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Business, insight and intelligence for the media and entertainment industry
June 2015
NAB retrospective
Satellite | Audio | M&A
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TVBEurope 3
June 2015 www.tvbeurope.com
EDITORIAL Executive Editor - James McKeown jmckeown@nbmedia.com Editor - Melanie Dayasena-Lowe mdayasena-lowe@nbmedia.com Senior Staff Writer - Holly Ashford hashford@nbmedia.com NewBay Media, 1st Floor, Suncourt House, 18-26 Essex Road, London N1 8LN, England +44 207 354 6002 Contributors - Chris Forrester, David Fox, David Davies, Dick Hobbs, John Ive, George Jarrett, Adrian Pennington, Philip Stevens, Catherine Wright, Ian McMurray Head of Digital - Tim Frost Human Resources & Office Manager - Lianne Davey Head of Design - Jat Garcha Editorial Production Manager - Dawn Boultwood Senior Production Executive - Alistair Taylor Publisher - Steve Connolly sconnolly@nbmedia.com +44 207 354 6000 Sales Manager - Ben Ewles bewles@nbmedia.com +44 207 354 6000 Account Manager - Richard Carr rcarr@nbmedia.com +44 207 354 6000 Managing Director - Mark Burton US Sales - Michael Mitchell Broadcast Media International, PO Box 44, Greenlawn, New York, NY 11740 mjmitchell@broadcast-media.tv +1 (631) 673 0072 Japan and Korea Sales - Sho Harihara Sales & Project, Yukari Media Incorporated sho@yukarimedia.com +81 6 4790 2222 Fax: +81 6 4793 0800
Welcome
The strategic balance of work and life From the pace of Vegas to the peace of Wuppertal I am very fond of executive interviews. I have always
As I mention in the article,
been keen to understand how companies operate,
the blurred lines of work
how strategies are defined, how philosophies are
and life are common to
born. Much of that rests with those at the helm of
such creators: those who
the boardroom, with responsibility thrust into the
give birth to enterprise and
hands of the chief executive. Despite my fondness
position their livelihoods
for this series of features, it doesn’t go unnoticed that
around the consequences.
tête-à-têtes of this manner are often of a familiar
It requires balance and
prototype: strategy, growth, trends…you get the
it requires the bravery to
picture. Hardly ever do they naturally trickle over into what we would deem as ‘real life’, and almost never do they touch on ‘life’ itself. That’s why I found my trip to the German
embrace risk. Riedel’s position on all of this is well worth reading. Elsewhere this issue, we continue our MAM Leaders’ Series coverage with part two of
town of Wuppertal to spend time at the Riedel
our write up from March’s roundtable, held in
Circulation NewBay Media, Sovereign Park, Lathkill Street, Market Harborough, LE16 9EF, UK
Communications HQ with its eponymous founder
association with Avid. We also reflect on NAB
such a refreshing experience. We discussed
2015, and what there was to learn from the worlds
Free subscriptions tvbe.subscriptions@c-cms.com Subscriptions Tel +44 1580 883848
strategy, and growth, and milestones, and all of
of satellite, audio for broadcast, and the M&A
the things typical of a discussion with a brand’s
landscape. Mergers and acquisitions is also the
driving force, but the underlying context was
subject of Joshua Stinehour’s article in our Opinion
one of perspective, of understanding business’
and Analysis section, as he goes into detail on
place in the much grander tapestry of...without
some of the most recent business transactions.
TVBEurope is published 12 times a year by NewBay Media, 1st Floor, Suncourt House, 18-26 Essex Road, London, N1 8LN, England NewBay Media is a member of the Periodical Publishers Association
sounding all gushy and arty-farty…life. It was a human conversation with a human
Finally, we’re gearing up for TVBEurope Strategy Week, taking place from 29 June to 3 July 2015. We
being, and it was humbling to hear the story of this
now have a number of events confirmed for the
company’s foundation and fruition being delivered
week, and you can find more details on page 25 of
© NewBay Media 2015. 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.
in such an emotionally charged, and passionate
this issue. Be sure to book your tickets for the week’s
fashion. After all, Thomas Riedel is an entertainer at
centrepiece conference, TVBEurope 2020.
Allow 8 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
heart, and the feature interview on page 26 tracks
Printing by Pensord Press, Tram Road, Pontllanfraith, Blackwood NP12 2YA
great insight into the entrepreneurial mindset.
his journey from magician to entrepreneur. It’s a
I hope to see you at BAFTA. James McKeown Executive Editor
4 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com June 2015
In this issue
26
It’s a kind of magic
James McKeown flies out to Wuppertal, Germany for a heart to heart with magician-turned-DJ-turned-entrepreneur Thomas Riedel, the founder and CEO of Riedel Communications
12
Leaders continue MAM discussion
Melanie Dayasena-Lowe picks up the discussion in part two of our coverage of the MAM Leaders’ Series roundtable event at The Shard in central London, held in association with Avid
31
NAB retrospective
Ian McMurray, David Davies, and Russell Grute report from this year’s NAB Show 2015, exploring the latest from the worlds of satellite, audio for broadcast, and M&A activity
8 Opinion and Analysis
23 TVBEverywhere
Mergers and acquisitions: a sector analysis. Joshua Stinehour, principal analyst at Devoncroft Partners, provides a detailed insight of the industry’s recent business transactions
Holly Ashford reports from April’s TV Connect in London, where the talk centred on the future of hybrid OTT services
Communications forum From beltpacks to digital matrix technology, comms covers a wide range of products and innovations. Philip Stevens moderates this month’s forum with experts from the sector
42
16 An Olympic undertaking
48 Data Centre
Adrian Pennington reports on the International Olympic Committee’s digitisation of its vast audio visual archive
Will Big Data save the broadcast industry? Niko Waesche, global lead of the media and entertainment industry at Gfk, finds out
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6 TVBEurope
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Opinion and Analysis
The LTE alternative LTE technology alters the competitive landscape for delivering broadcast services to consumers, writes Olivier Lafontaine, director of strategy and product management, Technicolor
better positioned to take advantage of LTE-TTH than traditional broadcasters. But in classic ‘if you cannot beat them, join them’ fashion, many broadcasters are already making major moves to adopt and add OTT models of operation for their own purposes. LTE-TTH may just be another reason to continue, or accelerate, this shift.
LTE accelerates NSPs’ search for content partners
L
TE is becoming a crucial topic for the broadcast
For NSPs in general, and pure-play mobile
industry as the fight to protect market share
operators in particular, the adoption of LTE-
in an increasingly competitive environment
TTH strategies may require a fundamental
heats up. As a result, the broadcast sector is actively
re-evaluation of the kinds of business and
exploring the possibilities of using LTE services to
technology relationships needed to meet the
deliver new offerings to mobile consumers. Beyond
extremely high expectations of consumers who
the mobile play, however, LTE is also introducing new
demand high-quality entertainment services.
competitive dynamics for delivering entertainment
It is not enough to just provide connectivity from
services to the home, by adding a new alternative
the central office to the home. NSPs will have to
to cable, fibre, DSL and satellite services.
carefully think through the experience consumers
To be successful in this environment, broadcasters
will have to manage inside their homes. Most
will have to review the way their current customers access programming, and make sure that plans are in place to hold on to a viewership that expects their content to move seamlessly from at-home flatscreen TVs to an array of portable devices, as well as from their home environments to any place they want – or need – to be.
consumers will be unable to distinguish problems
‘It may well be that the internet-friendly OTT providers are better positioned to take advantage of LTE-TTH than traditional broadcasters’
In short, LTE technology is not just a mobile
originating in the wireless local-area network (LAN) from those originating in the wireless wide-area network (WAN). Thus, operators must do what satellite, cable, DSL and fibre service providers have done – which is to take responsibility for offering customer service assistance and technical support across both environments.
entertainment opportunity for broadcasters: it may
There is a continuum of bandwidth that must
play a critical role in serving a core market of
business models because consumers will have
be managed in order to maintain a continuum
at-home consumers.
new ways to access high-quality content. This
of quality as traffic crosses Wi-Fi and LTE networks
could create headaches for broadcasters that do
at consumers’ homes. Also, within the home,
not figure out how to feed programming through
attention must be paid to antenna design and
new LTE channels.
management to ensure maximum performance
Accessing an untapped household market According to analysts at ABI Research, some
This explains why a number of forward-
and service availability. The right equipment
1.26 billion households do not have DSL, cable,
thinking broadcasters were represented at this
and technical expertise has to be in place and
or fibre optic broadband. As a result, fixed and
year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona to
effectively applied to deliver a consistent and
mobile telcos are looking for LTE to close that
review an early demonstration of LTE Broadcast
positive consumer experience.
broadband access gap. As we closed 2014, the
technology from Technicolor and Ericsson. While
research firm estimates that 14.5 million residential
this particular technology is not yet ready for the
Conclusion
and commercial premises used LTE technology as
kind of on-demand consumption that consumers
The era of consumer choice over how to access
the primary vehicle for broadband access. By 2019,
clearly want, it is now evident that the bandwidth
rich content experiences has never been more
that figure could go as high as 123 million.
capabilities offered by LTE are evolving rapidly to
exciting. New developments in LTE technology
support broadcast quality traffic. It therefore offers
are making it possible to deliver a growing
the-Home (LTE-TTH), network service providers
great promise to the future for seamless delivery
portfolio of entertainment services to devices
(NSPs) are exploring new enhancements to
of entertainment services across the spectrum of
across LTE and Wi-Fi environments. Beyond
specifically optimise their wireless infrastructures for
home-based and mobile devices.
addressing the unserved broadband access
In addition to the emergence of LTE-to-
entertainment services. For instance, LTE Broadcast
Broadcasters who are not already doing so may
market, LTE-TTH also raises the prospect of new
technology is being honed to distribute content,
want to explore new business relationships with
alternatives for consumers who may not be
such as live events and media, to a wide audience
operators of LTE-TTH infrastructures, and work out
happy with current cable, fibre, DSL or satellite
at home and on the go. These technology and
what – if any – technical adjustments (such as
providers. The specifics of how these new
market developments are increasingly seen by
compression to handle next generation content
technological and competitive dynamics play
NSPs – especially pure-play mobile operators – as a
like UHD, HDR, etc) may need to be made so that
out remain to be seen. However, it seems clear
very attractive new market and revenue stream.
high-quality programming can be delivered via LTE.
that the broadcast community will be well served
For broadcasters, these developments are disruptive. LTE may represent a threat to existing
From a competitive standpoint, it may well be that the internet-friendly OTT providers are
to take a comprehensive and integrated look at the impact LTE will have on their business.
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8 TVBEurope
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Opinion and Analysis
M&A activity A sector review By Joshua Stinehour, principal analyst at Devoncroft Partners
Being a privately owned company opens up for accelerated growth opportunities through, amongst others, future acquisitions that support our long-term strategy.” Two observations for each of these transactions inform an analysis of M&A in the sector. First, M&A is viewed as necessary to augment the growth strategies of each organisation. Second, the management teams of both ChyronHego and Vizrt believe growth
economic scale of operations. A review
strategies are preferable to execute as a
of recent M&A transactions highlights
private company.
these topics.
Beginning with the second observation, small public companies reside in an unenviable
Public to private
twilight, enduring all the expense and
ergers and acquisitions (M&A) is a
Occurring within a week of each other during
responsibility of a public market listing, while
popular topic in the media technology
November 2014, broadcast graphics suppliers
enjoying few of the benefits.
sector. Announced transactions lend
Vizrt and ChyronHego both announced
M
Public market investors are interested in large,
themselves to speculation on the motives of
going-private transactions, where a private
cash generating businesses and small companies
the buyers and sellers, along with the outcome
equity sponsor purchased a majority of the
with exceptional growth. This is the cold reality.
of a given combination – and there has been
outstanding share equity to remove the
Great technology, high-profile customers,
much to discuss.
respective companies from the public markets.
best-in-class customer service, and a host of
Scandinavian private equity firm Nordic Capital
other beneficial sale points do not factor into
Valuation Report confirm there were a record
closed its acquisition of Vizrt on 19 March 2015,
the public market investor decision unless and
number of transactions in the sector for each
and San Francisco-based Vector Capital
until it manifests in sustained cash generation or
of the successive calendar years 2012, 2013,
closed its acquisition of ChyronHego on 6
exceptional levels of growth.
and 2014. The heightened levels of activity
March 2015. Part of the stated rationale for
Vizrt achieved record full year 2014 revenue of
reflect practical business realities confronted
both transactions was an ability to support
$141.5 million, and ChyronHego was anticipating
by executives in the sector including a limited
future add-on acquisitions. In the case of Vizrt,
reaching a 2014 sales level of $59.0 million, which
market for initial public offerings, mature
CEO Martin Burkhalter told Devoncroft Partners,
would have represented 24 per cent year-over-
growth levels in many market segments, and
“Nordic Capital is very committed to support
year growth.
the challenge of achieving an appropriate
our growth strategy going forward.
Figures from the IABM DC Global Market 1
Even though both vendors are large and well known in the sector, this level of annual revenue is small for institutional investors. Though both companies were generating strong levels of revenue growth versus market growth rates, this level of growth was similarly not compelling for the public markets. In the spring of 2014, Vizrt traded at EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest Depreciation and Amortisation) valuation levels of approximately eight times (to enterprise value), while at the same time the broader NASDAQ traded at EBITDA levels of approximately 15 times. While not aligned with public market investor preferences, there is direct alignment with the investment preferences of private equity firms such as Nordic Capital, Vector Capital and many others. These organisations exist – in many respects – to profit from the market inefficiency for technology vendors of a given size and growth profile. Private equity firms are not providing a public service; these are savvy commercial entities seeking investment returns. One recent example is Telestream’s acquisition by GenStar Capital in January 2015. Telestream had been owned by
Our systems team has built over 50 Outside Broadcast vehicles in the last ďŹ ve years. #justsaying
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10 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com June 2015
Opinion and Analysis
Source: Devoncroft 2014 Big Broadcast Survey
Vendors: Sales executives on M&A – the seller’s perspective
Operational scale
private equity firm Thoma Bravo since December 2011. Rumours suggesting an expedited sale at depressed levels were without substance. Speaking at a 2015 NAB Show briefing, Telestream CEO Dan Castle stated in unambiguous terms, “Thoma Bravo achieved more than the firm’s investment return goals with Telestream in less than the firm’s typical holding period.”
‘While M&A is not always the most appropriate step for a technology vendor, in the current industry environment there are strong rationales for including M&A in strategic planning’
There are financial merits from M&A activity beyond supporting growth initiatives. On the day before the 2015 NAB Show, Avid Technology announced its planned acquisition of Orad Technology. A review of the transaction announcement showcases the tremendous cost synergies and the related, tangible benefits achieved from greater operational scale.
Constrained growth
On an annual basis, Orad Technology was spending 34 per cent of its revenue on sales
Returning to the observation of growth strategies benefiting from add-on acquisitions, despite every
to add to its product portfolio. Ross Video has
and marketing expense. Investors would
management team’s best efforts not every vendor
acquired seven businesses since 2012 to help
expect a substantially lower figure for a business
can grow faster than the market. In this way, every
enable its 21st, 22nd, and now 23rd consecutive
operating at appropriate scale. By contrast,
vendor’s growth rates are constrained by the
years of growth. NEP’s worldwide fleet has grown
Avid Technology is spending a figure closer to
growth of the underlying market segments. During
to over 110 HD outside broadcast units in part from
25 per cent of revenue on sales and marketing
the annual IABM breakfast at the recent NAB
completing 12 (not a typo) acquisitions since 2012.
expense. Avid and Orad attend the same
Show, IABM CEO Peter White provided excerpts
Ericsson has used a series of M&A transactions to
global trade shows and have overlapping
from the latest IABM DC Global Market Valuation
create one of the larger businesses in the sector,
sales initiatives focused on targeting the same
report on product category growth rates. In
with acquisitions ranging from cloud technology
potential customers. Avid’s management has
aggregate, product revenue in the sector was
provider Fabrix to large managed services provider
communicated a conservative figure of annual
actually slightly negative for the calendar years
Red Bee Media. The precedent Harris Broadcast
savings of approximately $5 million. Expressed
2012 through 2014. Management teams desiring
division was the accumulation of more than 40
in terms of the deal valuation, Avid purchased
material levels of growth will therefore either need
M&A transactions, and the subsequent Imagine
Orad at an EBITDA valuation of approximately
to take market share from competitors or expand
Communications has augmented its solution
seven and a half times, but when accounting
into higher growth market segments.
offering with four separate acquisitions over the
for expected cost synergies this figure is more
past 18 months. Belden built its now largest division
accurately restated to six times. Eliminating these
M&A transactions to accelerate organic initiatives.
– broadcast – through successive acquisitions of
overlapping sales and marketing functions is a
Blackmagic Design has completed five acquisitions
Telecast, Miranda, and Grass Valley.
proverbial ‘free lunch’.
Many vendors have successfully leveraged
TVBEurope 11
June 2014 www.tvbeurope.com
Opinion and Analysis Cost synergies are especially acute in the media
for including M&A in strategic planning. And in
for vendors to reach more appropriate levels
technology sector given the relative size of the
the aggregate, there is every expectation of
of scale, and the desire from executives to
vendors, global profile of customers, and long sales
continued heightened activity since primary
accelerate growth strategies.
cycle associated with large solution purchasers.
catalysts persist including the inability to generate
A simple but powerful example of the synergies
investment from public equity markets, the need
Ref: DC Global Market Valuation Report1
achieved through M&A was seen on the 2015 NAB show floor. For example, the Grass Valley (Belden) booth at NAB 2015 was 9,900sqft. Contrasted against the booth space at the NAB Show ten years earlier (2005), all the precedent firms acquired by the now Grass Valley represented just under 32,000 square footage of exhibition space. This is a reduction of nearly 75 per cent. This single sales and marketing synergy,
Works here, here, and there
which represents only a small percentage of total spend by industry vendors at large trade shows, was on the order of $1 million (based on the current price per square foot at the NAB Show). The point is ‘bigger’ works for global sales, marketing, and support operations.
Motivation Many may find it surprising that the number one motivation of selling executives is, in fact, the desire to obtain access to a greater sales and distribution infrastructure. Devoncroft Partners’ annual Big Broadcast Survey of the media technology sector, which includes many of the readers of TVBEurope, has asked senior executives at technology vendors about the rationale behind M&A activity. Responses from senior executives making the decision to seek a company sale are depicted in Figure 1.
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In both 2013 and 2014, the principal reason
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cited for engaging in a company sale initiative was to obtain access to greater sales, marketing, and distribution resources. Having developed
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and matured technology solutions, it is a natural evolution for a business to become part of a
Expansive wireless coverage far and wide. 1.9GHz and 2.4GHz beltpacks and antennas can co-operate in the same system. Continuous 18 hours of talk time. Every whisper heard over digitally-crisp audio. Water and dust resistant for mobile/outdoor productions. These are just a few of PDQ\ EHQHĆWV RI )UHH6SHDN ,,
large entity to accelerate customer adoption. Even if you have a demonstrably better technology solution, this is of no consequence if a vendor does not possess the sales and marketing organisation to reach customers, or
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the professional service and support organisation to manage a global footprint of customers. In the press release announcing the Avid-Orad transaction, Avi Sharir, CEO and president of Orad, made this very point: “Avid’s global scale and distribution network provide significant opportunities for customer support, growth and market expansion.”
2.4GHz 1.9GHz
M&A rationale While M&A is not always the most appropriate step for a technology vendor, in the current industry environment there are strong rationales
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12 TVBEurope
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in association with
The MAM debate continues Melanie Dayasena-Lowe picks up the discussion in part two of our coverage of the MAM Leaders’ Series roundtable event at The Shard in central London, held in association with Avid. Jeremy Bancroft leads the discussion that includes Anil Chaman, manager of technology at Al Jazeera English Language Channel; Paul Clennell, CTO, dock10; Francesco Donato, VP broadcast operations, Sky Deutschland; Craig Dwyer, senior director, Global Center of Excellence, Avid; Tom Evetts, regional sales director, northern Europe, Avid; Rod Fairweather, senior director of infrastructure and media technology, Viacom; Jouni Frilander, portfolio manager, media systems technology and development at Yle; Kevin McCue, senior manager of technical operations for Sky Post Production; David Shield, senior vice president, global director of engineering and technology, IMG Sports Media; Kjeld Skovlund, head of TV projects and deputy manager, TV 2 Denmark; Chris Whatmore, MAM product owner and senior business analyst, Sky
C
ontinuing the discussion on security, Anil Chaman, manager of technology at Al Jazeera English Language Channel,
highlighted that assets are the most valuable part
The London skyline provided a dramatic backdrop to the day’s discussion
of his business. “That’s what we produce and make and that’s what costs a lot of money. Security and trust are key, which is why we’re not into the cloud and won’t be for the foreseeable future.” But what about secure services from a dedicated supplier, asked moderator Jeremy Bancroft? For instance, he cited trusted suppliers like Signiant and Aspera, which are used for transporting content around the world. TV 2 Denmark’s head of TV projects and deputy manager Kjeld Skovlund believes it goes in two directions. “Using cloud services is a question of functionality and price. I don’t have an issue with relying on Aspera. Moving into the cloud, whatever we all do, can be done by one company in the cloud because that is all they do. “On the other hand, where I see the role of my staff in the future is to understand the business processes within our facility and be able to reflect on new wishes and changes in the
IMG’s David Shield offers his perspective
“We write our requirements or specifications and we have a manufacturer who wants to deliver this project. I want a basic functionality that can grow with me and my company and then have a working relationship with that manufacturer” Kjeld Skovlund, TV 2 Denmark
TVBEurope 13
June 2015 www.tvbeurope.com
in association with
organisation and production. That has to change over a few weeks and we’ve tried a number of manufacturers who say we can change our processes in a quick way but usually it takes two to five months. We need it to take two to five weeks,” he remarked. The conversation then moved on to how the industry looks for the right product and manufacturer. Bancroft posed the question: “When we go out and specify what we need, whether it be MAM or production platforms, we’re gathering information from our users and stakeholders and people driving that line of business. We write a list of requirements and typically people go out to the market and say ‘we want you to do this’. Is that the right approach?” Skovlund believes this is where the industry needs to change. “We write our requirements or specifications and we have a manufacturer who wants to deliver this project. I want a basic functionality that can grow with me and my company and then have a working relationship with that manufacturer.”
Sky Deutschland’s Francesco Donato
14 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com June 2015
in association with
At Viacom, Fairweather admitted that there isn’t one application that does everything it needs. “We have chosen to separate workflow from asset management as much as possible. We deliver to 100 different platforms. I don’t want to be tied in to one supplier. You end up with a multi-layered workflow environment. It gives us the ability to build workflows quickly and still have the granular control to do what we want.” “So, does that mean every major media enterprise needs a significant developer department to keep itself ticking over?” asked Bancroft. Fairweather agreed since Viacom has a developer pool, which it uses to create social media interactions on screen such
Sky Post Production’s Kevin McCue enters the animated debate Rod Fairweather, senior director of infrastructure and media technology for Viacom, said: “I’m looking at MAM as an infrastructure rather than application and it’s a fundamentally different way of looking at it.” With reference to terminology, Avid’s Craig Dwyer, senior director, Global Center of Excellence, said: “When you look at MAM more as a utility or more generic it makes more sense than when you try to apply it to a specific business or operational use.” Fairweather added that when basing MAM on today’s absolute needs, by the time it is delivered it will be out of date and won’t service the necessary requirements. “We really need to look at it as a much more agile platform that allows us to add or take things away. That’s
Rod Fairweather delivers Viacom’s insight
the kind of flexibility we need to be building-in. We need to understand it from an operational, engineering and business point of view.” Sky’s Chris Whatmore, MAM product owner and senior business analyst, said the model isn’t too different from the traditional method of buying a studio from a systems integrator rather than a manufacturer if you want to do it yourself. “As this becomes more mature, one would
“I’m looking at MAM as an infrastructure rather than application and it’s a fundamentally different way of looking at it” Rod Fairweather, Viacom
hope you get better interoperability and
Central channels. Bancroft asked if it involves a different level of development compared to developing infrastructure. Fairweather would argue that it’s not that far different. “Our developers don’t necessarily understand a huge deal about TV but at the developer level you need to be quite precise about what you need them to do. Our
adopt that model again.” Bancroft returned to the question of how to
as Twitter battles on its MTV and Comedy
developers are less TV specialists; they’re closer this for us?’ Is that really the right approach?
to being proper developers. Our workflow
specify what is needed. “Should we come up
Or should we pick something we think has
engineers have much more of an idea of how
with a list of huge requirements and expectations
capabilities and ask what it can do? Do I have
the whole TV operation works: i.e. where the likes
and go to these vendors and say ‘will you build
to adapt what I do?”
of compliance and QC sit.”
TVBEurope 15
June 2015 www.tvbeurope.com
in association with
industry we used to have cameramen who
During the time Chaman was working at Channel 4, the broadcaster developed its own scheduling system. “It was almost like a proof of concept. There weren’t manufacturers out there making automation systems so we decided to do it ourselves,” he commented. Although IMG Sports Media doesn’t have a development team yet, David Shield, senior vice president, global director of engineering and
“Don’t listen to too many people. Choose carefully who you listen to for those requirements when building out your workflow, otherwise you won’t get the full benefit of what you’re trying to achieve” Chris Whatmore, Sky
spent years training to be a cameraman, but now the moment you leave college you’re a cameraman, soundman, producer. Training people on how to use a tripod, focus, frame, expose, etc, is hard enough. To then train people to the next level of data entry is very difficult. We absolutely need to automate things as much as possible. We know there are
technology, said his company is moving in that
tools that are going to help with that such as
direction. “We’ve just made a very bold step of
language recognition, speech detection, and shape recognition. It’s the reason we need
moving our whole separate broadcast IT team to co-join them with corporate IT. So far, it’s
specifically about the enrichment of metadata,
working quite nicely.”
the biggest problem you have is that the
good quality digitisation.” Skovlund from TV 2 Denmark was also in
user will take the quickest route to get the job
agreement on the need for automation. “It’s
Channel, agreed: “I think the nature of the
done. It’s the users we’re relying on to make
important we focus on auto enrichment of the
systems means cross-scaling has to happen.”
this thing work. A lot of the problems we’ve got
media. The amount of hours coming into our
from manufacturers is that the UX isn’t thought
systems is exploding and I can’t see any way of
a few years back and Bancroft asked if there
about properly. “We’re all trying to achieve more
us tying in metadata.”
were any plans to bring the skill back in-house.
automation to make everything happen in the
“We are more and more trying to work through
background seamlessly,” he continued. “In Sky
their sincere thanks to all of the participants at
partners. Some are local IT companies and
post production, we’re moving rapidly towards
the MAM Leaders’ Series roundtable event.
some are non-vendors. We have very few of our
entertainment and to get to this utopia where
Particular thanks go to our moderator Jeremy
own developers. We try to concentrate on our
we have automated ingest. IT all falls down at
Bancroft for expertly supervising and directing
core business. There are some signs that it would
the first step due to the user because the camera
the flow of discussion.
be more meaningful to have some of our own
manufacturer has made it too difficult for users to
developers,” explained Jouni Frilander, portfolio
get the metadata off them.”
Chaman, from Al Jazeera English Language
At Yle, the large IT department was outsourced
manager, media systems technology and
This in turn raised the question of RFID, GPS
Both TVBEurope and Avid would like to extend
The MAM Leaders’ Series is a new thought leadership initiative between TVBEurope and Avid that unites authorities from around the
and geo-tagging as possible solutions. It also
industry to offer insight on some of the key
highlighted the important issue of training. Bancroft
challenges and areas of opportunity relating
the debate to find out the biggest lessons learnt
asked, “Do we have to train people better and
to the management of assets. The latest
from implementing MAM systems.
make them understand the bigger picture and
MAM Leaders’ Series blog can be found on
development at the Finnish broadcaster. Moving the discussion on, Bancroft opened up
Sky’s Whatmore pointed out the difference in opinions between business leaders and users. He explained that business leaders are often
why the camera metadata is important?” Fairweather agreed that training has become a major issue. “We all recognise this. In the
concerned with financial efficiency while users may focus on the functionality required to do the job they’re doing now. His advice: “Don’t listen to too many people. Choose carefully who you listen to for those requirements when building out your workflow, otherwise you won’t get the full benefit of what you’re trying to achieve. Adding too much complexity by trying to provide too much to too many people at once can add significant risk to the success of a project.” Fairweather from Viacom echoed the view of minimising the number of people you consult. “We need to pluck important bits of information from users and work out which bits need to be discarded because it’s no longer relevant. We need to have an understanding of what technology could provide, plus get a mix in the middle. Getting that right is a challenge.” Kevin McCue, senior manager of technical operations for Sky Post Production, highlighted one of the challenges: “When you’re talking
Kjeld Skovlund, TV 2 Denmark
the TVBEurope website: http://www.tvbeurope. com/mam-leaders-series-blog-bartosz-paprockitelewizja-polsat-sa/.
16 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com June 2015
Workflow Image credit: © 2012 Londres – Comité International Olympique (CIO)
An Olympic undertaking: The IOC prepares for the next 100 years T
he IOC has a proud history of innovations ranging from the Technicolor film of London 1948, to the first HD test in 1984 in LA and
early video-to-mobile tests from the 2006 Winter Games in Turin. However, an internal audit in 2006 revealed the alarming extent of the archive’s deterioration. It found that within a decade, half of the IOC’s 33,000 hours of video would be unplayable, 20 per cent of its 400,000 stills would have faded beyond use and there would no longer be a player to listen to much of the 8,500 audio recordings. The collection spans official films, technical films, behind the scenes footage, unedited broadcast rushes and newsreel collections. The IOC has opened a new exhibition at the Olympic Museum on the banks of Lake Geneva in Lausanne to highlight the results of an SFR 30
Image credit: © 2010 Vancouver – Comité International Olympique (CIO) – Kishimoto
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been pushing the boundaries of TV and media production ever since the Stockholm games in 1912, writes Adrian Pennington, yet no-one in the organisation was prepared for the catastrophic state in which its audio visual archive was found in 2006
million digitisation and logging effort.
Official film restoration Back in 2006, the 40 official olympic films were
if we want to promote the Olympic brand
within a single day,” explained Adrian Wood,
in dire need of restoration with large pieces
around the world.” Less a highlights reel and
IOC consultant, acquisition and restoration. The
missing and uncatalogued.
more an evocation of the spirit of each Games
original 16mm negative reels of the 1912 games
and an artistic representation of the period,
have been scanned to 4K and now provide a
images was in danger of disappearing
the official films have attracted A-list directors
remarkably detailed record.
irreversibly,” explained IOC president Jacques
including Claude LeLouche, Milos Forman, Arthur
Rogge who greenlit the digitisation programme
Penn, John Schlesinger and Mia Zetterling. “In
documenting the 1936 Berlin Games is among
in 2007. “In the digital age it is vital to have a
1912 the reels would have been shot, processed,
the restored pieces. “She was deeply unpopular
digital version of this patrimony especially
edited, packaged and sent to play in theatres
because she made propaganda for Hitler but
“I was informed that a century of Olympic
Leni Riefenstahl’s controversial work Olympia,
TVBEurope 17
June 2015 www.tvbeurope.com
Workow methodology was. We are missing all of these
the ofďŹ cial ďŹ lms are preserved on new 35mm
because we are not the producers of the ďŹ lms.â€?
polyester-based ďŹ lm stock with digital ďŹ les
However, restoration, digitisation and
backed up to LTO tape. They are versioned in
comprehensive metadata logging of the
2K and 4K DCP for theatrical presentation with
archive is now complete. For long-term archive,
HD access copies for broadcast.
the benchmark in camera control technology‌ “In the digital age it is vital to have a digital version of this patrimony especially if we want to promote the Olympic brand around the worldâ€? Jacques Rogge, IOC president
you can build on. Our Remote Camera Control System is fully integrated to manage and control all of your camera operations. Designed for standalone or WAN systems, the powerful CCU capabilities improve quality and performance.
also there was jealousy because her ďŹ lms are among the most impressive of their type and being made by a woman made her a tabloid hate ďŹ gure,â€? explained Kevin Brownlow, ďŹ lm historian, documentary-maker and ďŹ lm editor who met her in the 1980s to restore the footage. Producer/director Caroline Rowland had to ďŹ ght to document London 2012 with an ofďŹ cial ďŹ lm. “London did not include provision for a ďŹ lm in its charter,â€? she explained. “LOCOG weren’t sure if it was a relevant addition to the legacy of the Games. Given that there is so much multiscreen coverage of the Games today that is a legitimate question to ask.â€? The solution that convinced the committee to fund the project was to track the achievements of ďŹ rst-time Olympians to chime with 2012’s theme of inspiring a generation. Until recently, the IOC has not involved itself in the production of these ďŹ lms so it had no
The Enterprise database system enables several controllers to seamlessly share stored camera presets, movements and set-up data across your entire studio operations – wherever they may be located. Try the innovative solution for camera control that sets the benchmark for performance and efďŹ ciency.
ownership over the original elements, much of which is spread worldwide in private collections. The entire 1960 ofďŹ cial ďŹ lm is still missing. “We are not like a major studio which has all negatives in house and can access the vaults,â€? said Wood. “A lot of research went into ďŹ nding where those original elements might be. Different cuts have been made for different audiences which begs the question of what version to restore when we ďŹ nd the ďŹ lms. And most of the time we’ve no access to production records which explains why changes were made, how many versions and what the post production
á VDOHV#WHOHPHWULFVLQF FRP á WHOHPHWULFVLQF FRP
18 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com June 2015
Image credit: © 2012 Londres – Comité International Olympique (CIO) – Kishimoto
Image credit: © 2012 Londres – Comité International Olympique (CIO) – Evans
Workflow
“What is certain is that we need more agility in archiving technology to cope with the changes in format” Blaise Chardonnens, IOC head of images services
“We haven’t faced the 4K TV yet,” explained Wood. “We’ll leave that problem for the next generation.” With the 2020 Games being broadcast in 8K domestically in Tokyo the organisation is aware of challenges ahead. “What is certain is that we need more agility in archiving technology to cope with the changes in format,” said Blaise Chardonnens, IOC head of images services.
Olympic coverage challenges
the movement is spearheading in order to
broadcasts the Games. The delivery of more
All of this work is important not just as a legacy
reach younger audiences and maintain its
content to multi-screens has highlighted a
but to form the backbone to a new Olympic
brand awareness in an age of digital distraction
tension between traditional broadcaster-
channel set to launch worldwide ahead of Rio
and discovery. Other initiatives include a
directed or curated coverage and the
2016. It is one of a number of media strategies
new approach to how the IOC presents and
potential, and seemingly pent up demand
TVBEurope 19
June 2015 www.tvbeurope.com
Workflow for, individuals to compile and view their own playlist on-demand of any and all aspects of Olympic coverage. “The ideology of all sports broadcasting has changed from filming from the perspective of a viewer in the stand to filming from an athlete’s POV and to be as close as technically possible to the action,” explained Yiannis Exarchos, CEO, Olympic Broadcast Services (OBS) citing the use of tracking cameras for 100m or underwater
“Fundamentally, what we are doing with
‘Following the 2014 winter games in Sochi where more video was watched on digital platforms that on linear channels for the first time, the IOC has declared Rio will be the first real multi-screen games’
cams tracking swimmers.
to classic Greek drama that has existed for 4,000 years,” said Exarchos, a Greek national. “You need to define the characters and tell the story of those characters, bring their story to a resolution and experience a catharsis of emotion as a result of that arc. What keeps me awake at night is how we can integrate a more democratic storytelling into coverage of a sport event.” Following the 2014 winter games in
“What has also changed is filming only once
Sochi where more video was watched on digital
the athletes are in the stadia to filming behind
platforms that on linear channels for the first
the scenes of key preparation moments such
time, the IOC has declared Rio will be the first
as the motivation of coaches, visualisation
sports competition is aggressive. We want to get
in alpine skiing, or the mental and physical
cameras closer to the athlete and even on the
preparation of athletes,” he said.
athlete, but we have to respect the athlete.”
“There is now pressure to introduce more
broadcast coverage is storytelling that conforms
At Rio 2016, coverage will include wearable
real multi-screen games. “Broadcasters traditionally have been very keen to control what is being produced and for people to follow next the story they want to
wearable cameras into the field of play.
cameras on equipment (track cycles, yachts)
tell,” explained Exarchos. “Today, everybody is a
While today’s elite athletes are getting
and on referees (e.g. basketball). It is also
storyteller. Everybody has capacity to produce
used to this media jungle, we have to be
looking to use mini-cams on athletes during
audio visual content. Integrating these elements
sensitive to introducing technology that
training sessions in the run up to the games.
into an overarching narrative is, I believe,
doesn’t interfere with the integrity of the
Body-worn health science sensors – such as
the most important challenge for broadcast
performance. Involvement of media in
heart rate monitors – are also on the radar.
storytelling in years to come.”
20 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com June 2015
Workflow boasts 12 million and 18 customers respectively, in France satellite can only claim a 23 per cent share of the TV transmission market, as 40 per cent of French viewers have opted for IPTV through an ADSL connection. One of the main drivers of SES’s business in France has been, as in other European markets and across the world, the huge increase in HD viewing over the last five years. According to the aforementioned monitor, 25 per cent of the 7,500 HD TV channels in the world are accessed by SES satellites, amounting to 1,885 channels in 2014, up from 1,202 channels in 2011. In France, 13.8 million homes are equipped to watch HD, and DTH satellite represents 3.5 million of that total. The lion’s share of the HD market, unsurprisingly, is claimed by IPTV (6.3 million homes), but the other providers have a lesser share than satellite, with HD
SES makes a play for UHD in France
terrestrial coming third with 3.1 million homes, and cable far behind with only 0.9 million. So far, so good. But the prospect everyone is getting excited about is Ultra HD. Speaking at a Paris press fest, designed to drum up enthusiasm for the new format and give an idea of the potential it represents for SES business growth, Nick Stubbs, the company’s vice president for Western Europe hit the nail on the head: “We are convinced UHD will drive our business forward in France and in the world over the next five years, as more and
When will 4K become a market reality in France? For satellite operator SES, timing is crucial as it prepares to compete with very high bandwidth cable in an unequal fight, which on paper at least, seems to favour the latter. Catherine Wright reports
more TV sets are sold and operators as well as broadcasters gradually endorse the format.” The company has conducted a number of trials with various broadcasters across Europe over the last couple of years, thereby showing that it is
ow can satellite transmission compete
ready for and can handle UHD transmission now
five or ten years down the line with high
for live events, with an average 25Mbitps capacity.
bandwidth cable, especially in a country
To date, Sky Deutschland is the only one to have
H
like France, where politics is a huge part of the
made any sort of public announcement about
equation? The French government has indeed
the trial which involved the live transmission of a
launched an ambitious programme aiming to get
Bundesliga football match in April last year. Little,
all gaul homes connected to what it calls “very
if any, information has emerged about the other
high bandwidth” cable – meaning a connection
ones, which most certainly included Canal Plus in
of at least 50Mbitps – by 2022, and has agreed
France. Some press reports have hinted that the
to put a massive wad of cash on the table to
gaul satcaster is preparing to launch 4K channels
finance the move: €20 billion over a ten-year stretch, an amount financed by central and local
towards the end of 2015. Canal Plus does not
Nick Stubbs, SES
Tom Cristophory, SES
government, with some private money thrown in
confirm the rumours but admits it is testing the technology: “We are conducting 4K tests on the
as well. It’s a political decision that could well lead
commission since 1994, six million gaul homes
whole broadcasting chain with all the French
to an important loss of market share for satellite
watch television thanks to an SES satellite. A
and European companies involved in that field of
operator SES, in one of its major European markets.
further breakdown of these figures reveals that in
technology,” a spokesperson admits.
At it currently stands, SES’s market share in
2014, two million of these homes simply bought
Philippe Bailly, the head of NPA, a media and
France has been steadily growing throughout the
a dish and used it to access digital terrestrial TV
telecoms consultancy, thinks the timing is ripe
years, no mean feat as more players compete
programmes on a free basis. The remaining four
for the format to take off in France, as consumer
for a slice of the cake here than in most other
million paid for a subscription, either as Canal Plus
demand begins to grow. “The indication we get
European countries. According to the company’s
subscribers or Orange and SFR hybrid set-top box
is that the French public is ready for UHD. We
yearly satellite monitor, a comprehensive study
owners, which number one million. But compared
interviewed and observed a number of consumers
of the satellite world market that has been in
with Great Britain and Germany, where SES
at retail points across the country and they showed
TVBEurope 21
June 2015 www.tvbeurope.com
Workflow a real interest in the format and seem to fully
And although he does not overtly mention
anyway, as viewers opt for the quality of satellite
appreciate its benefits. Unlike what happened with
it, coverage is one of the main competitive
transmission, but with the advantage of a return
the introduction of HD, and the confusing signals
advantages satellite currently has over cable.
path. “We will never reach the sort of figures we
sent by the launching of HD-ready sets just before the arrival of full HD ones, the marketing of UHD is much better understood by the public.” And the figures tend to bear him out. According to estimates provided by consumer research institute GfK, 800,000 4K TV sets will be sold in France in 2015 as their price decreases under €1,000. That is four times the number of 4K sets sold in 2014. Gfk also indicates that 4K sets already represent 30 per cent of the sales of 56-inch TV sets sold in France. One of the most strategically savvy companies in the gaul market, telco Free, is also hedging its bets on the imminent take-off of the new format. In its usual pioneering and flamboyant style, it launched the first 4K set-top box in the market in February. On the content side, Netflix, which started up in
“SES is ready to broadcast 300 to 400 UHD channels from one single orbital position as from now. We have the right capacity, the wide coverage ability and the reliability required for UHD” Tom Cristophory, SES
France last autumn, has already announced that it will be producing new gaul series Marseilles in 4K and that 100 hours of its total 300 will be as well, thereby putting pressure on other broadcasters to compete. Even Blu-Ray discs will be available in 4K, as a new standard has been adopted by the BluRay disc association in February. The good news for consumers is that their current Blu-Ray players will be able to read the new 4K Blu-Ray discs. And for SES, timing is everything. If 4K becomes a reality in France sooner rather than later, as NPA believes, the satellite operator will have a small window of opportunity to grab market share before 2022, the target date set by French officials for the widespread implementation of very high bandwidth cable. “We are rearing to go. SES is ready to broadcast 300 to 400 UHD channels from one single orbital position as from now. We have the right capacity, the wide coverage ability and the reliability required for UHD. ADSL does not have the bandwidth to compete and most digital terrestrial operators will probably not have sufficient financial clout to massively broadcast in UHD,” says Tom Cristophory, the company’s senior manager for sat/IP networks systems.
According to Nick Stubbs, growth will mainly come from the hybrid set-top box market
have in the UK or in Germany, but we will remain an important player in France,” he concludes.
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TVBEurope 23
June 2015 www.tvbeurope.com
TVBEverywhere The discussion opened with participants giving their definition of ‘Hybrid OTT’: “What consumers want, when they want it, across all devices” was the straightforward response from Nagra’s Trudelle. The company has developed service management products and solutions to support customers in the changing digital environment, supporting services ranging from broadcast TV and multiple forms of VoD to applications stores and interactive. “Semantics are important when talking OTT”, added Time Warner Cable’s Miles. You used to have to be in the house to access content: “That’s not OTT” he asserted, but “using IP as a technology”. The “true definition of OTT” is “when you want to go truly over the internet”. Time Warner Cable argues that it leads the pack when it comes to OTT: the company has made content available not only on smartphone and tablet, but has launched apps for Xbox, Samsung connected TVs, and Roku live streaming.
Evolution putting content in the ‘shop’ window
A “hybrid system” to CEO Halton can be defined as “trying to blend quality, resilience, universality of a broadcast network, with the flexibility [and] personalisation…of an IP network.” YouView offers digital TV channels as well as catch-up TV from the past seven days, with the choice of on-demand and pay-TV options for those who want them. Users need not sign up to a monthly subscription, and the service
TV Connect returned to London’s ExCeL centre in April for three days of dialogue, debate, and demos. Holly Ashford joined scores of exhibitors and hundreds of attendees discussing the future of connected TV entertainment
is available via a YouView box.
More consumer choice Orange has been active in the hybrid OTT market for a few years now: “We started with IPTV in 2002, a long time ago,” said Dubois. “It’s
“V
ideo remains the single most
device manufacturers to go direct to the
a very dynamic market, something like 20 million
valuable content to monetise,”
consumer. “Disruption is the new norm in the
broadband customers, more than five million
said Sef Tuma, managing
video industry,” he continued, resulting in “an
IPTV customers.” In July 2008, the company
evolving ecosystem”.
launched a hybrid service combining satellite
director of Accenture Digital Services, during a presentation at TV Connect. The broadcast
and broadband delivery, and is now one of
network today generates almost half a
Hybrid OTT services
the most successful telco TV services in Europe.
trillion dollars in revenue, he continued, but
This evolving ecosystem is not a bad thing for
This provides access to broadcast channels via
“disruption has already been happening in
viewers, allowing them access to a range of
satellite, and to VoD via the internet. In 2009,
the broadcast world.” The migration to digital
pay-TV and on-demand options, accessing
“we invested in content” continued Dubois,
caused cracks in the traditional broadcast
libraries of content over the internet, either on
and “built something we can compare to
business model as audiences fragment and
the go or through a set-top box or smart TV.
Netflix”. Orange Cinéma Séries is a series of
the share of viewing on flagship channels
These issues were discussed on day two of TV
movie channels that launched as part of the
decreased. Disruption, stated Tuma, hit the
Connect, in the Super Panel Session: What is the
company DTH satellite service. Not only did the
industry in three waves: the first wave brought
future of ‘Hybrid OTT’ services? Moderating the
company provide an alternative to Netflix, but,
the first generation of OTT players including
panel was iTV Doctor Rick Howe and discussing
as the movie giant’s popularity with consumers
Hulu and Netflix, followed by the second
the evolution and convergence of TV delivery
grew, Orange decided to launch the service
generation like HBO Now and Mediaset’s
were Pierre Francois Dubois, SVP, technocentre,
on its own set-top boxes in France. “We have
Infinity – broadcasters launching their own
Orange; Richard Halton, CEO, YouView; Jim
a different vision of what an OTT service is,”
standalone services using content to generate
Ryan, SVP and chief strategy officer, Liberty
said Dubois. “As an operator, we provide our
growth. The third generation of OTT includes
Global; Jaime Miles, group vice president,
customers with a shop.”
Facebook, Google and Samsung: social media
Time Warner Cable; and Simon Trudelle, senior
video providing a ‘super platform’ allowing
product marketing manager, Nagra.
Providing consumers with choice, with a “shop”, has grown ever more important.
24 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com June 2015
TVBEverywhere point discussed by Accenture MD, Tuma,
Content creators and studios used to be at the top of the industry food chain, followed by networks, distributors, down to consumers, yet consumers have in recent years jumped to the top of that chain, determining for themselves what they want to watch. And, what many want to watch is Netflix. Last year, Dish Network became the first pay-TV provider to integrate
“We currently have a ‘transitional model’ in the hybrid OTT industry with a blend of delivery systems” Rick Howe, Moderator
at TV Connect, who pointed out that while TV set viewing remained strong for sport and movies, “overall viewing is rapidly fragmenting across devices. More people are going to be consuming more content on second and third screens.” Miles continued, foreseeing a “continued
Netflix’s offering directly into its set-top box, the
increase in video-over-IP” and, in agreement
second-generation Hopper DVR. In April this year,
with Halton, “sharing of data in ways we’ve never seen before”, enabling a better customer
the network also announced it will bring Netflix to its Joey receivers. Is Times Warner Cable also
be in terms of delivering to consumers, in the next
experience, changes in advertising models,
looking at bringing in separate distributor content
24 months? Some things will remain unchanged,
and “all kinds of new interaction and social
and making it available to viewers via their
said Halton. Linear channels account for 80
media embedding”.
STB? “We’ve always tried to find what content
per cent of TV viewing, he said, “that’s not
customers want to be watching and integrating
going to change much”. The role of YouView,
delivering content needn’t mean providing
it. We’re evolving the relationships we have,” is all
he continued, is to try and help customers find
an STB: portable devices and even apps
Miles would say.
content, to gather intelligence and “use that
within a device can do the same thing,
intelligence to anticipate the needs of a user
concluded Tuma. The impact of this industry
A new kind of video service
who just wants to be entertained”, ensuring “a
disruption has provided opportunities for
“We currently have a ‘transitional model’ in the
great user experience”.
operators and next generation ‘broadcasters’
hybrid OTT industry,” rounded up Howe, “with a blend of delivery systems.” Where will the business
The next 24 months and beyond will see “more screens”, added Liberty Global’s Ryan. This was a
www.asperasoft.com moving the world’s data at maximum speed
These multiple screens mean that
to take advantage by providing a new kind of video service.
TVBEurope 25
June 2015 www.tvbeurope.com
TVBEverywhere
Momentum builds towards TVBEurope Strategy Week Webinars, breakfast briefings, roundtables, and the brand new TVBEurope 2020 conference to make up a week of industry insight and analysis
P
a driver for the other, transforming the technology
head of video products, Reuters; Rod Fairweather,
used to produce and distribute content but also
senior director of infrastructure and media
transforming the way in which programming is
technology, Viacom; Kris Hardiman, head of
delivered to consumers, what they watch, and the
product marketing, Ericsson Broadcast and Media
devices they watch video content on.
Services; Simon Gauntlett, CTO, DTG; David Peto,
Conference chairman, John Ive, director of
CEO, Aframe; Thomas Kernan, consultant systems
technology and strategic insight at IABM – strategic
engineer, Cisco Systems; Alla Salehian, CEO, TIMA;
partner of TVBEurope Strategy Week – explained
Niall Duffy, head of IT and workflow solutions, Sony;
reparations are now in full swing ahead
the concept behind the day’s agenda. “TVBEurope
David Klafkowski, MD, The Farm; Martyn Whistler,
of the first ever TVBEurope Strategy
2020 is taking an exciting new approach this year
lead analyst, media and entertainment, Ernst
Week, which takes place from 29 June
and recognising the future of UHD and IT workflows
and Young; Erhan Gurses, EMEA telecom industry
are inextricably linked,” he said.
analyst, Bloomberg, and more.
to 3 July 2015. The week of events starts with the centrepiece TVBEurope 2020 conference
“There is no stopping the introduction of new
at BAFTA in central London, on 30 June, and is
formats and better quality images but a change
briefing hosted by media and communications
followed by a series of thought leadership events
of infrastructure for each new image format
analyst firm, SNL Kagan, which will explore the
held in conjunction with dedicated partners.
is no longer tenable. To address this we have
future of the European pay-TV market. The briefing
assembled some of the most influential industry
precedes the 2020 conference at 9.00am on 30
convergence of UHD and IT/IP infrastructures in an
experts as speakers and panellists. Bringing these
June at BAFTA and is open to all delegates.
effort to identify the strategic imperatives facing
two aspects together and looking towards 2020
media entities as they prepare their roadmaps for
will provide many fascinating insights.”
The one-day conference addresses the
the medium to long-term future. The preface to the
The confirmed speakers for the conference
The Strategy Week also includes a breakfast
Elsewhere during the week will be the IABM executive industry C-level conference on 1 July, a webinar on ‘IP: opening up new perspectives
day suggests that the transition to IT and IP workflows
include Bevan Gibson, CTO of ITN; Jon Carter,
for live broadcast production’ in association
and the move to higher UHD resolutions come
UK head of business development, connected
with EVS, and a roundtable event on 2 July at
at a turning point in the history of television and
home, Deutsche Telekom; Dr Hans Hoffman, EBU;
The Soho Hotel, held in conjunction with
media. They represent a revolution arguably even
Phil Tudor, principal technologist, BBC R&D; Rowan
Pebble Beach Systems.
greater than the transition to colour TV in the ‘60s.
de Pomerai, senior technical manager, Studios,
UHD and IT workflows are inextricably linked, each
ITV (on behalf of the DPP); Tim Santhouse, global
Tickets for the TVBEurope 2020 conference can be found on www.tvbeurope2020.com.
26 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com June 2015
Feature
It’s a kind of magic Riedel Communications is a brand synonymous with its pioneering work across many verticals: Formula One, the Sochi Winter Olympic Games, and Red Bull Stratos to name but a few. It’s easy to forget amid the high profile the brand enjoys that the name sitting in lights atop the industrial HQ here in Wuppertal, was given to the company by the man sat beneath it; in an unassuming office decked out in some of the more basic furniture his enterprise has invested in. Thomas Riedel’s story perpetually entertains, to be expected of a magician-turned-DJ-turned-entrepreneur, as I found out in a refreshingly candid and heartfelt conversation. By James McKeown
“T
he day I die, I cannot take anything
figurehead of a company that bears his name.
with me. My last thought would be
He has more invested in this company than simple
that I’ve had a great life.”
oversight of strategy. “I enjoy it about 80 per cent
The enthusiasm and candour of our roaming
of the time,” he estimates. “There’s about 15
conversation has hardened into something
per cent that is neutral, and there might be five
more primitive, more tangible. Thomas Riedel
per cent where I think about it being too much.
I think it helps to understand what some people in
is visibly emotional as we pursue an acutely
However, if I accumulated all of the moments
the company do.”
personal avenue of discussion on his attachment
where I have thought about not doing this
to his work, his life; indeed, life itself. Here is a
anymore since we started, it wouldn’t amount to a
with work and life is about balance: “It gives you
man of real perspective, not the sort that so
single day. It is a privilege to be able to live such a
support when making very difficult decisions,”
often manifests in boardrooms around strategy,
life, to live your dream.”
he explains. “You need to trust that things will
growth, roadmaps, but the sort that is aware of the true bigger picture. “I often tell my nephews and nieces that when
The blurred lines of work and life are common
For Riedel the man, everything associated
be good, and you need to trust the people you
to entrepreneurial folk: those who give birth to
work with. A positive basic attitude and the right
enterprise and position their livelihoods around
view on life really helps.”
they think about people on Earth, probably 99.9
the consequences. Thomas’ out of office itinerary
per cent of people don’t have the standard of
is a familiar story: he’s never truly absent. “I don’t
The facility
living that we have. We’ve had the luck to have
really separate working time and private time,
The balance we have been discussing
been born where we have, to have enough to
this is all ‘life-time’,” he admits. Indeed, if you
permeates through to the design of the working
eat, enough to drink, and a place to live. Why
stumbled across the headquarters in Wuppertal
space here at the Riedel facility, with factory
should I complain? I’ve just got to get on with my
out of hours, it wouldn’t be deserted. “I do spend
and desk space mixed together so that all parts
job because, largely, life is great.”
time in the facility when no one else is here. If you
of the company are integrated. “It started as an
turned up at the weekend, you could feasibly find
issue, but turned into a real opportunity,” he says
me on a forklift truck moving stuff about.
of the industrial nature of the set-up.
A passionate elaboration to a question about the balance of pleasure versus pain in being the
TVBEurope 27
June 2015 www.tvbeurope.com
Feature
“At the facility here, which we own, we had a bottleneck in office space: there were plenty of big halls from earlier industrial use, but not enough office space. So, we discussed it with the architect who had the idea of making a gallery above the shop floor preparation area to create an office space.” The mezzanine level is surprisingly calm, given the proximity to the shop floor and the associated noise levels. Understandably, it wasn’t universally accepted, at least initially. “I discussed it with a few people who were against having everyone in one big room, ‘the noise will be a big problem’, they would say. So I accepted that it was an issue and set about fixing it by installing noise protection in the ceiling between the upper and lower floors. It’s still the case that not everyone is happy with the arrangement, but the ratio of happy and not is 80:20 whereas it used to be 20:80. “We believe in teams working together,” he continues. “The openness is highlighting our philosophy, which is very much about good communications internally, about being open and having all departments close to the gear and preparation areas, with staff moving between the areas. I wouldn’t say it is perfect, but the reaction of people who visit is positive, and it is something I would do again, for sure.” It certainly does impress. This is no CERN or McLaren facility, admittedly, but it is an endearing use of space that holds the company’s entire philosophy at the core of its design. This visit preceded another to the Pixar studios in San Francisco, where I was shown around a modern ‘campus’ that attempts the
same balancing of work and life, and successfully.
to integrate. “The factory isn’t shut off from the rest
Although wildly different in execution, I am struck by
of the company departments, there’s a fusion
the similarities the two facilities share: their openness
between all departments which helps with the
and accommodation of all components of the
notion that they’re one and the same thing,” Riedel
company, and the encouragement for divisions
states. “It also highlights how we think: everyone
Picture credit: Kristina Malis
28 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com June 2015
Feature to the right parking spaces. This was his entrée to the world of communications, following which he would drop the lighting, sound and magic from his repertoire (although he has been known to rekindle his act for the Riedel employees). “This was in the early 1990s, and it was at this time when private TV stations in Europe started up. RTL, which I think is now the biggest TV station in Europe, called and asked me about radios but also whether they could be connected to their talkback or intercom system. So I had to learn how to find
The mezzanine was designed to integrate factory and office departments
a solution, and built a product called RiFace,” the name of which, he says, is an unspectacular mixture
here is part of the fabric of what we do.”
Early years
One statement that strikes a chord is that “you
The company’s genesis is an unlikely, but
need room for thinking, just as much as you need
suitably engaging tale. “I started the company
Winning formula
room for building things”, important for a company
in February 1987, but I only left school in 1989, so
RiFace sold well in Germany and Austria, with the
of technical means and entrepreneurial spirit. Is
there’s a bit of an overlap in the early days.
interface-to-comms system giving the company
this an unspoken philosophy? “There’s certainly
It wasn’t a clear decision for life, it was more
a foot in that particular door. “I then started
no manual which preaches our philosophy,” he
‘let’s start this now and see how things work out’.
developing a small intercom system with a couple
explains. “However, we do talk to candidates early
I never had a big masterplan.”
of friends which was almost ready by the end of
on in the [recruitment] process about our goals
Riedel was ten years old when he developed an
between Riedel and interface.
1993. It was then I got a call from the organising
and ambitions, that we don’t want to build me-too
interest in business…show business, that is. “This came
committee of the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer.
products: we want to change the market, we’re
through my interest in magic. It was a hobby of mine
They hadn’t thought about communications, and
really passionate about what we do and we
to perform as a magician on stage in kindergartens
they came to me pretty late in the day. Although it
want to be different.
or in the church, and by the age of 14, I became
wasn’t an easy job, I said yes, which might be seen
interested in the technology behind the stage.
as quite typical of me: I’m not afraid of taking risks.
“This is an entrepreneurial company, not one built with private equity and run by banker-type people. In my mind, there’s not enough of this in our industry. I’m not saying the equity route doesn’t work, but there aren’t enough companies left who are independent, and I think that’s a shame.” The reason for this, he explains, is that decisions about technology that may only pay off in five years’ time are difficult decisions to make, with
We supplied a comms system and a radio system for
“This is an entrepreneurial company. In my mind, there aren’t enough companies left who are independent, and I think that’s a shame” Thomas Riedel
a huge amount of responsibility on the line for
the opening and closing ceremonies.” Riedel was able to use his association with Lillehammer to good effect in marketing terms, but as he admits, a significant stroke of luck was to take his company onto the next step. It involved an interview with a local radio station about Riedel’s involvement at the Winter Games. “At the very same time, someone happened to pass Wuppertal on the autobahn and heard the interview on the radio.
the individuals making them in more corporate organisations, whose ideal turnaround might only
I was always more active outside of the classroom
He happened to be involved in Formula One, and
be two years. “It’s very hard to see any return on
than inside of it, and I’d always be the one handling
he’s probably responsible for us being in motorsports.
technological decisions in two years; to get the
the technology of theatre productions in school.
It was a slow start in Formula One, and it took me
concepts on the road and fully functioning takes
“During the summer, I’d spend much of it at a
about ten years to be accepted in this circus.”
between three and five years. So there’s
sea stage on Lake Constance, which was only
a fundamental difference in how an investor-
five minutes from my mother’s house in Austria, just
proof that this acceptance has now become
backed organisation and an independent
helping out where I could, and this is where my love
almost total. Literally tripping over crates of
enterprise function.”
for the industry really started.” By the age of 16, he
headsets belonging to the likes of Ferrari,
was organising parties, taking care of the sound and
Mercedes, and the FIA itself, I’m shown around
manufacturer in a market already well furnished
lighting systems. His increasing stewardship of these
a factory floor more reminiscent of a motorsport
with incumbent competition. The philosophy of not
events was the real reason he started the company.
garage than a communications depot. There are
delivering me-too products and services brought
“In Germany, if you file a company, you can buy
Formula One cars on display, past and present,
about a study of the market to assess the possibilities.
the equipment at the dealer price rather than the
and sat in a Riedel motorhome enjoying the calm
“We came up with a completely new concept of
end user price, so I literally started the company to
of the off-season, Riedel’s place in the sport’s
decentralised comms,” Riedel recalls. “In the past,
get the equipment at a cheaper price. So you can
tapestry is abundantly clear.
there was one big block matrix in one location: we
see the lack of a masterplan.”
Riedel the company started life as a comms
saw the future was in networking with a distributed
The current state of Hall J at Wuppertal HQ is
Having followed the sport with a keen eye for
Thomas bought his first radios in 1990 for an
some time, I am more than aware that Riedel
system, and that’s exactly what we did. This was
event for which he was stage builder, performer,
and Formula One go hand in hand, but as the
back in 2000, which was way ahead of the curve if
and car park attendant. It was for the latter role he
company’s leader earlier suggested, visiting the
you think that networking is a hot topic today.”
would need the radios to direct the flow of traffic
premises opens one’s eyes to the scope and scale
TVBEurope 29
June 2015 www.tvbeurope.com
Feature of the wider operations. More recently, flying out
buying the facility in Wuppertal; getting the first
landscape, and Thomas is philosophical about
to join Riedel at the Barcelona Grand Prix at the
big contracts – Olympics, Formula One, ORF; the
meeting success and frustration with a level
Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya provided more
acquisition of Mediornet. “Even looking back to
head. “You have to experience some dark
evidence of this, with the company providing the
three years ago, I couldn’t have imagined the
moments to appreciate the sunshine,” he states.
comms for all of the teams on the grid, plus the
progress we’ve made in that time,” he says. “However, nothing has changed, really. I still
FIA, its medical team, and so on. In fact, it’s
“You never learn when you do things successfully, you only learn when you fail. Since we need to
hard to walk the paddock and pit lane and not
do what I love, and my risk is very limited:
learn a lot for the things we need to do in the
pass something or someone associated with
I started from zero, so the lowest I could fall
future, we need to fail in certain ways to give us
Thomas’ company.
is back to that place.”
that experience. Yes, it’s painful, but it’s necessary in
The lack of a grand masterplan has not stunted
It is emblematic of the progress Riedel has
order to move on.”
made since its inception, and Riedel himself is
the growth of the company as of yet, and his pride
conscious of the luck has befallen his progress
in his successes extends to the manner in which
beneficial if you ably apply what you learn from
thus far; the timing of the company’s activities in
they have been realised. That he considers meeting
failure to sufficiently correct it. But this is a personal
communications systems coming in parallel with
and convincing the right people to come on board
and distinctly human philosophy brought to bear
the broadcast industry ramping up, and with the
among his greatest successes possibly tells you
in the professional domain, and that is refreshing
entertainment industry becoming an industry. “It’s
everything about Riedel: man and brand. It explains
in an environment that can so often suffer from
not something that could be repeated,” he recalls.
the family atmosphere here in Wuppertal, the sense
corporate sterility.
“It was a question of timing: it wasn’t because of a
that people are well looked after, and are buying
There is an overarching picture bigger than
smart concept, but because the stars were in line.”
into the ethos of the company; winning together,
any boardroom strategy can prepare for, and
losing together.
understanding this balance is what sets Thomas
Pride and perspective
It may sound a risky philosophy: one thast is only
2014 was a profitable year for the company,
Riedel and his operations in good stead for the
Despite this, there is abundant pride exuding
but the year before was more challenging. The
future. It may not be the kind of magic Thomas
from every recollection of every milestone: setting
company clearly prides itself on its agility in coping
was once known to showcase, but it is an
the company up to be financially independent;
with the undulations of the fractious business
inspiring formula.
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TVBEurope 31
June 2015 www.tvbeurope.com
Intelsat introduced IntelsatOne Prism, which the company describes as a next generation, IP content distribution managed service
Feature: NAB Retrospective
Delivering the future, today There is a case to be made that, increasingly, the success of the broadcast industry rests on satellite companies. Ian McMurray opens our NAB retrospective by finding out what these entities were doing at this year’s show to ensure that success
‘Recent forecasts suggest there will be over 1,000 channels broadcasting to over 500 million Ultra HD screens by 2025’
hat do LG, Netflix, Panasonic, Samsung,
W
said Peter Ostapiuk, head of media services at
Twentieth Century Fox and Walt Disney
Intelsat, “as well as how IntelsatOne Prism’s fully
Studios have in common? The answer,
automated, converged IP-based platform allows
“That allows Intelsat’s operations personnel
of course, is that they are among the founding
media customers to conduct multiple content
to monitor multiple projects with complete
members of the UHD Alliance announced at CES
transmissions via one platform, enabling efficient,
confidence,” according to Susan Saadat,
earlier this year, and providing further evidence that
high quality, multiscreen content delivery.”
vice president of ETL’s North American sales and operations. “There are a number of high
the move towards higher definition broadcasting is accelerating. Unsurprisingly, that was reflected by
The OTT society
throughput satellites that either have launched,
the satellite industry at this year’s NAB.
Ostapiuk noted that media companies are facing
or are being launched in 2016, and we’re working
pressure to quickly upgrade their networks to
closely with those operators in building out their
Prism, which the company describes as a new
meet the demands of a TV Everywhere and an
teleports and ground terminals.”
next generation, IP content distribution managed
increasingly over-the-top (OTT) society. IntelsatOne
service. Intelsat took the opportunity to stage a true
Prism is, he says, designed to addresses the
new StingRay RF over fibre range, which Saadat
4K UHDTV live transmission using HEVC compression
challenges of the converging broadband and
believes offers a unique, compact design for high
along with an HD Content Distribution Network
media landscape by enabling media customers
isolation applications, and new Dextra L-band
(CDN) contribution feed from a production truck
to seamlessly implement digital media networking
splitters and combiners, as well as its Alto series
over satellite with end-to-end video transmissions
using legacy assets, improve bandwidth
of line amplifiers. Also capturing visitors’ attention
managed by the IntelsatOne Prism hub located at
management with minimal investment, and simplify
was ETL’s high density 128x128 L-band Vulcan
the company’s Atlanta teleport.
overall content delivery and operational networks.
matrix, which is said to be capable of distributing
The show saw Intelsat introduce IntelsatOne
“The demonstration highlighted the advancements in HEVC compression technology,”
Intelsat recently chose ETL to upgrade its teleport facilities with ETL’s new Enigma matrices.
On show on the ETL stand was the company’s
high volumes of L-band signals in broadcast and government applications.
32 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com June 2015
Feature: NAB Retrospective to towers and head-ends, reducing OPEX and CAPEX in various ways. “The MCX7000 represents another milestone in the extension of our modem capabilities beyond single carrier support,” noted Hans Massart, market director, broadcast at Newtec, “and is ideal for broadcasters looking to future-proof their operations.” Also receiving its official launch at NAB was the Equalink 3, a new linear and non-linear predistortion technology designed to compensate for the effects of distortions caused by the
Hans Massart, Newtec
John Bozza, SIS Live
Susan Sadaat, ETL
satellite’s filters and amplifiers. “Live satellite tests have proven Equalink 3’s ability to increase link margin, which can be used to improve coverage and availability or to increase the symbol rate,” said Massart. “That enables up to 15 per cent more TV channels to be inserted in a DTH carrier.” Focusing on video compression was Vislink, which showcased, among other products, the UltraCoder – a 19” x 1RU half rack width unit said to be capable of encoding four full 1080p60 HD or SD video signals using H.265 (HEVC) compression, or one 4Kp60 video, within the same unit.
Peter Ostapiuk, Intelsatz
Ashley Dove, Vislink
Eddie Ferraro, Globecast
Interest in H.265 “We saw a great deal of interest in Vislink’s
As well as being chosen by Intelsat, ETL has also
“We’re looking to provide broadcasters and
implementation of H.265 video encoding,” said
recently secured orders from DirecTV for its Alto
platforms with the ability to manage the
Ashley Dove, the company’s VP of solutions, “and
amplifiers to strengthen and improve signal quality.
customer return path by satellite, thereby
visitors to the booth were able to see how Vislink’s
giving them full control over their network,”
approach could help them use significantly less
technology for years to come,” continued
continued Arcidianco. “Our approach to this
bandwidth over satellite. Our demonstrations
Saadat. “Our Alto range of amplifiers is available in
is through the smartLNB, a low-cost modem
showed how required bandwidth could be more
redundant configurations, recognising the need for
that bundles satellite reception of TV channels
than halved compared to video signals currently
systems to provide redundancy for ultra-resilience.”
with a narrowband satellite return link for short
using H.264. Also, high quality 4K contribution video
transmissions of IP packets. It opens the door for
signals can be transmitted over existing satellite
1,000 channels, 500 million screens
broadcasters to grow towards an interactive
transponder allocations using the same bandwidth
and individualised set of services beyond TV,
that’s used for HD video encoded with H.264.”
Also focusing on the impact of higher definition
managed through a network they control.”
“That’s testament to the adaptability of this
broadcasting was Eutelsat, with the company’s
At NAB, Eutelsat teamed with Prodea and its
director of innovation, Antonio Arcidianco,
ROSE platform to demonstrate a broad range
pointing out that recent forecasts suggest there
of services: including IoT services such as home
will be over 1,000 channels broadcasting to over
monitoring, security, control, access, energy
500 million Ultra HD screens by 2025.
management, eHealth and wellness, eLearning,
“We’ve taken a strong stance on Ultra HD,
According to Dove, H.265 high compression technology will be implemented into Vislink’s
and eGovernment services.
starting with broadcasting the first 4K content in Europe two years ago and working since
High efficiency
then with the entire broadcasting chain to
Higher definition broadcasting relies, of course,
get all the pieces lined up in the right order,”
on highly efficient video compression and
said Arcidianco. “We have both
bandwidth usage – and the latter was front and
bandwidth and reach today and have
centre for Newtec at NAB, on whose booth the
made investments in future satellites optimised
newly announced MCX7000 had its first public
for broadcasting commercial Ultra HD as soon
showing. It is described as a dense DVB-S2X multi-
as our clients are ready.”
carrier satellite gateway demodulator that brings
Eutelsat believes that the other key trend in broadcasting is interactivity.
multiple benefits, including increased bandwidth efficiency of up to 51 per cent for distribution
Antonio Arcidiacono, Eutelsat
TVBEurope 33
June 2015 www.tvbeurope.com
Feature: NAB Retrospective current range of sub 23kg MSAT ultra-lightweight integrated SNG terminals, enabling multiple HD (or even 4K transmissions) from the ďŹ eld using the rapidly deployed MSAT terminal. It will also be implemented into the multi-use NewStream Van Transmitter, making it possible to transmit video via long range COFDM microwave (ENG), satellite (SNG) and bonded Cellular (CNG) as well. Another company operating in the SNG space is SIS LIVE, which was at NAB to promote the ManPakT range of VSAT terminals. The ManPakT, which is based on the ManPak60 portable VSAT terminal â&#x20AC;&#x201C; also on show in Las Vegas â&#x20AC;&#x201C; is described as a compact, integrated tripod-based system. It was showcased as a prototype for the ďŹ rst time at NAB 2014 and, says the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commercial director, John Bozza, received signiďŹ cant interest. At the show this year, the 0.6m and 1.0m reďŹ&#x201A;ector-sized antennas were being displayed. The 1.0m version is Ka-Sat NewsSpotter and Hylas approved. The ManPakT is also available with a range
SIS LIVE was at NAB to promote the ManPakT range of VSAT terminals
of optional extras including integrated COFDM receiver for mobile camera connectivity, a Wi-Fi router enabling a secure satellite internet network, and integrated housing and connections for high grade encryption devices. â&#x20AC;&#x153;SIS LIVEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ManPakT range leads the way in the
â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Once again, NAB saw the satellite industry gearing itself up to support its customers, and whatever the future might bringâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;
next generation of VSAT terminals,â&#x20AC;? claimed Bozza.
recent reorganisation â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to take advantage of our global reach, combined with new infrastructure to power our media management business â&#x20AC;&#x201C; is really coming into its own.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;The new Los Angeles Media Center offers broadcasters and content providers a converged workďŹ&#x201A;ow to prepare, deliver and
â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is a compact and lightweight system which is IATA compliant and can be easily packed into
Those, however, were far from the only
playout content to any kind of distribution
one robust case. The completely waterproof and
changes, reďŹ&#x201A;ected, for example, in the launch
platform,â&#x20AC;? he goes on. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The new Media Center
rugged design allows for operation in even the
by Globecast of its Los Angeles Media Center
complements established Globecast facilities
most challenging of conditions.â&#x20AC;? SIS LIVE was also
in Culver City, which already includes BBC
in London, Singapore, and Paris, enabling
showing off its uPod 1.2m drive ďŹ&#x201A;y system.
Worldwide as a customer.
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typical: once again, NAB saw the satellite industry
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34 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com June 2015
Feature: NAB Retrospective
Gently ushering in a new era for broadcast audio? As well as the expected rush of developments related to audioover-IP, the NAB Show 2015 heralded some exciting innovations in immersive audio and loudness correction. David Davies wonders whether, all things considered, we are witnessing the dawn of a discreet but distinct new era for broadcast sound
T
he standard of debate around the
Immersion battle heats up
transition from point-to-point connectivity
Such is the fevered debate around AoIP, it would
to audio-over-IP (AIoP) in broadcast has
have been easy to overlook some of the other
been what one would most politely describe
underlying trends going into this year’s NAB. But
as ‘variable’. But no one could deny that it has
show visitors would not have failed to notice the
certainly been abundant – and continued to be
glut of developments around immersive audio as
so at this year’s NAB Show in Las Vegas.
vendors and broadcasters work to deliver a sonic
In truth, we do now finally seem to be moving away from the ‘protocol wars’ towards a more balanced and practical debate
experience befitting the emerging 4K/UHD and (God help us) 8K TV formats. Perhaps most prominently, Fraunhofer IIS,
about implementation of IP networks. The
Qualcomm Technologies and Technicolor
arrival of the AES67 standard – which enables
jointly undertook demonstrations at NAB of
inch TFT display to depict current pan
interoperability of existing Layer 3-based
the new MPEG-H audio standard. Designed to
and joystick locations.
networking technologies – looks set to be
offer broadcasters a cost-effective means of
Whilst nothing remotely approaching a
a crucial enabler in this regard, and
improving the sound quality of their offerings
consensus exists about the best means of
unsurprisingly there were several related
beyond 5.1 surround, MPEG-H Audio also
delivering more all-encompassing broadcast
announcements during NAB.
delivers a host of interactive and immersive
audio to the home – or even what the viewer
features across the full range of modern
should actually be getting out of it experientially
would deliver compatibility with AES67, Dante
viewing devices from high-end home theatres
– the innovations on display at NAB suggest that
media networking technology creator Audinate
to tablets, smartphones, and sound bars. At
sound won’t be trailing too far behind picture as
announced support for the standard via the
NAB, the MPEG-H-based system on display, with
the new high resolution formats gain traction.
release of the Dante Brooklyn II firmware update.
a monitoring unit from Jünger Audio, offered
The addition of AES67, explained Audinate,
features including the ability to select different
Quiet is the new loud(ness)
will allow baseline connectivity between the
audio presentations – for example, ‘home team’
If such top line themes can be persuasive,
growing ecosystem of Dante-enabled devices
or ‘away team’ commentary for a sports event –
some issues reflected at NAB were more
and networked devices from other vendors who
or volume control over specific audio elements in
evergreen in nature. Take loudness, for example,
support AES67 bridging.
a programme such as dialogue or sound effects.
which continues to preoccupy many broadcast
In line with its confirmation last year that it
“The adoption of AES67 supports our
Another firm perennially at the cutting edge,
sound engineers despite the advent of the
vision to make Dante the most complete
Fairlight, demonstrated its latest progress in this
reforming EBU Loudness Recommendation,
audio networking solution, and will help
area. Designed to allow content creators to
R128. Accordingly, at NAB there were plenty of
facilitate the industry’s evolution from
deliver 3D immersive sound, the 3DAW (3D Audio
new developments aimed at making loudness
analogue to audio-over-IP,” said Aidan
Workstation) enables users to work in formats
metering and correction as painless as possible.
Williams, CTO, Audinate.
such as Auro-3D, Dolby Atmos and DTS MDA
NUGEN Audio, for example, released
without the need to replace existing 2D tools
Loudness Toolkit 2, the latest generation of
and workflows.
its suite of loudness metering and correct
Meanwhile, ALC NetworX – developer of another AES67-compatible technology, Ravenna – held a series of presentations on
Avid, too, underlined the extent to which an
tools. Consisting of the VisLM-H 2 Loudness
the implementation of AES67 in ‘real world
increasing number of TV shows and movies are
Meter, LM-Correct 2 Quick-Fix Tool and ISL 2
applications’ and new product developments.
being mixed in surround by introducing the Pro
True-Peak Limiter, Loudness Toolkit 2 is geared
With the recent formation of the Media
Tools | S6 Master Joystick Module. An option
towards the requirements of NLE and DAW
Networking Alliance to actively promote AES67
for both M10- and M40-based S6 systems, the
users. Elsewhere on the show floor, TSL Products
adoption, the momentum behind the standard is
Master Joystick Module incorporates dual non-
introduced Phinix, billed as a complete suite
obvious – and should ultimately push forward the
motorised, touch-sensitive joysticks for surround
of desktop and enterprise tools to address
overall adoption of IP-based workflows.
sound mixing with Pro Tools | S6, as well as a 3.2-
many file-based audio requirements, among
TVBEurope 35
June 2015 www.tvbeurope.com
Feature: NAB Retrospective them loudness measurement and correction,
offers the possibility of doubling the fader
and Dolby E encoding and decoding. More
count on the same footprint. Miniaturisation of
general workflow optimisation was on the
console design has, of course, been an abiding
mind of several other leading vendors at NAB.
theme of broadcast audio R&D for a good
Harman’s Studer, for example, exhibited its
half-a-decade now.
Vista X and Vista V digital consoles, whose Infinity Core CPU-based processors are
With IP-based production and immersive audio crossing over from concept to reality for many
‘Whilst nothing remotely approaching a consensus exists about the best means of delivering more all-encompassing broadcast audio to the home, the innovations on display at NAB suggest that sound won’t be trailing too far behind picture as the new high-resolution formats gain traction’
designed to provide high numbers of DSP
broadcasters, it is clear that more exciting times
channels for large-scale, high-resolution audio
are now firmly within reach. The innovations
processing and mixing. Also on a console
on the visual side might attract a greater
‘tip’, Lawo unveiled a high-density version of
percentage of industry headlines, but NAB 2015
its popular mc²56 audio mixing console. In a
did nothing to dispel the impression that we
move destined to endear it to compactness-
are entering a discreet but distinct new era
seeking OB vans and studios, the mc²56XT
for broadcast audio.
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36 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com June 2015
Feature: NAB Retrospective
Ghosts in the machine Mergers and acquisitions at NAB Show 2015, by Russell Grute, director at Broadcast Innovation
Who’s zooming who? Which of the recent mergers or acquisitions actually create and deliver a better value proposition for paying customers? Does a boost in vendor investment, a merger or a change of
n my first 20 years in the industry, I believed
I
owner actually benefit them?
that plus or minus a bit of smoke and
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity
mirrors, smart broadcast and media
continued apace after last year’s upturn; a
customers could successfully evaluate the
valuable chance to pause and review the
leading innovators to make well informed
impact of last year’s activities, too. The IABM cites
buying decisions. Sellers sold and buyers bought.
annual market size for the media technology
Wouldn’t it be great if it were as simple as that?
industry at about US$40 billion for the sectors that
But there are others amongst us. Investors.
it addresses. The huge overlap with the IT industry
Whilst it’s customers’ investment in vendors’
and new cloud services makes that number
technology and services that pays for the whole
potentially much larger. Gartner recently cited
show, the whole industry in fact, they are not
25 per cent growth in “the emerging and
always only dealing with the vendors. Many
disruptive software defined video” sector at
developers and manufactures rely on suitable
US$10 billion by 2018. It’s interesting when you
external investment to get their businesses to the
look beyond the numbers.
next level. ‘Suitable’ for whom? Appropriate investment is more important than ever to support the simultaneously converging and diverging media technology industry. As UHD promises to explode our eyeballs and ‘TV Everywhere’ is getting closer to finding the advertising-everywhere money, never have so many business models been so disrupted. Investors, advisors, financiers, private equity and venture
‘The group versus micro brand and segment reach is one of the biggest challenges in successful M&A; everyone has an opinion and the perceived connections between brands are often highly intangible’
capitalists are new spirits amongst us at NAB, haunting the show floor searching for opportunity. Some highlights: last year we saw M&A action
of the most profitable companies on the show
fast with many overlapping cycles in play.
from Belden (Grass Valley), Dalet (Amberfin) and
floor is also because we’re also one of the least
Technology innovation in, say, managed services
Vislink (Pebble Beach Systems). Later on in the
well known. They know our brands, they know
and SaaS at one end, versus the unprecedented
year, Ericsson completed its acquisition of Red
the businesses that we bought, but they don’t
changes in audience behaviour at the other,
Bee Media and Nordic Capital AS announced
really see us – and that’s very intentional.” The
requires huge investment to innovate and deliver.
its intention to acquire trendsetters Vizrt, which
group versus micro brand and segment reach
completed recently.
is one of the biggest challenges in successful
Our media-meshed industry is now running
Investors are searching for something to give a financial return that suits their current appetite for risk
Serial acquirer, Oracle, made one of its most
M&A; everyone has an opinion and the
and reward. Many developers and manufactures
media-centric purchases to date when it
perceived connections between brands are
come to NAB actively seeking backing, too: new
bought highly respected archive innovator
often highly intangible.
funding to get their idea off the ground or to boost
Front Porch Digital. Many customers saw this
their next phase of innovation or expansion. For
being as much about high quality people.
ChyronHego was finally taken private in a
vendors who have gained recent new financing,
We’ll look at that aspect next month in part two
merger: I think. No space for the details here but,
the challenge is to swing into action and get their
of this feature: Peoplesoft.
if you really want to study the real challenges
Highly respected live graphics specialist
Vitec Videocom, one of the industry’s most
of governance, communications and value
active acquirers, recently bought Paralinx for
engineering in precision M&A, it’s well worth
window at NAB: selling their latest solutions to
its real-time wireless monitoring and in October
reading up on ChyronHego.
prospective customers whist also promoting
last year, completed its purchase of Autocue.
their company’s innovation and potential value
CEO Matt Danilowicz got my attention with this
for an all share deal worth about $60 million, on
to the investment community. It’s a very tricky
statement: “M&A is easy. Integrating companies,
a turnover of about $40 million. A low valuation
balancing act for vendors.
that’s really hard. The reason that Vitec is still one
perhaps, given Orad’s cash position and its
latest value proposition front and centre. For many vendors, it’s now a two-way shop
Less interestingly so far, Avid acquired Orad
TVBEurope 37
June 2015 www.tvbeurope.com
Feature: NAB Retropsective everywhere, even on the NAB App home screen. Imagine’s campaign over the last two years since acquisition by The Gores Group illustrates two key dynamics in M&A: leadership and perception. Anyone invited to The Joint at The Hard Rock Hotel to see Imagine Live featuring soft rockers Foreigner, couldn’t fail to be impressed by chief executive Charlie Vogt’s on-stage converged confidence, or by Imagine CTO Steve Reynolds’ 30-minute verbal tour de force. Leading the 1,700 strong crowd with Imagine’s version of the industry future, with some repetition (Cloud, IP, SDN, etc) but certainly no hesitation or deviation. This was real marketing folks: ‘make the market’ or ‘serve the market’ is what the books say. Imagine Communications with Gores backing is attempting both. Ambitious. Either way, the perception of value is crucial, both to paying customers now and to secure future investment. It’s also what astute investors think very carefully about. Successfully matching a company’s transformation with the global media-meshed industry is as difficult as it has ever been. Investors’ typical three-year outlook can be painfully short. Consumer and mobile technology ‘hype-cycles’ are going faster whilst perhaps typical media industry buying and budgeting periods remain slower. Lining up Vince Roberts from Disney/ABC Television to confirm its vision and close proceedings was, almost, “unprecedented” as they like to say all too often in the US. He neatly gave us Disney’s/ABC Television’s strategic line: “By leveraging evolving IP and Cloud
technologies and products. Orad itself had
Leadership and perception (and soft rock defined video)
previously acquired UK MAM specialists IBIS.
For Imagine Communications, NAB 2015 was the
what’s currently possible with traditional
Come on Avid.
moment. The big push. And the company was
proprietary ‘Big Iron’ broadcast infrastructures.”
highly competitive yet under appreciated
technologies we are able to move beyond
38 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com June 2015
Feature: NAB Retrospective defined workflow management proposition. RGB Networks, acquired in January, adds Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI), Just-in-Time Packaging and Cloud DVR technologies. These highlight three game changing areas to rewire the revenue from advertising and subscribers. Cloud DVR technologies will be key in the next cycle. The line between TV and mobile services is blurring, and in many cases that blur is ‘the cloud’. Just after IBC last year, Ericsson announced its planned $95 million acquisition of Fabrix Systems, another innovator in cloud-based platforms for delivering DVR and VoD services. This acquisition is intended to help service providers deliver what Ericsson calls TV Anywhere: viewing on multiple devices with high-quality and relevant content for each viewer. Cable operators and telcos gaining dramatic growth in video streaming need to reach consumers and revenue cost effectively on multiple screens. Ericsson, along with many others, is now laser focused on the importance of the game changing opportunities in distribution technology, ABR and IP – going beyond the linear playlist – and the pivotal role of telcos and mobile operators in supplying future growth in media consumption and crucially, of course, advertising revenue. Listening to this year’s customer-side reaction at NAB, Broadcast Innovation thinks that telcos, their systems integrators and service providers, will be the dominant customers for the media technologies on offer at NAB very soon. Not broadcasters. Both will have to find a way to work closely but telcos, and mobile operators too, will thrive.
Patience and perspective: don’t fear the reaper One which might indeed help drive the industry.
larger independent businesses in our industry,
The financial spirits amongst us at NAB, haunting
As Foreigner took the stage to croon, “Feels like
with world class products and a rich history of
the floor searching for opportunity, add a
the first time…” a sharp-witted CTO remarked
innovation. I want to build on that tradition to
complex dimension for customers trying to select
to me, “…trouble is, I remember the last time.”
create an organisation 100 per cent focused
crucial new technologies that will help their own
Genuine frustration born of previous broken
on helping our customers prosper in the media
broadcast and media businesses innovate to
promises no doubt but that seemed possibly too
technology world.”
survive and grow. For some, it gives reassurance
simplistic. Broadcast and media technology is
The dynamics of leadership and perception
and stability; for others, the clarity and focus of
now a mature industry. Many established global
were illustrated again, with the departure in
brands do have a challenging legacy. Belden
October of EVS CTO Joop Jansen, which left
with Miranda then Grass Valley is going
many customers puzzled. EVS has one of the
required at times by customers trying to evaluate
through a similar journey (Don’t stop believin’?
strongest value propositions in the industry and is
the benefit for them in a merger or acquisition.
Plenty more soft rock defined anthems where
highly professional. Another indicator of a mature
New leadership can sometimes unintentionally
that came from).
industry searching for growth.
polarise the perception of both customers and
Quantel and Snell just got married, also with
their favourite vendor is often lost. Increased perspective and patience are
also the inherited staff too. People are much harder to evaluate than technology and
Thorsteinson as CEO. Quantel and Snell’s vision
Streaming and distribution: walk this way…
is for an open and less proprietary approach
Imagine also made two notable acquisitions
when we’ll look at other important factors in
to IP within the broadcast facility. Thorsteinson
over the last 12 months. File-meisters Digital
M&A cited by customers as vital for success:
elucidated further for Quantel as “…one of the
Rapids last NAB yielded its Zenium software-
people and partnerships.
new leadership as Lloyds Capital appointed Tim
market segments. More on this next month
RAI Amsterdam Conference 10-14 September : Exhibition 11-15 September
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40 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com June 2015
Feature A panoramic view of the election studio, including the green screen area used by Jeremy Vine for VR sections of the programme
The reality of election graphics Following his feature on the UK election in last month’s issue, Philip Stevens finds out more about the use of AR and VR for the programme BC Studios and Post Production’s (S&PP)
for us to integrate those engines with the BBC S&PP
Studio D at Elstree was home to the
systems and ensure all the video outputs were fine.”
B
broadcaster’s General Election coverage,
Leak also points out that there were many
and saw more than 24 hours of live programming
cameras that needed to be calibrated and
immediately following the close of polls on 7 May.
checked in a short space of time. All of this pre-
The use of virtual reality (VR) and augmented
production work had to be completed before
reality (AR) technology has become
the end of April when designers arrived to start
commonplace for such broadcasts where
pushing graphics through the systems.
analysis of the results is presented in the most
“The size and intricacy of the task meant that we had to utilise more than 20 graphics engines to provide the capacity needed. That complexity also meant that we arrived in the studio in mid-April to start all the preparation work” Russell Leak, Vizrt Based on the experience of the Scottish vote, the
Building on experience
BBC wanted to introduce an increased amount
Leak was able to draw upon around ten years’
of depth tracking on the cameras that showed
knowledge of election programming in preparation
presenter Jeremy Vine analysing results and
for the mammoth overnight transmission. “The most
making predictions. The technology enabled
makes this project such an absorbing and
recent were the local elections and the Scottish
Vine to move realistically around a green screen
interesting challenge.” That’s how Russell Leak,
referendum that took place last year and both of
environment and become immersed in the regularly
project manager at Vizrt, who oversaw the
those provided us with some useful background
updated graphics. The tracking system allows these
graphics workflow for the broadcast, summed up
knowledge for the General Election.”
movements to happen accurately and without
compelling – even dramatic – way possible. Central to that technology for the election programme was the service provided by Vizrt. “It’s the sheer scale of the programme that
his company’s contribution with the task. “The size and intricacy of the task meant that
Leak says that active preparation for the programme started soon after the beginning
affecting the position of the virtual graphics. That part of the programme originated in a
we had to utilise more than 20 graphics engines
of 2015. “We had a series of meetings with the
separate studio with its own gallery to enable
to provide the capacity needed. That complexity
BBC about what they wanted to deliver in terms
complicated moves to be rehearsed without
also meant that we arrived in the studio in mid-April
of the programme and what they wanted to
interfering with the main output. Those analysis
to start all the preparation work. It was necessary
achieve in terms of graphics.”
segments also involve the results and statistical
TVBEurope 41
June 2015 www.tvbeurope.com
Feature graphics that come from automation and data
appears on the set. But what happens if the director
We had worked very closely with the BBC to
integration provided by Idonix. Similarly in AR,
required that camera to be turned to another set
optimise the performance and the Vizrt UK team
Idonix was used for displaying social media
that perhaps has some green somewhere in it?
had the capabilities to handle these huge and
messages on screens in the studio.
That’s when you have to utilise another graphics
complex projects. And we certainly pushed
engine that runs a hold-out matte that makes sure
those graphics cards to their limit because of the
Keeping track of the cameras
that nothing is keyed if a guest comes into the studio
demands that were placed upon them.”
“We take the tracking information that comes from
wearing a green jumper or is sporting a party rosette
Leak states that all the AR and VR elements
the Mo-Sys Engineering system called StarTracker
or an election logo containing that colour. Even the
worked well on the night and everyone involved
and SpaceTracker into the Viz Engine render engine.
reflection on the floor of such items would cause
with the production was well pleased with the
These systems use reflective ‘stars’ on the ceiling
a problem, so we have to make certain that is not
outcome. “A great many graphics were prepared
of the studio to accurately locate the camera
keyed, as well. It is a delicate balance to getting the
to meet a variety of scenarios, many of which were
positions. As the camera is moved, there is a depth
AR and VR set up together.”
based on pre-poll predictions. We rehearsed the
perception to the viewer at home. When the director
Although set up for different purposes, both
graphics based on what the opinion polls were
switched cameras, the Viz Engine maintains the
rendering engines are identical and have the
saying, but in the end those often proved incorrect
correct perspective view. A GPI trigger box sends
same latest version of NVIDIA Quadro M6000 and
so the graphics were not used. No matter how
a command from the vision mixer to the Viz Engine
both run in a Matrox card for a video output.
much planning you do, there is never enough.
via Viz Virtual Studio. That was done to great effect
“On every election there is always the challenge
Although you come to the show with as many
in Scotland, and we learned valuable lessons about
of getting the graphics cards to work in real time,”
plans as you think you need, there are always
how it should be set up. But it is now even more subtle
reports Leak. “Like any computer system, if you start
unexpected events that occur, but we were
and was used on the General Election programme.”
to go over real time you begin to see problems.
prepared for everything.”
Leak adds that what was important for this broadcast was the requirement to be able to track the whole studio. “This was a huge studio space and the BBC wanted to use both VR and AR. The cameras that were being used for augmented reality were sometimes swung around and would be required for a virtual reality set-up. As a result, two of the cameras – the Steadicam and the encoderbased Moviebird crane – were capable of using both technologies.” In effect, this means that the output from these two cameras had to be fed into two different render engines. Overall, the multi-camera set-up comprised seven virtual reality-capable and five augmented reality-capable cameras.
Green issues “There are lots of interesting scenarios for the AR camera. For instance, because green is being keyed, it is obviously important that nothing of the colour
A crane was fitted with a Mo-Sys Engineering tracking system to enable it be used for AR and VR production
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42 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com June 2015
Forum
Talking of comms From beltpacks to digital matrix technology, comms covers a wide range of products and innovations. Philip Stevens moderates this month’s forum with experts from the sector
Communication technology may not have the same glamour appeal as cameras, slow motion systems, or massive audio mixing desks, but it is nonetheless vital to the production industry. So, what are the challenges, what role does VoIP play today, and what should we expect for the future? To communicate these and other issues we have (in alphabetical order) Manuel Brico, marketing manager EMEA, intercom and aviation, RTS Intercoms; Simon Browne, director of product management, Clear-Com; Eric de Bruyn, CEO, ASL Intercom; Ewan Johnston, sales and marketing director, Trilogy; Jürgen Malleck, international sales, Delec; and Ramon Pankert, product manager at Riedel.
What are the main challenges facing comms providers in 2015? Brico: The entire industry and also RTS is in a changeover phase – moving from either analogue or digital to IP-based technology. In this process, audio specialists have to work and cooperate with IT specialists to get systems specified, installed, configured and working. This requires not only a change in mindset, but also in workflow. What in the past was achieved using wires or audio routers now happens on the network. Additionally, different IP formats and standards may present themselves as a challenge in the future due to interoperability and compatibility between different systems and standards. Browne: I would say audio and control interoperability when using IP audio standards. Connections need to be independent so that
Manuel Brico, RTS Intercoms
local components can be reconfigured without taking down all cross-connected systems or
AVB was trumpeted as the next standard 12
taking many minutes to rediscover each other
to 18 months ago. Today, AES67 seems to be
and reconnect.
the emerging standard. Keeping pace with
de Bruyn: Connectivity with as many as
technology trends as well as continuing to add
possible other systems and protocols. AES67
functionality is always an on-going challenge.
certainly helps achieving that. Johnston: The most immediate challenge
Malleck: For us the challenge of 2015 is finding the balance between satisfying the growing IP
is adapting to the rapid adoption of IP in all
solution demand and the necessity of providing
aspects of the production process. This brings
simple out-of-the-box solutions. The IT industry
opportunities and challenges. For example,
moulded the perception of easily deployable
TVBEurope 43
June 2015 www.tvbeurope.com
Forum TCP/IP and VoIP solutions. But the truth is users
distributed resources – available everywhere
are left alone with bringing these solutions to life.
and anytime – than pure internet-based services.
We think that 2015 will focus more than ever on
The reliability and downwards-compatibility of
integrated systems rather than shifting boxes.
conventional intercom systems and the flexibility,
Pankert: There are two main challenges. First
scalability and cost-efficiency of transnational
is networking – how do you transport over a
cloud-based communication services like
digital network protocol? As an industry, we are
Intracom’s virtual intercom VCOM.
still in the process of building up our knowhow when it comes to IT technology, but it will be the future. Meanwhile, there are still many decisions pending and so we include in our products all the important protocols that we
Has the use of VoIP increased as a means of communicating between studios and OBs?
see coming along. Secondly, the total cost of ownership is getting more and more important.
Brico: RTS’ VoIP solution is called RVON, which
It is not only CAPEX, but especially OPEX. We
stands for RTS Voice Over Network. RTS has built
build our products so we can highlight the OPEX
up and maintained a large RVON install base
advantages for our users.
over the last ten years. This is, therefore, nothing
Simon Browne, Clear-Com
new for us. Additionally, we now also provide a high quality audio with full bandwidth and ultra
“The most immediate challenge is adapting to the rapid adoption of IP in all aspects of the production process” Ewan Johnston, Trilogy
low latency solution called Omneo. This is based on Audinate’s Dante and offers as standard keypanel connection for our customers. Also, IP four-wire exchange with other devices is becoming standard and more common. Browne: Absolutely, yes. The concerns over latency for cueing the remote, although justified, are diminishing for the simple reason that the convenience of providing comms and data in
In the forum last year, opinions were divided about ‘comms in the cloud’. Is that technology being more accepted today?
the same low cost pipe is more appealing. ClearCom has a Partyline over IP product, LQ-2W2, that provides for this operation with both audio and call signalling over WAN networks. de Bruyn: There is an increasing demand for AoIP (audio-over-IP), not so much VoIP.
Eric de Bruyn, ASL Intercom
Johnston: Absolutely. The twin prongs of Browne: There is a place for pure intercom
improved quality of the more modern VoIP
for remote operations – so we anticipate the
without connections to other audio and control
codecs, together with the increased flexibility
potential for our VoIP products. We don’t just
sub-systems, but it is limited in most working
VoIP provides are making this an increasingly
need LAN solutions, we need integrated LAN
scenarios. You often need connections to audio
common communications standard in remote
and WAN solutions. That’s why we sold the WAN
consoles and routers if only for IFB or announcer
production systems.
concept last year and we have virtual solutions
systems. These connections are also needed
Malleck: We’ve noticed a strong move away
within the cloud. If this isn’t possible, and APIs
from analogue telephone hybrids and expensive
may not exist for the third-party devices, then the
audio codec trunks, to more affordable VoIP
cloud intercom may be limited.
solutions as networks become faster, and reliable
de Bruyn: So far, we have not had the wish
connections are available around the globe.
from our customer to go through the cloud with
We make sure our customers grow with the
their intercom system. However, it might be an
possibilities VoIP solutions offer, meaning we will
issue for the future.
be giving them more than just the VoIP interface,
Johnston: While we can deliver on that
all over our portfolio.
Are we seeing greater integration between comms systems and other elements in a studio distribution network?
we provide them with a set of tools to choose
capability today, there are still latency issues to
from when they are in production and are under
Brico: The integration into overall umbrella control
be addressed and any increased latency by
pressure to establish connectivity. Relating to this,
systems such as VSM from LSB, KSC from BFE and
going via a cloud service makes such systems
2015 will be especially interesting for Delec.
Celebrum from Axon is happening everywhere.
unacceptable to many customers. Malleck: Yes and no. We still see great interest
Pankert: Short answer: yes. The need for remote production is growing a great deal. And
So, comms will increasingly be part of automated set-up change via a control system. Browne: The intercom system has always had
in cloud solutions, as this was the term of late
there is a link to the OPEX we mentioned earlier.
2014. However, translating cloud features into
People don’t want to travel around the world
to connect with other elements such as the studio
the intercom language is more about providing
to make productions, so we see great potential
desk and audio router for IFBs or line monitoring, or
44 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com June 2015
Forum platform will be able to do many other things – not just intercom. So, our approach is to sell a powerful smart platform onto which you can install comms apps. Then you have an intercom panel at an attractive cost. But on top, you have a concept advantage of other applications.
Do you have a very brief case study that illustrates an innovative use of comms? Brico: Yes, the CTV’s new OB11. It ranks among the largest OB trucks ever built. With 880 ports, its ADAM matrix allows for the creation of a very large communication matrix. The matrix can be connected to all audio transmission formats – including analogue, voice-over-IP and the media networking architecture Omneo.
CTV’s new OB11 ranks among the largest OB trucks ever built
Rounding off the intercom system is a total of 32 keypanels from RTS.
through the master control to outside lines and to camera and wireless systems. With the development of higher audio quality in today’s digital systems – like Clear-Com’s Eclipse-HX – we are seeing intelligent links over MADI, integration with fibrebased audio and video distribution with ProGrid, and AoIP connectivity to remote links over LQ. de Bruyn: Even though we still believe in
“Comms systems have always been tightly integrated with other broadcast components. Right now, we see a convergence for interfacing standards” Jürgen Malleck, Delec
having a separate network for your intercom (to be able to communicate should the general distribution network fail), more and more
15 years ago. We are certain that the demand
integration is happening.
to improve interoperability – even between
Johnston: The answer to this is both yes
competing products – will eventually become
and no. There is a definite move away from
a real requirement. The IT industry is teaching us
purchasing proprietary systems from a single
this. Together with its parent Stagetec – one of
vendor that locks customers into that solution
the founding members of OCA – Delec sits at
for their comms and some other aspects of the
the source of this development. The concept of
studio network. However, as happened in the IT
OCA has been introduced as X210 to the Audio
world, there is an increasing drive towards making
Engineering Society and Delec’s R&D is ready to go
systems interoperable by using standards-based
as soon as this becomes an approved standard.
approaches. The move to IP means more and
Pankert: Absolutely. One example is the AVB
more systems are sharing the same IP infrastructure,
concept. This whole network approach is brilliant,
so interoperability and compatibility are key to any
but there are probably still some components
successful implementation.
missing. But we can have intercom on an AVB
Malleck: Comms systems have always
network with a mixing console, a monitoring system
been tightly integrated with other broadcast
on AVB – you just connect the devices together to
components. Right now, we see a convergence
the cloud – and everything is auto-detected and
for interfacing standards. Recently launched AoIP
working. This is a huge advantage of interoperability
connection standards – for example, Dante and
integration. Then look at our new Smartpanel. It’s a
AES67 – are bound to simplify connectivity amongst
total approach and we are operating in a similar
the elements, but they only transport audio.
way to the iPhone. You buy the platform and
IP-based control protocols like OCA (Open
Ewan Johnston, Trilogy
purchase the software applications as you need
Control Architecture) or EmBER are not industry
them. We have different editions of apps – just buy a
standard yet, so the way we exchange
simple one and pay for your needs. But in the future,
information is actually not much different from
the whole concept brings us up to a level where our
Jürgen Malleck, Delec
TVBEurope 45
June 2015 www.tvbeurope.com
Forum Browne: Through Clear-Comâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
Pankert: We were one of the
real future innovation of our times.
distributor, Audiopole, and the installer,
players who inspired ESPN to go
Delec focuses on making it easier
Astrium, the Eclipse HX matrix system
down the AVB path when it came
to use our systems, without any
and V-Series control panels were
to building a new studio complex.
reduction in functionality.
used during the world-renowned
As a result, Riedel delivered a
13-day fast-paced motor vehicle
complete intercom system based
major innovation is the Smartpanel.
event that is known to fans simply
on AVB network technology.
As I mentioned earlier, this is
as The Dakar. This event attracted more than ďŹ ve hundred competitors travelling up to 900km a day through Argentina, Bolivia and Chile. Unique operational challenges arise from the sheer scale of the event, teamed with the dangerous and noisy aspects of the sport. It is therefore essential that
Are there any major innovations in the pipeline as far as comms are concerned?
Pankert: For me, the biggest
a new approach to doing communication. At NAB, we introduced the apps that turn the Smartpanel into an innovative and customisable intercom panel for professionals. In the same way that smartphones have surpassed traditional mobile phones in enriching user experience, the
the comms are reliable, clear and
Ramon Pankert, Riedel
ďŹ&#x201A;exible. As part of a recent update,
Brico: We have just made a big
Smartpanel brings workďŹ&#x201A;ows to a
all standard IP-connected V-Series
innovative step by introducing
whole new level. And we have
it can be turned into a cutting-
operator panels perform both as fully
Omneo-based intercom keypanel
a small intercom platform called
edge and ďŹ&#x201A;exible solution for
functional intercom user panels and
and systems. Two years ago, RTS
Tango. This is our ďŹ rst fully networked
a variety of communications
as multi-channel audio gateways
launched the ďŹ rst Omneo-based
platform based on the AES67
scenarios. In short, Tango is the
with no requirement for additional
products: the OMI (Omneo matrix
and AVB standards. With its own
ďŹ&#x201A;exible future-proof platform for
hardware or software licences â&#x20AC;&#x201C; thus
interface card) and the OKI
dedicated intercom application,
the broadcast environment. Â&#x201E;
meeting the ďŹ&#x201A;exibility requirements
(Omneo Keypanel Interface cards
that are necessary for a successful
for legacy RTS panels). We have
rally. This added feature extended a
now extended this portfolio with a
V-Series panel at a speciďŹ c remote
new keypanel series with Omneo
location to utilise the auxiliary channels
on board: the KP-series. With the
to provide a local intercom, audio
complete new KP family, all RTS
system, or radio system with matrix
keypanels will feature two or more
communication down the same pipe.
channel Dante-based Omneo
Johnston: We have recently
matrix connections as standard.
deployed systems for customers who
For the future, we already have
have elected to use a standard
several ideas for other products
enterprise wireless solution for
and customer requirements that
camera, lighting, sound, and ďŹ&#x201A;oor
could be realised using Omneo
managers. They are using ruggedised
technology.
mobile handsets rather than
Browne: Yes, always. There
proprietary beltpack solutions. Initially,
are new technologies that allow
this is wireless, but will likely expand to
greater reach and ďŹ&#x201A;exibility that
a 4G offering in future use cases.
can be tied in clever ways to
Malleck: We introduced the Oratis compact series at IBC 2013. It
traditional intercom. de Bruyn: Flexibility of the
provides up to 24 analogue 4wires, up
intercom system is still a very
to 16 dual channel AES/EBU ports â&#x20AC;&#x201C; for
important issue. In Frankfurt, we
panels and 4wires, and a redundant
showcased a new digital system
64-channel Dante interface â&#x20AC;&#x201C; also for
that will give you the greatest
subscribers and 4wires. Dependent
ďŹ&#x201A;exibility to date.
on a customerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s technology level,
Johnston: Yes, but they are
he is able to interface with legacy
roadmap items that we are not
components as well as conveniently
prepared to launch just yet. Make
connect a subscriber through his
sure you visit Trilogy at IBC this year,
IP infrastructure using Delec Dante
where innovation and security will
panels. For us, innovative intercom
be high on our agenda.
systems are hybrids. Multi-interface
IBC has an exciting opportunity for a telesales executive to join the IBC team on a six-month contract (with possible extension) in their central /RQGRQ RIÂż FHV 5HSRUWLQJ WR WKH 6DOHV 0DQDJHU you will be promoting and selling Touch & Connect WR ,%&ÂśV H[LVWLQJ DQG SRWHQWLDO FXVWRPHUV
Malleck: In a nutshell: increasing
nodes bring everything together with
interoperability and decreasing
maximum cost efďŹ ciency.
complexity. SimpliďŹ cation is the
You will have strong communication skills coupled with an ability to build rapport quickly with potential DQG H[LVWLQJ FXVWRPHUV EH JRDO RULHQWDWHG DQG GULYHQ WR VXFFHHG $ PLQLPXP RI WZR \HDUVÂś experience of the events and/or publishing industry LV HVVHQWLDO IBC is offering a competitive package of base salary with an opportunity of earning up to 15% FRPPLVVLRQ 0RUH GHWDLOV DUH DYDLODEOH RQ ,%&ÂśV ZHEVLWH ,I \RX KDYH WKH ULJKW VNLOOV DQG DWWULEXWHV DUH UHOLD EOH DQG GHWHUPLQHG WR VXFFHHG SOHDVH VHQG \RXU &9 DQG FRYHU OHWWHU E\ HPDLO WR NIXUQHOO#LEF RUJ LQGLFDWLQJ \RXU FXUUHQW VDODU\ DQG DQ\ QRWLFH SHULRG
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TVBEurope 47
June 2015 www.tvbeurope.com
Data Centre
Source: Juniper Research
OTT TV subscriptions to reach $31.6 billion by 2019 New data from Juniper Research has shown that subscriptions from OTT TV providers such as Netflix and Amazon Prime will generate $31.6 billion by 2019, up from just under $8 billion in 2014. By Holly Ashford he new research, ‘Mobile & Online TV &
T
Video: OTT, IPTV & Connected Markets 2015-2019’, observed that OTT services
are seeing a rapid uptake by consumers who want to view content, when and where it suits them. The report argued that traditional broadcasters are facing increased competition as more services go over-the-top of pay-TV incumbents, allowing distributors such as Sling TV to provide customers with a cheaper, tailored alternative to cable TV, driving the trend for ‘cord-cutting’. Continued growth in the established markets of Western Europe and North America, along with the emergence of key OTT players in the Far East and Asia Pacific, will bring a surge in the uptake of OTT subscriptions over the next four years. In the US, OTT is a service which has done considerably well over the past few years, with Netflix registering 37.7 million paid US subscribers. This looks set to continue, particularly with the launch of services such as HBO Go where content will be available direct from the production company, on-demand and for a fee,
Total Subscription OTT revenues 2019: $31.6 billion
rather than customers requiring a more costly cable or satellite subscription package. Whilst key players such as Netflix and YouTube have launched 4K services, the adoption of 4K
Meanwhile, 4K TVs will continue to become more
companies such as Netflix and Hulu. This trend
affordable, accelerating hardware take-up.
has been dubbed ‘cord-cutting’ and has
Over 84 per cent of OTT subscriptions will be
become a way for consumers to save
content has been slow. Juniper is predicting
made via connected TVs by 2019. IPTV revenues
money as they assess whether they need to
this will change over the next two years. Netflix
are set to more than double between 2014 and
subscribe to hundreds of channels, especially
added its 4K offering to its highest priced
2019, rewarding network operators’ investment in
as they move to watch TV on mobile and
subscription package last year, showing belief
triple and quad-play services.
connected devices.
that consumers are willing to pay for higher
One of the biggest threats to the traditional
In an attempt to combat the growing trend
quality content, while OTT providers are gaining
TV industry, Juniper asserts, is consumers
for cord-cutting amongst consumers, numerous
recognition as being the first to supply viewers
cancelling their satellite or cable TV services
network operators have ‘bundled’ their services
with content in this new format.
in favour of cheaper deals from OTT streaming
over the past few years.
48 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com June 2015
Data Centre
Will Big Data save the broadcast industry?
Dr Niko Waesche
Today’s broadcasters and content owners are offering more subscription-based and registration-based services, collecting mountains of data about their users and audiences. But most of this potential is going unused, even though it has the power to dramatically reshape the broadcast industry. In its latest paper, ‘Big Questions, Big Answers: Will harnessing smart data for audience analytics save the broadcast industry?’, GfK explores the benefits of Big Data for broadcast. Niko Waesche, global lead of the media and entertainment industry at GfK, outlines what a Big Data future looks like t a time of intense competition, Big Data
A
reality is we are not yet, and we are working hard
is increasingly being embraced as a
to change that. We are evolving and learning.
strategic and operational business tool.
The reality today is that it is no longer about
But the type of data that is being collected and
households, it’s about personalised data across
analysed is changing. In the past few years, the
individual devices.”
industry has been focused on the basics; such as subscribers, the number of pieces of content
Adding value to advertising
Getting personal with the viewer
or the number of plays. Now, the industry is
Many commercial broadcasters are using Big
The changing business model in broadcast is
moving away from asset-based data towards
Data to enhance their advertising sales, because
also impacting how Big Data is being used and
‘behavioural’ data, using real-time individual
“in developed markets, advertising is a known
with more direct communication happening
information on a much greater scale.
metric,” says Tom Weiss, CEO of Genius Digital.
between the broadcaster and the audience, Big
Viacom International Media Networks’ (VIMN)
In the UK, Channel 4 is pioneering the use of
Data is becoming business-critical.
senior vice president Philip O’Ferral says, “Six
Big Data to drive advertising revenues. Big Data-
months ago, we were doing the basics. TV
enhanced VoD ad sales currently account for
across all the Sky platforms, including online,
Sky IQ collects customer behavioural data
ratings, website numbers and top-line social
15 per cent of Channel 4’s total VoD advertising
and tracks profiles and interactions. It also
media numbers. Now we have a business
inventory, traded based on demographically
integrates this data with outside data, including publicly available statistics, demographics and
‘Big Data-enhanced VoD ad sales currently account for 15 per cent of Channel 4’s total VoD advertising inventory, traded based on demographically targeted information. In two years, Channel 4 predicts that as much as 50 per cent of its total VoD inventory will be traded this way’
retail data and partnerships. Tony Mooney, managing director of Sky IQ, thinks that companies need the basic demographics, including household composition, affluence of the house, affordability, transactions, and interactions. “But what you really need after that is frequency and ‘recency’; or how often and how soon. Until we started doing the viewing piece, we didn’t have a
intelligence team and the guy who runs it has
targeted information. And in two years, Channel
complete picture of consumer behaviour
a PhD in maths. What we are using is a blend of
4 predicts that as much as 50 per cent of its total
and consumption, so adding that has been
raw data from the mobile web and app usage
VoD inventory will be traded this way.
extremely powerful.”
in particular, who’s watching what, for how long
Sanjeevan Bala, head of data planning and
and for what time. Then we add third-party
analytics at Channel 4, says that these changes
wide initiative in 2014, moving it beyond the
feeds to help shape what we do with it, including
have resulted in “incremental revenue of
maxdome catch-up TV business to gather
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and some set-top
between 30 per cent to 55 per cent depending
data from all the different parts of the business
box data. But we also use traditional data like
on the ad product, compared to current VoD
in compliance with the legislation on data
panels and groups.”
prices. These new products will be more
protection. ProSiebenSat.1’s maxdome service
effective and efficient for brands and advertisers
has already seen 40 per cent growth in its
Rohana Rozhan, CEO of Astro, states, “I would
that are looking to take advantage of
customer usage since its re-launched brand
love to say we are very good with data but the
more targeting on VoD.”
and content offer in 2014.
Yet it is clear that there is still some way to go.
ProSiebenSat.1 made Big Data a company-
TVBEurope 49
June 2015 www.tvbeurope.com
Data Centre OSN, the leading pay-TV operator across the Middle East, has quadrupled its spend on research and data capture analysis in the last four years. “We spend multiple millions every year on data. The justification for increased amounts of money is to enhance the value proposition and increase the growth of our subscription base,” says CEO Dave Butorac. For content production companies, the allure
‘All the business models around data are still in the stage of thinking about ‘our’ data rather than the ecosystem of data. In the end, the different data sources will have to come together to be truly effective’
of Big Data is about the ability to create new business models. Ernst Feiler, head of technology at UFA serial drama in Germany, says contact with the audience is really new for broadcasters,
is possible. Understanding how best to use Big
but it’s a key element to the future health of
Data is also at a fairly early stage and there are
the television production business and TV as a
still questions about who should be doing the
whole. “We have no experience with (data)
analysis and how that research is disseminated
and we have to learn. The broadcasters do deal
throughout the organisation.
with data, but only after we deliver them our production. This is not an intelligent way forward.”
But for the future of broadcast, the industry needs to think about the data ecosystem. All the business models around data are still in the
The Big Data future
stage of thinking about ‘our’ data rather than
The power of Big Data is immense and it’s clear
the ecosystem of data. In the end, the
that broadcasters and platform operators are
different data sources will have to come
only beginning to scratch the surface of what
together to be truly effective.
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50 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com June 2015
Data Centre
The OTT viewer experience “Quality of experience impacts the profitability of every digital media business and every single viewer,” says new report published by Conviva n its third annual Viewer Experience Report,
I
% of views that experience buffering
Conviva suggests that as audiences swell and potential subscription revenue increases,
2012
39.3%
2013
26.9%
2014
28.8%
there are mounting challenges in building sustainable OTT services. Consumers no longer simply expect a service to work, they demand that it provide a high-end
BUFFERING
experience. Delivering a quality experience to each and every viewer has never been more complex nor more fundamental to acquiring and
% of views impacted by low resolution
retaining an audience. “Viewers used to be content with an OTT
2012
63%
2013
56.7%
2014
58.4%
service if the video began playing at all - this is no longer the case,” explains Hui Zhang, Conviva’s CEO. “Consumers now demand a
RESOLUTION
multi-dimensional experience that provides superior picture fidelity, zero resolution volatility, and TV-like viewing quality, and will abandon the streams that do not deliver. OTT providers need
% of views impacted by full start failure
to utilise an iterative publishing process to ensure the optimised experience consumers demand.” The report states that video start failures have decreased by almost half to an all-time low of
START FAILURE
2.6 per cent while buffering and low resolution
2012
4%
2013
4.8%
2014
2.6%
experiences remained relatively unchanged from 2013. Worldwide picture fidelity grew 30 per cent in 2014, and the report concluded that as picture fidelity increases, so does time spent consuming content. Playback interruptions were highlighted as a point of concern, as 14 minutes of viewer
14
engagement is lost on average for each one per cent of interruptions experienced. “In the end, it is the combination of high picture fidelity and low interruption rates tuned to the platform, device and network in use by the viewer
12 10
that determines engagement,” the report states. Despite these issues, multiscreen viewing is at
11 MINS
8
an all-time high. While average household size has been shrinking, the number of devices in use within each household has risen, with the average
6
8 MINS
household of three people using two devices simultaneously during primetime. “TV is becoming
14 MINS
+1% INTERRUPTIONS
4
a more individual, rather than community, experience,” the report summarised. It concludes by warning that although this is an exciting prospect, it
2
3 MINS
also brings significant risk to OTT providers: as viewers compare and contrast one another’s services,
2011
2012
identify the best available, and move to whichever best meets their needs.
Engagement reduction (in minutes) with 1% increase of buffering
2013
2014