TVBE June 2016 by Future PLC

www.tvbeurope.com

Business, insight and intelligence for the media and entertainment industry

Connected broadcasting

Preparing for Wimbledon

June 2016

Interview: Jonathan Lewis, Channel 4

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TVBEurope

June 2016 www.tvbeurope.com

Welcome

EDITORIAL Content Director and Editor-in-Chief: James McKeown jmckeown@nbmedia.com

2020 vision

Deputy Editor: Holly Ashford hashford@nbmedia.com Staff Writer: James Groves jgroves@nbmedia.com Group Managing Editor: Joanne Ruddock jruddock@nbmedia.com

This month’s TVBEurope 2020 conference promises a strategic view of the industry’s future

Contributors: Michael Burns, David Davies, George Jarrett, Adrian Pennington, Philip Stevens, Catherine Wright Sales Manager: Peter McCarthy pmccarthy@nbmedia.com +44 207 354 6000 Account Manager: Richard Carr rcarr@nbmedia.com +44 207 354 6000

urs is a complex industry, caught in the

keynote speaker, Tom Toumazis, MBE, to discuss

throes of signiﬁcant technological and

the key areas of challenge and opportunity

operational change that has forced

across the sector: a precursor to his opening

many into a period of business transformation.

address at BAFTA later this month.

Sales Executive: Nicola Pett npett@nbmedia.com +44 207 354 6000

This transitional phase is endured by all of

Our conversation focussed on Tom’s vast

us: from broadcasters and content owners to

experience across media and entertainment,

Head of Digital: Tim Frost

manufacturers, service providers, industry bodies,

publishing, and philanthropy as chairman and

Human Resources and Ofﬁce Manager: Lianne Davey

and even us media outlets that, independently

founder of the ChildLine Board. His view on the

Head of Design, Hertford: Kelly Sambridge

and as a community, are trying to make sense

future is positive, and encouraging, and we can

Senior Production Executive: Alistair Taylor

of it all. Our best efforts in this area often arrive

all look forward to an insightful and inspiring

Sales Director: Mark Rankine

courtesy of industry forums, where the networking

keynote address.

Managing Director: Mark Burton

of informed minds can add some real impetus to

US Sales: Michael Mitchell mjmitchell@broadcast-media.tv +1 (631) 673 0072

the discussions surrounding the current state of

of industry authorities in our main feature for this

the market, and its future.

issue: ‘visions of the future’. Of course, nobody

Japan and Korea Sales: Sho Harihara sho@yukarimedia.com +81 6 4790 2222 Circulation Free subscriptions tvbe.subscriptions@c-cms.com Subscriptions Tel +44 1580 883848

exactly the kind of open forum where all of the

always helpful in identifying how businesses are

industry stakeholders mentioned earlier can

approaching the future market.

TVBEurope is published 12 times a year by NewBay Media, 1st Floor, Suncourt House, 18-26 Essex Road, London N1 8LN, England +44 207 354 6002

This year’s TVBEurope 2020 conference is

come together to apply some informed strategic method to the many and various market forces

We also seek the perspectives of a number

has the answers, but such informed instruction is

I look forward to welcoming you at BAFTA, on 28 June.

that are impacting our business landscape. This

James McKeown

issue, I had the pleasure of sitting down with our

Editor-in-Chief

SECTION EDITORS

NewBay Media is a member of the Periodical Publishers Association © NewBay Media 2016. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior permission of the copyright owners. TVBEurope is mailed to qualiﬁed persons residing on the European continent. Subscription is free. Allow eight weeks for new subscriptions and change of address delivery. Send subscription inquiries to: Subscription Dept, NewBay Media, Sovereign Park, Lathkill Street, Market Harborough LE16 7BR, England. ISSN 1461-4197

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Philip Stevens Production editor

Michael Burns Post production editor

George Jarrett Business editor

David Davies Audio editor

4 TVBEurope

www.tvbeurope.com June 2016

In this issue

Opinion

12 Production Philip Stevens asks broadcasters and OB providers about their plans for the Wimbledon tennis championships, which begin this month

Arqiva’s David Crawford opens our future-gazing issue with a look at connected broadcast and the shifting television landscape

18 Business Channel 4’s big data guru Jonathan Lewis shares his thoughts on viewing behaviour, data management, and the broadcaster’s plans to take content to the next level

Feature Ahead of the TVBEurope 2020 conference, a number of authorities analyse the evolving broadcast industry and their places within in it

34 Feature

42 Data centre

The role of the satellite industry is becoming increasingly pivotal in the world of broadcast. Ian McMurray provides a review from NAB 2016

Paywizard CMO Bhavesh Vaghela reveals the findings of its UK and US focus groups, which explored consumer attitudes to SVoD services

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Opinion and Analysis

Connected broadcasting: The future of TV By David Crawford, managing director, satellite and media, Arqiva

watch content in their own time and at their

widespread. In an increasingly mobile world,

own pace, and smartphones and tablets have

this development was no real surprise. Simply

allowed that content to be taken away and

put, it has allowed consumers to break free of

viewed on the go. Friday nights in with the family

the controls of the broadcaster, and watch their

in front of the television are now supposedly

favourite programmes at any time, in any place.

he television industry has never rested on

becoming a thing of the past, and broadcasters

But it would be hasty to believe that IP is set

its laurels. Since the ﬁrst mechanical sets

are being forced to ﬁnd new ways of engaging

to take over entirely, not when the linear model

started appearing in the 1920s, researchers

with their networked and tech-savvy audiences.

is still so ingrained into the viewing culture of the

improving viewing experiences for the consumer.

The television landscape of the future

ran a millennials research project to study the

colour television, and eventually made those

If the broadcast industry listened to media hype,

found that contrary to popular assertion, the

colours ever brighter, clearer and more vivid. The

then it would already be disregarding the linear

main television in the lounge is still the dominant

television sets themselves became slimmer and

distribution model and focusing on preparing

viewing device for younger people. The ﬁndings

more lightweight, whilst the screen size grew. But

solely for a future of IP, OTT and VoD distribution.

also revealed that most of this generation’s

one thing that remained consistent was the linear

The reality, however, is somewhat different.

TV viewing was done in the company of friends

and manufacturers have been continuously From a black and white start, they gave us

public, even among its younger members. Arqiva viewing habits of 12-18 year olds last year, and

viewing model, and it gave birth to a culture of

There is no denying the fact that consumers

families sitting down together at particular times

have taken to these new technologies like ducks

and watching television shows.

to water. As VoD and ‘time-shifting’ became

broadcast consumers still use linear television

readily available options for viewing content

as a way of being social, and that they are not

over recent years, adoption has been fast and

willing to move exclusively to secluded tablet

And then IP television came along. Along with VoD this has given people the power to

The Time To Switch Is Now!!

and family. Such results would suggest that the newer

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8 TVBEurope

www.tvbeurope.com June 2016

Opinion and Analysis and mobile viewing just yet. Whilst linear doesn’t

online video counterparts to deliver this type of

have channels that span the country, but go no

look to be going anywhere anytime soon,

connected broadcasting to viewers. These truly

further, certainly not in their original form. From

neither is the industry in a position to adopt a

connected services, designed for television,

the content owner’s point of view, you either live

total IP distribution model. According to most

should combine the historic qualities

with the restrictions and focus on one market, or

broadcasters, this simply isn’t commercially

of linear workﬂow efﬁciency and reliability

you go through the lengthy process of arranging

viable at the moment, and it could be a while

industry deals in every country that takes your

before the necessary economies of scale exist to

‘The broadcasting industry is entering one of the most challenging periods in its history, yet also one of the most exciting’

change that.

The hybrid model The challenge for broadcasters at present, therefore, is to assess the ways that people are

fancy. The internet provides an opportunity to break free from these shackles, and having such easy access to a global audience is something that could reshape the way providers think about the distribution and monetisation of their content.

What does this mean?

watching and consuming content, and blend together those requirements into a workable

The broadcast industry is entering one of the

hybrid model that meets the demands of the

with the new capabilities IP brings for reach,

most challenging periods in its history, yet also

consumer today. Undoubtedly, that involves

scalability and dynamic operations to make

one of the most exciting.

investment in new technology whilst developing

programming more engaging and improve the

alternative business models to meet the needs

overall viewing experience.

of their continuously connected audiences,

It is impossible to say how the industry will develop over the next ten years, and what new technologies will become available to disrupt

responding to consumers’ demands for TV

Opportunity to go global

things further. What is clear, however, is that

anytime, anywhere, but building upon the

This convergence of models will not just improve

we have a hybrid IP future ahead of us. Rather

strengths of linear broadcast to do so. This is

the viewing experience for consumers, but open

than talking about one model over another,

a best of breed approach that we like to call

up new global audiences and revenue models

innovation should build on the most successful

‘connected broadcasting’. The onus is on

for broadcasters. Television has always been very

areas of TV video consumption and offer a much

traditional broadcasters to learn from their

much a local and regional entity. Broadcasters

more powerful, ﬂexible and efﬁcient model.

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June 2016 www.tvbeurope.com

TVBEurope 9

Opinion and Opinion & Analysis

No pain no gain part II throughput reduces unit cost. Four speciﬁc

Russell Grute, managing partner at media solutions consultants Broadcast Innovation, concludes his look at maximising ROI from media technology investment

techniques to avoid the above scenario and reduce unit cost in broadcast media include: • Systematically removing unnecessary and duplicated tasks is a killer approach, but often

ast month, I suggested that the return on

workﬂow were eating up operational staff

impossible from an internal-only point of view, as

investment (ROI) from media technology

capacity without giving enough back. “Following

success requires departmental boundaries to be

investment and upgrades falls short if the

a mostly technology-lead proof of concept, it’s

removed. You also need experience of what your

too easy to start parallel operational testing, and

new options might be before you start tearing

beneﬁt side of the equation is not fully explored and captured. I also looked at how broadcasters

apart established workﬂows and organisations.

are increasingly asking Broadcast Innovation

“Surely other broadcasters have solved all this

‘To improve ROI, it is real cost reduction and increased output that matters - and quality’

to help them focus on upsides whilst astutely balancing their legacy with new technology and services options, workﬂow possibilities and genuine onscreen improvements. Accessing

already?” I’m regularly implored. Vendors are very persuasive with their own feature sets. At NAB, I noticed newsroom solutions that are still missing frame-accurate live monitoring or proper

new audiences and revenue requires a new

voiceover capabilities. The lack of these features

integrated approach that also focuses on the

could give a very poor ROI.

business requirements. In part two, we’ll drive into the green on our dial, below.

• There is also regular disagreement about once you start, it’s hard to stop” she said. If you

the added value of speciﬁc tasks, particularly

were spending more time troubleshooting your

in QC, review and approval. I wonder if this was

Cost reduction, increased output

new broadcast tools and infrastructure than on

behind the ongoing BBC ‘mumble-gate’ where

You might be able to think of ideas to increase

the day job itself, how would you know and what

top-ﬂight production War And Peace apparently

efﬁciency or improve staff productivity, but

would you do?

lost a million viewers as it’s actors were accused

efﬁciency by itself isn’t worth much. To improve ROI, it is real cost reduction and increased output

of mumbling. TV audiences complained they

Re-mixing operations versus technology happens in other industries where increased

had to use subtitles after struggling to understand

that matters - and quality. Production and media operations are

ROI POTENTIAL

usually targeted to suggest and then achieve these savings, which is always a contentious

Cost reduction

area. Today’s processes are often perceived as inefﬁcient by default. Legacy processes

Efﬁciency

and segregated departmental activities

More on-screen

yet unproven, media tools and automated workﬂows. To accurately predict and deliver potential manpower savings based on untested improvements is often impossible. On the ground, many day-to-day tasks are parallel and shared, and changes to existing job roles based on potential new solution options are unclear. With this predictive savings approach, adding vital new business requirements to the mix often seems impossible. An exasperated head of operations recently lamented to me that this is happening in her organisation. Unproven new media tools and

IMAGE: BROADCAST INNOVATION

are pitted too simplistically against new, as

Scalability

Legacy

ROI SIX KEY AREAS TO TARGET AND MONITOR TO ACHIEVE IMPROVED ROI

Revenue +

A combined view of the wider potential ROI from media technology investment. Moving beyond legacy technology integration toward greater scalability and the efﬁciency in media planning and operations to cost effectively provide new on-screen services and revenue

10 TVBEurope

www.tvbeurope.com June 2016

Opinion and Analysis dialogue and said that loud music drowned out

advertising. To add to the fun, the investment

the actors’ voices. This was most likely due to

case is also tougher than it’s ever been. Looking

audio production, post or audio QC procedures,

bottom-up, the IABM cites global broadcast

although I suppose the orchestra [on location!] could have played too loudly…Is losing a million

Gain

Cost

and media technology sales of about $49 billion in 2015. Every dollar, euro or pound of that total must be underpinned by a solid business

viewers a bad ROI?

case founded on a practicable ROI. More than

• Ensure that everything upstream is businessready for everything downstream. By removing

ever, technology needs to be in the right hands

unnecessary exceptions, very small changes

to spin-up quickly and yield that optimal ROI.

upstream can yield substantial and measurable

Those hands are now a hybrid of the business

improvements downstream. Again, working

and operations, enabled by next-generation

between departments is the key. Despite all the industry chatter about integrated channel, IMF and recently 4K, UHD and IP, it’s the upstream media business processes that give the biggest improvements. Revolutionising the

Focusing on the gains that drive higher ROI

Cost

technology integration. There are more investment options too: operational expenditure can be used to harness transactional investment in virtualised, cloud-based, SaaS and third party services. These options are an unwelcome distraction

legacy upstream planning processes that we used to call ‘trafﬁc’ will play the decisive role in

Different broadcasters have many disparate

if the business focus is not clear. Giving CFOs

multiscreen broadcasters’ future success. Cross-

restrictions and remits in both programming and

conﬁdence on the increase in quality and

media inventory planning was by far the most

funding. The stories they want to tell often differ

revenue protection is a more challenging

interesting innovation I saw at NAB 2016.

from optimal payback. Insurgents in OTT and

objective than any manufacture, SI or set

• Business Process Modelling (BPM) is

VoD, which lead with apps and social media,

of technical standards can aim to assure.

advocated as a better technique. A more

can be more targeted and do not, to date,

Conventional contracts and deliverables are

intelligent approach, and in my experience the

have so many restrictions. Planning will drive the

not enough to monitor and deliver today’s ROI;

most successful over the longer term, is

optimal revenue return for every outlet: channel,

it requires all parties to work from a business

to model potential savings in conjunction

partner, VoD, OTT, social media, digital and

perspective.

with improved media logistics. However, this is

beyond. This new approach combines ROI from

Looking top down, McKinsey’s 2015 Global

often over-simpliﬁed to the extent that it only

tech investment and operational transformation

Media Report forecasts global spending on all

covers thematic, frequently disregarding late

media to rise to $2.1 trillion in 2019, from $1.6

deliveries and live.

trillion in 2014. Whether this is accurate or not, it’s

Onscreen and beyond Can improvement to media workﬂow and logistics directly improve onscreen programming

‘When relevant media is better presented, recommended and discovered, our ROI gauge stays in the green’

a big number. For broadcasters’ dependant on their own share of that number, whose audiences are targeted for attack by growth-driven niche insurgents, the ROI form new technology has never been more important. The stakes are high.

and revenue? Yes! This is the area which most

Broadcasters successfully developing their

dramatically improves ROI. When relevant

strategy to gain the upper hand with this new

media is better presented, recommended and

mix can sharpen their competitiveness to win

discovered, our ROI gauge stays in the green. with optimal business upside scenarios. Whilst

their share of lucrative digital audiences. Those

where better media workﬂow really adds the

some organisations see themselves in a content-

failing to do so are risking everything, rapidly

most value in 2016, we would see an explosion

centric way, their view of their media based is on

disappearing from our screens. They are beaten

of video everywhere, with versions and streams

its inventory as above (versions, components and

by onscreen competitors conﬁdent in their ROI

on every screen, anytime. Looking at it from the

metadata), and pure play OTT and streaming

and harnessing new technology stacks based on

audience’s point of view, content is now so easy

services can move beyond this. STBs, apps and

cloud and web services to rapidly drive their new

to ﬁnd and so easy to share. Regardless of your

home NAS systems are almost forgetting about

media business models in VoD, OTT, apps and

digital tribe, whether you’re a boomer, x’er or

creating multiple versions due to new browsers,

social media.

millennial, viewing is now both compulsive and

and are capable of transcoding on the ﬂy,

greedy. Driven by availability and mobility, it’s

inserting ads and brokering promotions.

If we could start again, thinking critically about

I have seen broadcasters of all shapes and sizes upgrade their in-house capabilities, scope greenﬁeld projects and access service partner

ﬁnding and sharing that is actually changing our

More gain, less pain

and cloud-based services to secutre their way

The continuing search for a killer media

forward. However, few of those broadcasters

processes to enable that ﬁnding and sharing.

strategy and the leveraging of new technology

start with a clean sheet. Whilst their audience

Workﬂows can now directly add metadata

integration remains right at the heart of

and income is under attack, their ROI from

to aid downstream content placement,

broadcasters’ urgent business transformations.

new media technology and services is also

search and recommendation. This is closely

Just when we thought it was safe to get back

dramatically affected by how incisively they deal

connected to the upstream planning revolution

in the water, along came UHD and IP, as well

with their legacy, and how robustly they protect

I mentioned earlier.

as cloud, personalised and programmatic

their business vision.

media habits. It is crucial that we create new streamlined

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12 TVBEurope

www.tvbeurope.com June 2016

Production

Serving up plans for Wimbledon Philip Stevens asks broadcasters and OB providers about their plans for the tennis championships

for itself and visiting broadcasters, how does the

Chakraborty reveals that the BBC’s OB supplier,

BBC handle its role?

Visions, begins the rig of technical kit on 30 May. Members of the production team are on site the

Lawn tennis logistics

week before the tennis starts, and some ﬁlming

“The key challenge is telling people what is on

and editing takes place in the days leading up

and when, especially in the ﬁrst week,” says Ron

to the ﬁrst Monday of play. Some sequences,

overage of the Wimbledon tennis

Chakraborty, executive editor, major events.

however, need to be prepared earlier.

championships ﬁrst appeared on

“Unlike sporting events where the schedule is

television screens as far back as 1937.

known weeks in advance, you only have one or

worked around their schedules, so it often takes

In those very early days of regular broadcasting,

two days’ notice - sometimes less - to tell people

place weeks in advance. We also ﬁlm preview

up to 30 minutes each day of matches on

when their favourite players are in action. On top

material around our coverage at Queens and

the Centre Court were transmitted live. Thirty

of this, we also need to keep people informed

Eastbourne. Once the draw is made and the

years later, Wimbledon provided the ﬁrst colour

about emerging stories that happen on the

schedule is drawn up, you get into a rhythm for

broadcast in Great Britain.

outside courts.”

the creative sequences: Monday, Wednesday,

So, there’s a long history of the coverage of

He continues, “Even though we’re on two

“Filming with the high proﬁle players has to be

Friday might feature Federer and Djokovic;

the All England Club, and today, the coverage

channels for the majority of the day, we only

Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday might be Murray

is just as remarkable. The interest in this important

have one studio output, and one Sue Barker. It’s

and Serena days. As a result, you can hopefully

tennis event is so great that around 2,500

ﬁne when the matches overlap nicely, but when

plan ahead.”

broadcasters work in the Broadcast Centre. More

they ﬁnish simultaneously, or there’s sudden rain,

courts are covered than in any other Grand

it becomes quite a juggling act.”

Slam event, and there are positions for 120 commentators on the Centre Court alone. The BBC, as well as being the UK rights holder,

The team also have to be wary of schedule clashes away from Wimbledon. “We overcome these challenges by doing

For the start of the tournament, the BBC has 19 court directors and 18 APs, although this number decreases in the second week as the various draws shrink down. “Primarily the match producers also direct, but they will suggest ideas.

acts as host broadcaster (HB) for more than

our best to trail what’s coming up and what

While we do have a creative lead producer, the

40 other global networks. In fact, Wimbledon

is available elsewhere, and we now support

production of those sequences is usually shared

(as it is usually called) is the largest annual

this with our online live text and social media

around all the APs on site,” explains Chakraborty.

broadcast operation in the world. With such a

channels. We also discuss the schedules with

high proﬁle and demanding production both

BBC1 and BBC2 a few months in advance.”

Although the OB provider does contract the editors, the BBC will suggest names of those it

Simplifying the remote acquisition, cloud management, and multiscreen distribution of professional live video over IP

14 TVBEurope

www.tvbeurope.com June 2016

Production would prefer to use. “This year we will be using an Avid system for all our editing. We do use a

Roger Federer with SRF tennis expert, Heinz Günthardt

dedicated media asset management system for the tournament, accessed through IPD.” Chakraborty states that liasing with other broadcasters mainly concerns commentators, pundits and content. “Where certain individuals work for more than one outlet, we need to plan their schedules, and when it comes to footage we might exchange content we have produced with high proﬁle players.”

Watching the Swiss One of the broadcasters with a special interest in Wimbledon is Switzerland’s SRF. With the country’s Roger Federer ranked as the world’s number three in the sport, his games are followed keenly. “We are planning to cover the whole tournament with programing lasting several hours each day,” reveals Susan Schwaller, SRF’s head of live. “Obviously, we look for the matches that are most interesting for the viewers, with the focus

Adding to world feed

commit over 150 original hours to the event,”

clearly on Swiss players.”

WowWow brings the world feed from the BBC into

explains Jamie Reynolds, vice president,

its studio and builds its own presentation around

production, overseas ESPN Tennis. “We don’t ever

it. “So it’s a question of WowWow sitting across

turn off the linear screen until play is ﬁnished.”

“The key challenge is telling people what is on, when, especially in ther ﬁrst week” Ron Chakraborty, BBC

the output the BBC is producing, or taking a

Alongside the live coverage, ESPN produces

feed from an individual court if there is Japanese

a three-hour highlights programme that is shown

interest in that match, such as when Kei Nishikori is

on the middle Sunday on the ABC network

playing,” says Tischler.

in the US. The total commitment means that

“They do cross all of the produced court feeds

ESPN will employ around 125 personnel for the

by the BBC and mix them into their shows as and

Championships, ranging from the onscreen talent

when it’s appropriate to their content. Around 40

to interns and runners.

BBC cameras are ISO’ed to us. There are 19 on

“We use three presentation studios for our

In order to supplement the host broadcaster

Centre Court, 11 on No.1 Court and a selection

output, including one on the media garden

coverage, SRF will be sending two commentators,

on the other outer courts.”

terrace,” reveals Reynolds. “Our directors cover

one expert analyst, one journalist and one

Tischler explains that the WowWow production

the presentation element and the play coverage, so we ask them to be versatile.”

cameraman to the Championships. “In previous

team is able to hear the BBC talkback in the

years there has always been interaction with the

Gearhouse scanner. “You hear the directors,

BBC,” says Schwaller. “That includes interviews

so you know where they are going to go next.

feed and ISO cameras from the BBC, plus

with experts or an exchange of material.”

That enables the Japanese production team to

the dedicated ESPN cameras on Centre and

anticipate what’s coming up to help ensure a

No.1 courts.

The Japanese view Japanese satellite broadcaster WowWow is one

smooth output.” Alongside the live production facilities provided

Those directors have access to the clean

“We blend together the very best coverage for our subscribers back in the US, and then add in

of the unilateral rights holders at Wimbledon. Its

by Gearhouse Broadcast, there are two Final

our own ESPN graphics to provide comprehensive

production facilities also cover the Australian

Cut Pro machines that are used by WowWow

on-screen information and data. We have

Open, the French Open and the US Open, and

to edit footage. In addition, there are three

created our own logging interface and employ

are delivered by Gearhouse Broadcast.

EVS XT3 servers and an EVS IP Director content

a team of six to eight tennis ‘fanatics’ who

management system.

watch every ball and record every incident. This

“As a rights holder, WowWow sets up its facilities

metadata is tagged in real time for use by our

within the broadcast compound into which a typical Gearhouse ﬂyaway solution is built,”

Serving the US audience

producers.” As in previous years, NEP Visions will

states Ed Tischler, head of projects at Gearhouse

Tennis is a major undertaking for ESPN. As well

be providing outside broadcast facilities for the

Broadcast. “That kit includes three Hitachi SK-

as Wimbledon, the cable broadcaster covers

US broadcaster.

HD1200 cameras with Canon lenses in the studio,

the Australian and US Open Championships,

while Sony PDW-F800 and Sony PDW-700 cameras

and is the host broadcaster for the latter.

with Gearhouse Actis RF link systems are provided

“At Wimbledon, we cover all the action from

Reynolds concludes, “I believe that the individuals, both on and off screen, provide viewers with the depth of knowledge to make the

for ﬁlming around the Wimbledon complex to

the ﬁrst ball to last, so when you look at the

Wimbledon fortnight come alive and add to a

capture interviews and colour.”

programming schedule, you’ll see that we will

wonderful sporting occasion.

TVBEurope 15

June 2016 www.tvbeurope.com

Production

Feeding the world Philip Stevens visits the facility in west London that provides the world feed (and much more) for Wimbledon

all the televised courts into a gallery on site, take

the company also collects ENG footage around

in all the beauty shots, and, in most cases, the

the Wimbledon site and this can be used for the

BBC commentary. In all, we cover 15 courts and

world feed, the in-site RHBs and the BBC.

provide a cut feed of the best tennis of the day. During the sit-outs, we’ll go around all the courts

Comprehensive collection

updating match-points.”

He continues, “We get clean and dirty feeds of

IMG has a representation agreement with the

All England Lawn Tennis Club which includes the sale of broadcast rights, and most of the

activities the company offers on site are related to that activity. “We’ve been doing the core offerings for around 25 years,” explains David Shield, SVP,

every televised court from the BBC and record

“In week one of the Championships, RHBs get 11 feeds. That offers a European broadcaster a great opportunity” David Shield, IMG Studios

global director of engineering and technology

the action from each day on EVS. In addition, we collect all of the IBM data feeds, which includes scores, number of rallies in each point, who won the point, speed of serve and so on. There is a team of loggers − who are actually BBC APs − who note the visual content, so the metadata is very comprehensive.”

at IMG Studios. “The most basic production is

All of this content is available to RHBs from the

the international highlights programme that

central content store (CCS). “Those broadcasters

runs for an hour and goes out at 21:30 each

That means most of the content on the world

can pay a little extra for an IPD terminal, so they

day. This is predominately used by rights holding

feed is live, but IMG does use pre-recorded

can browse the wealth of metadata that we

broadcasters (RHBs) in Europe, the USA, and

matches that can be used if there is a need to

capture. They can browse the games themselves,

Asia. But next is the world feed. For this we take

ﬁll any gaps between live matches. In addition,

the clips we produce and have it delivered over

16 TVBEurope

www.tvbeurope.com June 2016

Production

Aerial View

“The commitment has increased dramatically over the years, but it all helps to add to the enjoyment and involvement of viewers” David Shield

mosaic of six feeds is on offer. Alongside the world feed, those other screens will generally show matches where American players are involved. At the end of each match, we can switch to the studio to do a wrap-up with the ESPN presenters.”

Streaming, too IMG is also responsible for Live @ Wimbledon, a internet GigE network into their own EVS system

streamed service that appears on wimbledon.

or whatever storage arrangement they are

com, the ofﬁcial website of the Championships.

using,” says Shield.

Although licensing arrangements restrict the

In addition to the world feed, IMG produces

amount of live play, the content − mainly

an enhanced service for European broadcasters.

interviews and behind-the-scenes activities − is

This involves sending coverage of all the

well received by tennis fans worldwide.

courts that are being covered by the BBC by

“Live @ Wimbledon is also a digital and FM

satellite to licence holders. “We also include

radio station that the public can receive during

the press conferences and main interview room

the fortnight,” reveals Shield. “There are three

as a separate channel. In week one of the

independent streams: the main channel, which

Championships, those RHBs get 11 feeds; the

includes all the action and presentation from

world cut, the individual courts and the interview

around the grounds, as well as two channels with

channel. That offers a European broadcaster a

ball-by-ball commentary from Centre and No.1

great opportunity. If they put a gallery across

courts. There are also helpful trafﬁc reports for

it, they can make their own show, including

those travelling to the Championships.”

remotely accessing the content store and the comprehensive background material.” Back at IMG’s Stockley Park facility, one of the

He concludes, “The Wimbledon fortnight is very busy for us! The commitment has increased dramatically over the years, but it all helps to add

studios is used to produce a programme for ESPN.

to the enjoyment and involvement of viewers

“This is rather like a red button service, where a

around the world.”

As directors call for more sensational shots, different angles and stunning views, the need for innovative specialist camera systems has evolved significantly in recent years. “Aerial Camera Systems (ACS) was originally set up in 1979 to provide the latest aerial cinematographic equipment to the film and television industries,” explains Matt Coyde, the company’s sales director. “Specialist cameras are becoming more of a standard feature within broadcast productions, and this is particularly true for sports and live event television.” So, with the ever-developing requirements, is it necessary to design a unique solution to meet every need? “Generally, no job we do is the same,” states Coyde. “However, our philosophy is to apply the equipment we own or have developed in-house to the needs of the current production. Invariably we can use or adapt one of our specialist cameras to achieve this goal. That said, much of our current inventory has come about from clients requesting a particular piece of equipment to help solve a shot issue for a large project.” One example of this is the Smarthead3, which was driven by NBC needing a remote weatherised broadcast camera for a 24-hour live broadcast at Sochi 2014. Since then, it has been developed further, allowing it to have the versatility to be used on other jobs. “Our tracking systems have kept up with Usain Bolt, flown with Harry Potter, seen Andy Murray win his first Wimbledon title and watched Ed Sheeran play to a sell-out crowd.” reveals Coyde. So, what changes have there been in production demands over the last few years? “For aerial filming there has been a substantive shift towards large sensor and higher resolution capture, to provide more flexibility in terms of camera and lens options,” declares Coyde. “4K and HDR are an emerging trend in live broadcast, which will become more widely adopted over the next couple of years.”

18 TVBEurope

www.tvbeurope.com June 2016

Business

Channel 4’s big data guru George Jarrett spoke to Channel 4’s head of digital and partnership innovation Jonathan Lewis; the big data equivalent of a master chocolatier, with a big surprise in store

he distribution of our viewing on

what we call our in-house data management

different platforms and devices is

platform. Effectively that is C4’s 14 million

evolving,” said Channel 4’s Jonathan

registered users, and that database is refreshed

“T

Lewis. “If you look at what Google and Facebook

on a quarterly basis,” said Lewis. “The ambition

would tell you around everyone moving to

is to get to 20 million, but the big focus over the

mobile, it is all about thumb-stopping moments.

next 12 to 18 months is to grow our reach.”

And three seconds is what they count as an engaged view. But what we are seeing is that

Bespoke short form content

mobile and tablet usage has spiked,” he said.

The front initiative here has been the transition of

“It has reached a zenith in a way for us as a broadcaster. It is very helpful from a screening experience or second screen experience – when

All 4; from its base value in linear catch-up to a wide potential content proposition. “It has evolved signiﬁcantly, just look at our

your partner is watching something on the main

foreign drama strand Walter Presents,” said Lewis.

TV screen and you are watching F1 on your

“Walter Uzolino, a former commissioning editor

tablet – and we see a lot of that happening,”

at C4, approached us about two years ago. He

he added. “But VoD is now moving to the big

had locked himself in a room for nearly a year

screen, and the challenge we have been

and watched over 3,500 hours of foreign

grappling with for several months is assuring that

drama content.

big screen VoD is addressable.” The problem is that where Channel 4 (C4)

“He then looked at securing the rights to some of that content, and

has mandatory registration signings for mobile

won the rights to about

and tablet, it is much more challenging to get

700 hours of

registration on shared devices. To resolve issues in this area, C4 teamed up with YouGov. “We did a pioneering piece of research with YouGov, around modelling viewing behaviour against specific programming on C4 by device. We are also using our first party and BARB data, and have started to make our inventory on shared devices addressable through this model. “That was the big leap forward in the data space, and over the last six months we have been moving into what we call the 100 per cent addressable world. That is quite significant because no one else is doing anything of that nature in the shared devices space. They are still wrestling with monetising views on platforms,” he added. Market feedback says operators have been slow to appreciate the values of big data, and that many do not have the skilled staff or budget for generating the exploitation values of big data effectively. C4 found the talent early, and has three dozen very experienced data analysts. “We invested in a team specifically dedicated around building

June 2016 www.tvbeurope.com

TVBEurope 19

Business what he saw as the best foreign drama

are also thinking about how we can encourage

have done a dozen deals and we can double

available,” he added. “He asked us to invest

other premium content providers to join with that

down on that in the next 12 months. We want to

or partner with him.” Uzolino probably thought

exchange,” said Lewis.

move from a modelled world of access to data

about a stand-alone website but Lewis saw it as

On the ﬁckleness of consumers, he said: “There

on shared devices, into a registered world.”

a great boost to the prospects of All 4. Walter

is a behavioural shift happening. One of the

Presents increased the registered users and

things we have always been focused on is how

data around viewing habits, sometimes around

produced valuable data.

we engage with the youth audience, and what

apparently similar shows aimed at the 16-34

“We have seen VoD view grow by 30 to 35 per cent year-on-year, and a lot of that has been

The All 4 team has gathered some surprising

does that mean for us long term and from the

age group audience. “Fresh Meat is a good

investment perspective.”

example where we looked at that as really 16-34,

Targeting demographic audiences around

and then you look at Made in Chelsea and you

platform,” said Lewis. “We started to produce

speciﬁc interests started at the end of 2015. “We

think they must be the same audience. They are

bespoke short-form content (All 4 originals) and

are incorporating those interest groups into our

not. You can then start doing interesting things,

we’ve got about 100 series so far in that space

programmatic offering. It is all about scalability

scheduling those shows against each other on

Shows that we are making on All 4 are becoming

for us,” said Lewis. “ We can work with brands to

different channels to maximise your percentage

so popular that some have travelled to C4. We

create bespoke projects, but we want to make

share of that particular audience,” said Lewis.

can take risks and innovate. We are not schedule

sure that we have got enough volume so we can

constrained, so can put a lot of stuff out there

serve up and deliver to brands when they want

Big screen VoD

and see how it goes.” At least once a month, the

to come and buy from us.

Technologies and technology partnerships have

attributed to putting new content onto that

C4 commissioning team look at what content is

“This year is all about trying to scale up that

become so much more crucial to the progress

working on All 4, and how they might take cues

capability, and how we get that information

of All 4. Its digital media empire is built on

from that for delivering shows on linear channels.

is through a sub set of registered users called

proprietary technology.

“We are joining the dots between creative

Core 4. There are about 8,000 Core 4 users that

Lewis said: “The most important thing to us

and commercial, so we are creating lots of

we talk to all the time,” said Lewis. “We survey

from a commercial perspective is our relationship

branded content on All 4, with brands that will

them monthly, but then we also track their

with Freewheel around the ad serving capability

fund shows and buy media to support that show

behaviours,” he added. “We run the two things

that it can deliver, and a pioneering product

on our platform. We are on our 12th or 13th series

in parallel; what they do, and what they say they

development that we have done together.

with brands, and this is a multi-million pound

are into. You can then build a proﬁle of people,

Freewheel worked very closely on the launch

business for us, a really exciting revenue area.”

and that’s how we build our overall proﬁle across

of the programmatic pilot and the gearing up

a whole data set.”

of PVX, and we have become aligned from a

Taking programmatic to the next level

Moving from a modelled world

All 4 can boast about 15 commercial shorts.

VoD revenues are about ten per cent of C4’s

interactive as formats, we have an exclusive

“That’s a really interesting area because

overall income. “The delta is changing and VoD

relationship with Innovid. We are talking about

advertiser-funded programming on linear has

is starting to become a much bigger part of the

how we might establish interactivity on the big

always been a challenge. Take it to the digital

revenue make-up. The thing we think about now

screen,” he added. “The pattern for viewing

environment and you are less constrained from

is investing in our digital business to continue

speciﬁcally for VoD is evolving: we will get over 50

a compliance perspective, you do not have

the trajectories of growth,” said Lewis. “Walter

per cent of our views now on big screen VoD.

a schedule to stick to, and we are creating

Presents was a mix of content and marketing

content that we then try and let travel onto our

that drove more attention to All 4 and delivered

our digital competitors because big screen TV

social media platform,” said Lewis.

greater reach. F1 is a great example of bringing

is really important to people when they want to

in a new audience that watches live and via

see their special shows. The challenge for us is

catch-up TV.”

to make sure we adapt and keep up with that

At IBC2015, trading programmatically was a big conference subject. “We spent a lot of time educating the market, working with agency

technology roadmap development perspective.

Programmatic business represented zero

“On the interactive VoD side, delivering

“We are in a very different place to some of

change; talking about audience addressability

trading desks and the demand side platforms,”

18 months back, but is now 30-35 per cent of

on big screen VoD shared devices, and

said Lewis. “We gradually on-boarded the big

revenue, so how will the All 4 platform develop

interactivity,” he continued. “This is stuff that

four or ﬁve major trading agencies, which

going forward? “The content proposition on All

we are very good at doing on the PC and

are starting to buy inventory within what is

4 will continue to evolve. Moving it away from

tablet, and now we need to transfer all of that

effectively our private exchange at scale,

just becoming a catch-up service was really

to the big screen.”

being able to access C4 ﬁrst party.”

important. Advertising technology continues to

Involved were the release of data and

Archiving and sustaining rights will become

evolve for us, so delivering levels of interactivity

bigger issues as All 4 grows. Lewis said: “All 4

delivering automations, which were not

around video advertising on personal devices

represents 10-12,000 hours of archive content.

without challenges that introduced delay.

is one big thing; being able to extend ads, click

Walter Presents is going to be adding another

But the big agencies were on board in

into web sites or click to buy,” said Lewis. “The

1,000 hourst. We stack up well in terms of the

November. Then came what C4 calls PVX, its

personalisation that we can deliver for the Coca

long tail of archive that we have on All 4 versus

premium video exchange. “This is taking our

Cola Share a Coke campaign or the My Burberry

the BBC and ITV, and there are rumours of

programmatic business to the next level, getting

campaign; how you develop that into the big

them joining up. We commission a signiﬁcant

access to All 4 content and inventory, and we

screen is something we are looking at now. “We

proportion of our inventory.”

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TVBEurope

June 2016 www.tvbeurope.com

Feature

VISIONS OF THE FUTURE:

The connected world Ahead of our TVBEurope 2020 event this month, we invited a number of industry authorities to share their thoughts on what to expect over the coming years, and how they are planning their business strategies accordingly

Big bang theory By Mark Wilson-Dunn, vice president of BT Media and Broadcast here is seismic change in the TV industry.

The coming together of ofﬂine and online services and the much-heralded

juncture of data, technology and content is a collision that is having profound effects. In many respects the changes are regarded as disruptive, but there is also opportunity. We recently surveyed our customers to see how they felt about where the industry was heading, the challenges they are facing and the help they need from their technology partners. Unsurprisingly, budgets are getting squeezed and content producers

believe that IP will underpin the industry and

interfaces on a wide range of products using

and distributors have to do more with less,

enable ﬂexible, efﬁcient working, but it will also

new IP standards endorsed by SMPTE. It’s part

particularly the big broadcasters. Broadcasters

ensure no one is left behind in the face of rapid

of the evolution, making investments in

are also concerned about being able to select

change. Supporting broadcasters through this is

processing infrastructure that help customers

technology that is future-proofed, so that they

a key role for an infrastructure business such as

avoid the need to purchase new legacy

can invest in their core business without missing

BT Media and Broadcast. So what is this change

broadcast processing appliances such as

out on the beneﬁts of the latest innovations in

and how can leveraging the IP network improve

encoders and decoders.

audience content consumption.

content delivery and production?

So which technologies do they see as having

The BBC is already leveraging BT’s investment

The next step is software deﬁned networks, and again we have been test-bedding multiple

the biggest impact? Certainly end-to-end

in ﬁbre by shifting to an IP-based network,

supplier’s offerings and their interoperability

IP. The consensus is that this will signiﬁcantly

with the new BT network replaing the BBC’s

in our labs for several years, and, in fact, our

change how the whole industry works, but

existing system from April 2017. The ﬂexibility IP

existing broadcast networks have a nod to

we are not quite there yet. Few can afford to

networks can provide will make it easier for the

the future with an element of software control

sweep legacy infrastructure aside. It takes time

broadcasters to ramp up capacity for special

already. To help cope with legacy, we are

and investment. Our media networks have had

events while taking advantage of emerging

deploying hardware at the edge of our network

IP at the core for over 18 years, dating back

formats such as 4K/8K and 360-degree content.

that supports legacy interfaces today, but can

to when we designed and built the ﬁrst MPLS

The data-hungry content revolution demands

be software rebuilt to support IP in the future.

broadcast network. This, in part, has shaped

collaboration between suppliers and also

In this way, we can help customers with new

our attitude to giving customers an alternative

customers and suppliers, to ensure a smooth

technology adoption and future prooﬁng whilst

to a big bang approach, to transition to IP

production chain.

meeting the cost challenges of change.

infrastructure and services as and when it

Evolving our own service provider broadcast

We want customers to embrace the collisions

suits their needs, and to accommodate

infrastructure is also key to helping customers

of big data, TV everywhere and Ultra HD

legacy technologies.

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24 TVBEurope

June 2016 www.tvbeurope.com

Feature

Data-driven broadcasting By Steve Plunkett, chief technology ofﬁcer, broadcast and media services, Ericsson he TV and media landscape is evolving

of subtitles/caption ﬁles, usage data from TV

teams (see Moneyball) who are also in a rush to

more quickly and more radically than at

platforms, audience measurement data from

become more data driven.

any time in its venerable history. Ten

national panels, navigation and discovery

years ago we lived in a pre-Netﬂix, pre-iPhone,

data from EPGs, TV guides and search engines

succeed are signiﬁcant, and can provide an

pre-Twitter, standard deﬁnition world (Sky

and more.

extra layer of insight from content commissioning

launched its new HD service in the UK on 22

The bad news is that deriving insight from all

The advantages afforded to those who

to audience engagement and everything else

May 2006), when multiscreen TV meant having

that data requires specialist skills and new job

in between. This is not an Armageddon future

a ‘portable’ TV in the bedroom and Blockbuster

roles such as data scientists, data analysts and

of the robots deciding what shows to make and

was still a thing.

data engineers along with new technologies to

what we are fed as viewers, but one where the

collect, host and process what is often correctly

experience and intuition of industry professionals

early stages of a transition to UHD, virtual reality

called big data. We are also competing for

is augmented by both new insights and more

is the ‘next big thing’, 3DTV has been and

these skills, not just with our competitors but with

granular and timely understanding of what we

gone, and audiences have increasingly seized

whole other industries such as ﬁnancial services,

already know. We are entering an era of data

control of their viewing through a proliferation

retail, pharmaceutical and even baseball

driven-broadcasting.

Fast forward ten years and we are in the

‘The next few years will see a significant increase in the role of data and data-driven decision making within our industry’ of content sources from new and old media companies. Content distribution is increasingly over IP to devices that are more able to deliver a personalised experience. This links to a key trend that all media organisations are focused on today and into the future; how to develop a closer, more individual relationship with a viewer. We are moving from an era of mass audience reach to mass viewer personalisation and this will require much greater use and understanding of data science. Some organisations are already very data driven, such as Netflix and Amazon, which together spend hundreds of millions of dollars each year and employ hundreds of people to use data to increase insight and personalisation for subscribers. But what about everyone else? The next few years will see a significant increase in the role of data and data-driven decision making within our industry, as organisations look to outcompete their rivals for viewer attention. The good news is that we have a huge volume and diversity of data to work with, including content metadata (programme synopses, series hierarchies, cast and crew info), dialogue transcripts for most content in the form

TVBEurope

June 2016 www.tvbeurope.com

Feature

Next generation TV and the superpower of the inner loop By Pancrazio Auteri, CTO, ContentWise

with the speed of machine learning and delivering this power through the universal reach of the internet.

ne thing I miss from the analogue world

Editorial teams want to make sure that their

is the video rental store guy handing

investment in new titles isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t wasted, and to

me an unsolicited VHS: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re gonna

ensure that viewers do not switch off or click

love it! And itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s getting a sequel tooâ&#x20AC;?. I miss his

away because â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;there is nothing to watchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

colleague too: every time I went to the store she

Providers know that the right content is there,

would suggest independent titles that I always

but viewers need the right support to help

loved. I miss the creative energy of the magazine

them ďŹ nd it.

editorial team and how they put so much effort into choosing and presenting a cover story to

We see that the process of running a successful digital entertainment service now looks like two

catch your eye on a crowded newsstand. And the way that smart advertising people were always looking for new ways to meet their target audience and remain relevant. On the other hand, one thing I wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t miss is the analogue industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s slavery to the one-

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;One thing I wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t miss is the analogue industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s slavery to the one-size-ďŹ ts-all principleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

size-ďŹ ts-all principle. Digital technology and

professionals interpret usersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; behaviour through visual and interactive analytics, offering hints

the internet have radically changed the print

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26 TVBEurope

www.tvbeurope.com June 2016

Feature

It’s all about connectivity By Bogdan Frusina, founder and CTO, Dejero oday’s broadcasters are content creators

public networks, and need to support both

who must cater to their audiences’ desire

live and ﬁle-based content. The best way to

to consume content how, where, and

navigate these complex landscapes is to adopt

on whatever device they want. The challenge

a common set of standards that allow for

is to create, transport and distribute that content

interoperability. In order to help customers build

to them quickly, yet reliably, all while being

best-of-breed solutions that simplify workﬂow,

cost-effective.

both hardware and software-based solutions

IP and cloud solutions allow for reliable sharing

must work together. Take the new integration

of live video both within organisations and to

between Live+ Control and GV Stratus, for

third parties, at a fraction of the cost of private

example. Files from Control are automatically

satellite and ﬁbre connections. Distribution via the

transcoded for previewing and use in GV Stratus,

cloud is ﬂexible and scalable, so organisations

simplifying the workﬂow.

can use what they need, when they need it.

This kind of integration is just the beginning,

Cloud-based IP video distribution networks,

of course. Dejero recently joined AIMS so that

like Live+ Multipoint, enable simultaneous

we can work with like-minded technology

distribution of live content from any location, to

leaders to actively drive the movement towards

any location, at any time, quickly, easily, and

open standards.

cost-effectively. As the industry moves forward, organisations are leveraging both private and

The more technology providers can simplify the process of transporting video in a

‘Organisations are leveraging both private and public networks, and need to support both live and ﬁle-based content’

seamless and cost-effective manner, the more broadcasters can focus on creating great content and connecting with their audiences.

Content and cooperation By Bevan Thomas, commercial director and co-founder, Newsﬂare

are willing to reward contributors. Producing quality content takes time and

ince the advent of YouTube in 2005, we

money. Communities like Newsﬂare support this

have witnessed the staggering growth

process. The outputs required to source content

and popularity of online video. The rise of

are reduced and news organisations have

user-generated content continues apace; the

the conﬁdence that the videos pushed directly

100 million daily Snapchat users creating stories

to their platforms have been veriﬁed and

of their lives are testament to the trend.

are ready to upload. Furthermore, the video

User-generated content is now a strong

contributor is typically paid within 24 hours, with

addition to footage shot by professional video

the likes of Trinity Mirror, Mail Online, BBC and Sky

journalists. Broadcasters and publishers are

using the service.

capitalising on the smartphone revolution when

In this age of digital diversity, where consumers

it comes to sourcing content, and the growing phenomenon of eyewitness smartphone footage is allowing them to cover events like never before. It is actively sought out as an essential storytelling tool, particularly when it comes to

access content via multiple devices, including

‘User-generated content is now a strong addition to footage shot by professional video journalists’

breaking news in remote or local areas.

mobile phones, tablets and laptops, the cost of producing content to cater for these various formats is increasing. 2016 is set to be a huge growth year for user generated video content. Newsrooms,

The future of content depends on

production companies and brands that

cooperation. There is a relationship forming

respond quickly, producing a mix of their own

between news outlets, production companies,

it has become a medium ﬁlled with opportunities

professionally created content alongside

brands and the public. Audiences can record

for monetisation. Broadcasters and publishers are

intelligently curated UGC, will be amongst those

and share wide-ranging content and so, in turn,

increasingly seeing the commercial value and

that resonate most strongly with audiences.

TVBEurope

June 2016 www.tvbeurope.com

Feature

Sustaining next generation services By Guido Meardi, CEO and cofounder, V-Nova

SD, and where a large majority of the world’s smartphones are not able to access video services, how will operators manage to

s broadcasters, streaming service

offer commercial services supporting higher

providers and telcos champion UHD,

resolutions, which are delivered at rapidly

it is clear that it is no longer the future;

increased bitrates?

more services in UHD, the innovation leaders

than ever before, we must ensure that every

are already looking to the future of even higher

single person who wants to access video services

quality services delivered through HDR and 8K.

will be able to do so, regardless of bandwidth.

it’s already here. While the industry deploys

As well as pushing quality to higher degrees

NAB 2016 highlighted the advancement of

Our recent deployment announcement with

8K. Demonstrations such as Canon’s immersive

FastFilmz illustrates how we enabled the launch

8K ride experience and Hitachi’s dockable 8K

of a mobile OTT service delivering video over

camera are further evidence that some of the

2G in rural areas of India. With next-generation

technological jigsaw pieces are ﬁnally coming

question: How will operators and service

codecs, the HDR/8K future is just around the

together. While these advances address the

providers be able to launch next generation

corner, and true TV everywhere services can be

increased demand for high quality content

services and turn them into true mass-market

available to all, whatever they want to watch,

delivery, they also lead to a fundamental

offerings? In a TV world that is still broadcasting

wherever they are.

www.asperasoft.com moving the world’s data at maximum speed

28 TVBEurope

www.tvbeurope.com June 2016

Feature

Ready for the future By Charlie Vogt, CEO, Imagine Communications ne of the most important beneﬁts of

a big exhibition like NAB, if you are a major vendor, is that it gives you the

opportunity to talk to the major broadcasters and content companies about the issues that really keep them awake at night, and see how closely our roadmap matches their concerns. What was clear, from the majority of the many, many visitors to our booth, was that the time is now right for them to ease off the brakes and begin to accelerate the construction of their next-generation infrastructures. The ability to seize the agility and flexibility of software-defined environments running on COTS platforms or in a virtualised cloud environment was the number one concern by far. While the findings from our own 2016 Focus Forward Technology Trends survey identified cultural issues, such as the need to acquire

‘Future large-scale infrastructures will be all about software-deﬁned workﬂows’

new skills, as a barrier to progress, it is equally clear that broadcast professionals relish the opportunity to ‘forget about the forklift’. Future large-scale infrastructures will be all about software-defined workflows and not about massive, inflexible hardware installations. Media companies are also looking to incorporate next-generation technologies like UHD into their workflows in a cost-effective and non-disruptive manner. The bandwidth required for UHD, including 4K resolution and high dynamic range video, is prompting some media professionals to consider synchronising this upgrade with the transition to IP. My final thought is that, as part of our role as industry leaders, we should take a stand in

of the Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS), a

community. AIMS is a fast growing group, with

ensuring simple, open interoperability so our

trade association dedicated to the promotion

members from across the industry working to

customers can build best of breed solutions. That

of standards for moving video and audio over

advance open standards, so we are all poised to

is why we were one of the founding members

IP, and why we have forged close ties with the IT

help our customers build towards the future.

TVBEurope

June 2016 www.tvbeurope.com

Feature 2020: A networked society ‘YOU NEED an agile strategy to survive in the TV industry of 2020’; so claimed Ericsson’s Media Vision 2020 report, ﬁrst published in 2014, with predictions that have so far proved accurate. In just four years time, the TV industry will have evolved to a point where ‘global brands combine consumer electronics, social media and apps to create disruptive new business models without warning.’ Forming the centrepiece of its Vision is Ericsson’s assertion that, by the year 2020, the Networked Society

In 2020…. ...penetration of mobile broadband will have exceeded

eight billion subs

will be realised. Within this global society will be 15 billion video-enabled devices connected to broadband IP, transforming the TV consumption experience. By 2020, penetration of mobile broadband will have exceeded eight billion subscribers and ﬁxed broadband will have exceeded one billion home subscriptions, representing around 75 per cent of digital TV homes. In total, over 90 per cent of the population globally will have ‘easy access to the internet.’ Broadcasters will exploit the beneﬁts of this increasingly connected society

...ﬁxed broadband will have exceeded one billion home subs, representing around

75 per cent of digital TV homes

to produce content that reaches a ‘broader and more diverse audience.’ Behind the scenes, the cloud will prove a fundamental asset to broadcasters as they try to keep up with the huge volume of content demand. In 2020, content will still be king, but the demands of viewers will be increasingly varied and independent. This should be embraced, as ‘it opens up new niches for exploitation, including the ability to market beyond the household to every connected consumer.’

...26 ...over

billion

90 per cent

connected devices

of the population will have easy access to the internet

...the pay-TV subscriber market alone will be worth

$460 billion Source: Media Vision 2020, Ericsson

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30 TVBEurope

www.tvbeurope.com June 2016

Feature

TVBEurope 2020 preview: Tom Toumazis James McKeown sits down with TVBEurope 2020 keynote Tom Toumazis to discuss the state of the pay-TV market, million-pound charity funds and receiving an MBE. Words by James Groves

going to be sold. If, as a number of people believe, AOL is going to consolidate with Yahoo, that’s another signiﬁcant player. All of them have video in their sights. That becomes a very signiﬁcant issue for the TV industry because

James McKeown (JM): What’s happening

advertising revenues have reﬂected that. Sky

you’re going to see high CPMs, high prices on

to the composition of the market, and what

has gone from strength to strength in spite of BT

traditional TV and incredibly low prices on digital

are the biggest challenges traditional

coming in and stealing part of their lunch when it

TV via devices.

broadcasters are facing?

comes to football.

Tom Toumazis (TT): Are they having a bad

When you look at the TV players, it’s pretty

JM: How has your experience inﬂuenced your

time? When you look at how tough it is in the

healthy. Then you’ve got OTT, which wasn’t

personal development?

newspaper industry, television has very high-class

there ﬁve years ago – a whole host of providers

TT: I always describe it as four phases of learning.

problems compared to the issues that they are

disrupting the existing pay-tv model by offering

The ﬁrst phase is that you know that you don’t

facing. When you take a step back and look

attractive services. I think it [pay-TV] is still

know. The second phase is when you know that

at television, I think you have a whole set of

positive, so long as the economy is stable and

you know; that’s normally three years into a job,

other issues, with a much more positive

the advertisers still congregate to television.

you become quite proﬁcient at it. People trust

landscape. It has an audience that loves video

Content is still very strong, and I think TV has done

you with it, and you are a specialist. It’s a great

and can’t consume enough of it, with more

a great job in backing quality content.

place to be. Phase three is the trickiest, which is

devices broadening distribution. Research

But there are cracks. Facebook is projected to

when you don’t know that you don’t know. That

is showing that people are watching more

be third largest advertising

is normally when specialists get appointed to

television, and sleeping less; that’s not a bad

sales business in the UK.

become generalists, or you get promoted into

backdrop scenario.

You have Google,

a position that you’re good enough for, or you

ITV, Sky, Channel

move into another area that you’re not capable

continues to deliver. [Look at] Adam Crozier’s

4, and it’s going

of achieving. That phase is the toughest phase

strategy of building a distribution business and

to be Facebook.

in one’s career. It’s normally in that phase that

focusing on commissioning things that they own,

Facebook are

you need a skill for bringing people around you

so that they can run them around the world.

going to be

to help you ﬁgure it out, and the conﬁdence to

Their strategy of focusing on high-quality content,

third. Then there’s

be able to recognise the things that you are not

building strong drama, creating the ability for

another consolation

familiar with. The last phase is probably where

consumers to watch content everywhere and

player because

I am – you don’t know what you know! There’s

owning the content and being able to monetise

Yahoo is

The big continue to get bigger, and ITV

around the world - it’s a classic example of how they’ve done incredibly well. Channel 4 is very solid. They decided to move away from US TV six to seven years ago and move more into commission. They’ve done a great job, and their

swirling information that you’ve amassed and now you walk into a room and you have to apply everything that you’ve learnt before. I think I’ve managed to amass a

TVBEurope 31

June 2016 www.tvbeurope.com

Feature number of different experiences that enable

I stumbled into ChildLine because I wanted to

trying to use your relationships to get big things

me to apply that into other industries. It’s often

run the marathon and I picked up a bond. A lot

done. I like the idea of helping management

very interchangeable.

of the charities in the UK are given an allocation

teams deliver on a new idea or a new concept,

of running slots in the marathon for a minimum

and that’s what I think TVBE is doing, LADBible is

JM: When you look back at the crisis points

pledge. I found out two things: I’m a very slow

doing, and what TagSmart is doing. I’m drawn

on a personal level, what would you say have

runner, but I was able to raise a lot of money! I

to businesses that disrupt, and businesses where I

been the most challenging roles?

felt connected to the charity, and since then

think I can help.

TT:They all have their moments, of course.

we’ve put together a board of a number of

Normally, crisis points come when you’re

people in the media and entertainment industry.

JM: It was that philanthropy that led you

consolidating. They’re the best and the most

We raise £1.2 million to £1.3 million a year across

to being awarded an MBE. What was that

challenging. When I joined Emap is 1997 from

a number of different events. I spend a lot of time

experience like?

Eurosport, I was appointed to put an advertising

on it, and I really enjoy it. This year we’ve got the

TT: It’s around this time last year that a letter

sales team together. We’d done a pretty good

ChildLine Ball in September, where we hope to

came through the post; a white, plain envelope.

job, and two years later they sent me to Harvard.

raise £1 million.

It didn’t give anything away, apart from it said

Established business – the old world, spent much more time sharpening and shaping its people. So, in 1999, I went to Harvard for three months and I came back and I made a recommendation to Emap to consolidate its magazine, radio, digital

‘On her Majesty’s Service’. I had no idea it was

‘Content is still very strong, and I think TV has done a great job in backing quality content. But there are cracks’

coming, no one at the charity had given me any indication. I ripped it open because I thought it was junk mail! I have this wonderful letter, half-ripped, envelope half-destroyed,

and TV business under one umbrella, which

and the ﬁrst sentence is ‘Dear Mr Toumazis, the

was to be known as Emap Advertising. It was

Prime Minister would like to nominate you to the

the ﬁrst time any media group had brought all

Queen.’ It was incredible. It was announced

that together. So now you’re trying to persuade

JM: You sound like you’re in a position in your

in June and I went to Buckingham Palace to

your people, your shareholders, your industry to

life where you’re happy and you’re enjoying

receive the award from Prince Charles, and

transform, and that’s very difﬁcult. I think Emap

what you do on both a professional and

it’s an amazing moment in my life, and a very

gave me the most pleasure, and the most

philanthropic level

special one. It’s very humbling when you’re

buzz and fun.

TT: I want to keep on working, and one thing that

standing in this wonderful ballroom before you

continues to drive me is curiosity. The moves I’ve

get your award, and you meet the people who

JM: Tell us about the foundations of ChildLine

made have tended to be complex, difﬁcult gigs,

are also there, from all walks of life, who do some

TT: I can’t say this was a cunning plan; I stumbled

but jobs that I’ve always felt I can get something

incredible things. There was a man there who

into it! This is in 2003, I’d begun to think a little

out of. I very rarely hire people I’ve worked with

had gone to Africa to ﬁght Ebola and ended up

bit about putting some stuff back into the

before because I love working with new groups.

contracting it himself.

community. I think there are several levels of life.

It’s not that I haven’t done it before, but I don’t

One is you look after yourself, then you look after

bring this whole crew with me that I’ve worked

your family, and then you look after others. I had

with for 20 years. The things that I’m doing now,

done phases one and two. The great people do

and the portfolio approach, is a different skill set

all three at the same time. I’m not that great!

completely. Instead of being prescribed a lot of

I thought that there must be more I could do.

things that ﬁll up your day, you’re advising and

I was working for Disney, and they were very

guiding, slightly further away from the day-to-

supportive about getting their executives to do

day execution, but you’re trying to inﬂuence the

non-proﬁt work.

direction of where the business goes, and you’re

It’s great to receive it, but you also realise how much great work is done.

Tom Toumazis MBE will be providing the keynote address at TVBEurope 2020 on 28 June. Toumazis is chairman of TVbeat and Tagsmart and NED of the LAD Bible Group, chairman and founder of the ChildLine Board, part of the NSPCC and a member of the Charity’s National Volunteer Board. He was awarded the MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2015 for services to children

32 TVBEurope

www.tvbeurope.com June 2016

Feature

Atomised media

Object-based broadcasting is moving from the labs into production reality. The implications are profound, writes Adrian Pennington

he move to IP production is widely

“The internet works by chopping things up,

The Squeezebox concept, for example, enables

predicated on the idea that audio, video

sending them over a network and re-assembling

users to adjust the duration of a news story

and data can be split into separate

them based on audience preference or device

using a simple slider control. Using “really simple

streams and routed over the internet in various

context,” says Page. “OBB is the idea of making

machine processing” the application aims

combinations on reception. Object-based

media work like the internet.”

to assist in situations where one might need

broadcasting takes that a step further with an

to rapidly re-edit content to run to a shorter

approach that atomises the media on capture for more efﬁcient production and the creation of entirely new content experiences. It’s even got a new acronym: OBB. World leader in the concept is BBC R&D, and the backbone to its research is IP Studio.

or longer length, or need to target multiple

“As media production in general moves to IP, media itself becomes part of the internet of things” Jon Page, BBC R&D

durations from a single edit. “Trying to do that with fully bespoke editing would be impractical,” says Page. There are different levels of object deﬁnition. It can include a frame of video, a line from a

It’s a model for end-to-end broadcasting that

script or a piece of data. When created around

will allow a live studio to run entirely on IP

story arcs (such as BBC R&D Home Front, which

networks, with the infrastructure permitting exploration into OBB.

enabled users to navigate their own way The ﬁrst major demonstration of this vision

around a story using text, illustrations and audio,

was at the Commonwealth Games in 2014.

media itself becomes part of the internet

Subsequently, OBB research at the BBC has

be conceived as an object. At a more technical

of things,” explains Jon Page, BBC R&D head

spun off into all sorts of directions. An IP Studio

level, researchers involved in IP Studio talk of a

of operations.

installation is being tested at BBC Northern

“As media production in general moves to IP,

“A camera is a thing, an archive store is a

Ireland, and BBC R&D is working with BBC News

thing, so is a vision mixer and they all connected

Labs to demonstrate how production objects

over IP. IP Studio orchestrates the network so that

can be linked to new journalist tools using a

real-time collections of objects work as a media

‘linked data’ approach.

production environment.” At the heart of IP Studio is the idea that

“The idea is to see if new types of content are possible and to minimise the incremental effort

every piece of video, audio and data is given

to get more content produced,” explains Page.

a unique identiﬁer and a timestamp as soon

“Instead of laboriously creating multiple different

as it is captured or created. This allows media

versions of content as we do now, an object-

to be found and synchronised with the most

based production might be able to output more

appropriate content wherever it is needed.

content more efﬁciently.”

TVBEurope

June 2016 www.tvbeurope.com

Feature ﬂow of ‘grains’, and how this granular data

devices. To an extent, OBB can already be

Using this, it created an episode of Box Yourself in

can be made machine operable so that

rendered in HTML5 web browsers, but a fully

which viewers could learn how to make a three-

individual grains can be manipulated in a

ﬂedged version of the technology may require

dimensional cardboard chicken named Peck.

production environment.

Researchers believe that this three-

“The aim now is to link the delivery side of the IP Studio with the audience experience,” says Page. The Edinburgh Festival in August will present an opportunity for BBC teams to test IP Studio’s capture to audience presentation capability. Multi-day, multi-site

tier framework is ideal for many different

“We might investigate the future of media, but it will only happen if the industry engages to build it” Jon Page

events like this (and Glastonbury or an Olympics)

learning applications, ranging from children’s programmes to DIY instructions for grown-ups, to even more elaborate guides for the hacker and maker community.“What we’re doing now is the sort of thing I’d expect to see on stands at IBC in 2018,” adds Page.

are some of the clearest applications for a

Coming down the track is VR and AR, in

workable IP Studio, offering chances for greater

which the individual viewer’s point of view (their

coverage and viewer customisation than were

consumer electronics manufacturers to

head movement) will interact with the media

ever practical before.

onboard some sort of new OBB readable/

and change in space. This creates all sorts of

renderable software.

challenges, but one which BBC R&D has been

The ‘objects-over-IP’ approach is central to BBC R&D’s vision of a New Broadcasting System,

“Some of the more ambitious visions for

working on since developing the 3D virtual

intended to help the corporation deliver richer,

rendering different versions of complex drama

tracking system Pierro, running through its current

more customisable experiences for audiences,

starts to require the processing engines you

work in stitching together 360-degree video, and

across a range of platforms.

might associate with PCs or games devices,”

now into OBB.

The rest of the industry, of course, is only at

says Page. “We expect this sort of technology,

“Either we need to produce multiple different

the point of trying to ﬁt IP into existing

whether on the device or in the cloud, to move

versions of the same content for this future or

infrastructure, and Page admits that IP Studio

into the mainstream in a few years time.”

we capture an object once and work out how

itself is at “base camp” in terms of its ascent to mainstream production.

BBC R&D has developed an object-based,

to render it,” says Page. “This unlocks some

interactive web video player capable of

value but ultimately we need to change the

There are fellow travellers on the road

overlaying HTML5 video for conventional 2D

production methodology. OBB as an ecosystem

and, perhaps surprisingly, BT is one of them.

playback, and WebGL for the 3D elements.

that has barely begun.”

Indeed, BBC R&D is collaborating with BT on an OBB project funded by the EU programme Horizon 2020. “We might investigate the future of media, but it will only happen if the industry engages to build it,” says Page. “We can’t afford to build a global OBB system, but we can encourage others to explore its potential.” Dublin-based digital media developer Axonista has found a way to commercialise OBB by offering clients a way to introduce interactive graphical overlays to simulcasts on connected

BT investigates OBB

Object-based audio coming soon Object-based audio is far more advanced than objectbased pictures, and will feature in the live broadcasts of premium sports events this year, including Euro 2016. Dolby says its Atmos system is currently being tested by a number of broadcasters who will introduce it alongside select live events broadcast to their top tier 4K services. We are talking about two different experiences for object-based audio,” explains Rob France, senior product marketing manager, Dolby. “One is to bring more immersiveness for sports content, such as the sound of the PA and crowd, and the other is around personalisation and giving consumers more choice.” Broadcasters are apparently keen to give subscribers more choice of, for example, commentary from a neutral or team/fan perspective, different languages, a referee’s

mic, or other sounds from the game. Its system was tested in Telegenic’s T25 scanner and requires additional ceiling speakers, a plug-in for mixing consoles to monitor sound and a Dolby Digital Plus encoder. “I expect to see Dolby Atmos live to the home by the end of this year,” said France. Another system, MPEG-H, which is sponsored by Technicolor and Fraunhofer, is at a similar point of deployment. One plan is to match the object-based video, which is made possible by multiple camera feeds, with objectbased sound. This means that the direction of crowd noise, vehicles and players, traveling from left to right on the screen, for example, can be synced to the on-screen action.

“At the moment it doesn’t matter if you are watching on a 24-inch or 65-inch screen – everyone sees the same content,” says BT head of interactive TV research, Andy Gower. “We are looking at the opportunities that emerge if we treat some of the different parts of the broadcast as separate elements.” An example: One member of a family might want the leaderboard to display on their tablet rather than the TV, while another is more interested in viewing speciﬁc split times.“Keeping things separate until they arrive at the viewer’s device, rather than burning them all together, allows us to create a much more ﬂexible experience,” says Gower. BT Sport plans to make an OBB trial at Silverstone during the MotoGP series in 2017 and reportedly plans to trial an OBB experience for football fans watching a game in bars and clubs.

34 TVBEurope

www.tvbeurope.com June 2016

Feature

New challenges, new opportunities: NAB satellite round-up There can be little doubt that the role of the satellite industry is becoming increasingly pivotal in the world of broadcast. Ian McMurray reviews what the industry was doing at NAB 2016 to position itself accordingly

a legacy satellite-based network to a nextgeneration, automated hybrid satellite and terrestrial converged IP network. Also focusing on the UHD opportunity was Eutelsat, which was talking to visitors about its

he satellite industry was, inevitably, out in

demonstration channel, HVN Intelsat UHD, to

new satellites for the Americas. Eutelsat 65 West

full force at this year’s NAB – and, no less

include the Latin American region via Intelsat

A went into service at the end of April, providing

inevitably, its preoccupations reﬂected

14 located at 315˚ East, an emerging media

high power coverage of Brazil and Latin America

platform serving the region.

and bringing new capacity to 65° West, which

those to be found widely across the show ﬂoor. Like the broadcast world at large, it’s responding

“As UHD gets closer to becoming mainstream,

is already a position of reference for Brazilian

to, and supporting, a continuous evolution

there is an increased likelihood that UHD and

broadcasting. At NAB, the company was

in formats and content types. It’s seeing the

HDR technologies will be combined to provide

expecting the all-electric Eutelsat 117 West

growing fragmentation of audiences and their

an optimal immersive viewing experience,”

B satellite to be launched in the next few weeks

preferred viewing devices, and those audiences’

said Peter Ostapiuk, Intelsat’s head of media

to provide coverage of Latin America for DTH

appetite for an optimal entertainment

product services. “HVN Intelsat UHD will provide

and DTT services.

experience. And, of course, it’s readying itself

a platform for multi-channel video programming

for the proliferation of 4K/Ultra HD as the industry

distributors and cable programmers in the

talking points at NAB,” said Markus Fritz, SVP of

standard, with the added challenge of HDR.

Americas to test their content, equipment and

commercial development and marketing for

workﬂow for both technologies.”

Eutelsat. “This is of signiﬁcant interest for Eutelsat

In recognition of the increasingly integral role satellites play in the broadcast space, NAB 2016

The company was also talking about what

“The state of play of UHD is one of the big

as an early entrant into the UHD market and

featured the ﬁrst Satellite Industry Forum. A one-

it would bring to the Rio Games, claiming that

an ardent believer in its potential. Satellites are

day programme produced in partnership with

it is the ﬁrst satellite operator to provide next-

well placed to be part of the UHD ecosystem

the Satellite Industry Association, the keynote

generation high throughput satellite spot beams

as a unique platform, delivering the bandwidth

speech was delivered by Mark D. Dankberg, co-

to support occasional use at the Olympics. Its Ku-

and coverage that content producers need to maximise their audience, and that consumers

founder of ViaSat. Intriguingly, one of the topics under discussion was how satellite 4K could avoid sharing the same fate as satellite 3D. Another track discussed the growing demand from air passengers for the same entertainment experiences as they can access on the ground. SES announced that it would be working with Global Eagle Entertainment to provide further

“Whether dealing with fast news gathering or ﬁxed high-quality content exchange applications, broadcast transmission formats are continuously evolving” Hans Massart, Newtec

also depend on to ensure they are not excluded from this stepchange in viewing experience. UHD images ﬁlmed with 50 to 60fps need approximately 30Mbps to deliver a quality signal. This is a struggle with ADSL, even for short distances. It’s possible with ﬁbre, although its limited penetration to urban areas, by

signiﬁcant Ku-band capacity “to help usher in

deﬁnition, reduces the potential audience of a

the next generation connected airline passenger

premium product.” In Las Vegas, Globecast was talking about

experience across established and developing markets around the world.”

band spot beams will enable media customers

the expansion of its media management and

to gather content from the venues and transport

playout capabilities with the addition of its VoD

Blurred lines

it back to their facilities, utilising what Intelsat says

Logistics service.

Back on the show ﬂoor, NAB saw Broadpeak

are EpicNG’s high power, better economics and

responding to what the company described

simpler access via smaller terminals.

as the increasingly blurred lines between the

Taking the headache away “Going far beyond distribution, this involves

IPTV, cable and OTT worlds with a raft of new

Easy upgrade

taking away the headache of meeting the

product announcements. 4K was a focus for

Ostapiuk also noted that Intelsat is supporting

complex speciﬁcations of all the platforms

the company, as it was for Hispasat, which was

the demand for IP-based media solutions and

from our customers, helping them package

again demonstrating the UHD capability of its

multiscreen delivery, expanding its media

their content with the right metadata, subtitles,

Hispasat 30W-5 and Amazonas 2 satellites.

services with IntelsatOne Prism, a multimedia

languages and artwork, and deliver it with

networking platform and portfolio of managed

guaranteed quality,” said Peter Elvidge, head of

services that allows customers to easily upgrade

global media management at Globecast.

Intelsat and Harmonic used the occasion to announce the expansion of their linear 4K

TVBEurope

June 2016 www.tvbeurope.com

Feature

From left to right: Susan Saadat, ETL Systems; Franis Roland, Globecast; Hans Massart, Newtec; Markus Fritz, Eutelsat; Peter Elvidge, Globecast; and Peter Ostapiuk, Intelsat “VoD Logistics increases Globecast’s

than ever before and the need to exchange

don’t know, so we need to keep our options

ability to enhance content providers’

content in various, sometimes multiple, formats

open.” Unsurprisingly, therefore, the watchwords

proﬁtability by delivering efﬁcient media

across different transmission channels,” he

on the show ﬂoor were scalability, ﬂexibility,

management, distribution, monetisation and

continued, “and it is not surprising that many

upgradability and agility. Reﬂecting that thinking

contribution solutions.”

broadcasters are looking to upgrade their

was ETL Systems.

“Although linear remains the dominant format

existing infrastructures, while keeping in mind

The company was showcasing a range of

for content consumption, there’s no doubt

operational efﬁciencies and increasing cost

products for the satellite market, including its

that audiences are becoming increasingly

pressure on OPEX. Our solution aims to address

new, compact Hurricane Matrix and the StingRay

fragmented,” added Francis Rolland, the

this, and automation of end-to-end workﬂows

RF over ﬁbre links range.

company’s director, satellite and networks

over the hybrid networks is the key differentiator

and strategy.

to enable it.”

“As a result, we’re seeing greater demand for

Newtec was also showcasing a new release

“At ETL, we understand that our products must evolve with the industry, and we pride ourselves on our ﬂexibility and ability to respond

OTT services and ﬁbre/IP-based delivery. This is

of its DVB-S2X, DVB-S2, DVB-DSNG and DVB-S

quickly to customers’ requirements,” noted

either a means to augment existing services and

M6100 Broadcast Satellite Modulator, as well

Susan Saadat, VP sales (US) at ETL Systems. “The RF equipment that ETL supplies, such as

respond to consumer demand, or as a ﬂexible alternative for a new channel launch or a foray into a new region.” According to the company, what sets it apart is that a broadcaster only has to give it their content once and Globecast can deliver it to any platform or region. The challenges presented by more complex broadcast workﬂows, the introduction of new services, increased user expectations for always-

“Satellites are well placed to be part of the UHD ecosystem as a unique platform delivering the bandwidth and coverage content producers need to maximise their audience” Markus Fritz, Eutelsat

our RF switching matrices, is designed to be expandable. This means that our kit can be upgraded as teleport requirements grow, with system expansion handled seamlessly to ensure minimum downtime.”

Transitions At NAB 2016, it was clear that the satellite industry was reﬂecting the transitions currently taking place in broadcast, and clearly believes

on connectivity and pressure on efﬁciency and

it has a key role to play as it sees terrestrial

effective use of resources were also implicit in what Newtec was showing at the Las Vegas

as announcing the functionality extension of

networks struggle to keep pace with demand

Convention Center.

its MCX7000 Multi-Carrier Satellite Gateway.

for streaming linear and on-demand content.

In addition to enabling efﬁcient distribution to

The industry is already undertaking testing to

of the latest release of Newtec Dialog, which

towers and head-ends, the company says that

compare the scalability and reliability of its

the company describes as a single scalable

the MCX7000 can be deployed as a dense

offering with the more traditional approach, as

multi-service IP-based platform for MultiService

modulation solution: up to four modulators can

evidenced by another announcement from SES

BroadCast (MSBC) operations. It is based on a

be inserted in a single RU, opening the

at the show, where the company said it was

single all-IP transport layer and supports video,

door, according to Newtec, for DVB-S2X

working with the Wireless Information Network

voice, data and broadband services.

Channel Bonding.

Lab (WINLAB) at Rutgers University’s School of

Continuously evolving

An uncertain place

“Whether dealing with fast news gathering

The broadcast industry – and, by implication, the

through uncharted waters were certainly in

or ﬁxed high-quality content exchange

satellite industry – continues to be an uncertain

evidence at NAB 2016 as the broadcast market

applications, broadcast transmission formats are

place in terms of what the future might hold. How

redeﬁnes itself in response to changing consumer

continuously evolving,” explained Hans Massart,

long before 4K takes over? Is there consumer

demands and emerging technologies. But then,

market director broadcast at Newtec.

appetite for what HDR brings? Will AIMS or ASPEN

it were ever thus: from that point of view, NAB

“Add to this the pressure of getting premium

prevail – or will they co-exist? Those are just three

2016 was little different to shows past, and NAB

channels and breaking news on air faster

of the questions to which the answer is: “We

2017 promises to be no less fascinating.

Attendees were able to see a demonstration

Engineering to conduct trials. Satellite companies trying to plot a course

36 TVBEurope

www.tvbeurope.com June 2016

Post Production

Virtual vision dominates NAB There may have been fewer cameras than usual, but as expected, this year’s NAB saw the VR buzz increase and HDR settle more comfortably into the mainstream. Michael Burns reports uring NAB 2016, Adobe followed an

on VR channels from Facebook and YouTube.

grading tools through a new one-click HDR

established show tradition of revealing

After Effects users will beneﬁt from a beeﬁer

mode designed for HDR deliverables such as

the updates to video tools it will be

playback engine for video and audio previews

Dolby Vision and HDR10. Major enhancements

rolling out later in the year to its Creative Cloud

and greater application interactivity. Adobe is

to the node editor make it possible to quickly

subscribers. Premiere Pro and Adobe Media

also set to beneﬁt from support from third parties,

navigate between nodes, swap nodes, copy

Encoder are set to provide a workﬂow boost

such as project management platform ftrack,

node contents, extract nodes, use embedded

through a new Ingest Settings dialogue. As well

which is to include native integration support for

alpha channels in mattes, and select multiple

as being able to transcode during ingest, the

Creative Cloud versions of Photoshop, Premiere

nodes with a lasso to create a compound

applications will be able to copy the media

Pro and After Effects, as well as Blueﬁsh444 which

node for a grade. There’s also ResolveFX, a new

to a speciﬁc destination on a system, and let

showcased its Advanced 4K Mac OSX driver for

framework for native GPU and CPU accelerated

users begin to start editing while the footage

Premiere Pro.

effects, while a new single point tracker,

is copied in the background. Premiere Pro will

new temperature and tint sliders add to the

automatically switch to working on ingested media when the process is complete. Support for more native formats includes 6K and 8K files from Red’s Weapon camera, and a proxy workflow is also enabled for the first time.

ﬁnishing workﬂow.

‘There’s been a lot of talk about GPU acceleration of late, and the beneﬁts for post were being pushed at NAB by SGO’

Taking a lead from Adobe’s roundtrip workﬂow, Resolve 12.5 now also includes a direct live link called Fusion Connect, which lets artists send clips to Blackmagic’s Fusion VFX

Both tools will be able to generate lightweight

and compositing application, then have these

proxies on ingest (also while copying to another

updated automatically in their Resolve timeline.

destination) and allow editors to switch between native and proxy formats with one click. There are also major enhancements to the

There’s been a lot of talk about GPU Mettle’s SkyBox 360/VR transitions for Premiere

acceleration of late, and the beneﬁts for post

Pro were also unveiled at NAB. As well as ready-

were being pushed at NAB by SGO, which

Lumetri Colour tools in Premiere Pro. Secondary

made transitions such as image-based 360

announced support in Mistika 8.7 and Mamba

colour correction, to adjust and ﬁne tune speciﬁc

gradient and iris wipes, the plug-in provides X,Y

FX for the new Nvidia Quadro M6000 24GB to

colours in a scene based on HSL values, will be

start points and direction for VR storytelling.

handle large, complex ﬁles. It will come in handy

available with editor-friendly controls. Enhanced

RE:Vision Effects announced RE:Lens, an

for Mistika’s new VR ﬁnishing environment, which

Lumetri scopes give instant feedback, with new

After Effects plug-in offering tools for projection

automatically handles projection mapping

control over brightness, improved resolution, and

conversion and lens distortion correction. RE:Lens

of equirectangular content to a 360-degree

support for monitoring Rec2020 colour space.

straightens curved video captured with wide-

image-processing and ﬁnishing engine. Shapes,

There’s also new support for control surfaces,

angle and ﬁsheye lenses, such as ﬁxing footage

texts and composites can automatically warp

which gives Premiere Pro a better seat at the

shot on a GoPro in ultra-wide mode. It can also

and track across spherical projection seams

professional grading table, but this and other

convert video shot on a superﬁsh lens (220-280

and poles, while the operator can control the

new colour features again call into question the

degrees) to a LatLong format suitable for VR use,

spherical VR viewing port with a grading panel

long-term viability of Adobe Speedgrade.

or convert panoramic VR photos and videos in

tracking-ball, a newly developed GUI control or

LatLong format to normal (rectilinear) viewing,

with a VR device gyroscope.

New VR capabilities include a VR video mode within Premiere Pro, which allows users to pan,

to enable motion graphics, titles, and CG to be

tilt and click-drag stitched video material in a

added. It also reduces chromatic fringing and

gives colourists and compositors access to the

full screen preview. Adobe will also introduce

other aberrations.

same keying tools, including Mistika’s new 3D

support for equirectangular stitched video

Blackmagic Design continues to push ahead

Mistika 8.7 also introduced architecture that

Keyer point-keying system. Further updates to

media in this release and the ability to add

on all fronts. Unveiled at NAB, DaVinci Resolve

the keying systems allow for HDR keying levels,

metadata to enable full 360-degree playability

12.5 extends dynamic range support in its

part of a new ‘fourth ball’ system for grading

TVBEurope 37

June 2016 www.tvbeurope.com

Post Production HDR projects. Mistika’s Unicolour technology

bandwidth to be ‘elastically’ adapted as needs

allows users to transfer between source, grading

change. Avid said its Nexis|Pro solution would

and delivery colour spaces including linear light,

provide an upgrade path for Isis|1000 customers

SMTPE 2084, Hybrid Log Gamma, and ACES.

and will allow real-time editorial collaboration

Iray, Nvidia’s physically based rendering

between up to 24 editors and other creatives,

solution, is already available for Autodesk’s 3ds

supporting Media Composer, Premiere Pro, Apple

Max and Maya, but NAB saw the release of

Final Cut Pro X, Grass Valley Edius, or Pro Tools, as

an Iray plug-in for Maxon’s Cinema 4D. With a

well as third-party MAM systems.

‘live’ rendering capability, the plug-in provides

Also new for NAB was the G-Rack 12 from

immediate visual feedback when lighting and

G-Technology, networked attached storage

designing a scene.

that incorporates a proprietary operating

Not to be outdone, AMD launched the FirePro

system with BTRfs ﬁle system and an easy-to-use

W9100 32GB at NAB, offering 32GB memory

graphical interface. The 12-bay, expandable

support for large asset workﬂows within creative

NAS unit incorporates enterprise hard drives

applications. AMD also introduced the AMD

and is available in 48TB, 72TB, 96TB, and 120TB

FireRender plug-in for Autodesk 3ds Max, aimed

storage capacities. It utilises quad 10Gb Ethernet

at VR and enhanced 4K workﬂows and offering

connections for high-speed data transfers, with

photorealistic rendering functionality.

an expansion chassis available for expanding up

Avid is aiming to take advantage of all this increased media use with its Nexis virtualised

to another 120TB of storage. Still on the storage front, Facilis was showing

storage platform, also launched at NAB. Aimed

off 32Gbps ﬁbre channel connectivity and

at providing scalable shared storage from 20TB

12Gbps SAS SSD hardware incorporated within its

up to 1.4PB, Nexis offers a software-deﬁned

TerraBlock products, able to comfortably handle

storage architecture that allows capacity and

4K+ HFR media, claimed the company.

BBC S&PP rebrands BBC Studios and Post Production has rebranded as BBC Studioworks. The commercial subsidiary of the BBC gets a new visual identity, an enhanced website and refreshed strategic priorities and brand direction. David Conway, managing director of BBC Studioworks, said, “Quite some time ago we moved away from acting simply as a facilities and crewing provider. Productions now expect us to be a value-adding, fully collaborative partner who understands their vision and is able to bring it to life. We discovered that our customers like working with us because of our ‘make it happen’ attitude, so we have made this concept central to our brand. From implementing 24-hour post production work ﬂows to accommodating a rotating climbing wall in studio, we can cite countless examples of how we have worked with productions to make impossible things, possible.” BBC Studioworks is on track to expand its operations when it reintroduces Television Centre studios one, two and three, to the market in Spring 2017. The BBC subsidiary said the revamped site would complement its offering in Elstree and provide customers with a greater choice of studio and post production space.

2016 will see an even greater commitment from TVBEurope to cover more of the pressing areas of concern, challenge, and opportunity within our burgeoning marketplace. The biggest change for this year will be the introduction of new sections to enable us to provide greater coverage to specific business areas. Our Workflow section will now be divided into two new sections: Production, and Post Production. We will also be introducing a new Business section to follow the increasing acquisition and investment activity permeating the sector, and are also introducing a dedicated Audio section to bring regular insights and updates from an often overlooked strand of our industry. These new sections will be manned by a team of section editors.

EDITORIAL PLANNER 2016 Issue

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Feature

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12th July

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• Automation and playout • RIO 2016 Olympic production feature:

August

• IBC thought leadership insight and product preview

September

• IBC

• IBC 2016 Show issue: thought leadership insight and product showcase

19th August

12th August

October

•TVBAwards

• Audio for broadcast • IBC Best of Show Winners • IP technology

23rd September

16th September

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21st October

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November

For all advertising and sponsorship opportunities, contact the sales team: Europe Peter McCarthy: +44 (0) 20 7354 6000 pmccarthy@nbmedia.com

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38 TVBEurope

www.tvbeurope.com June 2016

Audio

Learning from the audio community The rapid rise of the Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) was one of the major stories of NAB 2016. Chairman Michael Cronk updates David Davies on the Alliance’s recent progress and ponders the speciﬁc implications for audio professionals

companies in that space? In some ways, audio leads video in terms of the adoption of various technologies [and as a result] there is a lot the broadcast world can

little less than six months

successfully to the whole industry?

has the appearance of being a

this there is a constant need to

there is still a lot of confusion around

AES67, and one of the aspects we

major industry player. Established to

communicate. There are a great

the issue of ‘what is a standard’;

are working on is determining which

promote the adoption of standards

number of organisations out there,

there is a tendency for people to

are the right operating points in the

since its formation was announced, AIMS already

I think the goals we have are clear, but with anything like

groups]. There is a common goal

learn from the audio community.

and that is interoperability.

At the moment, we see that the

One thing I would stress is that

that facilitate the shift from legacy SDI systems to IP-based operations, among them VSF TR-03 and TR04, SMPTE 2022-6 and AES67, the organisation has grown rapidly in

broadcast community is adopting

broadcast workﬂow within AES67.

‘There is still a lot of confusion around the issue of ‘what is a standard’; there is a tendency for people to throw that word around a lot’

both stature and size. At the time of

It should be noted, though, that there are things that AES67 does not cover, for example, discovery and registration, so there are several pieces of the puzzle that will need

writing, it has 21 full members listed

to be addressed.

on its website, from leading vendors

such as the VSF, EBU, SMPTE, and it

throw that word around a lot. So

such as Grass Valley, Evertz, Lawo

is entirely logical for people to ask

education is a key thing in that

being a crucial component of

and Sony, to content producers

what roles they have, and whether

regard and it’s a job that is never

broadcast’s overall IP future?

including 21st Century Fox, as well

they are competing with each

really done.

as 11 associate members.

other or working together. Hence,

The vision outlined by chairman

It can be argued that audio

But you deﬁnitely see AES67 as

Absolutely; it is written in stone in our roadmap. Of course we

at NAB we had a press conference

is somewhat further down the

are also supporting the adoption

Michael Cronk (who is also vice

with multiple organisations, and we

road when it comes to IP, and

of SMPTE 2022-6, which talks

president of core technology

have done – and will continue to do

it is a sector in which there are

about a rasterisation of SDI; SDI

at Grass Valley) is one of an

– a lot of communication about the

already plenty of organisations

has embedded audio. One of

organisation that “sits beneath”

fact that there is a synergistic type

supporting the transition, so what

our key priorities will be to work

other industry groups in supporting

of relationship [between the various

are the beneﬁts of joining AIMS for

with the standards bodies to talk

what is surely one of the most significant transitions broadcasters have faced, and which also zeroes in on the reasons for, and benefits of, audio vendor involvement. AIMS enjoyed a high profile at NAB, so how would you characterise its progress? In less than half a year we have gathered more than 30 members, including some of the main vendors in the industry, as well as broadcasters, service providers and systems integrators; so on a membership level, the progress made has been fantastic. I think the project has assisted in generating momentum for a standards-based approach; I am sure it was latent in the industry [previously], but AIMS has helped bring it to the forefront. Do you think the main objectives of AIMS have been communicated

Michael Cronk, chairman, AIMS; vice president, core technology, Grass Valley

TVBEurope

June 2016 www.tvbeurope.com

Audio about how we work, not just with uncompressed audio, but also how we deal with compressed audio

News update NBC is audio-ready for Rio

within the IP domain. We are very fortunate that we already have three members with strong audio heritages – Lawo, the Telos Alliance and Avid – although of course we welcome more to join! Finally, the million-dollar question. With NAB awash with IP-based solutions, and momentum behind the transition seeming to grow all the time, how long do you think it will be before we can write the obituary for SDI? That’s a long way off yet. Just look at the move from SD to HD and how long that took, and the fact that there is still plenty of SD usage. The same can be said of analogue. The nature of the industry is that people have to invest a lot of capital and

Gold Medalist Laura Valette of France competes in the women’s 100m hurdle ﬁnal at the Nanjing 2014 Olympic Games in China’s Jiangsu Province, 23 August 2014. (Xinhua/Liao Yujie)

expect that investment to turn around. They have to go through a lot of investment cycles before they can be said to have refreshed everything [in their technological infrastructure]. I think it will be a long

etails continue to emerge

monitoring equipment; and

I/O boxes, yielding a comprehensive

of broadcasters’ audio

Audio-Technica, which is providing

and fully redundant Hydra2 network

plans for coverage of this

microphones, broadcast headsets

to provide signal management and

and monitor headphones.

full control across MADI and Dante.

year’s Olympic Games in Brazil, with

time before SDI disappears, and I

NBC Sports Group NBC Olympics

Console giant Calrec will also

am sure in ten years’ time you will

proving particularly forthcoming

have a notable presence as part

in the NBC audio facilities thanks to

be able to walk into most facilities

about its infrastructure.

of the NBC set-up, with no fewer

the selection of the manufacturer’s

and ﬁnd SDI there somewhere.

Among those vendors whose

than four Artemis and three Summa

VSM Broadcast Control and

equipment will see heavy usage

desks supplied to provide full audio

Monitoring solution.

great deal that we can do to

over the summer months are:

mixes for the coverage. Speciﬁc

promote the beneﬁts of IP for users

RTS, which is providing broadcast

deployments include three 40-fader

system for NBC Olympics’ core

– notably agility, ﬂexibility, cable

intercom products; Linear Acoustic,

Artemis consoles to be stationed at

routing and tally management,

reduction and remote production

whose UPMAX v4 units have

NBC ﬂy-pack venues for coverage

connecting to multiple third party

opportunities – as well as the new

been chosen for audio upmixing;

of sports including basketball,

devices on an IP backbone and

business opportunities that it opens

Tektronix, which is supplying

cycling, triathlon and diving.

utilising 80 LBP and 80 GUI-based

up for the industry.

audio and video test and quality

In addition, Calrec is supplying 26

VSM panels.

In the meantime, there is a

Lawo will also be well represented

VSM will be the overall control

Conference 8 – 12 September : Exhibition 9 – 13 September RAI, Amsterdam

IBC2016 Conference: Transformation in the Digital Era Leadership, strategy and creativity in media and entertainment Reimagined for 2016, don’t miss 300+ thought-leading speakers exploring a new era of consumers, data and technology

Content and Production Challenging the Latest Trends

Advances in Technology Charting the Course of Emerging Technology

Platform Futures Exploring the Age of Consumer Choice

Audiences and Advertising Winning the Viewer with Analytics, Engagement and Monetisation

Business Transformations Implementing New Technology

Big Screen Experience Mapping Out the Future of Cinema

r e t is

#IBCShow

.o C IB

eg r / rg

TVBEurope

June 2016 www.tvbeurope.com

Data Centre

IPTV leads pay-TV race in 2016 Anaemic growth in traditional telecoms service lines is expected in 2016, with internet, technology and IT ﬁrms continuing to be a disruptive force, writes Eulalia Marín-Sorribes, senior analyst at Pyramid Research

market, as it concentrates nearly 52 per cent of the IPTV subscriptions worldwide. In relative terms, however, Western Europe will be the region where IPTV experiences the strongest uptake. In 2015, IPTV overtook cable as the most

here will be one billion pay-TV connections

we expect the number of pay-TV subscribers to

popular pay-TV technology and we expect

worldwide at the end of 2016, taking total

decline by nearly one per cent in 2016. We do

it will account for 36 per cent of all the pay-

household penetration to 50 per cent,

not expect, however, that the increasing uptake

TV connections in the region by year-end

according to the latest pay-TV forecast from

of OTT services in Western, Central and Eastern

2016. Growth has been mainly driven by IPTV

Pyramid Research.

Europe will translate into disconnections: the ‘cord

connections sold as part of ﬁbre-based triple-

cutting’ phenomenon will be, for now, conﬁned to

and quad-play bundles. This trend has been

the US market.

particularly strong in countries like France and

In absolute terms, the Asia Paciﬁc region will be the biggest contributor, providing 62 per cent of new pay-TV subscriptions worldwide, while

Spain, where, over the last several years, telecom

Africa and the Middle East will emerge as the

operators such as Orange and Telefónica have

‘In 2016 the number of paid-for IPTV subscriptions will expand by 14 per cent’

fastest-growing region, with pay-TV subscriptions expanding at double-digit levels (12 per cent) to 58 million at year end. Growth in Latin America will slow to 5.2 per cent,

been aggressively investing in FTTH/B rollouts. In these two countries, IPTV subscriptions are expected to account for 77 per cent and 57 per cent of the total pay-TV subscriptions respectively

reﬂecting the challenging economic conditions

by the end of 2016.

in Brazil, Venezuela and Argentina. Meanwhile,

The rapid advance of IPTV technology in

Central, Eastern, and Western Europe will expand

Western Europe is taking its toll over DTH/satellite,

below the global average as their pay-TV markets

IPTV will be the fastest-growing pay-TV technology

with subscriber growth slowing down from two

reach higher levels of maturity, and traditional

in 2016, well ahead of DTH satellite and cable; the

per cent in 2015 to just below one per cent,

pay-TV offerings enter into greater competition

number of paid-for IPTV subscriptions will expand

projected for 2016.

with global OTT video platforms such as Netﬂix.

by 14 per cent, reaching 167 million worldwide.

The streaming service launched in Spain,

Cable technology has also been affected by

Nevertheless, at a global level, the total weight of

the popularisation of IPTV technology, although in

Italy and Portugal in late 2015 and is expected

IPTV connections will remain small, at just 15 per

a less intense way as, like telcos, cable operators’

in Central and Eastern Europe during 2016. This

cent of total pay-TV subscriptions.

growth strategies also rely strongly on the

trend has already been observed in the US, where

Asia Paciﬁc will continue to be the largest IPTV

promotion of multi-play service bundles.

PAY-TV SUBSCRIPTIONS BY TECHNOLOGY, WESTERN EUROPE, 2016

PAY-TV SUBSCRIPTIONS BY TECHNOLOGY, 2015-2020 IPTV

DTT

MMDS/LMDS

DTH/satellite

Cable

1.4

33%

36%

Cable DTH/satellite DTT/DVB-T IPTV

2% 29%

Subscription (billions)

1.2 1.0 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0.0

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Source: Pyramid Research

42 TVBEurope

www.tvbeurope.com June 2016

Data Centre

Rethinking subscriber management By Bhavesh Vaghela, chief marketing ofﬁcer at Paywizard

proactive, transparent and ﬂexible approach

concern for one SVoD service’s pricing being

to customer service.

phrased as ‘from £6.99’, and were more trusting of packaging options that contained clarity on

Pay-OTT excites the eyes and the wallet

pricing impact. People expected simple pricing

he battle for the hearts of pay-TV

There was a high level of general interest in pay-

gives you. Flat-rate pricing, with no prospect of

subscribers is in full swing. In almost every

OTT as a new, exciting way of viewing content.

hidden charges, was mentioned often.

region, the number of subscription-based

For many, however, SVoD in particular was part

pay-TV services across cable, satellite and

of a desire to ﬁnd a cheaper option to bundled

Sign-up should be simple

recently via OTT delivery has increased tenfold

content packaging from pay-TV providers. It

Joiners expected registration to take only ‘a

in the last decade. Amid this competitive

was clear that word of mouth about a particular

couple of minutes’, and shouldn’t require

landscape, high rates of churn are forcing

programme such as House of Cards and

excessive information to be entered. Payment

operators to dramatically rethink their approach

Breaking Bad often drove the user to investigate

options should include credit card, direct debit

to subscriber management.

the service and join. However, it was equally

and online services such as Paypal.

tiers, with a clear account of what each option

striking that the overall consumer experience was

‘Providing a great customer experience from the early moments is critical for operators’

important in selecting and staying with services.

Flexibility Services were praised for having monthly

Offers and deals are a necessity

non-contract billing. Flexibility without contract

Many of the groups had received enticement

‘lock-in’ was seen as reassuring, with Netﬂix

from an online offer; Amazon was mentioned

seen as a good example. Amazon Prime raised

frequently for offering deals to join its Prime

some concern for requiring an upfront year-long

service. A trial period was perceived as a vital

payment. Some questioned this, as it raised

In March 2016, Paywizard commissioned research

component, as it allows the user to experience

doubts about the ease of cancelling.

experts Decipher to conduct nine focus groups

the content range ﬁrst hand. It was felt to remove

in the UK and US to explore consumer attitudes

the barriers to entry by a signiﬁcant margin,

Accessibility

to subscription video on-demand (SVoD) services

and many respondents commented that they

There was an expectation for the service to be

and what factors affect their propensity to churn

would not have joined their service had a trial

highly accessible and supportive of a variety of

or stay loyal. Among the learnings that surfaced

not been available.

hardware, and the TV was seen as an important device for support. As one subscriber mentioned,

were two standout ﬁndings. Firstly, consumers

“I tend to watch Sky in the front room on the big

and out of, and desire the ability to easily leave

New subscribers value onboarding assistance

and come back when the time suits. Secondly,

Many commented that SVoD services could

highlights how customer service and experience

customer service and experience are emerging

do more in their initial engagement efforts to

can help deﬁne the difference between a

as new and powerful differentiators between

acquaint new subscribers with the service. As

struggling challenger and a ﬂourishing TV service

pay-TV services, since this superior treatment

one recent ‘package changer’ commented: “I

provider. Consumers are hailing efforts from

and level of support is vital for tempting back

had no help when I initially subscribed to Netﬂix,

providers like Netﬂix, which is enhancing its

subscribers and keeping them loyal.

but then I found out that the US version takes you

support services to build trust from the word go.

see SVoD services as entertainment to dip in

Since high rates of churn are forcing operators

through a whole orientation and helps you reﬁne

TV and Netﬂix in bed on my tablet.” The research

Looking at great brands beyond the TV world

to increase the volume of new subscribers to

your interests for the recommendations. That’s a

like Apple, Virgin, Tencent, and Google, the

generate a longer term and stable subscriber

great starting point.”

key unifying factor is that they attempt to understand their customers and respond in a

community, providing a great customer experience from the early moments is critical.

Honesty and transparency

way that works within the constraints of their

The research unearthed a number of key factors

Prospective joiners valued honesty and

respective markets. This ethos is fundamental

which inﬂuence consumers’ decisions to sign

transparency, right from their initial investigation

for operators who want to create and maintain

up, many of which are necessitated by a

of a service. Prospective joiners expressed

loyalty from their audience.

There are eight critical decision moments when consumers interact with a TV service. How a service provider shows up, behaves and responds at each decision moment significantly influences the consumer’s decision to subscribe or continue to subscribe

year t x e n in ga a u o y e e S in Amsterdam.

A joint venture partnership of