feature live news & sport Feature sponsored by
The world of news and sports broadcasting has changed dramatically in recent years and continues to evolve rapidly, posing complex challenges for the industry. The demand for live transmission to the masses, the shift in customer expectations and growing competition between industry players have impacted both news and sports broadcasting. This article, by Julian Wheeler, VP of global media and entertainment at Tata Communications, examines the ways for broadcasters to overcome these challenges with the latest technology advancements.
Tackling the technology challenge
greatest additional spend stems from the contribution and distribution feeds using conventional mediums of satellite up-linking. This trend impacts both sports and
T
news although in some news situations, such as breaking news, it may be acceptable to have some compromised quality when speed to air is paramount, but in sports it is critical to maintain high quality as any deterioration in video quality causes a great impact to the viewing experience.
Multiple devices, multiple formats
Due to the explosion in different mobile devices from smartphones to tablets, all content has to be transcoded into multiple device formats. Additionally, adaptive bit rate streaming has to be used due to the changing bandwidth conditions on the network. In the case of news, further customisation is required as different devices and platforms are invariably equipped with different additional
54 l ibe l november/december 2011 l
www.ibeweb.com
Julian Wheeler, VP of global media and entertainment at Tata
Communications.
he move towards HD and 3D in sports in particular has resulted in increased costs for equipment, such as cameras and encoders, and for skilled specialist staff. However, the
features, such as tickers and integration with social media such as Twitter and Facebook, which we will also see becoming more prevalent in other entertainment genres. The requirement for customisable,
multiple camera angles in sports, regional commentaries in both news and sports, and customisation for niche user groups, add to the complexities of content delivery. News networks also grapple to adjust to the sudden surge in demand for specific content via social feeds. They also need to provide flexible mechanisms for RSS feeds and various applications allowing for customisation of content.
Free TV - consumers expect bells and whistles
This trend has impacted on news much more than sports. Sports by nature of its exclusive licensing and cult following is able to charge a premium for added features such as alternate device browsing or HD, or can more easily absorb multi device costs within the overall premium attracted to sports content. News producers are also under increasing pressure because of the huge volume of content available from independent bloggers anytime, anywhere, for free.
The next challenge is coming from a wave of piracy and illegally acquired content available online, which impacts the ability to charge for content as more consumers expect content for free.
Tackling the challenges head-on
There are technology advancements that help news and sports broadcasters to meet the continuing demand for better quality, customisation and content delivery over multiple platforms, while ensuring competitive pricing. Not only do these innovations enable broadcasters to retain their margins, but in some cases also help them to benefit financially from new trends in consumer behaviour. There have been significant
developments in the field of high quality video contribution and distribution over fibre. The uptimes equal conventional satellite solutions while offering much more flexibility to enable the encoding of 100 Mbps of MPEG4 HD content or even the delivery of raw 3.1 Gbps HD feeds over local or international networks. The costs of pick-up and delivery over fibre is 70-80% lower than satellite feeds. Examples of fibre in action are
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60