercial Director Fred Dubery Tel: +971 4 435 6339 email: fred@itp.com Sales Manager Gavin Murphy Tel: +971 4 435 6369 email: gavin.murphy@itp.com Japan Advertising Representative Mikio Tsuchiya Tel: + 81 354 568230 email: ua9m-tcy@asahi-net.or.jp STUDIO Group Art Editor Daniel Prescott Art Editor Simon Cobon PHOTOGRAPHY Director of Photography Sevag Davidian Chief Photographer Khatuna Khutsishvili Senior Photographers Efraim Evidor Staff Photographers Leila Cranswick, Lyubov Galushko, Thanos Lazopoulos, Jovana Obradovic, Ruel Pableo, Rajesh Raghav PRODUCTION & DISTRIBUTION Group Production Manager Kyle Smith Production Manager Eleanor Zwanepoel Managing Picture Editor Patrick Littlejohn Image Retoucher Emmalyn Robles Distribution Manager Karima Ashwell Distribution Executive Nada Al Alami CIRCULATION Head of Circulation & Database Gaurav Gulati MARKETING Head of Marketing Daniel Fewtrell ITP DIGITAL Director Peter Conmy ITP GROUP Chairman Andrew Neil Managing Director Robert Serafin Finance Director Toby Jay Spencer-Davies Board of Directors K.M. Jamieson, Mike Bayman, Walid Akawi, Neil Davies, Rob Corder, Mary Serafin Circulation Customer Service Tel: +971 4 435 6000
THE AVATAR EFFECT
T
his month sees the annual International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) kick-off in Las Vegas. In addition to the 35 football fields worth of exhibition space, CES is also the venue for high-level industry discussions on the future of the digital entertainment industry. Conference speakers include representatives from across the full spectrum of stakeholders including Sony, Panasonic, Dreamworks, Electronic Arts and AT&T. The subject of many of these sessions however (four out of seven to be precise) is 3D. There are only two reasons why 3D should receive so much attention. Either 3D is far closer to becoming a mainstream everyday entertainment format, which – despite the recent success of Avatar – seems unlikely or alternatively, too many people are looking to jump on the 3D bandwagon. Only two conference sessions at the entire event mention HD in the title. Even these are a little spurious with one leaning toward online delivery and other looking at incorporating widgets in TV services. It is easy to get carried away with new technologies but the distraction caused by ‘the
Avatar effect’ must be kept under control. For the Middle East, 2010 is likely to be the year that we run out of fi ngers to count the number of HD channels available. Th is must remain the focus for broadcasters. Many technology heads will have seen their budgets cut last year and most likely this year also. However, HD migration is a business decision, not just a technical one, and the broadcasters that have committed to the format will have budgeted for it and the economic situation will not derail it. In the past six months, Orbit Showtime, Rotana, ADMC and Al Jazeera, have all confi rmed that they will launch new HD channels in 2010. The consumer electronics manufacturers may be looking for the next big ticket item to sell to the public but for the broadcast community, there are still plenty of HD issues to clear-up.
JOHN PARNELL Deputy Editor john.parnell@itp.com
Certain images in this issue are available for purchase. Please contact itpimages@itp.com for further details or visit www.itpimages.com. Printed by Color Lines Printing Press Subscribe online at www.itp.com/subscriptions The publishers regret that they cannot accept liability for error or omissions contained in this publication, however caused. The opinions and views contained in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers. Readers are advised to seek specialist advice before acting on information contained in this publication which is provided for general use and may not be appropriate for the reader’s particular circumstances. The ownership of trademarks is acknowledged. No part of this publication or any part of the contents thereof may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form without the permission of the publishers in writing. An exemption is hereby granted for extracts used for the purpose of fair review.
Published by and Copyright © 2010 ITP Business Publishing, a division of ITP Business Publishing Group Ltd. Registered in the B.V.I. under Company Registration number 1402846.
www.digitalproductionme.com
The online home of:
FOR THE LATEST NEWS, ANALYSIS AND REVIEWS FROM THE MIDDLE EAST CONTENT DELIVERY, MEDIA MANAGEMENT AND NEW MEDIA DISTRIBUTION BUSINESS HEAD TO DIGITALPRODUCTIONME.COM
TO SUBSCRIBE please visit www.itp.com/subscriptions JANUARY 2010 05
THE BRIEFING
GOOD MONTH ROTANA In addition to signing a distribution agreement with Disney for the Fox Movies and Fox Series channels the Saudi media giant also secured investment from Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp organisation last month. News Corp will take a ten percent stake in Rotana with the option to double this in the future if it chooses. The two organisations already have strong links. Rotana owner Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is the largest shareholder in News Corp outside of the Murdoch family.
BAD MONTH ARAB MEDIA GROUP The Dubai-based Arab Media Group (AMG) had already seen its Noor Dubai TV and radio channels transferred to Dubai Media Inc and last month it became apparent that its Dubai Studio City facility could also be moved on. An estimated 80-100 staff have been moved to DMI and unnamed sources in both companies suggested that the future of the facility that housed much of AMG’s TV operations, is now in the balance.
06 JANUARY 2010
BROADCAST BUSINESS
ROTANA SIGNS PACT FOR DISNEY CONTENT Regional Fox FTA channels gain access to raft of new programming The Rotana Media Group and Fox International Channels have signed a US $26.7 million content licensing agreement with Walt Disney Co. Disney content will be aired in the Middle East on the Fox Movies and Fox Series channels under the terms of the four-year accord, according to a statement by the companies. “This deal reflects our vision to bring the broad range of content within our portfolio to wider audiences in the Middle East,” said Francesca Tauriello, senior vice president, program distribution for Disney’s media distribution, B2BGroup, EMEA South. “The agreement builds upon our long-term relationship with Fox International Channels and Rotana and the content covered under the terms of the agreement is a fantastic strategic fit for their channels and audiences. “The deal also provides the opportunity to build additional areas of business together such as local productions and to customise marketing-promotional activities,” she added. Stephen Moore, EVP media distribution, Walt
(From L-R): Rohit D’Silver, Fox International Channels; Hassan Suleiman, Rotana Media Services; Stephen Moore, Diseny EMEA; Nezar Nagro, Rotana Media Services; Francesca Tauriello, Disney.
Disney Co. EMEA, suggested that the agreement was the first step in the company’s plans to develop business interests across a number of different business operations in the Middle East. “We’ve always had a presence in the region in many areas of activity; theatrical, home entertainment, consumer products and television. We are now dedicated to integrating and expanding these to a much deeper level,” said Moore.
MONTH IN NUMBERS
$26.7 million
Reported value of the four-year deal between Rotana and Disney.
$1 billion
Reported value of Al Jazeera’s acquisition of ART’s sports content.
KSA TO LAUNCH FOUR NEW TV STATIONS Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Culture and Information (MOCI) has announced that it would launch four new TV channels from the Kingdom at the start of the new Hijra year (Dec 18). Two of the new channels will focus purely on the Holy Quran and Sunnah and be broadcast from the holy cities of Meccah and Medinah, Abdul Aziz Khoja, minister of Culture and Information announced.
The other two new stations will focus on economic and cultural issues. Five new private FM radio stations are also scheduled to launch this year in KSA. The Saudi MOCI has already short-listed 15 companies for five licenses to operate the stations. Dr. Riyadh Najm, assistant minister for engineering at the MOCI added that selected companies would be informed to make their offers for the next phase. www.digitalproductionme.com
THE BRIEFING
PLATFORMS
AL JAZEERA COMPLETES DEAL FOR ART SPORTS RIGHTS Qatari network snaps up broadcast licences for number of events including the World Cup Arab Radio and Television (ART) has confirmed the sale of its entire sports portfolio including this year’s FIFA World Cup for an estimated US$1 billion to Al Jazeera Sport. Although ART will cease transmission of six of its sports channels at the end of the 2009, its subscribers will be able to access the content on Al Jazeera Sport channels that will be available on the ART bouquet. Al Jazeera Sport launched five new SD and two HD channels last year to accommodate the additional sport content. ART has also worked extensively to create an open platform that will enable its subscribers to receive channels from any pay TV operator
FIFA president Sepp Blatter poses with the World Cup trophy.
although this is subject to partnerships between ART and other regional operators. The deal indicates a significant shift in ART’s business model from being a host broadcaster to a content distributor. Prior to the deal, ART, held the broadcast rights to several major football competitions including the FIFA World Cups for 2010 and 2014 and the African Cup of Nations.
SPORTING CHANCE ART held the rights to local football leagues in Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Jordan, Algeria, Syria and Sudan.
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
The digital ecosystem is bulimic. People are pouring content into it and no one is charging for it. HENRIK EKLUND, Director of digital distribution, Associated Press.
Roger Crumpton, director, IABM.
Yousef Mugharbil, president of Rotana Digital.
Farid Faraidooni, EVP commercial, du.
CONFIDENCE RETURNS TO THE BROADCAST TECH INDUSTRY The latest IABM industry trends survey has revealed cautious optimism returning among broadcast technology manufacturers. The trade organisation’s most recent quarterly report found that 50 percent of respondents felt the final quarter of 2009 would be better than the previous quarter.
www.digitalproductionme.com
SUBS WILL BE KEY FOR HD: ROTANA
DU LAUNCHES VOD SERVICE
The subscription-based model will be essential for the future success of HD in the Middle East, according to Yousef Mugharbil, president of Rotana Digital Media. Mugharbil also revealed that the Saudi media giant plans to launch at least one HD channel by the end of 2010 but is still deliberating the details of any proposed service.
UAE telco du launched a new video-on-demand (VOD) offering for subscribers to its IPTV service last month. The service is available to all subscribers equipped with the telco’s recently introduced du TV STB and will feature a range of first-run Hollywood, Bollywood and Arabic films, which can be viewed for up to 48 hours at a time.
JANUARY 2010 07
THE BRIEFING
Sony will film 25 matches in 3D at the FIFA World Cup in South Africa next summer. FIFA has not yet decided whether it will resell the live broadcast rights to the 3D games or market them itself. Sony will retain distribution rights for all 3D World Cup matches after the event “This propels the football fan into a whole new viewing dimension and marks the dawn of a new era in the broadcasting of sport,” said FIFA secretary general Jérôme Valcke.
BEIRUT ORGANISATION ANNOUNCES FILM FUND Screen Institute Beirut is now accepting applications for its newly-established film fund, which will seek to provide production grants and technical facilities to selected documentary filmmakers. Submissions will be accepted until January 30, 2010. Initial funding for the Institute’s activities has been secured from International Media Support IMS in Denmark. However, the Institute will need further funding in the future to guarantee its continued sustainability, commented executive director, Paul Baboudjian. 08 JANUARY 2010
BROADCAST BRIEFS
SONY TO FILM 2010 WORLD CUP IN 3D
BROADCAST BUSINESS
FIRST LAY-OFFS AT ORBIT SHOWTIME REPORTED Redundancies at operator’s Bahrain facility as cost cutting begins. The fi rst round of lay-offs at Orbit Showtime began last month, Digital Broadcast can reveal. Sources close to the company claim that 140 employees at Orbit Showtime’s Bahrain office have been notified although no official numbers have been revealed. Orbit Showtime refused to comment when contacted by Digital Broadcast. People in the commercial and marketing departments are said to have been the most affected although no one was available to confi rm this. No lay-offs have been announced at the newlymerged company’s Dubai office yet although this is also inevitable, unnamed company sources say. Th is is only the fi rst round of redundancies at Orbit Showtime.
Samer Abdulhadi and Marc-Antoine d’Halluin of Orbit Showtime.
Two months ago, sources had told Digital Broadcast that all employees were being evaluated and were told that redundancies would be inevitable in December, 2009.
1.6 billion
The number of people who used the internet in 2009, equivalent to one in four among the global population.
MOVERS & SHAKERS RED BEE RECRUITS NEXTGEN SERVICES DIRECTOR Red Bee Media has appointed Steve Plunkett as director of customer innovation. Plunkett will focus on the development of new commercial solutions and services to extend Red Bee’s next-generation offerings. Plunkett has more than 17 years of experience identifying and developing commercial solutions and services in a range of industries including telecoms and digital media.
RTW APPOINTS NEW GLOBAL SALES MANAGER Audio metering and control technology manufacturer RTW announced the appointment of Jochen Wainwright as the company’s new international sales manager. A 19-year veteran of the pro audio industry, Wainwright was previously head of audio production at Wige-Media in Cologne, where he was responsible for large-scale productions including F1 and Champions League football.
www.digitalproductionme.com
THE BRIEFING
GLOBAL PAY TV SUBSCRIBERS TO TOP 730 MILLION: STUDY
EUTELSAT BOOSTS MIDDLE EAST SAT CONNECTIVITY European satellite operator Eutelsat has opened a new teleport facility in southern Italy to strengthen its services for clients in the Middle East and Africa, the company has announced. The new teleport in Cagliari will provide enterprise and maritime services as well as what it describes as “value-added” broadcast services. “In parallel to the on-going expansion of our satellite fleet, Eutelsat has actively pursued the development of on-ground infrastructure to optimise the potential of our in-orbit resources,” said Michel de Rosen, CEO, Eutelsat.
Global pay TV subscribers will number more than 730 million by the end of 2011, according to a new report from ABI Research. North America has the highest subscriber penetration and should reach 115.4 million by the end of 2011. Telco TV continues to grow, with operators such as AT&T U-Verse, Verizon Fios, and China Telecom enjoying a strong year. According to ABI Research industry analyst Serene Fong, “Telco TV subscribers will number 47 million by the end of 2011, with a CAGR of 22.5% over the next five years (2009-2014)”.
TELECOMS MARKET GOOGLE’S IPHONE KILLER BREAK COVER This is the first image taken of Google’s new ‘iPhone killer’ – the HTC manufactured smartphone based on Google’s Android mobile operating system. The image, released by Google’s VP of product
management, Mario Queiroz, on his twitter account, shows a handset dimensionally comparable to the iPhone and styled similarly to HTC’s mainstream smartphone line-up. Beta versions of the handset, known as Nexus One, are currently being trialed by a group of Google employees in a process known internally as ‘dogfooding’.
TWENTY PERCENT OF TVS TO HAVE INTERNET ACCESS The first TV and Blu-ray devices capable of accessing content directly from the internet emerged in Europe during 2009 and will start to gain ground fast, with more than 20 percent of flat panel TVs shipped in the region in 2010 able to connect to the internet, according to a new report from Futuresource Consulting. “In Europe, four of the major brands have
www.digitalproductionme.com
already launched connected TV products that go beyond basic home networking functionality and allow delivery of over-thetop web services,” explained David Watkins, research consultant at Futuresource.
JANUARY 2010 09
TECH TALK
TEN OF THE BEST
The facility has a bank of VTRs covering various tape formats. Ten Sports uses numerous monitoring solutions from Harris and others.
Between hosting exhibitions of his latest artwork and photography, the multi-talented Manaf Ahammed is also director of operations at Ten Sports. Digital Broadcast takes a tour of Ten’s Dubai-based headquarters and canvasses Ahammed about his favourite tech.
W
e started in 2002 with two channels and we are now playing out ten channels from these premises to East Asia and right across the US. There are the three Ten Sports channels; Ten Sports India, Pakistan and Middle East. These are broadcast to around 55 million homes. “We can expand this up to 16 channels. We have been considering some new channels and have begun some work on these but at the moment they are on hold but we plan to have up to three more channels by the end of 2010. “Our servers are capable of working with HD but our routers are not and we don’t have any plans to upgrade them. Our main distribution is in India and Pakistan where there is not much demand for HD services. “There is a demand in the Middle East because so many people especially in the Gulf have HD-ready TVs. So far most cricket productions are still done in SD as they are produced in countries with far fewer HD receivers. “The latest upgrade was the transmission servers. We changed to Harris Nexio. With the previous system there were a lot of node failures and there were also scalability issues. 010 JANUARY 2010
“We are looking at a media asset management system, which we don’t have at the moment. The number of channels has increased and the volume of content has grown so we have to get one soon. We may also buy an SNG truck to operate in the field in East Asia and Africa. “My favourite piece of equipment is the Harris DSeries automation; it works very well with our cricket content. One aspect of cricket that is peculiar is that the break times are unpredictable. During breaks we need alternate schedules for each of our three beams so that when a break starts, three separate schedules of content are played out simultaneously. “We considered switching to another automation system and we looked at other installs in Italy and Ireland but we decided we were better off continuing with D-Series and will be upgrading to version five soon.”
The Ten Sports playout room becomes a hive of activity at the peak of the cricket season with as many as ten broadcast technicians keeping the live sporting action on air across its three separate beams. www.digitalproductionme.com
TECH TALK
A number of Snell & Wilcox boxes are used in the facility including these Kudos Plus ARC20:20S aspect ratio convertors.
The Harris Device controllers provide the computing power required to run the potent D-Series automation system.
Above: Encoda Systems (now part of Harris). Right: Ten Sports logs all output direct to hardrives for ad monitoring purposes.
TECH HIGHLIGHTS
PROFESSIONAL DISPLAYS TV Logic JVC Kroma Telecom OTHER MONITORS NEC Samsung Sony EDITING Harris Velocity Pinnacle Liquid Chrome Apple FCP GRAPHICS (ON AIR) Wasp 3D Vizrt Avid Deko GRAPHICS (PRODUCTION) Adobe After Effects Autodesk Maya, Combustion and 3DS
A Yamaha DM2000 sound desk takes pride of place. Smaller Yamaha boards are also used in the editing suites. www.digitalproductionme.com
Tandberg receivers, which Ahammed says are frequently all in use. “We need eight most weekends for the EPL alone.”
The second studio at the Ten Sports building is currently being used by Charisma TV on behalf of Rotana Khalijiah.
Harris D-Series automation Harris Videotek monitoring Snell & Wilcox Mach1 M.Sc – standard converters Snell & Wilcox IQ Modular series Snell & Wilcox Kudos Plus Arc20:20 Irdeto PIsys conditional access Yamaha DM2000 desk JANUARY 2010 011
INTERVIEW
MOUSETRAP
Having recently signed a pact with Rotana and News Corp that will see its content screened on the Fox Movies and Fox Series channels in the Middle East, Disney is now looking to cement its presence in the region. Digital Broadcast caught up with Stephen Moore, EVP of media distribution for Disney EMEA.
Disney is already working on its first Arabiclanguage feature, The Last of the Storytellers, do you expect there to be more Disney production work in the Middle East? Stephen Moore: Yes, we have already begun early discussions about local production work both on feature films and potentially in television as well. They are at a very early stage however.
Will this work in the Middle East be confined to content production and distribution or will it cover a wider spread of Disney’s full spectrum of the company’s operations? SM: Yes, certainly in terms of business activities it absolutely will include a variety of work. We’ve always had a presence in the region in many areas of activity; theatrical, home entertainment, consumer products and television. We are now dedicated to integrating and expanding these to a much deeper level.
We have already begun early discussions about local production work both on feature films and potentially in television as well… We’ve always had a presence in the region in many areas of activity... We are now dedicated to integrating and expanding these to a much deeper level.
The Middle East packaged media market is remains hamstrung by piracy. What can you do to overturn this situation and cultivate a more
STEPHEN MOORE EVP media distribution, Disney EMEA.
Would these be Disney ventures or would you look to operate on a co-production basis with established businesses in the region? SM: I think we are committed to working with local partners. Certainly, from a creative point of view, it is important to have local input and integration with the regional industry on the ground.
012 JANUARY 2010
viable marketplace for the future? SM: We must combat piracy and copyright infringement on two separate fronts. We continue to fight for proper legislation and law enforcement but we now also feel that there is a commercial role for us to play. We need to understand and accept the way consumers interact with our products and try to deal with issues regarding immediacy and availability. There is an opportunity for us to attract consumers away from illegal activities and towards the legal alternatives. Having said that, the onus is on us to provide those alternatives. Some studios are packaging digital versions of their content with their Blu-ray versions. Is this one of the alternatives that could attract consumers back to legitimate content purchases? SM: We will look at every area of the business including the ‘window’ payment structure that the industry and the studios have developed over many years. We also have to address technology. We must understand what the consumer is looking for and develop distribution models based on the audience’s position rather than from an industry perspective. One such option is the cloud-based digital content market, Keychest. Could it prove effective in the Middle East? SM: We are looking at it closely for the EMEA market. The technology has to be available first and we will work with our US colleagues to make sure it is the right tool to use in the EMEA markets.
www.digitalproductionme.com
? ?$3 PHOTON BEARD EZ PDF !-
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
1
(:
ZZZ SKRWRQEHDUG FRP
8QLW . &KHUU\ &RXUW :D\ 6WDQEULGJH 5RDG /HLJKWRQ %X]]DUG %HGIRUGVKLUH /8 8+ 8QLWHG .LQJGRP
7HO )D[ LQIR#SKRWRQEHDUG FRP
COVER STORY
The
list
The inaugural Digital Broadcast Power list showcases the top 20 individuals shaping the region’s digital media, broadcast and telecommunications industries. ontent creators, advertising chiefs and internet pioneers take their place alongside broadcast technology innovators in the inaugural Digital Broadcast power list. With the regional media business continuing to attract interest from international investors despite the challenging economic climate, the following is an attempt to shine the spotlight on the individuals that played their part in ensuring this is the case. The past 12 months witnessed a dramatic overhaul of the pay TV landscape in the Middle East, the downturn separated the men www.digitalproductionme.com
from the boys in the FTA sector, online content portals sprouted throughout the region and close to $1 billion of co-production deals were signed with international partners. So what effect has all this had on the distribution of power throughout the region? The list is based on the opinions of our distinguished editorial team and is entirely subjective. While we believe this is THE defi nitive list of regional industry powerbrokers, undoubtedly there will be those with different opinions. If you are one of these readers, we invite you to leave your feedback via our online home, DigitalProductionME.com. JANUARY 2010 015
COVER STORY
1
T
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz al Saud Chairman, Rotana Media Group
here are numerous reasons why Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz al Saud deserves the top spot in our first ever power list. The argument can be broadly split in two; his work within the Middle East media industry and his influence outside it. The latter can be summarised in one sentence: Fourth largest shareholder in News Corp and the largest outside the Murdoch family. This gives Alwaleed a stake in more than 50 TV channels, four pay TV networks, 110 newspapers in Australia, four national newspapers in the UK, The Wall Street Journal, 10 major US movie studios, seven publishing houses (including the HarperCollins stable, twofour54 tenants) and a number of other interests including the Hulu online video platform, MySpace and conditional access developer NDS. The Prince’s strong relationship with Murdoch was cemented last year with the launch of two FTA channels – Fox Movies and Fox Series – showing News Corp content but 016 JANUARY 2010
with the ad sales and administration handled Digital, piracy costs the company $1 for every by Rotana. $1 it makes. That the company has been Last month it was revealed that News Corp able to achieve what it has in spite of this, is had taken a 10 percent stake in Rotana with doubly impressive. the option to increase this to 20 percent in Rotana Movies meantime has established the future. itself as a leader in the Arabic-language The Prince’s Kingdom Holdings Commovie market holding the rights to pany also has more modest stakes 70 percent of all Arab films ever in Disney and TimeWarner. produced. The Rotana Cinema Aside from Prince Alwaleed’s channel is viewed on a variety influence at Rupert Murdoch’s of cable networks with a The percentage international media conglomnumber of partners offering a erate, his own media giant, selection of Rotana-branded of Arab films owned Rotana, also enjoys immense channels to Arab Diasporas by Rotana success in the Arab world. across the world. The Rotana music label In 2010, Rotana will bolster its dominates multiple genres of Arabic presence in the FTA TV market with music. This success has been further exploited the launch of as many as three HD channels. through the creation of Rotana music TV The Prince’s international influence and channels promoting its artists and generating reputation, combined with his ability to make revenue from SMS interactions and mobile major contributions to the regional media content sales. Unfortunately, the company industry by attracting foreign investment, operates in a market rife with piracy. Accorddemonstrate why he is recognised as the ing to Yousef Mugharbil, president of Rotana region’s top media magnate.
70%
www.digitalproductionme.com
COVER STORY
2
Wadah Khanfar Director general, Al Jazeera Network
S
ART of television broadcast rights to this year’s ince becoming director general of Al FIFA World Cup and a host of local football Jazeera Network in 2006, Palestinleagues, provides Khanfar with a stable of ian Wadah Khanfar has transformed content that should transform the fortunes of Al the broadcaster from a successful Jazeera Sports. regional news channel largely misunderstood With advertising revenues thin on the ground, internationally, into one of the world’s most Khanfar’s side-step into the world of pay TV recognisable media brands. The Arabic and could prove a master stroke. English language news services have gone from The emergence of an open pay TV platform strength to strength landing major scoops, (instigated by ART) means those who desire securing big-name presenters and more recently premium sports content can now pay additional making distribution in-roads in North America. subscriptions to ADMC and Al Jazeera. The real achievement for Al Jazeera The resultant lower prices that pay during Khanfar’s reign, however, has TV operators can offer for their been its move into pay TV. baseline packages could spark The network’s sports chanan increase in uptake across nels already boasted a raft of the region, giving the industry a high-profile sports content Al Jazeera’s daily much-needed boost. with the UEFA Champions regional audience Thanks to Khanfar, Al Jazeera League the jewel in the crown. figures is ready to reap the rewards. The US $1 billion purchase from
40 million
3
Ed Borgerding CEO, ADMC and Imagenation
S
ince joining the Abu Dhabi Media Company (ADMC) in March 2008, Borgerding has played a major role in its route towards commercialisation. Combining his role as CEO of ADMC with the same position at Abu Dhabi’s film financing vehicle, Imagenation, Borgerding has overseen a number of major deals. Using the contacts harvested during a career with Disney International, the two organisations have partnered with National Geographic (US $100m), Hyde Park Entertainment ($75m), Participant Media ($250m) and Parkes/MacDonald ($10m). Over the course of the next 12 months, a number of Abu Dhabi-funded feature films will be released with the ultimate reward proving box office dollars. Borgerding also directed ADMC’s 2009 purchase of the Middle East broadcast rights to the English Premier League (EPL) for an estimated $300 million, launched English-language daily newspaper The National in the UAE and created a number of online assets. Borgerding is also driving the launch of a number of HD channels to support ADMC’s coverage of the EPL. The organisation launched an HD channel in October of last year featuring documentaries, movies and sports. ADMC’s technology and asset investments remain unmatched by rival regional broadcasters and its continued commitment to nurturing local talent with exposure to international standards and professionals, led by Borgerding, could soon make it the most important diversified media operator in the Arab world. JANUARY 2010 017
COVER STORY
5
Tony Orsten CEO, twofour54
A 4
Antoine Choueiri Chairman and CEO, Choueiri Group
T
networks’ commercial success. Choueiri has he competition for ad dollars has played an integral role in the development of the grown as state broadcasters have Middle East media industry during his 30 year taken a more aggressive approach career. In 2005, he spearheaded the formation towards chasing these revenues and the number of the GCC Association of Advertisers, which of viable free-to-air channels grows. At the includes the biggest spenders in the region same time, the economic downturn has restrictincluding McDonalds and Emirates Airlines. ed advertising incomes, increasing competition Membership is open solely to companies among the chief beneficiaries. that spend more than $1 million p.a. The Choueiri Group, led by on advertising in the GCC. Antoine Choueiri, manages the Choueiri’s empire comprises ad sales for some of the largest The percentage 12 subsidiaries covering print, broadcasters in the region, of total ad sales online, radio and billboard adincluding MBC, LBC and DMI, represented by vertising, in addition to various giving it a direct role in the sucTV ad sales businesses. cess – or otherwise – of these Choueiri Group
20%
6
cademy Award-winning TV director Tony Orsten, CEO of Abu Dhabi’s twofour54 media precinct, is charged with nurturing the future of Arab content creation. The fruit of his and his colleagues’ labour will not be clearly visible for several more years. Despite this, twofour54 has already played a major role in shaping the regional media landscape. Hundreds of new jobs have been created both internally and within the organisations that have moved into the media production precinct over the course of the past 12 months. “After 30 years of saying take, take, take, I can give it all back to the people here, and hopefully they can benefit and prosper. The young people here have a fabulous opportunity and hopefully we can play a key role in helping them achieve their goals,” says Orsten. With a background in new media platforms and content production – including programming aimed specifically at young people – Orsten is well-placed to develop an environment in which young Arab talents are provided with the skillsets to excel in the digital media age.
Sam Barnett COO and general manager, MBC Group
S
am Barnett has been involved with MBC since 2002. Originally working as a consultant on the launch of what is now the Al Arabiya news channel, today he is the COO and general manager of the MBC Group. During his tenure, MBC has developed into one of the
018 JANUARY 2010
most robust commercial broadcasters operating in the Middle East. Under Barnett’s supervision, the network has become an expert at positioning and branding its channels and now boasts a portfolio spanning the broad stroke of the region’s diverse population demographic. In an interview with Digital Broadcast last month, Barnett claimed that 106 million people were watching MBC channels everyday, a fact that he has leveraged to help steer the organisation through the difficulties of the current economic climate. “We are an efficient machine. We’re commercial, we’re profitable, we’re cashflow positive, and we get the ratings,” he says. Barnett has also been one of the leading voices calling for greater audience measurement to boost the confidence of advertisers and the coffers of (successful) free-to-air channels. www.digitalproductionme.com
COVER STORY
7
Sheikh Saleh Abdullah Kamel Owner, ART
G
iven ART’s recent sale of sports content some may be surprised to see Sheikh Saleh Abdullah Kamel feature so highly on the list. ART may have sold off some of its programming assets but it maintains something more valuable – the largest pay TV subscriber base in the region. The loss of its sports rights to Al Jazeera is unlikely to affect its subscriber base negatively. Subscribers to rival pay TV platforms will also have to pay extra for Al Jazeera Sports so churn is likely to be minimal. Meanwhile, in a hugely important development for the industry, ART is spearheading the development of the open platform set top box. This could permit the region’s pay TV operators – including any possible pay TV channels from ADMC and Rotana – to use the same STB, meaning viewers can cherry pick the content they want. This bold move could cement a commercially successful future for the pay TV industry and create an environment no longer conducive to piracy.
www.digitalproductionme.com
8
Marc-Antoine d’Halluin CEO, Orbit Showtime
T
he merger of Orbit and Showtime was hailed as a victory for commonsense. Talks regarding consolidation in the pay TV market had appeared – to outsiders – to be stuck in the ‘inevitable’ position for so long, it was fair to think they had stalled altogether. While Orbit Showtime will no doubt suffer some separation anxiety as the English Premier League rights transfer to Abu Dhabi TV later this year, CEO Marc-Antoine d’Halluin has been working hard to ensure that existing subscribers remain committed to the service. “The merger has ensured that our reliance on one content genre has decreased. We now offer a much more complete package,” d’Halluin told Digital Broadcast shortly after the deal was struck. The enigmatic Frenchman has pieced together an extensive batch of pay TV rights deals with the major Hollywood studios and the US networks that will go some way to filling the void left by the departure of the EPL.
JANUARY 2010 019
COVER STORY
9
Ahmed Nassef GM, Yahoo! Maktoob
M
aktoob enjoyed several years of success building up a base of 16 million users. Now the Yahoo! Maktoob era has begun and the new entity claims to have a monthly reach of 40 million users in the region. Maktoob co-founder Ahmed Nassef had already secured his position as an Arabic internet pioneer – now he has an online vehicle promising serious clout to work with. With a number of affordable satellite broadband rollouts expected over the next few years, Maktoob Yahoo! is well positioned to capitalise on the commercial opportunities that arise.
10
Slaheddine Maaoui Director general, Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU)
S
together with his political experience means he laheddine Maaoui holds arguably the is well-placed to deal with the challenges his most politically influential position in position presents. the Middle East broadcast industry. One of the organisation’s most recent sucOriginally a journalist and editor-in-chief of a cesses under Maaoui was the development of daily newspaper, Maaoui has been involved the MENOS content exchange programme. in politics and has been an active member of The ASBU and Maaoui also take the regional broadcast associations since leading role in negotiating broadcast the late-1980s. Following several rights to major international events, high-ranking roles in the Tunisian government, Maaoui began The number of years on behalf of ASBU members. his four year term as director the ASBU has handled Maaoui also guides the ASBU in general of the ASBU in January, Olympic broadcasting developing technical frameworks for regional broadcast services. 2007. His media background for its 20 member
34 states
11
Humaid Rashid Sahoo CEO, e-Vision
12
O
Khalid Balkheyour President and CEO, Arabsat
riginally founded by the Arab League of Nations to provide the region with adequate satellite capacity, Arabsat, led by president and CEO Khalid Balkheyour, has established itself as the frontrunner among satellite operators offering broadcasters a footprint in the Middle East. Balkheyour has guided the company to the halfway stage of an upgrade and expansion of its fleet that will see it launch a satellite every year to 2013. Balkheyour has also developed a number of
D
espite being limited to the UAE and facing the challenge of the satellite-dominated marketplace, Etisalat’s cable service e-Vision has blossomed since launch. CEO Humaid Rashid Sahoo has developed what was a limited ‘plain vanilla’ cable TV service for 20,000 homes into a genuinely cutting-edge IPTV service with 340,000 subscribers. This makes it the UAE’s number one pay TV service – by far the largest offered by any Middle East telco and the third most-subscribed pay TV service in the region. E-Vision is now emerging as one of the most sophisticated IPTV platforms in the region offering users HD channels, video on demand and DVR capabilities.
020 JANUARY 2010
additional revenue streams for the company including its hosting of the MENOS content exchange network, VSAT services and GSM backhauling for mobile operators. As the Middle East moves towards widespread adoption of HD channels, Balkheyour has ensured that broadcasters will not be held back by a shortage of available transponders. By diversifying the company’s revenue streams, Balkheyour has ensured that the company stays at the head of the pack.
COVER STORY
14
Dr Riyadh Najm Assistant deputy minister for Engineering, Saudi Arabian Ministry of Culture & Information
H
13
Hosam El Sokkari Head of BBC Arabic network
B
BC Arabic’s stable of TV, radio and online products has matured steadily since the re-launch of its TV channel in March, 2008, and the end of a 12-year hiatus. Hosam El Sokkari – the first Arab to steer any BBC Arabic service – is armed with an impressive arsenal of resources. Arguably the most important of these is the BBC brand. It may have its critics but it remains
the most trusted source of news for countless millions across the globe. However, with great power comes responsibility. The BBC has a stringent editorial policy and a reputation for quality content that El Sokkari has been charged with protecting whilst developing and integrating BBC Arabic services on the internet, mobile phones and via its traditional broadcast platforms.
aving started his career as an engineer at Saudi TV in 1980, Dr Riyadh Najm has worked in several key technical and media positions in radio and television at the Ministry of Culture & Information before becoming assistant deputy minister for Engineering at the MOCI. The Ministry is rumoured to be planning to invest almost $1 billion in new broadcast technology over the coming years. He has been one of the primary forces behind the silent technical revolution at Saudi TV and as president of the Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU) and chairperson of the HDTV Arab Group, he has also played a key role in encouraging Middle East broadcasters to adopt a universal HD standard in the region. Dr Najm is also at the heart of the expansion of Saudi TV and the digitisation and restoration of the country’s extensive Estimated budget the film archive. MOCI has designated
$1 billion
for broadcasting
15
Nashwa Al Ruwaini CEO, Pyramedia
16
Husni Khuffash UAE country manager, Google
P
yramedia is one of the largest production houses in the region with 400 fulltime employees and annual revenues in excess of $200 million. Its Prince of Poets and The Millions’ Poet series formats have enjoyed immense success in the region with the latter establishing itself as the most watched locally produced programme in the Arab world. At the heart of this success is the company’s founder and CEO, Nashwa Al Ruwaini. Pyramedia’s success has not been limited to the TV screen. It founded the Middle East International Film Festival (MEIFF) in partnership with the Abu Dhabi government and is putting the finishing touches to its first feature film, Changing Sands, through its Pyramovies division. Al Ruwaini is also an on screen star in her own right. Her acclaimed talk show Nashwa, received a Rose d’Or nomination in 2008. www.digitalproductionme.com
H
is job title may say country manager – UAE, but Husni Khuffash has played a vital role in the Arabisation of the web giant’s services for the world’s Arabic speakers. Together with Google’s ability to
single-handedly prop-up an online advertising industry and the fact – like it or not – that globally, YouTube is one of the largest broadcasters in the world, the company’s influence is huge. There are numerous facets of Khuffash’s work that are of interest to broadcasters. Google and its affiliates can offer a route to advertising revenue, a content distribution channel, a marketing tool for broadcast services, easy access to mobile platforms... the list goes on. Khuffash has also taken a leading role in developing market research and educating local businesses about the merits of digital advertising and e-commerce. Ensuring that the region has access to all of Google’s B2B and B2C capabilities – particularly in their Arabic forms – is a prerequisite for the development of any meaningful online revenues, not just for the media sector but across the entire economy. JANUARY 2010 021
COVER STORY
18
Mohammed Al Shahi Sr. dir., du Broadcast Services
D
u Broadcast Services has played an integral role in a number of initiatives in Dubai, acting as an enabler for the emirate’s broadcast industry. The organisation has played a key role in the development of the Gulf’s first DVB-H offering from the development and execution of the original pilot study to the impending deployment of the network. The headend for the UAE’s DVB-H services – which will be offered by both the country’s operators – will be based at du Broadcast Services’ Samacom teleport facility, which was recently named one of the world’s highest-grossing independent teleports by industry body, the World Teleport Association (WTA).
17
Mohamed Al Ghanim Director general, UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authoritiy
T
he role of telcos in media and broadcasting has been growing as the technical and commercial commitment involved in each have become increasingly intertwined. Ultimately, however, it is the regulatory bodies that guide this process acting as convergence ‘referees’. As the official with responsibility for the region’s most active arenas for telco/media convergence, Mohamed Al Ghanim, director general of the UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) takes the number 17 spot.
19
The TRA’s role in creating an environment in which broadcasters can leverage new revenues from IPTV, targeted advertising and by distributing content on mobile platforms is key. The TRA is also responsible for ensuring the commercial well-being of the UAE telecommunications sector, which in turn ensures the future of new content delivery platforms. The number of mobile
7.4 million phone subs in the UAE
Abdul Rahman Al Hazzaa Undersecretary, Saudi Arabian Ministry of Culture & Information
A
l Hazzaa may not be the most famous name in the content industry at present. However, in his role as undersecretary of the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Culture and Information, he has the power and the dynamism to make a major impact. Al Hazzaa has been credited by many as playing a leading role in the development of intellectual property rights enforcement in the kingdom and it is his work that has led to the instalment of a transparent
022 JANUARY 2010
procedure for tackling piracy in all its forms. The continuation of this work could see a legitimate market for content sales – through digital and packaged media – emerge. If this progress ultimately extends to the pay TV market, Hazzaa would have a hand in ensuring the region’s most commercially lucrative media sector realises its true potential, handing a massive boost to stakeholders both within the region and internationally.
20
Randa Ayoubi CEO, Rubicon
R
anda Ayoubi makes the list for both her work at animation studio Rubicon and her contribution to the Jordanian IT sector as a founder of the Information Technology Association – Jordan (int@j). Jordan has since become a hotbed for online creativity, sprouting successful websites including Maktoob.com, Jeeran.com and Souk.com. Ayoubi’s work in developing Rubicon into the region’s leading animation studio has included deals with MGM Studios and MBC and has projected revenues for 2010 of $100m, helped in part by Ayoubi diversifying the company into sectors including e-Training, multimedia profiling and e-Education. www.digitalproductionme.com
EXCLUSIVE
024 JANUARY 2010
www.digitalproductionme.com
EXCLUSIVE
WIRED FOR CHANGE
Technology has dramatically affected the way news is gathered, distributed and consumed forcing major shifts in the way it is monetised. Digital Broadcast caught up with three senior executives from global news wire Associated Press (AP) to find out how the agency has coped with the changes so far and how it plans to adapt for a digital future.
T
he Associated Press (AP) traditionally provides news for newspapers and broadcasters, but it is no slouch when it comes to serving new media outlets. “We do a lot of what we call hosted news services. That means providing the hard work at the back-end – host it, create the content – but in the client’s house style. And they can change styles on the fly but it’s our content behind it,” says David Hoad, director of global video technology for AP. Hoad says one reason why clients are attracted to them is the strength of the brand. “It is one of the big differentiators between us and the rest of the marketplace. A lot of organisations delivering news – the MSNs and Yahoos – look to companies like ourselves to produce content on their behalf. We are producing more and more services for clients in that market. “Editorially, we’ve had to learn how to shoot and edit content for the internet because there is a difference in how you compile content for online and we have also had to think about what formats we originate content in knowing that it will then be converted several times before its delivered to the end consumer. We try to reduce the number of conversion steps where possible.” Hoad says – that without good planning – a video clip could undergo as many as six conversions before it was viewed on a new media platform. “We had to take a step back and figure out how to work with our three primary outlets; mobile, broadcast and online. We have streamlined this process gradually during the last two or three years,” claims Hoad. www.digitalproductionme.com
“In the early days a lot of websites and mobile operators would dip their toes in the water when developing online content. Some of them conducted trials with us for three months then simply gave up. However, for the past two years there has been a solid base of content for that market place meaning we have revisited our workflows to ensure that we are catering for them correctly.” In order to boost the quality of its services for online and web clients, AP combined its IT and traditional broadcast engineering departments. “We made a brand new team out of the two previous groups and this has worked out very well. In the last three years we have also brought in some new hires with some specialised web experience.” Although Hoad says essentially, much of the technology underlying the production process remains unchanged across the three platforms, there are still additional factors that alter the way they work with each. “There has been a lot of research looking at how to resize or re-image content for mobiles, particularly in sports. If you have coverage of a soccer match then you can ensure that the player with the ball is always in the centre of the screen. A lot of work has been done on applications like these to maximise the use of the small screen.” The production of content specifically for online clients also alters the requirements placed on the editorial staff. “Sometimes we might want to re-edit it for online to make it a bit shorter and snappier,” says Tamer Fakahany, managing editor – news production, AP. “The voiced packages may also need
The digital ecosystem is bulimic. People are pouring content into it and no one is charging for it. It’s not broken, it’s just very dysfunctional. HENRIK EKLUND Director of digital distribution, AP.
JANUARY 2010 025
EXCLUSIVE
“I think at the moment – in all regions – HD news is very niche and those that make the leap will have a big differentiator on all their competitors. I’m not convinced the public is ready yet for HD news. “TV channels have to put the HD investment into the content that will generate the quickest return. That means sports and movies for now. By 2012-2015 there will be a large dominance of HD in the news space however. “Any requests we’ve had for HD have come from broadcasters that have moved all of their production into HD and are therefore looking to us and saying ‘our entire station is HD when are you going to be?’ because this will complete their migration. “These requests tend to be from Japan, South Korea where the switch is virtually complete and also from the US. Many broadcasters have made the transition and a lot of the local news channels are shooting in HD and we are seeing more and more requests from that region too.”
026 JANUARY 2010
HIGH-DEF HEADLINES
AP’S DAVID HOAD ON THE FUTURE OF HD NEWS
AP’s 4100 editorial staff are now increasingly being asked to create content for use across a number of platforms simultaneously including TV and web.
repurposing and edited down and repurposed for script. At the same time, other pieces will work across all our formats. It depends on the content of the material.” New technology platforms have created extra channels for editorial teams, but technology has also played a huge role in expanding the capabilities of AP’s staff in the field. “AP is now very much a place of joined-up journalism where print, stills and video have a real synergy. Sometimes we will have a one-man or one-woman band, they could be fi ling a print story, taking a couple of stills and perhaps even shooting some video with the same camera,” explains Fakahany. Armed with a camera and a laptop journalists can now deliver a much higher volume of content from a number of more challenging environments. “We can place journalists into areas that previously would have involved doing a very expensive feed from or where a feed was difficult for political reasons. Now as long as our reporters can get to a good internet line, they can send us their material. Fakahany says that this has allowed them to cover stories from certain locations that have previously proved far more challenging, if not impossible to fi le from. “The story of the Madonna adoption in Malawi is a good example. We were able to satisfy the
demand brought by crossover with news and entertainment and deliver a number of fi les during the day. “We have also been able to drastically reduce the amount of time it takes us to get material out of certain parts of Pakistan. These technologies also allow us to get breaking news out very quickly. Previously this was only possible to do from our major hubs in Washington, Moscow and so on. Now we can do this from hinterlands and confl ict zones. “Th is also means that not everything that our journalists do send us, is something we want to put out to our clients. There is a real deluge of material coming in now that we have to choose from,” says Fakahany. Th is is the root cause of the difficulty in monetising online content according to Henrik Eklund, director of digital distribution, AP. “The digital ecosystem is bulimic. People are pouring content into it and no one is charging for it,” says Eklund. “It’s not broken, it’s just very dysfunctional. AP has to take the position where it sets the prices and creates the market. That is essentially my role; setting prices, fi nding tools for our clients to sell and make money on content. “AP produces so much content – I don’t know how many tens of thousands of stories are created everyday. What has happened though, is that www.digitalproductionme.com
EXCLUSIVE
the technology shift has been used to increase the creation of content but not the range of products. Th is is part of the reason why the internet doesn’t work commercially,” says Eklund. Currently, publishers wishing to use AP content pay a monthly subscription, Eklund expects this model to continue, however, he believes that it must be tweaked to reflect the reality of today’s market, if it is going to remain profitable. “The traditional business model is through subscriptions, based on the number of broadcast households a TV channel has or the circulation of a print client. I think that model is dangerous. New technology means we have increased our output from 100 photos a day to 5000 a day, but based on the same subscription rates. I think this model will remain but it will evolve into a ‘minimum guarantee’. So this would be a client’s entry point and once they have used their quota, they have to pay extra.” In order to put such a system in place, AP would require its clients to tag content that they produce from the agency’s material so that it can track content usage. Eklund highlights digital rights management (DRM) as one of the principal challenges for online content, made even more challenging given the volume of material. “I don’t expect that YouTube is particularly happy about hosting 180 million streams a day with no advertising. The number of blogs is increasing by 300-400 percent a year but after three months only 20 percent of these are still active.” Eklund is well aware of the difficulty of this task as consumers are asked to get used to paying for content, describing the process as “brutal”. “There is no market for paid content because nobody is setting a price,” he says. “We distribute our headlines, introductions and full stories online and you can fi nd these all over the internet. Perhaps only the headlines and intros should be free and the in-depth coverage should be protected by a pay wall?” The process of setting prices is not an easy one. Eklund suggests that a price could be indirectly derived from the cost of advertising on the page that the content appears. “In Europe, publishers will typically get US $30 CPM for a sold-out ratio of 100 percent. If they sell a third then the figure drops to $10 CPM, if we look at half that, $5, then that would be a starting price for news content,” he explains. Once a pricing system is in place there will also need to be several shifts in attitude among consumers, marketing managers and publishers. www.digitalproductionme.com
AP is now very much a place of joined-up journalism where print, stills and video have a real synergy. Sometimes we will have a one-man or one-woman band. They could be filing a print story, taking a couple of stills and perhaps even taking some video on the same camera. TAMER FAKAHANY Managing editor – news production, AP.
4 billion
Global daily reach of AP
243
Number of AP bureaux worldwide
4100
Number of editorial staff
5000
The number of radio and TV outlets using AP’s services
“We have to contend with the legacy situation. The technology has allowed news providers to put more content into the market and dilute the value. Our clients have to be educated – they can’t have everything for free – this is a difficult behaviour to change. I think that the public are willing to pay if they know that what they are going to get, is what they need. Senior marketing managers have been operating throughout their entire careers with the old models and at the end of the day they will revert to what they know. We have to combat this.” Assuming publishers are ready to charge for AP content and consumers are willing to pay for it, the next question is how? “The payment system doesn’t have to be complex. Complexity is a barrier. We have invested quite heavily in a micropayment method for paying for online content using your mobile,” reveals Eklund. “We have a reach of four billion people every day. There are 175 million PayPal accounts. Globally two billion people have a bank account. There are four billion people using SMS. So it makes sense to use SMS as the payment method. “I think one of the main reasons that these methods are not already used widely by the media is because the US doesn’t really use SMS. They are one of the very few countries that don’t.” The argument over the monetisation of online content has existed for several years. Major publications including the The Guardian newspaper in the UK and the New York Times charged users for access to their content. The poor subscriber takeup and the growing potential of online advertising at that time forced them to abandon the model. Recently, News Corp chief Rupert Murdoch has suggested that he will move his publications back to a subscription model adding that he would consider removing his sites from the Google News network to prevent readers from accessing headlines and introductions from the portal. “I see his point but he’s fighting against the windmills,” says Eklund. “There is a flow to these things and instead of trying to stop it you have to work with it. Some information such as real-time financial information may work on a subscription basis but not for general news, entertainment or gossip. “You have to structure your content and protect some of it,” says Eklund. “It could be an article that someone has spent months of research time on – that has real value – you should lock that value in. The method of payment is one of the most important things. If it’s easy it will work, if it is complex, it will not.” JANUARY 2010 027
TECH FOCUS
ON THE LEVEL W
hile all the hype and attention has fi rmly encircled the transition to HD pictures there is another component of this upgrade worth making a noise about - the transition to surround sound audio. Although it is not a prerequisite of the HD shift, broadcasters are finding that surround sound is increasingly important to consumers. “Sound without pictures is radio, pictures without sound is wallpaper,” says Niall Feldman, director of new products, SSL. “We find that successful content creators and broadcasters are very serious about audio. There is also growing consumer demand for better sound and separate audio systems for TV. One facet of the drive to make wafer-thin, wall-hung TVs is that the resonant cavities that surrounded bulky CRTs have gone. Modern thinner, flatter displays 028 JANUARY 2010
Sound without pictures is radio, pictures without sound is wallpaper. We find that successful content creators and broadcasters are very serious about audio. There is also growing consumer demand for better sound and separate audio systems for TV. NIALL FELDMAN Director of new products, SSL.
have increasingly poor audio as a result. To reproduce sound quality good enough to bring life to the picture, demands a separate audio system. Many of these are 5.1 capable, either through separate speakers, or creative ‘directional’ sound solutions.” Th is pattern of increasing consumer demand is also being witnessed by audio signal processing developer, Dolby. “It’s an exciting time for us. Audio is becoming far more prominent than it ever has been before,” says James Caselton, broadcast marketing manager EMEA, Dolby Laboratories. “It’s not really a question of whether people want 5.1. Our concern now is about how we can help broadcasters and operators deliver it to their audiences,” adds Caselton. “When stereo came along consumers thought it was great. Then we went into the iPod age and www.digitalproductionme.com
TECH FOCUS
Broadcast audio is always the bridesmaid and never the bride as video technology – especially HD – steals the limelight. Digital Broadcast looks to address the balance with a look at two of the biggest audio issues facing the industry; loudness control and the roll-out of surround sound services.
the focus was fi rmly on compression. Now what we are seeing is that emphasis coming back to the question of quality.” In addition to offering consumers an improved experience, SSL’s Feldman also believes there is a solid commercial case behind surround sound. “Content with HD pictures and high quality surround sound is an investment that should be viewed as having long-term return by content creators. Charging for added-value content is a growing part of broadcast economics as straightforward display advertising models are a less significant source of revenue,” he says. “In many ways the audio challenges for broadcasters are far simpler and more straightforward than those of video. Relatively, audio data rates are lower, the variety of options for storage and transmission are fewer and many of the challenges have been www.digitalproductionme.com
resolved. This means there should be no excuses for not getting audio ‘right’,” claims Feldman. Orbit Showtime’s VP of broadcast operations and technology, Mike Whitaker, is not so sure that surround sound is quite as straightforward. “We all know how to edit in stereo and work with multiple audio tracks and in multiple languages but if you’re doing compliance work or editing in Dolby, it’s an entirely different ball game,” says Whittaker. “The video for HD hasn’t changed an awful lot. It’s still colour, it’s still widescreen, there are just more lines. In Dolby its not just that there were two tracks and now there are six, there is all the meta data that is involved, the synchronisation and the loudness control. It’s very different and people are still learning. “The broadcasters in Europe that have already transitioned to HD are telling us that the pictures
The broadcasters in Europe that have already transitioned to HD are telling us that the pictures are fine and it is the surround sound that must really be focused on. It has been the one thing that has caused the most headaches. MIKE WHITTAKER VP broadcast operations and technology, Orbit Showtime. JANUARY 2010 029
TECH FOCUS
Dolby offers a number of options to tackle loudness issues at a variety of points in the broadcast chain. Broadcasters using Dolby audio can control this using the meta data stream. Receiver manufacturers can use a software offering – Dolby Volume – to keep the noise down. The company also develops hardware solutions in partnership with the manufacturers to combat the problems. Junger Audio’s Level Magic application uses an adaptive level control algorithm to offer continuous unattended control of program material. Linear Acoustic has developed various loudness controllers including Dolby 5.1 enabled options. The company’s Carbon loudness controller is an audio encoder that combines broadcaster defined standards for loudness output. 030 JANUARY 2010
LLOUDNESS TECHNOLOGY
KEEPING A LID ON IT
control because it has been doing it for years, but are fine and it is the surround sound that must as already stated two different pieces of audio really be focused on. It has been the one thing that with the same level characteristic can be very difhas caused the most headaches,” says Whittaker. ferent when it comes to their loudness impression. Whittaker is confident it is worth the effort. The industry is going to have to learn to control “HD is a cinematic experience and it’s about audio material by using loudness measurement putting viewers in the middle of the action. We are techniques instead,” says Poers. building up our HD capabilities at the moment in Caselton agrees and says that Dolby is currently terms of what we can broadcast in terms of the working with receiver manufacturers including Sony broadcast transmission head end and we are very much looking at using Dolby. We are aiming to roll- and Humax to help control the loudness situation. “Loudness is a very important issue for us. It’s out our next generation set top box some time this important to agree on a method of measuring year and it will be Dolby capable,” he reveals. the it fi rst of all , not just to take into account Whittaker also believes that the production the peak levels of loudness but also to measure it process for surround sound requires an entirely over a period of time. We have seen from the way new approach. the human ear measures loudness that it is very “Just as shooting in HD is not just about changsubjective,” says Casleton. ing the camera you use. The extra lines mean you But the solution does not end with measurement. need to think about things like set design. Dolby is “The current efforts to standardise a consistent about sound design. It’s a totally different way to work and it requires some serious post production loudness between programmes and channels also require new methods of audio measurements conwork,” he adds. forming to the ITU 1770 recommendations,” says While surround sound will continue to bubble Andreas Tweitmann, CEO and owner of RTW. away as the HD rollout continues in the region, “For this reason, the engineer needs powerful there is a more pressing and immediate issue at visual analysing tools to be able to ensure high hand for broadcasters in the Middle East and in reproduction and transmission quality between other markets also. the event site and the listener, even under difficult A recent survey by Harris in the US found that 89 percent of TV viewers are offended by the “often working conditions,” adds Tweitmann. “The same is true for master control rooms, where dramatic variation between regular TV programa fast and efficient quality check of incoming signals ming and advertising volumes”. is critical for revealing potential signal degradation The problem of volume variations between caused by, for example, channel swapping or inconchannels is also unpopular yet what seems like a sistent delays between channels.” fairly fundamental problem is in fact very While all this work continues broadcomplex. The key to resolving this issue cast engineers must continue to put lies in how the audio is measured. “In the past engineers have tried of TV viewers are offended by their own safeguards in place to offer to control audio levels by simply “dramatic variation between the best possible service to viewers. “There is nothing more annoying listening to the content, which regular TV programming and advertising volumes” to a viewer of a FTA or a pay TV makes sense in theory because it is according to a recent service to be constantly reaching being produced for the human ear survey by Harris for the remote. There has been some after all,” says Peter Poers, sales and lobbying in congress regarding loudness marketing director at Junger Audio. “It control. We try to control it at Orbit Showtime quickly became apparent that what the indusfor a smooth customer experience,” says Whittaker. try needed was a means of measuring the audio.” “What we see here in the Middle East is a lot of Poers says that industry bodies on both sides variation between channels – when you switch of the Atlantic have been working to agree a new from one to the next – this is a result of the numstandard for audio measurement. The Internaber of niche and small channels. They are often tional Telecommunication Union’s Radiocompart of a set up where there is a headend broadmunication branch (ITU-R) has developed a new casting 20 channels and as long as the ‘no audio’ recommended algorithm for measuring audio or the ‘no video’ alarm hasn’t sounded, then it’s job known as ITU 1770, which looks to differentiate done and the channel goes out regardless of any between level and loudness. other issues.” “The industry knows how to deal with level
89%
www.digitalproductionme.com
www.cabsat.com
The Leading International Digital Media Event for the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
2 - 4 March 2010 Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre CABSAT MENA, the third largest regional industry event recognised globally, will showcase the latest products and services from the entire spectrum of the digital media industry from content creation to management and delivery. The event is the perfect platform to network with the industry, explore opportunities and forge partnerships with broadcasters, production companies, hoteliers, system integrators, distribution channels and many more. CABSAT MENA will be held in conjunction with Satellite MENA, the dedicated event for the region’s satellite industry.
CABSAT MENA 2010 will feature •
Networking opportunities with more than 700 exhibitors, spread over 15,000 sqm of exhibit space attracting more than 10,000 visitors
•
Market leaders confirmed include: AEC, AMT, ATG, EVS, Everts, Harris, Hitachi, Salam Mediacast, Sony, Tek Signal, UBMS, Vitec and many more
•
Knowledge Exchange - In association with ABU, don’t miss a two day conference on "Going HD - Business Plans and Technology Options"
•
Technology focused areas for IPTV/Mobile TV as well as a Radio and Audio Pavilion
Co-located event
The Definitive International Satellite Event for the Middle East, Africa & South Asia www.satellitemena.com
Book your space now!!!
Organised by
CABSAT MENA supported by
For more information, please contact us
CABSAT MENA Dubai World Trade Centre LLC, PO Box 9292, Dubai, UAE Tel: +971 4 308 6077 / 6282 • Fax: +971 4 318 8607 Email: cabsat@dwtc.com • Website: www.cabsat.com
Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union
Arab State Broadcasting Union
International Association for Broadcasting Manufacturers
DATA
Africa: 6.8 %
Africa: 3.9 %
Oceania / Australia: 60.4 %
Oceania / Australia: 1.2 %
Asia: 19.4 %
Latin America/Caribbean: 10.3 %
Latin America/Caribbean: 30.5 %
North America: 14.6 %
Europe: 52.0 %
Middle East: 3.3 %
Middle East: 28.3 %
Asia: 42.6 %
North America: 74.2 %
Europe: 24.1 %
PENETRATION (% POPULATION) OF INTERNET USERS
DISTRIBUTION OF INTERNET USERS
DATA
SOURCE: Internet World Stats
LOGGED ON A
The potential mobile internet audience is set to pass the one billion mark as the growth in the overall number of internet users and web-enabled devices show no signs of abating. new report studying mobile internet usage predicts there will be more than one billion mobile devices accessing the web by the end of 2013. The prediction, based on current growth statistics, was reported by tech analyst IDC. “The number of mobile devices with internet access has simply exploded over the last several years,” said John Gantz, chief research officer at IDC. “With an explosion in applications for mobile devices underway, the next several years will witness another seachange in the way users interact with the internet.” IDC’s Worldwide Digital Marketplace Model and Forecast report, also estimated more than 1.6 billion people – a little over a quarter of the world’s population – used the internet in 2009. By 2013, over 2.2 billion people – more than one third of the world’s population – are expected to be using the internet. The Internet World Stats (IWS) organisation puts this figure a little higher at 1.7 billion. According to IWS the Middle East has 57.4 million internet users, which amounts 3.3 percent of all the world’s users. The penetration rate is penetration rate is estimated at 28.3 percent. The IDC report states that more than 1.6 bil-
032 JANUARY 2010
359 million Total number of internet users in China
1.6 billion
Estimated number of internet users worldwide
2.2 billion
Number of internet users expected by 2013
SOURCE: IDC
lion devices worldwide were used to access the internet in 2009, including PCs, mobile phones, and online videogame consoles. By 2013, the total number of devices accessing the internet will increase to more than 2.7 billion. China continues to have more internet users than any other country, with 359 million in 2009. Th is number is expected to grow to 566 million by 2013. The US had 261 million internet users in 2009, a figure that will reach 280 million in 2013, according to the study. India will have one of the fastest growing internet populations, growing almost two-fold between 2009 and 2013. Presently, the United States has far more total devices connected to the internet than any other country. China, however, is the leader in the number of mobile online devices with almost 85 million mobile devices connected to the internet in 2009. The number of internet devices in India, both mobile and fi xed, is expected to grow commensurate with the number of internet users. Worldwide spending on internet advertising will total nearly $61 billion in 2009, which is slightly more than 10 percent of all ad spending across all media. Th is share is expected to reach almost 15 percent by 2013 as internet ad spending grows surpasses $100 billion worldwide. www.digitalproductionme.com
MORE INTERACTIVITY MORE FUNCTIONALITY MORE SECURITY BROADCAST / BROADBAND / MOBILE CONVERGENCE … NAGRA Media comprehensive pre-integrated end-to-end solutions accelerate the deployment of innovative hybrid services targeted to set-top boxes, portable media players, PCs and mobile devices. The pre-integration of NAGRA Media ACCESS world leading conditional access system, NAGRA Media SDP, an award-winning federated service head-end providing a central control mechanism across different delivery networks and consumptions devices, NAGRA Media GUIDE complete suite of rich applications for an intuitive and consistent high definition user experience and the NAGRA Media STB partners program, offers service providers a consistent set of solutions ensuring a rapid innovation cycle for advanced content business models.
… CALLS FOR A NEW GENERATION OF TV SOLUTIONS LEVERAGING THE BEST OF BROADBAND AND BROADCAST
WWW.NAGRAVISION.COM
NV_AdEuromedia_216x303.indd 1 Cyan quadriMagenta quadriJaune quadriNoir quadri
24.9.2009 17:13:01