Digital Broadcast - Sept 2010 by ITP Business Publishing

THE BUSINESS OF DIGITAL CONTENT DELIVERY

An ITP Business Publication

SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS Will Google’s internet success transfer to TV?

VISION FOR THE FUTURE Highlights at this year’s IBC show

HOW 2010 SU ISS E

SAUDI POWER PLAYERS The most influential executives in the Kingdom’s burgeoning broadcast sector Licensed by Dubai Media City

VOLUME 3 ISSUE 9 SEPTEMBER 2010

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CONTENTS

MOST POPULAR STORIES

Abu Dhabi TV bags English Premier League rights

Love Parade organisers under fire

Blackberry services to be suspended: Etisalat

ADMC reveals EPL price structure

Arabic IPTV service set for North America

PREMIER LEAGUE TOSHIBA’S CELL WON’T COME CHEAP TV SERIES EDITOR’S CHOICE

IN PICTURES

Subscribers to Etisalat’s eLife triple play packages of 8Mbps or above will get the English Premier League for no extra cost next season. ELife triple play packages give users TV, internet and fi xed line telephony as a single package with one bill. Prices for the services are hefty, however, ranging from US $92 for the 8Mbps package up to $147 for the 30Mbps package. Subscribers get one basic TV channel package, unlimited internet usage and 20 minutes of talk time thrown in. Additional talk time and extra TV channels have to be paid for. Subscribers to the 1Mbps eLife triple play as well as E-Vision customers will pay $7.90 per

month for the Premier League, for a minimum of 12 months. E-Vision customers will also have to have an HD receiver, which costs another $272 upfront, or $34 per month over 12 months. “Etisalat is committed to bringing the best possible services and entertainment to our customers, especially when it comes to enhancing their overall home entertainment experience with the broadcast of exciting global sports events,” said Khalifa Al Shamsi, senior vice president of marketing at Etisalat. “To add to this, we’re staying ahead of the curve by making sure that they get to enjoy them in high definition.”

ALSO ON THE DPME SLATE THIS MONTH... NEWS

RESEARCH

DU CHOOSES OPENWAVE du has selected products from global software firm Openwave to help the telco better manage and monetise its mobile network traffic.

digitalproductionme.com/news 02 SEPTEMBER 2010

The ZX900 Series CELL TV can convert 2D content into 3D on the fly.

SPOT POLL WHAT DID YOU THINK OF ADMC’S COVERAGE OF THE ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE?

75%

Lots of technical problems; it’s unacceptable

21%

Disappointing, but I’m sure they’ll fix the technical problems

Didn’t see it, but acquaintances told me it was pretty poor

Didn’t see it and don’t have an opinion

40% BACK CENSORSHIP Nearly half of Arab students think content posted on the internet should be censored or banned, according to new research.

digitalproductionme.com/news

www.digitalproductionme.com

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Visit us at IBC: September 9th to 14th 2010, Stand 1A51

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 Commercial Director Fred Dubery EDITORIAL Senior Group Editor Robeel Haq Tel: +971 4 210 8597 email: robeel.haq@itp.com Editor John Parnell Tel: +971 4 210 8655 email: john.parnell@itp.com ADVERTISING Commercial Director Fred Dubery Tel: +971 4 210 8381 email: fred@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 Senior Photographers Efraim Evidor, Jovana Obradovic Staff Photographers Isidora Bojovic, George Dipin, Murrindie Frew, Lyubov Galushko, Verko Ignjatovic, Shruti Jagdesh,Mosh Lafuente, Ruel Pableo, Rajesh Raghav PRODUCTION & DISTRIBUTION Group Production Manager Kyle Smith Deputy Production Manager Matthew Grant Production Coordinator Nelly Pereira Managing Picture Editor Patrick Littlejohn Image Editor Emmalyn Robles Distribution Manager Karima Ashwell Distribution Executive Nada Al Alami CIRCULATION Head of Circulation & Database Gaurav Gulati MARKETING Head of Marketing Daniel Fewtrell Marketing Manager Annie Chinoy 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

MONEY TALKS AT IBC

he exhibition space has been extended by the organiser due to demand. A number of major manufacturers including Sony and The Snell Group return to the show floor after some recent absences. The number of intended new product launches appears to have increased compared to last year, which was affected by the slow down of investment in research and development. All of these indicators would suggest that IBC 2010 will prove to be a success. The real test however, will come in the weeks and months after the show as manufacturers look to close deals first discussed in Amsterdam. The most useful yardstick for the industry will lie in the order books of the vendors as the New Year approaches. Full order books mean a healthy, vibrant technology development environment that can feed innovation to the broadcasters. It is impossible to predict whether this situation will be improved on last year. In the Middle East, there is certainly a feeling that projects that were previously on hold are now coming back online. Broadcasters here would seem to be once again turning their attention to upgrading their technical capabilities as purse strings loosen. Elsewhere, the situation may not be quite as good.

IBC is overwhelmingly concerned with the European market, in which many major broadcasters have struggled in the current commercial client. Public-funded broadcasters there have also had to deal with budget cuts as governments eased in EUwide austerity measures. There could have been an opportunity for vendors to make-up for the shortfall in European business by ramping up their interactions with Middle East customers during the show. The timing of this year’s IBC, falls directly on the Eid Al Fitr holidays. This will severely affect the number of visitors from the Middle East, as well as the number of Muslim delegates from elsewhere in Europe. For those of you that are visiting the show, look out for the ITP Publishing stand (Hall 13, A11) where you can meet representatives of this magazine, its sister title Digital Studio and its online home: www.digitalproductionme.com.

JOHN PARNELL Editor john.parnell@itp.com

Circulation Customer Service Tel: +971 4 210 8000 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

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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.

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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 SEPTEMBER 2010 05

THE BRIEFING

GOOD MONTH YAHOO! MAKTOOB Page views jumped 7 per cent in the first week of Ramadan, according to Alexa.com. The portal launched a new site to mark the holy month. The site features three sections, Spiritualities, Ramadan and People and Entertainment. Yahoo! Maktoob also recently launched a video on demand (VOD) channel, which contains Ramadan-related videos and shows. The service will continue on a permanent basis after Ramadan.

BAD MONTH SKYPE British satellite broadcaster BSkyB confirmed it was locked in a five-year dispute with Skype about the internet phone company’s use of the “Sky” part of its name. The dispute was revealed in a 250-page document, which announced the internet phone company’s plan to raise US$100 million in an initial public offering on the Nasdaq stock exchange. The statement released for the initial public offering (IPO) revealed that Skype is contesting the challenges from BSkyB over its brand name and logo.

06 SEPTEMBER 2010

CONTENT

EMIRATES FACES FILM LAWSUIT Iranian producers accuse airline of showing in flight films without consent. Emirates is facing legal action from two Iranian film producers, who claim the airline ‘illegally screened’ their films as part of its in-flight entertainment. According to a report in the Tehran Times, Manuchehr Mohammadi’s ‘M for Mother’ is currently on the Emirates in-flight movie list and Gholamreza Musavi’s ‘Red’ was previously on it. “I have recently been informed about the screening of ‘M for Mother’ by Emirates airline, while neither the airline nor any other related company has a contract with us,” Mohammadi was quoted as saying in the newspaper last month. “The movie is being shown illegally and we have the legal right to pursue this issue,” he added. The producer is planning to write a letter to Emirates requesting an explanation, and has also made arrangements for legal action. Meanwhile, Tehran Times states Gholamreza

$12.4bn

News Corp’s offer for UK pay TV firm BSkyB

Musavi also sent a letter to the Emirates office in Tehran about six weeks ago. He has threatened to ask the attorney of Iran’s Supreme Council of Producers to file a lawsuit against Emirates, if he receives no compelling response from the airline’s office. Intellectual property legislation in the Middle East is still in its formative phase with many loopholes still to be closed and awareness to be raised.

$2.4bn

News Corp’s full year profits announced last month

SAUDI TELECOM LAUNCHES IPTV SERVICE Saudi Arabia’s telecoms firm STC launched an advanced interactive TV service for its AFAQ DSL Shamil customers last month. The new IPTV service, branded InVision, allows customers to watch live TV channels, pause a programme and replay it later, replay clips, and record and retrieve programmes to watch them anytime for a complete week. It also provides VoD services and a control panel that allows viewers to select the packages that meet their interests. It marks the first time that a full-functionality IPTV service has been available in the Kingdom and

is likely to have a major impact on the total number of IPTV subscribers throughout the Middle East. InVision is built on STC’s fibre network that also provides customers with 100Mb/s broadband. The service will initially be rolled out in Riyadh, Damman and Jeddah and was offered for free during Ramadan in order to drive subscriptions. Similiarly to Etisalat’s E-vision service, customers will be able to pick and choose from pay TV bouquets as well as accessing the same cotent provided by free to air satellite channels. InVision subscribers will also have access Abu Dhabi Media Company’s English Premier League. www.digitalproductionme.com

THE BRIEFING

EDUCATION

TRAINING TO BOOST LOCAL TALENT: TWOFOUR54 12-month course designed to encourage Emirati talent into TV business. Twofour54 has announced the launch of the intaji, an employment and traineeship programme for UAE nationals looking to build careers in the television production and broadcasting industry. The 12-month specialised traineeship programme will provide skills training with a salary and is considered to be the only course of its type in the region. It has been specifically developed by twofour54 to give young Arabic talent the necessary skills to work in the media industry. The course will officially start next month – deadline for applications is September 18th

Wayne Borg, COO, twofour54.

– and the successful applicants will embark on a customised training plan that includes a combination of classroom-based courses. The course will be delivered by the in-house team at twofour54 intaj, twofour54’s worldclass production facilities, and a number of leading international media companies including the BBC, Apple and Adobe. “As the UAE’s and the region’s and entertainment landscape evolve it is essential that we develop and build the talent infrastructure to ensure the long-term success and sustainability of the industry,” said Wayne Borg, COO, twofour54.

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

Saudi [Arabia] has taken a leadership role in terms of broadcast technology. They are the pioneers of bringing in new technology and implementing it before anybody else. WALID ALMOUKHTAR, chairman and general manager, First Gulf Company.

BLACKMAGIC ACQUIRES ECHOLAB

DU CHOOSES OPENWAVE SOFTWARE

AVID UNVEILS STORAGE SYSTEM

Blackmagic Design announced the acquisition of live production switcher manufacturer EchoLab last month. “I think the ATEM switchers from EchoLab are the most exciting switchers I have ever seen, and it’s exciting to add these products and intellectual property to the Blackmagic Design family,” said Grant Petty, CEO of Blackmagic.

Du has selected products from global software firm Openwave to better manage and monetise mobile network traffic through the optimisation of web and video content delivery to mobile devices. “We wanted the most efficient way to manage our growing network traffic so that we could improve our users’ experiences [and] create new services,” said Hatem Bamatraf, SVP, du.

Avid has unveiled the Avid ISIS 5000, a new shared storage solution for broadcasters and post production facilities. The product was developed to address the needs of workgroups requiring 40 or fewer client connections. Major features include the ISIS file system, support for Avid and Apple Final Cut Pro editing systems and Ethernet connectivity.

www.digitalproductionme.com

SEPTEMBER 2010 07

THE BRIEFING

TRANSMISSION

NETWORKS LOSING TV AD REVENUE Advertising middlemen absorbing third of income, claims media.

Turner Broadcasting System is set to open an office in Dubai, following its decision to launch an Arabic free-to-air version of its Cartoon Network channel. The company also plans to open a dedicated animation training academy at Abu Dhabi’s media production facility twofour54, according to Alan Musa, vice president and general manager for the MENA region at Turner Broadcasting System. The Dubai office will form the commercial hub of Turner’s expansion in the Middle East. “I think two or three critical tasks are finding local partners to work with on producing new content, but also establishing a local management team in the region,” said Chris Groves, senior vice president business affairs and managing director, Middle East at Turner Broadcasting. “I firmly believe Turner can’t carry on running its regional business from London,” added Groves. “We’re keeping an open mind about Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Dubai is definitely going to be the commercial hub... But the region is a pretty big place and I would want to keep the options open and also look beyond the Gulf,” said Groves. 08 SEPTEMBER 2010

BROADCAST BRIEFS B

TURNER BROADCASTING TO OPEN IN DUBAI

Television channels in the Middle East lose one third of the revenue derived from advertising sales to middlemen, according to an industry analyst based in the region. A lack of transparency in the industry allows huge commissions – sometime as large as 40 percent – with the broadcasters receiving what is left. “The commission structure in the Middle East ranges from 20 percent to 40 percent – it depends on the broadcaster and its negotiations with the media representative,” analyst Jayant Bhargava, a principal at the Booz & Co. consultancy told UAE daily The National. “If the advertiser spends US $100, the balance that reaches the broadcaster is between $60 and

87 million

$80. All of [the remainder] goes to the media representative. The payments to ad buyers and agencies are separate. The rebates are where the transparency issue is. It is not clear how [the rebates] are shared.” Bhargava said that in markets such as the US, the cost of running an in-house ad sales unit is typically between 5 and 7 percent of ad revenue, meaning TV operators are sacrificing up to 35 percent of the revenue to media representatives. It is estimated that in the Middle East, between 70 and 85 percent of the total TV advertising spend is channelled through a handful of “media representation” houses, which sell advertising on behalf of TV companies.

The number of hybrid pay TV STB in the global market by 2015, as the industry embraces the dual-approach configuration. SOURCE: IMS Research

MOVERS & SHAKERS BOWLEY SIGNS UP FOR OMNIBUS POST OmniBus Systems, broadcast automation developer, announced the appointment of Roger Bowley as regional sales manager for the UK and Ireland last month. “I’m very excited to be part of the OmniBus team, which is full of extremely talented and visionary people,” said Bowley. “I’m always inspired by technology at the leading edge, and the iTX platform and concept is a game-changer with limitless possibilities for reshaping the way the industry does business.”

INDUSTRY VETERAN JOINS ECHOSTAR SATELLITE SERVICES EchoStar Satellite Services, announced that 20-year satellite TV industry veteran Ken Carroll has been named COO. Carroll will report to Dean Olmstead, president of EchoStar Satellite Services. Prior to joining EchoStar, Carroll served as president and COO at WildBlue, a nationwide satellite broadband company based in Denver. He’s also served as CFO for Liberty Satellite & Technology and DTH satellite TV provider PrimeStar.

www.digitalproductionme.com

THE BRIEFING

The constant push for higher quality video could be in vain, if research from Rice University is correct. The Department of Psychology has released a paper that shows if you like what you’re watching, you’re less likely to notice a difference in quality. Human Factors, a research journal, recently published the study authored by Philip Kortum, Rice professor-in-the-practice and faculty fellow. Using four studies, Kortum, along with co-author Marc Sullivan of AT&T Labs, showed 100 study participants 180 movie clips encoded at nine different levels, from 550 kilobits per second up to DVD quality. Participants viewed the two-minute clips and then were asked about the video quality of the clips and desirability of the movie content. Kortum found a strong correlation between the desirability of movie content and subjective ratings of video quality. “At first we were really surprised by the data - we were seeing that low-quality movies were being rated higher in quality than some of the high-quality videos. But... we determined what was driving this was the actual desirability of the content.”

010 SEPTEMBER 2010

BROADCAST BRIEFS

QUALITY OF CONTENT IRRELEVANT: RESEARCH

ZAIN SLASHES WORKFORCE BY 70%

Andrew Sukawaty, chairman and CEO of Inmarsat.

INMARSAT INVESTS US $1.2BN IN SAT NETWORK Inmarsat plans to invest US $1.2 billion in setting up a new high-speed satellite communications service. Global Xpress – currently scheduled for a 2014 launch – will deliver mobile broadband speeds of up to 50MB/s, using terminals of 2060 cm in size. Inmarsat offers global communications services that cover remote areas outside of normal mobile and wireless internet coverage. “Global Xpress network, will allow us to offer global mobile broadband coverage, offering unparalleled speeds and bandwidth to customers in remote locations around the world,” said Andrew Sukawaty, chairman and CEO of Inmarsat.

Kuwaiti telecoms firm Zain, which sold most of its African assets to India’s Bharti Airtel, has lowered its workforce by 70 percent, its chief executive said in published remarks. “The group’s workforce has been lowered by 70 percent in light of the new strategy for the group in the next period,” Kuwaiti daily newspaper alSeyassah quoted CEO Nabeel bin Salama as saying last month. A company spokesman confirmed the report, but did not provide more details. In June, Zain and Bharti closed a US $9 billion deal for the Kuwaiti firm’s African assets, excluding Sudan and Morocco. Nabeel bin Salama, CEO, Zain.

SATCOMMS MARKET TRA AWARDS TELECOMS LICENCES TO TWO COMPANIES The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) awarded two new telecoms licences to subsidiaries of Yahsat last month. The two companies – Al Yah Advanced and Star – were given ten-year permits to offer satellite services and satellite and broadcasting services, respectively. While Al Yah Advanced will only provide telecoms services to the UAE government, Star will “meet the high demand for emerging applications in the satellite industry such as turn-key telecommunications solutions, broadband services and broadcasting services within the UAE,” a statement released by the TRA said.

“The TRA strategy aims to widen the services and the packages offered in the market through satellite providers,” said Mohamed Al Ghanim, the director general of the TRA. “We fully believe that fair competition is a fundamental factor to drive the market forward and to ensure resourcefulness.” Owned by investment giant Mubadala, Yahsat was awarded a licence to provide voice, data, video and internet connectivity to UAE customers in February this year. Yahsat was only the third company – behind Etisalat and du – to be granted satellite communications services in the country. “I don’t think Yahsat will be aiming at the consumer broadband market in the UAE,” said Informa Telecoms and Media analyst Matthew Reed.

www.digitalproductionme.com

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VOX-POP

ON THE LIST Digital Broadcast asked some of the regional players in the industry what their shopping lists will include ahead of this monthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s IBC show and, not surprisingly, 3D technology features heavily.

012 SEPTEMBER 2010

www.digitalproductionme.com

VOX-POP

GUNNING FOR GRAPHICS

3D UPDATE

MANAF AHAMMED Deputy VP operations, Ten Sports, Taj Television

AFZAL LAKDAWALA Director of broadcast operations, Dubai Media Inc.

The main thing I will be looking at during the show is a new graphics system to boost our cricket productions. We use Piero for our football coverage but there doesn’t seem to be an equivalent for cricket to enhance the production of the matches. Ideally we will find something that can also act as a tool for postmatch analysis and so on. A second objective will be to discuss the possibility of fibre connectivity to our headquarters in Dubai and there are several meetings already scheduled with potential partners for on-air and off-air connectivity. It is an issue that we have looked at previously and is very important to our operations. The third priority, will be satellite bandwidth. We are running short of space now and there is no more available with our current

provider. Again, we will meet with several operators to discuss our options. I think this year will be heavily concentrated on 3D. The World Cup created a buzz and I’m sure both the exhibitors and the visitors will be more focused on 3D than in previous years. The Middle East attendance will certainly be affected by the timing and I know several people that normally attend, but will not be there this year. I don’t think they have considered the clash with this holiday. Perhaps it is one of the reasons why the registration period was extended.

TRY BEFORE YOU BUY ANDY PALMER Group director of technical operations, MBC

There has been a lot of talk of 3D but it is hard to tell how popular 3D will be and whether it will take off. Personally speaking, it is a bit of a novelty, it could work for the occasional movie or programme but whether you would want to sit down and watch 3D TV together as a family, I’m not sure. As ever, the industry is driven by what the set manufacturers are trying sell and we end up playing catch-up. It was the case with HD and I’m sure it will be the same with 3D. I daresay it will become a feature that broadcasters will have to include in some form whether its special films or one dedicated channel only time will tell. We are involved in several request for proposal processes to facilitate our move to a tapeless workflow. There is also an RFP soon for an asset management system so I’ll be keen www.digitalproductionme.com

to have a look at what is available on the market. I’ll also be looking closely at playout servers and production storage as well. The aim will be to get a solid idea of everything that is available on the market ahead of those RFP processes. We tend not to sign deals at the show, its more of an opportunity to learn about the products. Some of the manufacturers have more of a presence in the Middle East than others and are aware of the issues, others less so. Having someone that can offer support on the ground in this region is key. It’s always more difficult to get sales support when there isn’t a local presence. Having someone on the end of a phone line isn’t the same. I tend to find that NAB and IBC are largely the same show. IBC is much closer obviously so in order to send a sufficient delegation it’s the better option. In terms of the Middle East, the European market is more closely aligned than anywhere else so it makes sense that way. The economic situation in the world in general, and certainly in the broadcast industry, has improved greatly in 2010.

We don’t have any immediate plans to expand into 3D but we are keen to have a look at the 3D technologies that are now available and more cost-effective. There has been a lot of 3D talk in recent years but now we are seeing some real action. The consumer rollouts are in full swing and there has been a shift of focus toward 3D content and programming. The acquisition side of 3D and the technology that is available for 2D to 3D conversion. It will be very interesting to see these technologies at the show and I’m sure it will be a big focus. The launch of Sky’s 3D channel in the UK and the filming of the World Cup represent some serious commitments from the broadcasters, even though it is still early and difficult to predict if there will be major take-up by consumers. I’m sure there will be some 3D content creation in the Middle East – perhaps some sporting events – but I don’t anticipate a large volume of content being produced in the region for 3D in the immediate future. There are several differences between 3D and HD. Consumers didn’t need glasses to watch HD; camera’s didn’t need special rigs; a lot of new investment is needed outside of your workflow. The shift to HD was more about file formats and represented only a change of workflow. The shift to 3D cannot be compared with the change to HD as it involves a content jump. I will also be interested in seeing what new products are on the market. I will be particularly interested in seeing how LTO5 storage systems are developing. NAB is very focused on the North American production requirements whereas IBC is more aligned to the Middle East market, so it is a much better networking show for us. In terms of the technology at the show there is very little between the two. SEPTEMBER 2010 013

ANALYSIS

BROADCAST’S FORGOTTEN HEROES An incredible three new satellites have launched in the last two months to serve the Middle East’s broadcast sector. Digital Broadcast investigates why the region’s satellite industry has been so successful. 014 SEPTEMBER 2010

www.digitalproductionme.com

ANALYSIS

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sufficient content to offer an acceptable variety of programming to viewers. This process had to be timed correctly to ensure that an investment in HD was not wasted on a market with too few HD-ready viewers. During this limbo period – and in the years before – the satellite industry was forced to watch and wait in order to provide the necessary jump in bandwidth at just the right moment. With the average outlay for a new satellite hovering around the $1 billion mark, it is not a decision to be taken lightly. In the past 12 months, the two main operators in the region, Nilesat and Arabsat have both launched satellites designed with HD broadcasting in mind. The timing of their launches has matched perfectly with the preparedness of broadcasters to transmit in HD. The Middle East’s satellite industry does not begin and end with Arabsat and Nilesat however. The arrival of Abu Dhabi’s Yahsat has added further spice to the mix. However, rather than simply doubling up on existing footprints serviced by the incumbents, it will offer three split beams, including one centred on Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. The company’s DTH arm, YahLive (a joint venture with SES Astra) will be operational next year, marking the beginning of a third hotspot serving the region. All of this success has not gone unnoticed internationally. Eutelsat partnered with Qatar’s Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology – known as ictQatar – to launch the Gulf country’s first satellite in 2012 at a cost of $300 million. Dr Hessa Al Jaber, ictQatar secretary general, said the agreement was important because it would “secure its strategic interests in communications capabilities” in terms of broadcasting, communications and government services. The future of the satellite industry in the Middle East appears to be extremely healthy for local and international providers alike. Renewed competition will have no shortage of demand. A study last year by Northern Sky Research estimated that the total number of HD channels in the Middle East would grow by 2400 percent between 2007 and 2017 with a final total between 45 and 50. The rate of expansion of HD channels in the past twelve months alone means that estimate could now be on the low side.

MILESTONES

s IBC comes around again, the exhibitor list is notably lacking in companies that originate from the Middle East. One firm that has consistently appeared at the show ( frequently as the sole representative of the Middle East among exhibitors) is Arabsat. Arabsat’s international stature and that of the other satellite and teleport operators in the region is as much a credit to the industry at large as it is to the companies themselves. The nature of the industry, with its huge initial investments and vast underlying infrastructure means collaboration, network sharing and leasing agreements are very much the norm. In the competitive media market, there are precious few examples where rivals sit side by side so easily. The operators lease transponders to third parties, who then operate effectively as ‘virtual operators’, similar to the situation in mobile telecoms. This has encouraged a more healthy competition, resulting in better services, more innovation and of course, lower prices. Teleports are free to uplink and downlink from any satellite they can with no protectionism or exclusivity enforced by the operators. This openness is also a refreshing change compared to some more ruthless elements of the broadcasting sector. This stance was rewarded last year when Middle East satellite teleports Jordan Media City ( JMC) and du’s Samacom facility in Dubai, were among the top 20 highest earning independent operators, according to the World Teleport Association (WTA). Samacom was named the twelfth largest grossing independent operator with JMC listed as nineteenth. JMC was also named the sixth fastest growing teleport globally. This good nature among rivals is even evident among the individuals working in the industry. Speaking to a member of the satellite industry can often feel like you are talking to a member of a fraternity. They are proud of their industry and rightly so. In the Middle East, a huge challenge has recently been overcome with little fanfare. The arrival of HD services was anticipated for the best part of three years. Consumers had invested in the technology in droves, leaving broadcasters with the task of getting their facilities ready for HD and gathering

SATELLITE TIMELINE August 2010 Nilesat launches Nilesat-201adding significant capacity for HD to its fleet. June 2010 BADR-5, first satellite of Arabsat’s fifth generation of hardware was successfully launched. Arabsat’s second satellite of the fifth generation (5 A), was also launched successfully later that month. May 2010 Qatari government and Eutelsat announce plans to launch a satellite in 2012. February 2010 The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) awarded Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat) a ten-year satellite services licence for the installation, operation and management of a satellite communications network and provision of satellite communications services. April 2009 Yahsat announced a partnership with SES Astra to create a new company operating under the brand name YahLive to offer DTH television capacity and services to more than two dozen countries in the MENA and South West Asian regions. February 2009 Arabsat signed contracts for the manufacturing and launching of two new satellites with a total cost of $590 million. May 2007 Yahsat launched, with the selection of a consortium of EADS Astrium, Thales and Alenia Space as the preferred bidder to build its $1.6 billion dual satellite communications system.

SEPTEMBER 2010 015

NEWS ANALYSIS

BRAND NEW CONTENT As the shelf-life of the world’s hottest brands gets shorter and shorter, how can media companies design a long-term strategy, asks Jim Singer.

e’ve all seen the exclusive photos of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s latest goodwill trip on the cover of People magazine, and 42 versions of the Twilight series lunchboxes in department stores around the world. These are some of today’s most powerful brands - brands that provide the power behind a US$1.8 trillion global media and entertainment industry built on selling celebrity gossip, fictional characters and mass-market dreams about overnight stardom. When the game is about selling inherently transient products in a market where competitive strategies can become obsolete before the next viral YouTube video, how do the winners win? What is the true value of content? And who gets to capture it? Value needs to be more than driving traffic or generating buzz. If a media provider is unable to generate meaningful revenue, the model is fatally flawed. Content is the lifeblood of this industry, which employs close to one million on-staff writers, editors, photographers, choreographers, cinematographers, producers, performers, journalists, game designers and media technologists. That doesn’t count the thousands of freelance and aspiring artists who send manuscripts, screenplays, demos and photographs to publishers, record labels, radio stations and film studios every year. The digital age has eased this process. Whether editing page layouts or film footage, content creators can now do their jobs better and faster, exponentially increasing their ability to deliver content to consumers. It has also ignited an insatiable

016 SEPTEMBER 2010

As economic conditions continue to thwart industry dynamics, changes to the fundamental financial models have created an opportunity for media companies to rebalance their talent portfolios and reclaim their thrones. JIM SINGER partner, AT Kearney

appetite for content in ways and markets previously thought unreachable. Still, some of the most iconic content brands face an existential crisis – at odds with smaller, newer competitors and even their own consumers who are empowered by the ongoing technological revolution. Traditional media entities continue to wrestle with a modern-day identity crisis: should they compete directly with the legions of content creators in the marketplace? Or be conduits between creators and consumers - packagers, aggregators or portals, able to serve up specific content to targeted consumers while monetising the “transaction value” instead of the content? The pie is indeed growing, but so too are the possible slice sizes. Where should media companies position their knives? To understand the most lucrative areas of content management, we must first understand what drives content value in the first place, and how the rules may be changing. Relevant subjects will always capture the attention of consumers. The key in an era of instant gratification is in understanding what is relevant to whom and for how long. Story cycles are getting decidedly shorter. In the past ten years, the number of days a top three feature story remains active has fallen by 23 percent. Yet there are more variants created around each story, driven largely by tweets, blogs and digital versions of magazine brands. Companies that remain ahead in this market are those able to serve relevant content quickly, uniquely and to precisely targeted consumers.

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NEWS ANALYSIS

A film score by composer James Horner captures more inherent value than the same score created by a lesser known composer. While most of this ‘value’ is generated from the sheer quality of a Horner score, value is also derived from his name recognition – regardless of the quality. Because content is an “interpretive” product, there is an inextricable link between brand value of the creator and the content itself. As new media gives wings to new outlets – from blogs to social networking sites – the brand will always endure. Perhaps the best recent example of brand power occurred in the aftermath of Michael Jackson’s death. As blogs across the globe covered the singer’s sudden death in painstaking detail, TIME magazine’s special commemorative issue – priced at a 45 percent premium over its standard news-stand price – sold out in less than 24 hours. This happened despite otherwise declining revenues in publishing. Underneath the content, capture and brand resides the technology that enables consumers to reach the content. Distribution qualities such as speed, access and the ability to hear consumer opinions and social network commentary all factor in. User-generated content, such as citizen paparazzi, blogs or independently created music or videos not only ‘democratise’ content creation but also organically extend its traditional lifespan. There are additional questions around copyright issues and talent that must be addressed. Should there be a sliding scale pricing structure for content? Is it possible to negotiate fair market value for content ‘re-usability’? Do you buy and nurture

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your creative talent or purchase it on a freelance as-needed basis? In the end, however, it is all about how media companies survive. As economic conditions continue to thwart industry dynamics, changes to the fundamental financial models have created an opportunity for media companies to rebalance their talent portfolios and reclaim their thrones. There are three major steps in this reclamation process. The first is to take a good hard look at what consumers value. Value needs to be more than driving traffic or generating buzz. These are important metrics, but if a media provider is unable to generate meaningful revenue, the model is fatally flawed. Secondly, you have to manage the pipeline. Talent is a fleeting and fragile asset, so it is unrealistic to think that media companies can identify and lock in future talent. Not unlike a sports team that places too much faith on talent scouts, the risk is too high and a wrong decision could be a crippling disadvantage. The third step is to flex operations. A wellorganised content company has the ability to transmit content seamlessly, regardless of channel. Consider how revenue potential for iconic content such as the Olympic Games has evolved. The challenge for NBC in 2010 was to execute the experience perfectly, across all channels. Successful media companies of the future (and, potentially, the only ones to survive) will be those that understand and are positioned to address these challenges. Jim Singer is a partner and co-leader of the consumer products and retail practice for North America at AT Kearney

TOP ARAB MEDIA BRANDS The Forbes Arabia Arab Brand ranking included five media companies in its top ten. Overall position in the rankings is shown in brackets. For comparison, Emirates Airlines and Etisalat finished eighth and ninth respectively showing the strength and recognition of local media brands in the Middle East. Al Jazeera TV MBC TV Rotana TV LBC TV Melody TV

(1) (2) (5) (6) (10)

SOURCE: Forbes 2009

SEPTEMBER 2010 017

INTERVIEW

NEW BEGINNINGS

Digital Broadcast caught up with Snell’s Asia Pacific and Middle East president Naresh Subherwal to discuss the firm’s new life after the Pro-bel merger. In what ways does the new entity differ from the two companies that entered the merger? Naresh Subherwal: The new business obviously has greater scale, both in capability and international reach. We believe that in the rapidly changing international digital media markets there will be a minimum effective scale for businesses if they want to support their customers through the required technology and operational transitions. We have also simplified the legal structure of the Group making interaction with our partners easier. Did the recession complicate the merger? How did it fare under these circumstances? NS: The only impact the recession had on the merger was for a slightly increased level of due diligence to be performed by the financial institutions involved in the deal. The fact that they all strongly supported the agreement after this analysis was a strong endorsement of the rationale behind the merger. One advantage of the timing of the merger was that when the deal was done it was clear 2009 was going to be a challenging period for the industry so the merged Group was able to be structured accordingly. What are the most significant benefits of the merger for the company? NS: The combined R&D functions of the business and combined intellectual property portfolio have resulted in a new level of technology and product

018 SEPTEMBER 2010

introductions, which will be clear at IBC this year. It has also helped expand the customer reach and therefore growth opportunity across the group. Aside from investment in R&D Snell is also investing in our customer service operations.

One advantage of the timing of the merger was that when the deal was done it was clear 2009 was going to be a challenging period for the industry so the merged Group was able to be structured accordingly. NARESH SUBHERWAL president, Asia Pacific and Middle East, Snell Group

Will the company be renewing its activities in the Middle East? How? NS: The Middle East market is very important for our growth ambitions and therefore we are investing in the region in a number of ways. Prior to the merger both entities had a long history and significant successes in the region and we are now well positioned to strengthen our offering through a more comprehensive portfolio of products and solutions to our customers. We have already added more resources to support the region and are working closely with our partners across the Middle East. We are also embarking upon programmes to develop our after-sales support, training and to communicate our general products and solutions. What will be the main highlights of your stand? NS: On our stand you will see a new approach to IBC from Snell, we have orientated the booth more to doing business and less around technology demonstration. Our products are displayed in four areas designed to more closely reflect functions within our customers’ operations. We are also introducing some innovative things on the booth such as iTables, which is definitely worth a look!

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OPINION

PLAYING AWAY

Following their continued success in this region, Middle East technology firms should start to look at overseas business and exploit their unique experiences in other emerging markets.

he Middle East region has seen its own position in the global broadcast industry shift and mutate in several directions in recent years. Until the 1990s, it was largely ignored internationally. The burst of new satellite channels in the region then began to provide an interesting market for technology vendors looking for a sale. As the sector matured and broadcast operations became more sophisticated at a great rate, manufacturers had to raise their commitment to the region. Those that did so early through the creation of dedicated support teams, wide distribution and availability of spare parts benefited first. Today, broadcasters in the region are well serviced. The local needs of the region are better understood (though there is room for improvement) and most recognise that a token sales office is less than the region deserves. Last month, Dubai-based distributor UBMS created a milestone, becoming the first local company to travel in the opposite direction and gain status as a member of the IABM – the industry body serving manufacturers, distributors and other firms in the region. “We are honoured to be part of IABM. We are committed to the growth of this industry and we value the combined role in ensuring growth through good business practices,” said Reza Nikfar, CEO of UBMS at the time of the announcement. “The global marketplace is very diverse and dynamic. Being part of IABM ensures a distinction between credible and non-credible suppliers. I’m confident that other companies will try to follow suit, it is only normal to want to be recognised as strong and credible business on a global scale. The good thing about such memberships is that it provides a small 020 SEPTEMBER 2010

Being part of IABM ensures a distinction between credible and non-credible suppliers. I’m confident that other companies will try to follow suit, it is only normal to want to be recognised as strong and credible business on a global scale. REZA NIKFAR CEO, UBMS

indication to the mass public to whom the real players in the market really are.” Other Middle East companies should now be looking beyond the domestic markets and aggressively pursue business internationally. Gaining the credibility that Nikfar describes is one way to help this process along. IPTV set top box manufacturer Selevision has won some major projects locally. With IPTV rollouts still in their early stages in most markets, there is an opportunity for the firm to use this experience to its advantage. The company has already worked with a number of major partners including Irdeto, SIDSA, Anevia and Latens cementing its credibility internationally. UAE-based Thuraya has successfully established itself as one of the leading satellite phone and communication equipment manufacturers worldwide with customers in 140 countries worldwide. Unfortunately, it is the exception to the rule. There other bright signs for the future. Arabsat and Newtec’s MENOS content exchange is drawing more attention to what local companies are capable of. A number of online pioneers in the region have become highly sought after. Having developed the Arabic online world with little help from the major players, they are now called upon as other non-Latin script branches of the internet develop. The region’s system integrators could also find themselves successful in other emerging markets. Their familiarity with the different needs of clients in these environments would surely be an advantage. The Middle East’s broadcast market has developed to a point where it has gained international attention. Now is the time for local companies to divert some of their attention overseas.

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022 SEPTEMBER 2010

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COVER STORY

SAUDI’S SHIFTING SANDS

The Saudi Arabian government’s investments and policy changes have turned the Kingdom into one of the leading media and broadcast markets in the Middle East.

hile other Gulf countries have attracted headlines for the breakneck speed of development of their media industries, Saudi Arabia’s own broadcast landscape has been undergoing a quiet revolution. The arrival of big-name broadcasters, glamorous fi lm festivals and high-profi le initiatives to encourage local talent have dominated the industry press over the past three years, with Qatar and the UAE at the forefront of these developments. While these activities have boosted the profi le of the sector throughout the region, they are sometimes accused of being all show and no substance. Traditionally, the main power base of Arab television was in Egypt, with Lebanon not far behind. Since then, that power has shifted towards the Gulf. Now, as the largest economy in the GCC begins to revamp its broadcast industry, the Middle East as a whole could be set to reap the benefits. A string of statements from Saudi Arabia suggest that the country is set to take a larger role as a broadcaster and content producer, as well as transforming the services available to viewers based there. Saudi Arabia has long been a source of investment for big hitters of Arabic TV (MBC, ART, Rotana) but now we are increasingly seewww.digitalproductionme.com

ing investment turned inward, back into the Kingdom itself. “The government’s plan to modernise and upgrade all its broadcast facilities and capabilities was proposed around six years ago and it is being implemented now,” says Walid Al Moukhtar, chairman and general manager, First Gulf Company, one of the largest system integrators in the country. “First Gulf has been working with Saudi TV on its plans to modernise from the beginning – both on the digital broadcast network when it started and also the switchover to high defi nition across all the facilities. First Gulf has been working on around 90 percent of that project.” The investment by Saudi’s Ministry of Culture and Information (MOCI) has been vast. New broadcast facilities have been built in all 13 provinces, all to a 720p specification. The MoCI has also installed a DVB-T network across the country as part of its plans. “The change has been drastic. Saudi TV has gone from two channels to nine. The expansion of the network now means the whole Kingdom is served with digital TV.” The rollout of the digital network is by no means the limit of the country’s investment. “Saudi [Arabia] has taken a leadership role in terms of broadcast technology. It is the pioneer SEPTEMBER 2010 023

COVER STORY

The Saudi Arabian government have issued five FM radio licences and have bought out licences for private satellite TV stations.

The change has been drastic. Saudi TV has gone from two channels to nine… I think in the next year we will see the start of an explosion of channels serving the Saudi market. The potential is very large. WALID ALMOUKHTAR chairman and general manager, First Gulf Company 024 SEPTEMBER 2010

when it comes to bringing in new technology and implementing it before anybody else. The country is always at the forefront of new technology. Look at the MENOS project for example,” says Al Moukhtar referring to the Newtec, Arabsat and Arab States Broadcasting Union’s (ASBU) joint content exchange project. In addition to state investment, the country now also benefits from private investment. “The government has offered five licences for FM radio stations and they have brought out licences for private satellite TV stations. There is more private sector money coming in now,” says Al Moukhtar. “The five FM licences marked a big change in policy, they will be the fi rst privately owned and operated media that is also local to Saudi Arabia. I think in the next year we will see the start of an explosion of channels serving the Saudi market. The potential is very large. The demographics of Saudi Arabia are very unique. There a lot of young people and the population as a whole is very young. That makes the sector very interesting, growth-wise.” First Gulf Company has been operating in Saudi Arabia since its inception 10 years ago and has reaped the benefits of the Saudi Governement’s expansion of its broadcast facilities. “Our turnover is just less than US$100 million. There are around 250 permanent employees. At any given time no less than 35 of those are working with Saudi TV in various

capacities including technical support,” says Al Moukhtar. Th is level of support is a key reason why the company has enjoyed so much success in the Kingdom, with Al Moukhtar admitting that it would be difficult for an overseas-based SI to match that commitment. “Our in-house capability that has been developed over the years and our closeness with the client as well as the support, has always given us a bit of an edge. It is expensive for any SI to penetrate this market. The cost is high. First Gulf paid these costs in the beginning. There is no reason why other companies could not do the same and come into the Saudi Arabian market.” Another veteran of the broadcast market in Saudi is Said Bacho, managing director of Harris Broadcast Middle East. “Personally I have worked in Saudi for the past 10 years and with Harris since 2005. During this time there have been many changes in terms of transmission and also in production. On the transmission side we have seen the rollout of DVB-T. Saudi Arabia has been the leading country in the Middle East to kick-start terrestrial digital transmission,” says Bacho. “On the production side, the main driver has been the adoption of HD. The MoCI opted for 720p in all of its new infrastructure and there are now plans to go to 1080p. Saudi TV was also the leader in terms of installing HD infrastructure.” www.digitalproductionme.com

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COVER STORY

A number of significant headlines regarding the development of Saudi Arabia emanated from the country in the past 12 months. Digital Broadcast offers you the condensed version below. The quality of Saudi TV would improve after commercialisation, according to an official from the Kingdom’s Ministry of Culture and Information (MOCI). The MOCI is also keen to privatise its nine channels in order to circumvent restrictive regulatory conditions. A new week-long comedy festival will be held in Saudi Arabia later this month, the first of its kind in the Kingdom, reported the Saudi Gazette. The event – which is being organised by Rawad Media Production – will begin on July 26 under the patronage of Prince Faisal bin Khaled, emir of the Asir region. Among the 18 individual events planned during the festival are a women-only theatre evening, a line-up of children’s entertainment and a platform for young aspiring comics. Future TV’s Dragon’s Den: Al Aareen will soon be joined by Saudi TV’s version of the show. Saudi TV has purchased the rights to develop a local version of the Dragon’s Den show, the first time the state broadcaster has purchased the rights to an international format. The show has been licenced by Sony Pictures Television via Saudi TV’s partner, Creative Edge International, with production scheduled to begin this month. The series will be on-air in February with a 26-episode run. The media city at King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) could dramatically alter the region’s media industry, according to Matthieu De Clercq, project manager, A.T. Kearney, a consultancy working closely on the project. “Three of the top five TV media organisations are Saudi owned, MBC, ART and Rotana,” said De Clercq. 026 SEPTEMBER 2010

“They only need the environment to be correct for them. Regulation is one element, and lifestyle. If those conditions are correct then those major Saudiowned organisations will come to the media city at KAEC. Whether they move part of their operations or all of it, is up to them. The important point is that the key Saudi players will come back to the Kingdom and that will change the dynamic of the region.” Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Culture and Information (MOCI) has announced that four new TV channels will be launched from the Kingdom at the start of the new Hijra year. Two of these channels will focus 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 channels will focus on economic and cultural issues. The Saudi Ministry of Culture and Information (MOCI) has granted the country’s first private FM radio broadcasting licence to Alf Alf, which paid US$20 million for the privilege. The radio broadcaster beat ten shortlisted rivals to secure the licence, including Prince Alwaleed’s Rotana AV, pan-Arab network ART and Saudi Specialised Publishing Company (SSPC). The ministry has said it will issue four more licences in the next two months. In partnership with Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, Rotana, the Arab world’s largest entertainment company and ownded by Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, is set to launch an Arabic language news channel to compete head-on with Al-Jazeera and al-Arabiya.

CONNECTED DEVICES

NEWS FROM THE KINGDOM

Said Bacho, managing director of Harris Broadcast Middle East.

Bacho also points to the recent changes in policy of a government as a contributing factor to the growth of not only Harris’ interests in the country, but of the Kingdom’s broadcast and media landscape as a whole. “These developments have only come about recently. The release of the FM licences was particularly interesting. The greater growth in the country has still come from Saudi TV however, with several thematic channels rolled-out in the past year alone,” says Bacho pointing out the private sector has only begun operating there very recently. It will grow but it won’t necessarily overshadow the government operations, which are every large. However, many people did not expect Saudi TV to grow as fast as it has so perhaps the private sector will surprise some people too.” Bacho says he expects Saudi to continue as one of its leading markets in the EMEA region and is working to ensure it can continue to do well in the country. “If a company does well in Saudi Arabia and it delivers on its commitments and promises in a timely manner then it is likely to get some repeat business. The catch is that any vendor must not only be proactive with its selling. It is important to engage with the customer regularly, to host workshops and roadshows and making sure a technology partnership is formed. It’s about more than selling and then running away! That is true in every market, but especially in Saudi Arabia.” www.digitalproductionme.com

SAUDI POWER LIST

SAUDI POWER PLAYERS Digital Broadcast introduces five of the most prominent Saudi Arabians in the region’s media and broadcast industries looking in particular at the part they have played in the country’s emergence as a media powerhouse.

PRINCE ALWALEED BIN TALAL BIN ABDULAZIZ AL SAUD CHAIRMAN, ROTANA MEDIA GROUP Domestic investment The world’s richest Arab businessman has long been a major investor in media entities throughout the Middle East. Rotana, one of the largest Arabic music producers and holds a huge library of Arabic movies in addition to its numerous TV and radio stations, is controlled by the Prince. He also has major investments in the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation and his Kingdom Holding Group has stocks in Apple, Motorola, TimeWarner, HP, Disney and a well documented stake in NewsCorp. The relationship with NewsCorp has also de028 SEPTEMBER 2010

veloped with Rupert Murdoch taking a 10 percent share of Rotana. News Corp has made further commitments to the Middle East media industry since including the development of Fox International Channels activity in the region and the establishment of a permanent presence in Abu Dhabi. Prince Alwaleed has also recently made a more personal contribution to Saudi Arabia’s broadcast sector with the announcement that he will personally fund a new 24-hour news channel. Th is latest development shows that Saudi is not just a source of investment overseas, but is also very much investing in its own media development. www.digitalproductionme.com

SAUDI POWER LIST

SHEIKH WALEED AL IBRAHIM CHAIRMAN AND CEO, MBC GROUP Beating the recession As with all recessions previously, an immediate squeeze on advertising revenue was felt in TV industry. Stabilising the sector in the Middle East was the region’s largest FTA broadcaster, MBC. Under Al Ibrahim’s chairmanship, the group responded calmly and proactively to the recession. Sales teams identified the strength that the group was able to offer advertisers and relayed this to media buying agents and the clients themselves. Remarkably, the group was able to come

through the downturn with no significant effect on its sales. In the meantime, MBC has also been able to continue investing in technology with a major upgrade of its newsroom infrastructure for Al Arabiya and the current conversion of its Dubai headquarters to a state-ofthe-art, fully tapeless facility. The Saudi powerhouse dominates free to air broadcasting in the Middle East, reaching 106 million viewers everyday according to independent data that it commissions.

ENG. SAUD BIN MAJED AL DAWEESH CEO, SAUDI TELECOM GROUP (STC) Enabling 21st century delivery Like several of its fellow telecom operators in the Middle East, STC has undergone a rapid period of expansion internationally investing in companies in Turkey, South Africa, India and beyond. Under the leadership of CEO Saud bin Majed Al-Daweesh, the firm has also recently began rolling-out IPTV services on its advanced FTTH network. The initial investment required for a fibre network is extensive, however the long-term value that it brings to an economy – particularly via the media

and entertainment industries – will soon begin to pay dividends. Last month STC began operating its InVision IPTV service, opening the valuable Saudi advertising market to interactive and targeted campaigns. InVision also catapults subscribers to a level of service and a functionality that has not been seen before on such a scale in the region. The service has begun in three major cities – Riyadh, Damman and Jeddah – and is likely to be expanded as the reach of the country’s FTTH network grows.

KHALID BALKHEYOUR PRESIDENT AND CEO, ARABSAT Securing the future In the past year alone, Balkheyour’s Arabsat has won an IBC Innovation award for its work on the MENOS content exchange project, launched two new satellites – including the first of its fifth generation of hardware – and also announced plans to offer a satellite-based broadband service in the Middle East. Balkheyour has been instrumental in all of these activities. The expansion of the fleet has been arguably the most significant. The company stated in 2007 that it would launch at least one new satellite each year for the next five years as 030 SEPTEMBER 2010

it sought not only to replace older hardware, but to increase the number of transponders available to the market as demand increased. By pre-empting the increase of pressure on bandwidth resources as broadcasters looked to launch HD services, Balkheyour has steered Arabsat into position as the leading capacity provider for DTH operators rolling-out HD services in the region. The addition of the satellite broadband service in markets that are not well served by fixed networks will provide the company with a significant secondary source of revenue. www.digitalproductionme.com

SAUDI POWER LIST

DR RIYADH NAJM ASSISTANT DEPUTY MINISTER FOR ENGINEERING, SAUDI MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND INFORMATION (MOCI) Enabling the overhaul While in many industries technology is only a tool, in broadcasting it can frequently become much more than that. At Saudi TV, a technology overhaul and upgrade has been at the heart of the organisation’s redevelopment in recent years. The expansion of the network from two TV stations to nine has alone required an increase in facilities and infrastructure but the group has gone beyond that to raise standards and grow its footprint throughout Saudi Arabia. Each of the country’s 13 provinces has seen either a new broadcast facility installed or an old one overhauled. HD is at the heart of all of these.

www.digitalproductionme.com

Dr Riyadh Najm has been masterminding this work – rumoured to cost more than $1 billion once completed – that has been continuing for six years. Transmission facilities, playout, studios, all have been developed to the highest specification and HD ready. As well as enabling growth, the new technology has also allowed Saudi TV to become more competitive. The overhaul is not likely to be limited to technology alone with several insiders – including Dr Najm – indicating that the organisation may follow in the footsteps of other government-funded media companies and pursue commercialisation. If it does decide to walk that path, Dr Najm and his team have done everything possible to ensure that it will be as smooth as possible.

SEPTEMBER 2010 031

IBC 2010

VISION FOR THE FUTURE

IBC 2010 could prove to be a landmark event for the broadcast industry as it looks to bounce back from the recession. Digital Broadcast walks you through the highlights of this year’s show, from TV Olympians to exclusive Avatar previews…

032 SEPTEMBER 2010

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IBC 2010

GROWTH SPURT Extra hall to meet demand

Total number of attendees at last year’s IBC.

Delegates take in the SHV demonstration at a previous IBC.

THE BIG PICTURE

45,547

If exhibitions are used as a barometer for the health of the industries they serve, IBC 2010 would appear to be pointing toward a brighter future for the broadcast sector. According to the organisers, existing exhibitors proved keen to expand their footprint at this year’s show and there was also a waiting list for new companies interested in having a presence. As a result, IBC will include an additional hall in 2010. Hall 13 will be located in the space between the new Elicium tower, the Auditorium and Hall 3 and will add more than 800 square metres of exhibition space. “First, it suggests that the exhibition committee, the permanent staff at IBC and, especially, our contacts at the RAI in Amsterdam can work together and move quickly,” says John Holton, chair of the IBC exhibition committee. “More importantly, it says that there is a real sense of optimism in the industry,” he adds. “The appetite for media around the world is stronger than ever, and broadcasters and producers know they have to work better, smarter, faster and more creatively to feed that appetite.”

SUPER HI-VISION RETURNS The undoubted highlight of IBC in 2008 was the demonstration of Super Hi-Vision. It is returning to IBC again this year, even brighter and better than before. Super Hi-Vision is a development of Japanese national broadcaster NHK, part of a global contribution to the debate on what happens next. As its name suggests, it is another leap forward from HD. It has 16 times more resolution, to be precise: 7680 pixels wide by 4320 lines high, at 60 progressive frames a second. And if the picture is all embracing so too is the sound: 22.2 audio channels, including super-woofers front and back, speakers set at three heights, and a centre channel directly above the viewer.

SUPER HI-VISION IN NUMBERS

The new format has 16 times higher resolution than HD.

33.2 million The number of pixels on a Super Hi-Vision image.

22.2

The 24-channel audio scheme to back up Super Hi-Vision. www.digitalproductionme.com

SEPTEMBER 2010 033

IBC 2010

3D SPORT Sport takes centre stage

Manolo Romero (right) receiving a special recognition award from IOC president Jacques Rogge.

MANOLO ROMERO

034 SEPTEMBER 2010

PROFILE

This year’s IBC International Honour for Excellence, the highest award IBC bestows, goes to Manolo Romero, the managing director of Olympic Broadcasting Services. Romero began his career as an engineer with Spanish national broadcaster TVE in 1965. In 1968 he was selected to work on his first Olympic Games, in Mexico and since then since that date he has been involved in the television coverage of every single Games, summer and winter. Today, he works on behalf of the International Olympic Committee, guiding the host broadcaster at each games. That means ensuring that the voice of the smallest nations are heard clearly alongside the big networks, so his role is about balancing political pressures as well as engineering. Peter Owen, chairman of the IBC Council, which selects the recipient of the IHFE, says Romero “ensures that the boundaries are pushed further at each games, without ever risking the core expectations”. “I have been very fortunate to work in many sports events where we have been able to use state of the art technology and innovations,” says Romero.

In addition to all the headline annual sporting events, this year also sees two of the biggest events on the sporting calendar: the Winter Olympics in Vancouver and the Fifa World Cup in South Africa, each attracting global television audiences measured in billions. A dedicated sport day at IBC2010 (Saturday September 11) will tackle a number of issues, from how to create surround sound in challenging sporting environments, the growing demands for HD, multiscreen coverage and the future role that 3D might play in sports broadcasting. The day of themed conference sessions begins with a focus on the biggest sporting event of them all. Manolo Romero, managing director of Olympic Broadcast Services, will give the keynote and show clips of great Olympic moments. The presentation will also look at the potential for stereo 3D coverage, not just of the action but of the spectacular opening and closing ceremonies, how audiences – in the stadiums as well as further afield – keep up to date with services to mobile phones. Following his presentation Roger Mosey, who is in charge of the BBC’s plans for the 2012 games in London, will talk about the innovations he is planning for interactive, multiplatform coverage.

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The 2006 World Cup in Germany marked a watershed, with HD coverage of every match and all the excitement surrounding the competition. This, of course, was matched in 2010 – with even more cameras at each stadium – but it also sees a bold new venture, the coverage of 25 of the games in stereoscopic 3D, the most high profile use of the new format since Avatar. Peter Angell is the director of production and programming for Host Broadcast Services (HBS), and is thus the man responsible for all World Cup coverage. IBC conference delegates have a unique opportunity to hear him talk frankly about his experiences in shooting and delivering stereo 3D, and a follow-up panel discussion will look at the commercial prospects for 3D sports. Online viewing has the potential to revolutionise sports content, allowing the personalisation of feeds, blending action with behind the scenes access, background content and rich statistical data. A dedicated session will look at the opportunities for rights owners, sports federations, and teams and clubs. The final case study will show how the latest technology can greatly enhance the viewing experience. The US Nascar automotive series has invested heavily in new ways to help viewers, from highlighting the leading car to adding virtual dashboards to show the viewer the same parameters that the driver is seeing.

3D screenings of the World Cup’s most popular games took place in 33 countries.

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IBC 2010

CONNECTED DEVICES

$1m The production cost of each extra minute of Avatar: Special Edition, according to James Cameron.

THE IBC BIG SCREEN EXPERIENCE Avatar returns Last year, IBC received permission to show an extended 16-minute excerpt from an as-yet-unreleased movie called Avatar. After taking $2.7 billion at the box office, the movie returns to IBC in 2010 with a complete screening of Avatar: Special Edition courtesy of 20th Century Fox International and Lightstorm Entertainment. This new special edition contains an additional eight minutes of content over the original film and will be screened using the Real D stereoscopic 3D system. Continuing the Avatar theme, one of the movies chief editors, Stephen Rivkin, will discuss the complicated behind-the-scenes editing techniques and present clips demonstrating the evolution of this ground-breaking blockbuster. Topics will cover performance capture, the virtual camera, 3D, the various stages of shot development and finishing, as well as a look into the incredible challenges involved to bring this film to the screen. www.digitalproductionme.com

THE SHORTLIST The IBC Innovation awards are one of the most sought-after industry gongs. Last year Newtec, Arabsat and the Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU) shared the content delivery prize for the MENOS content exchange platform. The 2010 shortlist features range of projects tackling a variety of challenges such as archiving, loudness control and a DAB+ radio transmission network across the vast Australian continent. The shortlist in full: Content creation Live 3D sport from ESPN. The particular production the broadcaster has nominated is its first live stereoscopic 3D broadcast of a top-ranked college football match, between Ohio State and USC in September 2009. This project brought together a large number of technology partners: AJT Systems, Cinedigm, Hyundai, NEP, PaceHD, PVI, Quantel, Reality Check, Sensio and Sony. Consistent loudness from the Winter Olympics from NBC Olympics. The broadcaster was keen to create dynamic and exciting audio, originating in 5.1 surround sound, but the very different characteristics of the events meant maintaining consistent perceived loudness, across long live broadcasts, would be a challenge. Signal distribution at the Red Bull Air Races involved bringing pictures and sound from across a huge area, and from the planes themselves. The organisers chose to carry everything – video, audio, communications and data – on one easily rigged

fibre backbone. Fibre also saves shipping many tonnes of copper cables from venue to venue. Technology partners were Riedel, with support from SIVision Outside Broadcast and West4Media Production. Content management Multi-platform asset management at Antena 3. The Spanish broadcaster’s newsroom system puts its content on television and on the internet, mobiles, YouTube and social networks, without increasing operational costs. The principle technology partner was Dalet Digital Media Systems, with Apple, Avid, Chyron, I+3 Television, Netapp, Omneon, Quantel, Stornext and Telestream. Digital migration and archiving at the European Parliament. The audiovisual unit has an archive stretching back almost half a century on a huge range of formats and media. To provide open access to the content, the new project not only digitises the content but creates an open database that can be searched readily. Technical partners were Front Porch Digital and Broadcasting Centre Europe. Content delivery Transcontinental DAB+ for Australian Broadcasting Corporation and SBS. Bringing the benefits of digital radio to every corner of this huge country sets big challenges. The solution was not just the largest implementation of DAB+ to date, it was the first to rely entirely on IP transmission end to end. Technology partners were Broadcast Australia, Radioscape, Telstra and United Group International.

The 2009 IBC Innovation Awards winners.

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BROADCAST FINDS ITS FUTURE IN FLEXIBILITY

he media environment is in constant evolution, opening a world of content to the users around the world. In order to answer to this growing demand, television stations and broadcasters must adapt to a new market. Nowadays infrastructures are giving up the tape, looking for cost eﬀective and faster platforms. In 2000, BCE were pioneers with the first tapeless broadcasting facility and since 2008 innovated and integrated the high-speed content distribution.

DIGITAL ARCHIVE CONTENT HUB In a tapeless workflow, broadcaster’s content is gathered in a digital archive.

Content sources and security BCE operates a fully redundant fifteen million Gigabytes digital archive. “The digital archive installed by the engineering department is connected to all the departments of BCE and opens large volumes to our customers,” states Christian Garit, head of Broadcast Operations (BCE). While a large amount of content is made available via a digital archive, the infrastructure 036 SEPTEMBER 2010

also receives data from fibre links connected to other sites, distributors and Internet. Along many others, Twentieth Century Fox, FremantleMedia, Sony and Universal use Movie2Me to send high quality content to BCE’s European content hub.

Optimised management BCE also creates low resolution files used for translation, subtitling, promos, etc... All this information is then centralised in a server with a media asset management. “Working with low resolution files is a real improvement in our workflow, the team works faster and the exchange of language data with foreign television stations is optimised,” says Dany Muniken, Traffic Coordinator (BCE).

DIFFERENT LEVELS OF PLAYOUT Playout control rooms Depending on the requirements of the station, the playout will be done via dedicated or multichannel control rooms. BCE’s playout centre covers mainly Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Luxembourg with five dedicated final control rooms and a twelve

channels multi-playout platform and, thanks to the engineering team, has the expertise to configure more space in-house but also to install solutions at the customer’s premises. “The system installed by BCE gives to our viewers a completely new experience, the quality of the picture and sound is much better. The automation of most of the procedures gives more opportunities for more information on the screen.” Evelina Kirilova, Program director (NOVA TV).

Ensuring the operations continuity BCE’s playout servers, fibre links and satellite connections are redundant. For some channels, a spare final control room is available. “New Internet playout solutions can also be used as a disaster recovery solution for general television channels which are looking for a cheaper way to secure their operations, DPlayout can take the lead if an incident occurs.” Sascha Quillet, IT Engineer R&D (BCE). BCE’s Network Operation Centre monitors 24 hours a day the installations providing detailed reports, and has the ability to solve any problem remotely. “The Network Operation Centre was created to ensure the continuity of our services, its 24/7 www.digitalproductionme.com

ing platforms that oﬀer a suitable experience for the viewers. For channels with a restricted budget willing to keep a good quality on air, BCE created the decentralised playout service (DPlayout), means a server located at the cable head end, Uplink or IPTV operator retrieving its content by Internet from a digital archive. It can either produce SDI or ASI signals for distribution.

TAILOR-MADE SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS Managing the archives

monitoring and fast reactivity oﬀers a seamless environment for our customers,” comments Catherine Ettlinger, head of Broadcast Continuity (BCE). In case of major incident, the site can be selfprovided in energy during up to ten days. The engineering team is also installing a disaster recovery platform on a separated site with the replication of BCE infrastructure.

THE NEW FACE OF BROADCASTING Broadcast finds its future in flexibility Broadcast operators must adapt to a market in constant expansion, keeping the pace with classical broadcasting technologies and developing their ability to answer the end user demand with DVB, IP, 4G, etc. with the constraints of quality, sound, high definition and 3D. Classical means such as terrestrial transmitters and satellites oﬀer wide area coverage with the best quality but are expensive. Cable penetration varies from one country to the other. Internet, as a two-way media, can work for low cost platforms and for Video On Demand, streaming and IPTV.

A tapeless infrastructure needs to be more available for the production and broadcasting teams in order to search and re-use the content in diﬀerent programs and create the appropriate planning in less time. Although a variety of software is available on the market, only a few companies are oﬀering a solution that is completely tailor-made. “We still have physical archives and tapes coming from channels and distributors, waiting to be digitised. Broadcast IT suited their archive management solution, named Demeter, so that we can easily catalogue our physical and digital contents.” Alain Darada, FTO traffic manager (BCE).

The fast-paced broadcasting environment At this stage a library and rights management solution is needed, to be able to monetise the contents and synchronise with the archive and accounting department. With Cronos, the user is able to create the long and short-term program plans, managing grids, channels templates, reruns, costs etc…

with a minimum of typing. Before generating the playlist, it is important to create frame accurate files integrating the data from the long and short-term program plans software and all the other events. “BCE’s solution, Adonis, is paramount in our program integration, from its preparation to the postbroadcasting. It ensures a fluid sequence of the events with rules edited by our team.” Fabrice Quilliot, Responsable du domaine Chaînes M6 (M6). After broadcasting, BCE’s solution, called ARES, creates the author rights declaration that will be sent to the performing rights society of the channels’ countries.

CONCLUSION While content is the key to success on the user side, technology efficiency and flexibility is broadcasters’. The demand is rising and innovations are creating new opportunities on the market. This evolution will have both a positive and a negative impact for the broadcasting industry. It is important to stay alert and take the right decisions. BCE has a unique position on the market as it is much more than a simple system integrator. The company handles the daily playout service for Belgian, French, Dutch and Luxemburgish channels and therefore is aware of all the operational issues of such infrastructures. This rich personality is completed by the multiple activities of BCE in telecom, IT, engineering, transmissions, digitisation, production and post production. Therefore the company works closer to its customers and provides them a large range of solutions that match their projects following the technology evolution.

Future television lies in its diversification Broadcasting television channels become more and more aﬀordable. However quality could be in jeopardy, public Internet must be used wisely for distributing a television channel, keeping in mind its restrictions and creatwww.digitalproductionme.com

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IN-DEPTH

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IN-DEPTH

HEADTURNERS Turner Broadcasting has announced a host of deals in the Middle East during the past six months. Digital Broadcast speaks to the network’s regional MD Chris Groves, about its bullish aspirations for the region.

aking money in the Middle East is not an easy task for any broadcaster. In the very recent past this task has become harder as advertising dollars have found their way into the pockets of the most established names and the pay TV industry has continued to struggle against sluggish growth and the ever-present threat of piracy. Despite these challenges, the most recent international network to announce a ramping up of its interests in the region is confident that the opportunities outweigh the challenges. Turner already operates in the Middle East through its news network CNN. But it is the internationally syndicated Cartoon Network that will be leading the charge in the Middle East when its Arabic-language iteration is launched in Autumn. “There is a target for a return on investment. It’s always challenging with a new business and a new team but we would certainly be expecting to be breaking even by the end of 2011,” reveals Chris Groves, senior vice president business affairs and managing director for the Middle East, Turner Broadcasting. “The launch date of Cartoon Network Arabia is very specific, it’s 10/10/10 and will be marked by a big Ben 10 event [Ben 10 being one of the channel’s most popular global brands]. As many platforms as possible will be used to promote the launch as well as live events. There have already been several of these in Bahrain and the UAE. There are all sorts of ways of getting awareness of the brand across.” Groves has every reason to be confident. The Middle East public not only watches more TV than other markets, it is also one of the youngest TV audiences anywhere. When you couple this with the fact that the Cartoon Network is the licensee of a host of billion-dollar franchises, it is easy to figure out where this revenue might come from.

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There is a target for a return on investment. It’s always challenging with a new business and a new team but we would certainly be expecting to be breaking even by the end of 2011. CHRIS GROVES senior vice president business affairs and managing director – Middle East, Turner Broadcasting.

“Cartoon Network Arabia will compete not just on air, it has a very successful consumer products business in Europe and the US and there is no reason why that can’t be established here in the Middle East as well,” says Groves. “That business has been licensed out to several third parties and it’s done quite well. Some of these partnerships will continue.” The arrival of the new channel does not mean that these associated franchises will disappear from the schedules of rival stations. “The aim is to make sure the key shows are on Cartoon Network Arabic, along with some of the local shows, but there’s an awful lot of other programming that we are quite happy to have in the market elsewhere,” he says. “We’re confident we can get the channel profitable fairly quickly. There needs to be a lot of effort into the marketing. Some of the techniques the company has developed, certainly on ad sales and sponsorship, are viewed as potentially workable in the Middle East and there are talks with a number of fairly large multinationals about working with them from launch. This market is a bit like Turkey where there were very few kids’ channels and the Cartoon Network launched there in Turkish, it established itself as number one within two years.” While many international broadcasters have entered the regional market with local partners or by exporting English language content directly into the market, Turner has a different approach. “The philosophy, generally, is to localise. Since I’ve been at Turner it has launched 20 to 30 new local-language versions of its brands. These started out with the usual suspects – France, Spain, Italy – and then increasingly going into markets further East,” explains Groves. “We’ve had a business in the Middle East for about eight or nine years or slightly longer with CNN on pay TV. CNN is still English language howevSEPTEMBER 2010 039

IN-DEPTH

Varying dialects of the Arabic language posed early problems but Groves says using classical or Egyptian Arabic can be a suitable fit for most audiences.

I think two or three critical tasks are finding local partners to work with on producing new content, but also establishing a local management team in the region. I firmly believe Turner can’t carry on running its regional business from London. CHRIS GROVES senior vice president business affairs and managing director – Middle East, Turner Broadcasting. 040 SEPTEMBER 2010

er, but it’s audience expects it to be. But what has been under consideration increasingly for Turner, is having a new offering in Arabic, with local content and that’s what has been worked on for the last nine months.” Although Turner is no stranger to entering markets where English is a secondary language, Groves is under no illusions that the Middle East requires a more considered approach, rather than a cookie-cutter solution. “I think two or three critical tasks are fi nding local partners to work with on producing new content, but also establishing a local management team in the region. I fi rmly believe Turner can’t carry on running its regional business from London. So there are several moving parts, but it’s all about, this new local language Cartoon Network,” says Groves. In the absence of detailed research on the Middle East market, Turner – like many others – has done its own research before committing further resources to region. “I think the lack of reliable research has deterred some international companies from moving into this market. Turner has done an awful lot of research in the Middle East and it has become clear that actually, there really is a good opportunity for Cartoon Network to be broadcast in Arabic and to reach a greater audience. In hindsight, the company should have probably done this before in the Middle East. It’s very hard with the resources based in London to localise right across the region

but I think this is due, if not overdue. “There’s been a mixed reception from the media buying agencies, but most of them seem quite energised. The biggest problem for any commercial broadcaster really is the lack of reliable research. That situation should be changing soon and certain agencies believe there’s an appetite among advertisers to really increase spending in the region,” says Groves. “The Middle East is perceived as a difficult market to enter. The proliferation of channels that people can access for free has also been a factor. The tally seemed to hover around 500 and then 600 channels, but there seem to be a few leaders that are well run and operated commercially – as we are.” One particular issue that the network has faced is discovering that Arabic may be one language, but its use varies greatly throughout the Middle East. “The fi rst challenge is getting the dubbing right, because there are all sorts of bear traps with picking a dialect,” explains Groves. “For example, one of our competitors had a lot of their programming dubbed in Lebanon, which was fine in Lebanon but irritated a lot of Arabs outside that country who found it a bit grating. So we’ve taken quite a lot of advice on that subject. The consensus seems to be that classical Arabic or even Egyptian Arabic is fine because everyone is familiar with it. But it’s an easy trap to fall into if you do not do that research. There are local competitors and there’s www.digitalproductionme.com

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a demand, particularly with kids, to have it in the local language. Kids don’t like having subtitles and certain age groups can’t yet read.” One of other ventures that the Cartoon Network is embarking on in the region is the development of a branded animation academy in Abu Dhabi’s twofour54 media precinct. “The idea is to try to develop local talent and feeding into one of our strategic strands, which is production of local content. It’s certainly an unusual idea, and the discussions with twofour54 are ongoing. The company has done similar things in other markets, but it would be fairly new.” There was one interesting project in South Africa in which viewers were encouraged to participate by contributing ideas. “That generated really great interaction with the audience and also some brilliant new ideas, some of which will be developed and end up on air. There’s different ways to do it – direct to your customers or through an academy,” says Groves. Despite the relationship with twofour54, Turner’s expansion in the Middle East does not necessarily mean it will base all its operations in the United Arab Emirates capital. “We’re keeping an open mind about Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Dubai is definitely going to be the

Turner has done an awful lot of research in the Middle East and it has become clear that actually, there really is a good opportunity for Cartoon Network to be broadcast in Arabic and to reach a greater audience. CHRIS GROVES senior vice president business affairs and managing director – Middle East, Turner Broadcasting.

commercial hub, that’s where our commercial director will sit and the ad sales and consumer products teams. But the region is a pretty big place and I would want to keep the options open and also look beyond the Gulf,” says Groves. The company will look to ramp up its local production efforts over time building on the partnerships it has already struck with Jordan’s Rubicon and the producers of Freej, Lammtara Pictures. Groves also says that six other production houses in the region have approached Turner to discuss co-production opportunities. So how much content will Cartoon Network develop locally in the future? “I think it will evolve and certainly it will increase if we keep encouraging local producers and working with them. But the network’s top hit shows will always be there as well.” Another route to growth for Turner in the Middle East would be bring more of its stable of channels to the region in Arabic. Groves says there is no rush. “I think we will take our time with bringing in other channels. The kids channel Boomerang has been very successful in pay TV environments and there’s no reason to change that. I see Turners in the medium- to long-term looking at new genres, be it lifestyle or movies, rather than doing another kids’ Arabic channel.”

Groves says that despite Turner’s partnership with twofour54, the company’s expansion in the Middle East does not necessarily mean it will base all its operations in the UAE capital. 042 SEPTEMBER 2010

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Latens, waging war on piracy DIGITAL BROADCAST SPEAKS TO LATENS’ DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC ALLIANCES, GARY ELSE ABOUT THE COMPANY’S EFFORTS IN THE BATTLE AGAINST PIRACY. What is the current status of the war against piracy? Who is winning at present? I think that while there are smart-card solutions there will be widespread piracy purely due to the physical nature of the device. It is well documented in the region about the issues that card-sharing causes the major operators and even with the good work of organisations such as the Arabian Anti-piracy Alliance, they can not improve the strength of the core security technology. Is smartcard-based CAS on borrowed time? Major Pay-TV Operators have largely invested in their platform technologies and to a certain extent are ‘locked’ in by their choice of smart-card security. However at Latens we have seen a definite shift in this as more and more operators including Tier 1 companies can not only see a cost-effective migration path but also the significant downstream operational benefits of the cardless CAS. Historically, some operators have had reservations about software-based CAS, are these concerns valid? We are increasingly seeing operators in all broadcast areas embrace the definite technology benefits by implementing a cardless solution. With the ability to renew and manage security more efficiently than costly smart-card swapouts, the security

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is not only accepted by the major studios but Tier 1 operators as we will soon see. What features of the most recent software CAS systems should allay these concerns? The flexibility to address increasingly complex solutions in today’s markets which can include pay-TV, VOD, PC, home networking, mobile and OTT services. The demand of being able to view content across multiple devices provides software CAS with a distinct advantage on content protection over the traditional card- based solutions. Users don’t just want to access content on their TV through a STB, what can Latens do to enable this? Latens CAS not only provides operators with a proven scalable and secure solution but the flexibility that does not inhibit the business models of the operator. With its latest version CAS 5 which will be shown at IBC (Stand 4.B60), it can intuitively address multiple types of network devices from a single headend. As we see more requirements to view or share content without the dependency of a STB, Latens software CAS can also be used to address areas such as Mobile, iDTV’s and OTT services.

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TECHNOLOGY

FINDING THE 3D SPARK 3D TV appears to have reached a ‘chicken and egg’ scenario as consumers and content creators assess the situation cautiously. Digital Broadcast looks at the role of retailers in promoting the new standard among the public and dispels some 3D myths along the way.

he number of consumer misconceptions professional markets, such as media and about 3D solutions is growing, according oil and gas for example,” he adds. to Clyde DeSouza, technology advisor “I’m amazed at the laid-back and partner at RealVision, who has been approach that retailers in the working with various forms of the technology for UAE and the Middle East the best part of a decade. For example, a section have towards technology of the public is under the impression that 2D marketing. They operate can be converted with 3D technology. Some of on what I call the ‘shathe current 3D televisons on the market with a warma-shop’ principle so-called ‘2D to 3D switch’ are not helping to of selling electronics. Go dispel this myth. to any mall and see these “Another misconception is that 3D viewing electronics chains lined should be without glasses. 3D without up one shop next to glasses (autostereoscopic) is not yet the other, selling a mature technology and is curthe same products rently, at best, used for advertising and doing it the and digital signage rather than same way. The most The cost of one of the prolonged viewing,” he adds. creative aspect being how lowest-priced 3D TVs Consumers are not alone in the sale sticker is cut out.” on the market. their misunderstandings with many So why are the electronics retailers also guilty of poor judgement. retailers failing to encourage the public “Retailers are under the delusion that to invest in 3D in a more immersive way? consumers will come f locking to buy 3D TVs “They are more comfortable investing in tradisimply because of the few blockbuster movies tional advertising for mainstream products than that were released. Th is is far from the truth,” on running real one-on-one consumer education says DeSouza. workshops in their stores,” says DeSouza, who “Retailers need to build awareness on how 3D also believes that shops need to encourage custechnology (and not simply 3D TVs) can be used tomers to interact with technology more so that in homes today. They mistakenly believe that they can sample experiences that might other3D technology is all about gaming and movies. wise be unknown to them. It is more than that. It can be used to immerse “Not one of the retail stores has a serious students in lessons through 3D technology hands-on section to allow astute consumers in schools. Retailers also need to look beyond to get a feel of home technology,” says DeSouza consumers and position 3D technology to the citing the example of digital home products

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TECHNOLOGY

While the technology the broadcast 3D content is becoming more widely utilised, actual creation of 3D content is lagging.

What must change in this region is the attitude here of wanting to be the first and launch a 3D TV channel, but then doing nothing about creating local content. Why must we be licensing content from outside? CLYDE DESOUZA technology advisor/partner, RealVision 046 SEPTEMBER 2010

that are far more compelling when seen in aceyes. These are the kind of basic questions that we tion than in the form of a network diagram in are pre-empting.” a brochure. DeSouza believes that improved quality “For 3D TV, they could try bundling a PC of broadband and the possibility that would with a 3D graphics card for gaming as well as bring for live events broadcast in 3D could spur educational DVDs. They could also bundle 3D interest in the format. As could an increase webcams (which are available) and show people in sales of consumer 3D cameras among the how to communicate in 3D in the living public. room or promote 3D camcorders. It’s One potential stumbling block that sad that the retailers here follow a some have identified is the confusion text book approach to sales and that numerous 3D standards could marketing,” he concludes. bring to the market. DeSouza beVaishali Basu, communications lieves, however, that the manufacThe average retail price manager with retailer Jumbo Electurers have done a reasonable job of of a pair of 3D glasses. tronics told Digital Broadcast that it mitigating for this. was already training its staff with help “Actually the current range of 3D from one of the major TV manufacturers. TVs from various manufacturers are all “The training is in progress now. Jumbo is also geared up to accept most of the 3D formats, such undergoing various customer interaction proas full HD 3D (interleaved 3D), side by side 3D and grammes as well and putting together a question above-below 3D formatted content,” he says. bank to discover the most common questions 3D “One feature to watch out for is HDMI 1.4. Even consumers are likely to ask us,” she says. “Not all though the Sony Playstation’s ‘3D patch’ gives consumers will want to delve into the technical more than acceptable 3D playout over HDMI 1.3, details. They are more likely to ask practical ques- the difference can be noticed.” tions like whether or not it is going to hurt their So what degree of uniformity will be required

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Retailers are under the delusion that consumers will come flocking to buy 3D TVs simply because of the few blockbuster movies that were released. This is far from the truth. CLYDE DESOUZA technology advisor/partner, RealVision

from consumer electronics manufacturers and from broadcasters alike? “It would be convenient if all 3DTVs operated with any brand of glasses, so that people could watch TV with a friend or neighbour irrespective of the brand of TV that they posses,” says DeSouza. “In terms of content formatting and delivery, it is not that much of a problem, as the core 3D content is left and right eye, and can be formatted as needed as and when standards evolve. Though full HD 3D would need more bandwidth. Th is is a reason Multiview Video Coding (MVC) is being used to get the best of both worlds,” explains DeSouza. The next challenge is to source content in 3D, a consideration that many believe could hold up the progress of the format. “There is a lot of curiosity and interest since 3D was announced,” says Jumbo’s Basu. “In terms of viability of 3D TV, it’s too early to say whether customers will invest in droves now because of the lack of content. It is the same situation that

SIX MYTHS ABOUT 3D TVS Myth 1: 3D TVs will increase the price of my new TV dramatically. Actually, 3D compatibility will just be a new feature of many of the HDTVs entering the market place in 2010. As such, it will not necessarily increase the cost of production of the TVs any more than another feature such as 120Hz rate in LCD TVs would. However, the feature is being included on the higher end models offered by manufacturers which also include a host of other top features such as super thin design, increased black levels, better processing engines, high Hz rate, and others. For this reason, the TVs with 3D compatibility will appear more expensive, but it’s not because of the 3D-enabled feature. Myth 2: 3DTV technology is a new feature for 2010. Actually Mitsubishi has had 3D-enabled DLP televisions on the market since 2007. The feature is not new, but it has been improved. Myth 3: 3DTV owners must always wear the 3D glasses. 3D glasses will only need to be worn when viewing 3D programming. 3D is just another feature of the TV. The TV will operate as a normal 2DTV with all but your 3D content – without the glasses.

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we had with HD, but regardless, the level of interest remains high. Right through the World Cup people have been very keen to see the technology for themselves,” adds Basu. DeSouza calls on local content creators to step up and fi ll the gap. “What must change in this region is the attitude here of wanting to be the fi rst and launch a 3D TV channel, but then doing nothing about creating local content. Why must we be licensing content from outside? There is a need for motivated management that looks into pioneering local content in 3D,” says DeSouza, who believes 3D broadcasting in the mainstream is still two to three years away. “Already much ground is being broken with networks such as ESPN, Discovery etc looking at broadcasting 3D content. Other networks such as Wealth TV are actively aggregating content in 3D. It won’t be long before newsworthy footage is captured in 3D by network news channels as well.” SOURCE: 3d-tvbuyingguide.com

Myth 4: 3D Glasses will not be necessary with the new 3DTVs. This is true of a small test sample subset of smaller LCD monitors in the 15-inch to 20-inch size range. It’s possible to view 3D content when viewing these specialised monitors from directly front and centre with little movement. This will not be the case for 3DTVs available in stores to consumers. They will all need 3D glasses to be able to view the 3D content. Myth 5: 3D content will always be viewable in full high definition. Strangely enough with many of the new LCD 3DTVs, you will not see full high definition 1080p. Many of the new LCDs with 3D capability will only be able to display 600 to 800 effective lines of resolution. While this is a good resolution, it is not close to 1080p. Myth 6: All 3D Glasses are the same and the glasses come with the TVs. Unfortunately 3D glasses in most cases must be purchased separately for around US$50 to $100. There are anaglyph 3D glasses with different coloured lenses, linear polarised, and circular polarised glasses. There are also 3D shutter glasses. The TV manual that comes with your 3DTV will let you know what type of glasses you will need.

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REGULATION

CONVERGENCE CHAOS Converging media and telecoms regulations must also keep pace with the rapid development and proliferation of technology. Digital Broadcast investigates some of the potential pitfalls.

edia legislation in the Middle East is doubly complicated. In addition to the challenge of media convergence, which is being experienced in all markets, the Middle East has also had to contend with its own hyper-growth. Essentially, both the media and telecoms industries have been a victim of their own success. The effect of this in terms of industry regulation has been multiplied as the two sectors have become increasingly entangled. Regulating any sector that can be transformed by technology is always a challenge. The time it takes to develop, test and pass regulation is lengthy, and rightly so. The trouble lies in keeping pace with the changes. The issue of convergence is succinctly summarised by the Dutch law professor Bernt Hugenholtz in the European Audiovisual Observatory’s IRIS plus series. “Convergence is occurring at all levels: analogue television services are ‘going digital’; radio and television programmes are being simulcast over the internet; cable operators are reinventing themselves as providers of broadband video services and converting television signals into digital files using the internet protocol [IPTV],” writes Professor Hugenholtz, who identifies the heart of the problem. “Satellite broadcasting and cable retransmission services can no longer be distinguished from other media, including internet-based services.” It is at this point that intellectual property legislation that might protect printed materials in certain territories and copyright legislation collides with telecommunication regulations and the spectre of almost unlimited distribution potential on the internet. 050 SEPTEMBER 2010

The recent controversies over the RIM BlackBerry in several territories including Saudi Arabia, the UAE and India, demonstrate that even telecommunication regulations that have been evolving for a century can still find it a challenge keeping up with new innovations, networks and business models. The story also exemplified the delicate balance between commerce and governmental security. “The decision by the Indian authorities to set a deadline [of August 31] by which RIM must address security concerns or face a ban on its email and messaging services in the country, was a significant one,” says Matthew Reed, senior analyst, Informa Telecoms & Media. “It represents a problem for RIM because the company risks losing access to the substantial

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REGULATION

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SEPTEMBER 2010 051

REGULATION

Regulating any sector that can be transformed by technology is always a challenge – the trouble lies in keeping pace with the changes.

The device manufacturers and the network operators selling those devices are potentially leaving themselves open to some sort of infringement just through the nature of application stores. TONY GRAY Middle East business director, P3 Communications 052 SEPTEMBER 2010

growth prospects in the Indian telecoms market – and also because India’s rising status as an economic and political power could encourage authorities elsewhere to follow suit and take a hard line with the company,” says Reed. “However, the fact that a proposed ban on RIM’s BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) service in Saudi Arabia was averted last month after RIM agreed to install a server in the country shows that there is some room for manoeuvre in these matters. The UAE authorities, which plan to ban all BlackBerry services from October 11, are also believed to be in advanced talks with RIM. “But India and the UAE are considering more sweeping bans than Saudi Arabia – the Saudi authorities only wanted access to BBM, which is arguably used mainly for consumer or personal communications, whereas the Indian and UAE authorities also want to be able to monitor BlackBerry email traffic, including corporate email. “That puts RIM in a difficult position, because its corporate customers are likely to be more concerned about the security and confidentiality around their emails than that around BBM. With any compromise that RIM makes on the security of corporate data in order to remain in these key

emerging markets in Asia and Middle East, it increases its risk of alienating its key corporate customers,” explains Reed. The BlackBerry situation was difficult to avoid. The arrival of the service in the UAE was hugely popular. What broadcasters must consider, is what form legislation should take to protect themselves and consumers, when their content is distributed on what are traditionally telecommunications. For example, who is responsible if a mobile TV signal is hacked and re-broadcast? The network operator? The handset manufacturer? The broadcaster itself? “There’s always been the thought around the industry that the next level of threats will come from the handsets themselves,” says Tony Gray, Middle East business director of the P3 Communications consultancy in Dubai. “The device manufacturers and the network operators selling those devices are potentially leaving themselves open to some sort of infringement just through the nature of application stores, the downloading of applications and so on,” he adds. “When we sit at our computers at home we are warned by the operating system when we are about to download something dangerous. I don’t think the mobile industry has moved that far yet.” www.digitalproductionme.com

REGULATION

The rapid development and take-up of technology in the Middle East occurs across a number of different platforms with consumer electronics, luxury electronics and mobile phone handsets leading the line. The most telling indication of the region’s technological transformation during the last decade can be gained by examining the internet penetration.

1825.3%

Internet user growth in Middle East from 2000 to 2010

28.3%

Current internet penetration in Middle East

25.6%

Average internet penetration globally 054 SEPTEMBER 2010

SPINNING THE WEB

MIDDLE EAST INTERNET PENETRATION

Security is less of an issue for IPTV services where conditional access systems can be deployed to perform the same role as they do for regular cable and satellite services. The two-way network involved in IPTV creates issues surrounding privacy. The internet at large is still fi nding its feet when it comes to privacy. Facebook, despite having 500 million users to canvas, has yet to fi nd the best way to handle privacy issues. IPTV must act to do the same. The best route would appear to be to place some choice into users’ hands so that they can select the degree of privacy that they require. One IPTV stakeholder – network infrastructure giant Ericsson – is working hard to stimulate discussion on this topic. “People will sacrifice a little bit of privacy, in the name of convenience,” says Jeremy Foster, marketing director, Ericsson Middle East. “Personally, if allowing my TV operator to know a little bit about me means I will only have to watch adverts that are relevant to me, then I think it’s worth it.” The challenge for IPTV operators is to find an intuitive, straightforward and – most importantly of all – flexible means for users to set their own privacy settings. The same applies to content recommendation schemes that collate information on what viewers are watching in order to suggest other shows that they might be interested in. Data protection assurances will need be clearly stated and enforced to ensure users do not become disillusioned with two-way TV, just as it is gaining traction. With IPTV rollouts gaining pace, much of this discipline could have to come from within the industry itself rather than through external enforcement. In addition to issues of content security and user privacy, there is also the problem of content rights. If a network pays for the FTA traditional broadcast rights to a package of content and a rival can offer the same content online, anytime, the value of the FTA rights severely diminishes. The most straightforward solution is to incorporate these rights into the same package. This has already occurred in some markets and new bundles of rights packages are increasingly coming into force as the deals under the existing rights windows system expire. The legal arguments of this situation are laid bare by law firm Bird & Bird, writing for Ericsson. “Most infrastructure and platform providers favour a simple, harmonised solution and a ‘one stop

shop’ for mixed entertainment and media content distribution. This can be done by central rights holders giving global and comprehensive licences in the form of mandatory collective management or – as in the Nordic countries – with an extended collective licensing by law,” the firm proposes. This system could be of particular interest in the Middle East, where the continuation of collective rights would run harmoniously in parallel with the multi-territory nature of its satellite-dominated broadcast industry. “The extended collective licensing scheme introduced a collective administration for crossborder distribution of broadcast signals. The same licensing scheme is used in Denmark for video on demand services. The broadcasting industry is lobbying for a functioning national rights clearance system rather than jeopardising the territoriality and exclusivity of content in their respective market or territory. “And the industry seems to be in stark conf lict with politicians, consumer associations and internet liberals who argue the entire content industry should be overruled by either consumers paying a f lat fee directly to collecting societies, or paying even higher levies on devices and storage media. To many stakeholders these solutions would ‘kill’ the legal online business models. Thus, the buy-in side of the industry wants a collective administration, and an easy uniform rights acquisition system, but no f lat-tax like payment from end users that would exclude infrastructure, and platform providers and resellers.” The only clear fact in the issue of future media legislation is that a far reaching re-evaluation is required. Modifying the existing frameworks may not be the most efficient way to find a new solution that incorporates all of the stakeholders – traditional and otherwise – and in all territories. Content has become very globalised and the internet has provided a distribution method that can accommodate the far-reaching demand. Ensuring that legal, revenue-generating methods are used has already proved a headache with early court cases against fi le sharers generating disproportionately small compensation for content companies. Legislation can help to ensure that revenue streams are diverted towards those that deserve them and create an infrastructure that turns the public back towards legal converged media sources. www.digitalproductionme.com

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ANALYSIS

SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS

Google says its experience as an internet search engine will power its connected TV offering, but if the competition is catching up, what will separate Google TV from the herd, asks Kurt Scherf.

or over a year now, Parks Associates has been categorising all of the different solutions that are specially designed to bring web content and applications to a ‘connected TV’. We put the term in quotes in this context because there will be different ways to experience connectivity between the internet and the display other than an embedded solution, such as connected TVs, Blu-ray players or even games consoles. The market potential for web-connected consumer electronics is significant, with annual worldwide shipments nearing 300 million units by 2014. In light of this opportunity, more than 30 technology companies are aimed at bringing web services to consumer electronics. Among them are companies in the ‘connected television OS’ area that are working to build in applications and web services directly into the TV itself. Companies in this area include Accenture, DivX, Google, IBM, and Yahoo! Of course, while there are companies advocating an embedded solution, companies such as ActiveVideo Networks and Clearleap argue that web services and interactivity can be delivered with transcoding done in the headend. Further, companies like Vuze indicate that the PC in the home is capable of transcoding and serving as an intermediary to the television. So there’s plenty of room for debate on which are the right solutions. Google is entering the market at a time where there is much indecision about the ideal technology solution, one that will benefit the TV manufac-

056 SEPTEMBER 2010

While Google comes armed with the business model, has Google developed a solution for a problem that is not as dire as they indicate? KURT SCHERF analyst, Parks Associates

turer, content owners, and advertisers. Google’s presence in web advertising, including delivery and analytics, provides it with a huge potential for scale. One problem that has been troubling to the television manufacturers is how big their share of any potential revenue for online content might be. To date, the business models between television manufacturers and content providers or aggregators have been revenue sharing based on online video orders. As a result, the TV manufacturer may get a few pennies per video-on-demand (VOD) order. Online video revenues on connected CE devices other than the game console will be around US $180 million in 2010, reaching $800 million by 2014, so it won’t be a huge revenue stream. Therefore, a deal with Google that can add advertising revenue to transactional monies would be a gain for the manufacturers. While Google comes armed with the business model, has it developed a solution for a problem that is not as dire as indicated? After all, they lead their explanation video about Google TV by discussing why it is difficult for consumers to find the content that they want on TV. Really? We might quibble about the benefits or detriments of the various electronic programme guides (EPG) in use today, but overall the EPG is doing an increasingly effective job of allowing for search and discovery. And if the Google TV use model means users need a Logitech keyboard to type in search entries, then that use case may not be attractive to many folks. Granted, the keyboard in the living room is going to be unnecessary for most folks as smartphones, tablet computers, and www.digitalproductionme.com

ANALYSIS

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SEPTEMBER 2010 057

ANALYSIS

Steven Spielberg speaking on at the Xbox 360 stand at the E3 conference. Console manufacturers are increasingly looking to work with content companies.

other interfaces allow for more text entry, but Providing premium VOD content is an area I’m just not sold on search (as Google presents where the pay-TV providers will continue to it) as the killer app here. The television service excel, as it is difficult for online video services to providers are innovating every day with their compete. When comparing, for example, VUDU, own programme guides that have search, a US-based online service, with Verizon’s FiOS TV discovery, and recommendation features, so service, the television often has the same movies it’s becoming less likely that anyone will and its high-definition versions are availbe lacking for decent search options able a lot quicker through the TV than for their TV. when downloading over the internet. Another issue with Google is The Wall Street Journal is rehow much high-quality content porting that the studios and the they’ll bring to the table. Google’s operators are in discussions to Estimated web-connected reduce the window between the main content partner today is consumer electronics in Sony. They will need to bring a theatre and pay-TV availability. Th is operation by 2014. number of major content players into move makes sense. Interactive digital the fold to have a successful solution. TV services are already in more than 40 America’s Best Buy will probably offer up Roxio percent of US households. By 2014, they will be CinemaNow content, but offerings will have to in more than 60 percent of US households. That’s expand beyond that to attract large numbers a huge scale that the pay-TV operators have as an of consumers. Premium content is driving the advantage. What are the online services going to demand for connected TVs, as the results from offer that’s any better? our recently completed Digital Media Evolution Related to this point, Google’s foray into a very II study indicate. open internet approach is promoted as a way of

300 million

Consumer desire for an open internet experience on the TV for calendaring, music, photos, and commerce is not that strong. KURT SCHERF analyst, Parks Associates 058 SEPTEMBER 2010

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ANALYSIS

see the cable industry, AT&T, or Verizon throwing off the shackles of the walled knocking on Google’s door anytime gardens set up by TV service providers soon? These companies are already and today’s connected CE offerings. developing their own interactive Parks Associates’ latest round of applications and services. In fact, consumer research would indicate when comparing the revenue potenthat desire for open internet access Estimated revenue from tial between the online and pay-TV isn’t what’s driving consumers to online video by 2014. worlds, it is clear operators will still a connected TV. They want good control the lion’s share of revenues for content, and they want it easy to find. video services and interactive advertising. Consumer desire for an open internet expeThe revenues in the online world are certainly rience on the TV for calendaring, music, photos, nothing to sneeze at, but the operators don’t have and commerce is not that strong, as the Digital Media Evolution II study also showed. Tailored ap- to cede control to Google in order to pocket some serious revenues in the next few years. plications including interactive features, available Google’s entrance should help define how protoday from more and more pay-TV operators, are viders of online assets will work with consumer going to bring the interactivity of the web without the ‘Wild West’ component of misguided searches, electronics companies to implement more multiplatform content and multiscreen audience meatext entry, and reliance on the back button. If the surement. Measurement and reporting are two walled-garden approaches can deliver services in important areas where some work is needed. The a controlled environment that doesn’t overwhelm more that content providers, online companies, the average user and helps a provider deliver the and CE manufacturers can work together to build highest-quality content available, they could consistent reporting and feedback mechanisms undercut consumer demand for a browser-based into their products, the more effective they will be approach in connected TV. in monetising their web services and attracting DISH Network is a partner, but will Google fi nd more premium partners. additional service providers to join? One question is – what’s in it for the providers? For DISH, Kurt Scherf is an analyst at Parks Associates, a market a current lack of good interactive applications research and consulting company specialising in would be a reason for joining the fold. But will you emerging consumer technology products and services.

$800 million

If the Google TV use model means users need a Logitech keyboard to type in search entries, then that use case may not be attractive to many folks. KURT SCHERF analyst, Parks Associates

CONNECTED DEVICES WHAT’S THE ALTERNATIVE? Google is busy plugging its connected TV offering, but there are now many ways to access content from the internet on the big screen. Connected game consoles In the US, penetration of internet-connected game consoles jumped 38 percent between 2008 and 2009. These devices are now in about 30 million households, and usage of the console as a set-top box is prevalent, with more than one-third of Microsoft Xbox 360 users watching video on at least a monthly basis. We believe that online video revenues at the game console alone brought Microsoft and Sony more than $500 million in 2009. Connected TVs Penetration is quite limited to date, but we expect that unit sales worldwide will exceed 130 million by 2014. In short, built-in web connectivity will soon be standard in most televisions.

060 SEPTEMBER 2010

Connected Blu-ray Players Just bought a flat-panel TV and don’t feel like replacing it for a web-connected set? For a smaller investment, many Blu-ray disc players come equipped with many of the same content services as found on the highdefinition displays. Networked Digital Media Players These are the devices such as Apple TV, the Roku player, and others that provide a relatively lower-cost option to connect a TV to online video services. Parks Associates is projecting a quick sales peak in the US, followed by a steady decline, as manufacturers embed online video access into consumer electronics products, thus closing the gap in this market. However, alternative set-top box platforms may have a more lasting presence in international markets, where they may be branded by broadband and payTV operators.

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IBC PRODUCT FOCUS

062 SEPTEMBER 2010

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IBC PRODUCT FOCUS

Sound-levels are a major issue in the disjointed Middle East broadcast landscape. An unprecedented number of solutions will be on show at this year’s IBC. Digital Broadcast presents some of the latest entrants on display… WOHLER | Stand: 8.D56 Wohler will showcase a number of new products at IBC including the Pandora loudness monitor. Pandora is a compact and easy-to-read desktop or rack-mountable loudness monitor that can be employed at any point in the broadcast chain to provide simple, accurate loudness monitoring, according to the company. In

helping broadcasters to address the demands of the CALM (Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation) Act and other standards, the Pandora monitor provides a clear, accurate reading of loudness measurements for any SDI video signal with audio. Accepting and analysing SDI, AES, stereo, or multi-channel audio, Pandora gives the user an accurate reading of loudness measurements (LKFS) over a

user-defined period of time, ranging from five seconds to 60 minutes. The unit’s graphic display shows changes in loudness over time and real-time loudness (LU) levels at a glance. Additionally, Pandora allows users to set a range of loudness parameters, including reference

level, gating, and integration time; configure the system for 2-, 4-, 6-, or 8-channel (AES or SDI) operation; or even use a contribution matrix for multichannel mode.

other usual audio formats including all SDI versions (SD, HD, 3G). It is controllable through front panel and web-based GUI, plus remote control, and GPI – and it comes with a redundant power supply as standard. “This latest addition to our product range fulfils the quality requirements set by major broadcasters around the world,” says Peter Pörs, managing director, Jünger Audio. “Maintaining loudness consistency is now a major issue for our industry and one that particularly affects playout facilities because they have

absolutely no control over the broadcasted content’s average operating levels. “For the fi rst time we are offering sophisticated spectral processing which allows TV and radio broadcasters to create a signature mask as a template so that they can recreate the same atmosphere and dynamics on subsequent audio content.” Jünger Audio will also be using the IBC platform to unveil a new GUI software application that shows loudness graphs and makes it easier to log loudness information.

JÜNGER AUDIO | Stand: 2.C49 Dynamics processing specialist Jünger Audio will be showing the T*AP TV Audio Processor at this year’s IBC. The device, which is primarily designed for TV playout facilities, will provide loudness control, Upmix and surround sound processing for up to eight channels of audio. The wide band eight channel processor (8x1, 4x2, or 6+2) focuses on automatic and adaptive loudness control using Jünger Audio’s renowned Level Magic algorithm (ITU compliant). Using the proprietary Spectral Signature technology

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it also offers dynamic equalisation so that the sound can be ‘coloured’ much more easily than one can achieve with a traditional multi band sound processor, according to Jünger. Optional Dolby Decoding and Encoding (D, D+, or Pulse), as well as metadata management, are also provided along with 5.1 Downmix and the company’s 5.1 Upmix circuit, which has been upgraded to deliver greatly improved performance and a range of new settings. The new processor is capable of handling digital inputs (AES) and, through interface slots, all

SEPTEMBER 2010 0063

IBC PRODUCT FOCUS

LINEAR ACOUSTIC | Stand: 8.D29 Linear acoustic will show a number of new features for its f lagship AERO.air transmission loudness manager at this year’s IBC. The AERO.air – for overthe-air and cable network broadcasters – is the only allin-one processor to accept any Dolby-encoded or PCM audio, provide upmixing and loudness control, and to output both PCM and Dolby-encoded audio for transmission, according to the manufacturer. Advanced multi-band processing ensures

consistency without artefacts, which is not achievable with wideband-only control. Many new features keep AERO.air at the forefront: UPMAX-II 5.1 reference quality 5.1-channel automatic upmixing; CrowdControl, which prevents dialogue from disappearing in the mix; internal Dolby E/Digital/Plus decoding; Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, and Dolby Pulse (HE-AAC) encoding; and internal Nielsen Watermark encoding for audience measurement.

LOUDNESS ON THE GO The firm will also show an audio loudness manager for mobile DTV, AERO.mobile. The dynamic range “comfort zone” used for mixing television audio for viewing on stereo or surround in-the-home televisions is far too wide for comfortable listening on typical earbuds or tiny speakers. Background noise in many environments will define

a relatively high loudness floor – if the volume is increased for acceptable intelligibility on soft passages, loud passages run the risk of causing hearing damage. The AERO.mobile employs newly developed psychoacoustic processing that enables content to remain audible in noisy environments on small mobile devices, claims Linear Acoustic.

DK TECHNOLOGIES | Stand: 8.E60 DK-Technologies is using the IBC 2010 platform to introduce a number of new innovations to its range of audio and video metering and monitoring products. New to the European market is the PT0700R Client Panel - a remote unit for the PT0760M HD/ SD Multi-channel Video Waveform Monitor. Also new for IBC is the PT0740M, an audio-only version of the versatile PT0760M waveform monitor. All of the products in DK’s PTO700 Series of waveform monitors can now be equipped with the company’s loudness software, 064 SEPTEMBER 2010

which is based on ITU algorithms and includes the 400Hz and 1kHz reference frequencies that are likely to be adopted by the broadcast and advertising authorities. DK has also introduced a new software upgrade that simplifies the issue of audio loudness even further by enabling audio engineers to literally ‘see what they hear’. The software offers users the ability to see both peak and loudness metering at the same time, as well as providing dual loudness measurement, while displaying the loudness in a graphical form. www.digitalproductionme.com

IBC PRODUCT FOCUS

COBALT | Stand: 8.A94

MIRANDA | Stand: 8.B80 Miranda Technologies will be highlighting multiple 3DTV products at the IBC show, as well as its loudness control systems. Miranda’s Automatic Loudness Control solutions prevent excessive audio jumps between programmes and commercials, and between channels. The

solutions offer a high degree of functional integration, along with a choice of audio processing technologies to best match a broadcasters and service providers’ mix of channels. Automatic Loudness Control is available with Linear Acoustic AEROMAXTM processing, Jung-

er Audio Level Magic processing, and with Miranda’s low cost, high performance wide-band audio processing. The processing can work in a ‘set-and-forget’ mode or with ‘segment aware’ operation, with playout automation driving a bypass mode or different profi les.

sor and integrates with the full range of geNETics products. It continually monitors the amplitude of incoming audio and makes gradual adjustments to ensure that the overall content complies with a pre-defi ned target loudness. These adjustments occur uniformly across all channels to ensure that relative image positions are unaffected. KARMAudio also performs true-peak estimation and correction at 8x real-time oversampling frequency. A plug-in for the Apple Mac OS X platform, KARMAudioAU

performs offl ine scaling of the entire programme fi le to match audio loudness to a target LKFS level. Uniform scaling is applied to match the content with a predefined target loudness without affecting overall audio dynamic range. As a final pass, KARMAudioAU performs an 8 x oversampling true-peak analysis and corrects for true-peak overshoots. KARMAudioAU is accessible to all native OS X processing applications such as Apple’s Final Cut video/audio post-production and Soundtrack Pro music creation and audio editing software.

Cobalt Digital will demonstrate its new +LM Audio Loudness Meter system at IBC 2010. The versatile software programme, developed for use with both the new Fusion3G and 9000 Compass series cards for openGear, provides a flexible, comprehensive solution for ingest or on-air loudness metering and assessment. The openGear format handles cards from multiple manufacturers in the same frame. With true peak level detection, error tracking and logging, and intuitive interface with touch screen control, the metering option ensures thorough audio level and LKFS assessment information (ATSC A/85 and ITU BS.1770 compliant).

EYEHEIGHT | Stand: 8.D92 Eyeheight will introduce two major new additions to its range of broadcast-quality production and post-production tools during IBC 2010. Both address the need for tighter control of audio levels during television transmissions, particularly the relative levels of programmes and interstitials and conform to the ITU-R BS.1770 recommendation and its US equivalent. A hardware solution allowing real-time unattended adaptive loudness and true-peak correction, KARMAudio is based on a geNETics proces-

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SETTING THE STANDARD The ITU-R BS.1770 and ATSC A/85:2009 standards were defined in response to growing pressure on broadcasters to prevent the loudness of advertisements and upcoming-programme promotional clips exceeding the apparent average loudness of prior and subsequent content. It forms a central part of the broadcast industry’s endeavours to ensure compliance.

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IBC PRODUCTS

roducts p g in t is x e ements to erdam this year. n fi e r d n a ologies d in Amst le il e v n u New techn e will b

066 SEPTEMBER 2010

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IBC PRODUCTS

OMNEON | Stand 7.A10

BRICK HOUSE VIDEO | Stand: 8.D80 Brick House Video will debut its latest product, TallyHo, a wireless tally indicator system for use with a wide range of mobile production systems at IBC 2010. TallyHo offers camera operators remote on-air indication in the field, and is designed to work with industry-standard vision switchers and production desks. The system comprises a central control station and charging unit, and eight hot-shoe receiver modules. The receivers

offer visual indication to the camera subject when live, and a preview feature to advise the camera operator of the upcoming transition to air. The award-winning Proteus multi-format, multi-purpose, motion-adaptive standards converter will also be on show in both rack-mount and portable versions. The fullyfeatured broadcast specification converter features 10-bit SDI, analogue video and audio I/O,

an advanced standards conversion algorithm, comprehensive audio facilities and ARC. Based on an advanced Motion Adaptive Standards Converter, Proteus offers full format conversion, frame synchronising, TBC, video and audio Proc Amps, as well as bi-directional standards (rate) conversion. Proteus addresses lip-sync errors with an optional audio delay (up to 10 seconds) featuring both tracking and block delay.

aimed at small- to mediumsized organisations that may not be ready for an end-toend Signiant solution but still need to move content quickly, securely and cost-effectively across the WAN to internal or external partners. Each solution is a starting point for content management workflows, allowing seamless integration with all Signiant tools, including the flagship Content Distribution Manage-

ment (CDM) software – and the opportunity to expand workflows as clients’ businesses develop and grow. With broadcasters such as NBC, BBC, FOX, FIVE and Discovery Communications all using Signiant, these new cost-effective tools also deliver a significant business advantage to smaller organisations by allowing them to connect more easily with major broadcasters, claims the company.

JÜNGER AUDIO | Stand: 2.C49 Signiant, a leading developer of content supply chain solutions, will demonstrate its three new content distribution management products for the fi rst time in Europe at IBC 2010. Signiant’s booth will present the extended range of industry-standard solutions, which are now available at a range of price points. The new tools – Content Transporter, Content Point and Content Transfer Engine – are

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At IBC 2010, Omneon will demonstrate its media storage, processing, and distribution infrastructure for enabling efficient content production workflows and distribution of content across multiple platforms. The stand will include an Omneon MediaGrid active storage system that will be integrated with a high-performance production server to enable fast access to incoming media used in live and near-live broadcast production. Omneon will demonstrate how a single, shared storage resource can be the basis for a best-of-breed production environment, simultaneously supporting production tools from Adobe, Apple, Avid, and EVS. The Omneon MediaGrid also will provide the processing power for Omneon ProXchange to repackage edited content for rapid delivery to other media distribution outlets.

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IBC PRODUCTS

ROSS VIDEO | Stand 10.A31

BROADCAST PIX | Stand 7.C21 Broadcast Pix will unveil a 50Hz version of Granite, its new native HD, 1080p-ready live video production system, at IBC 2010. The new flagship product line for Broadcast Pix, Granite combines a HD switcher with a new HD server running the company’s innovative Fluent workflow software, enabling users to create compelling live HD video at a price point unmatched in the industry, according to Broadcast Pix. The Granite switcher provides simultaneous multidefinition SDI I/O for 1080i/50, 720p/50, and 576i/50 sources, and is upgradable to 1080p, a higher quality emerging HD standard. The companion Granite server completes the video production system by running Fluent workflow software, which provides up to 120 hours of clip store, animation stores, a graphics system with a new Harris CG, a multi-view that displays video and file sources, watch-folders that

068 SEPTEMBER 2010

streamline file import from editing systems, and macros for file-based effects. Available in three models, the new product line provides an easy upgrade path between models. Customers can also upgrade to Granite from current Broadcast Pix Slate hybrid HD/ SD/analog systems, which use the same control panels and Fluent workflow software. Housed in a 3 RU frame, the Granite Switcher offers 11 HD/ SD-SDI video inputs (expandable to 22), plus the equivalent of 14 more inputs from the server via its PCI Express connection, including a clip channel (with key), two animation channels (with key), and four graphic channels (with key). Each SDI input automatically detects and sets its format to 1080i, 720p or SD (plus 1080p in the future). Inputs can handle 16:9 and 4:3 content without stretching images, as well as synchronous and asynchronous sources.

In addition to its eight MLE Vision Octane production switcher, Ross Video will also be showing the continued development of the SoftMetal 3000 Series video servers with v4.3 software and the new four in/four out configuration. Version 4.3 builds upon the robust features of the platform adding VDCP control protocol over Ethernet and AMP automation control support. New Unicode character support makes SoftMetal an ideal choice for

multi-language applications. The 3000 Series also features native support of 3D stereoscopic playout and record. The 3000 Series is a Server Class Platform available in both Standard and Multi-Definition versions with 1x2, 0x4, 2x4, and 4x4 configurations, supporting up to six simultaneous channels in SD and four in HD. It uses SATA drives and offers up to 14 TB of Media Storage in a compact 3RU.

DALET | Stand 8.B77 Dalet Digital Media Systems will showcase Dalet Enterprise Edition, its flagship News and Media Asset Management (MAM) solution at IBC 2010. This latest version of Dalet Enterprise Edition offers the only solution on the market that fully integrates leading-edge creative and editorial tools for news, sports and programme production with MAM and workflow automation, according to the company. In the newsroom, Dalet Enterprise Edition embodies the

principle of a story-centric process, in which all departments of the newsroom can collaborate – from the news desk, planning coverage and production to the output department. In the story-centric model, separate elements such as video, audio, text, graphics, web links, wires, planning information and so on, are brought together into a single ‘story’. Th is type of organisation simplifies both content management and repurposing for multi-platform use. www.digitalproductionme.com

IBC PRODUCTS

PHABRIX | Stand 8.E23 Phabrix will demonstrate a number of new products at IBC this year including the Rx 2u rack mount range. Boasting a new technology platform with significant performance enhancements, the Rx picks up from the Phabrix SxA, SxE and SxD hand held models offering audio/video test and measurement signal analysis, generation and monitoring choices. Significantly Phabrix’s new RxA and RxE models offer modularity supporting a range of audio and video analysis and

generation modules. The flexible design allows each module to be independently controlled allowing multiple toolsets to be confi gured in a move to provide an unbeatable solution for control rooms, engineering bays and studios where both size of the instrument and cost of test and measurement would previously be inhibitive, according to the company. Phabrix’s industry tested TCP/IP protocols via onboard Ethernet connection also provide operators with a way to control units if automation is required.

The standard toolset includes many from the hand held range. The eye and jitter functionality from the SxE is also available allowing eye diagrams and automated measurements for SD through to 3G SDI to be displayed along with jitter thermometers for alignment and timing. The unit has two screens as standard displaying the monitoring signal at all times with a second instrumentation control screen for detailed viewing of each toolset. The unit also comes configured with integrated stereo speakers.

NEWTEC | Stand 1.A49 Satellite communications firm Newtec will showcase its DualFlow technology at IBC for the first time. DualFlow is a new technology allowing broadcasters to migrate cost-effectively from traditional ASI to IP-

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based satellite operation, with efficient investment during the transition period. Aimed at the contribution, DSNG, and distribution markets, DualFlow enables two-way IP interactivity over satellite and allows operators

to choose when they make the switch to IP by simultaneously supporting both ASI and IP, according to Newtec. DualFlow is available as part of Newtec’s Azimuth satellite broadcasting modulation equipment.

TELECAST FIBER SYSTEMS Stand 10.B39 The CopperHead 3000 Series is the newest addition to Telecast Fiber Systems’ patented CopperHead family of camera-mountable fibre optic transceivers, providing a single fibre optic link between any professional camera or camcorder and the broadcaster’s truck, control room, or “video village” position. The CopperHead 3000 Series can handle all vital camera signals and can be configured for specific applications such as ENG or multicamera use. The 3050 will also be introduced – specifically designed to meet the unique requirements of electronic news gathering (ENG) and satellite news gathering (SNG). Also making its European debut is the CopperHead 3200, which offers an affordable yet powerful multicasting solution for a range of HD broadcasting applications, according to the manufacturer. Both systems deliver uncompressed HD video and simultaneously transport bi-directional digital (SDI or HD/ SDI) and analogue (NTSC or PAL) video, as well as all two-way camera control, audio, video, data, sync, tally/call, prompter, and intercom signals between the camera and the base station. www.digitalproductionme.com

DATA

INTEREST INDEX SCORE

200

150

100

MEAP

INDEX OF OWNERSHIP AND DEFINITE PURCHASE INTENT FOR 3DTV BY REGION

DATA

SOURCE: The Nielson Company, Global Online Survey, March 2010

TV’S NEW DIMENSION The Middle East is first in line for the 3D experience at home, with Saudi Arabia having the highest ownership.

edia companies and marketers will need to focus more on cross-platform video consumption as interest grows in new ways to watch, according to a new study by the Nielsen Company. Interest in owning a 3DTV is highest in the Middle East, Africa and Pakistan (MEAP), the study showed. Saudi Arabia had the highest ownership or intent to buy on the Nielsen index at 233, while Pakistan rated 200 and the UAE’s interest was indexed at 158. Globally, 12 percent of online consumers said they own or have definite interest in purchasing a 3DTV. “While that may not seem like much, compared to some other emerging technology, this represents a sizable opportunity to attract the eyeballs and investment of some of the world’s most affluent TV households,” Nielsen said. Interest and intent is highest amongst consumers aged 25 to 29, and so far stronger in MEAP and Latin American markets than in Europe and North America. The index of interest for the US was just 75, while the UK was 58. 3DTV was first broadly talked about this year, when nearly all international TV manufacturers demonstrated 3DTV capabilities at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Now, 3DTV may be the next thing after HDTV to keep the television experience in people’s living rooms. “3DTV may have the same effect [as HDTV]: trumping the experience of smaller, more portable

072 SEPTEMBER 2010

22%

About one in five (22 percent) of global online consumers owns or has a definite interest in purchasing a TV with internet connection in the next year.

screens and providing an unrivaled video viewing experience,” Nielsen said. TVs with a connection to the internet are also proving of interest to Latin America and MEAP. The index of ownership and definite intent to buy was 136 for Latin American and 132 for MEAP. In MEAP, Pakistan had the highest level of interest at 145, with the UAE coming in second at 136. About one in five (22 percent) global online consumers owns or has a definite interest in purchasing a TV with internet connection in the next year, according to Nielsen. “Interest is fairly consistent across demographics but varies somewhat by region,” the company said. Nielsen also found that two thirds of the world were watching video content online , while 11 percent of consumers watched some video or mobile TV content on their phones. Consumers still watch television, but increasingly that television is HD and connected to a digital video recorder. As we move into the next decade, more televisions will be connected to the internet and many will be displaying images in 3D. At the same time, online video is approaching ubiquity and mobile video is becoming a viable option for millions, even while new devices are promising to change our very definition of mobile video. “For media companies, marketers and researchers, a boundary-less perspective on cross-platform consumption has never been more important,” Nielsen said. www.digitalproductionme.com

Discover the Kahuna 360 A Revolution In Live Production Kahuna 360 is the brand new addition to the Kahunaverse. It brings major new functionality and ďŹ&#x201A;exibility to meet the most demanding production requirements. Kahuna 360 breaks the tradition of ďŹ xed M/Es, ďŹ xed resources and ďŹ xed formats, and supports many simultaneous productions that would require multiple switchers from any other provider. EfďŹ cient Operations Creative Freedom Reduced Costs Creativity Unmatched freedom in combining mixers, keyers and 3D DVE effects to create any on-air style. New intelligence in the switcher allows Kahuna 360 to handle the mundane, freeing you to create great productions. Flexibility Uniquely powerful, Kahuna 360 can run up to 16 productions simultaneously from a single mainframe. FormatFusion3 raises the bar for multi-format operations, supporting any combination of SD, HD, and 3G. Productivity Dramatically reduce the overhead of show set-up times. Advanced ďŹ le workďŹ&#x201A;ow tools enable you to turn around content in seconds. Reliability Designed for mission critical operations with a hot-swappable architecture. Innovative Live Assist features provide even greater on-air conďŹ dence.

Routing Modular Infrastructure Conversion & Restoration Live Production Automation & Media Management Control & Monitoring

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SAY WHEN

Meet Newtec at: IBC 2010 Amsterdam, September 10-14 SATCON 2010 New York, October 13-14 GULFCOMMS 2010 Dubai, October 17-21

ASI IS HERE. IP IS COMING. IT’S YOUR MOVE. If you are in contribution, distribution or DSNG, choosing between ASI and IP will no longer be the issue. Very soon, you’ll want both: to remain competitive, to grow your business, to become and remain a broadcasting partner of choice.

ASI + IP

Newtec’s exclusive DualFlow solution is today’s easiest and most reliable way to combine ASI and IP technology in your broadcasting activities and prepare your migration to IP.

DUALFLO W

DualFlow guarantees future-proof flexibility. And you get to say when.

www.saywhen.tv

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Belgium

USA

Singapore

Dubai

China

Brazil