As multiscreen becomes mainstream MSI’s prove their worth contends Tomas Petru, president, Visual Unity
Tomas Petru: ‘Appetite for TV Everywhere’
Broadcasters must accelerate multiscreen Opinion
TV’s linear and online coverage) we should not underestimate the huge challenges the broadcast industry now faces. After all, it is the viewer, with an insatiable appetite for TV Everywhere, second screen viewing and social TV, who has really forced multiscreen into the mainstream whilst broadcasters struggle to keep pace – grappling with new business models and monetisation, relatively immature technology and an increasingly complex delivery chain.
As the first truly connected Olympic Games drew to a close in London, no-one can be in doubt that multiscreen has come of age – and more rapidly than anticipated. To meet the demands of audiences worldwide (particularly those in emerging markets), broadcasters have delivered more hours of content across
more screens than ever before and seen a huge surge in usage, where social connection has been almost as important as the content itself.
As we immerse ourselves in the glow of a groundbreaking and successfully delivered event (Visual Unity is proud of the role our team played in supporting national broadcaster Czech
Whilst content is obviously key to a successful multiscreen strategy, many broadcasters are unable to focus on their core skill of making TV programmes as they face a plethora of new business and technical hurdles, particularly in delivery. And it is the quality of content delivery, combined with a valuable user experience, that will influence audience share in the future – a mainstream multiscreen audience that is not
only more demanding than typical early technology adopters, but is also far less forgiving. With an estimated 7bn mobile screens (many with a resolution higher than standard TV sets) and a global explosion in the number of connected devices, tablets and notebooks capable of delivering close to 4K resolution, audiences will not suffer poor multiscreen services for long. This has forced many
broadcasters into an uneasy alliance with operators to deliver services, releasing the hold of in-house technical resources who control operations, in order to get content to the viewer as fast and smoothly as possible. This is where a Multiscreen Systems Integration (MSI) partner such as Visual Unity can help and add real value. Combining over 20 years of broadcast experience with proven IP and IT expertise, we successfully bridge the gap between linear operations and new connected services; helping broadcasters evolve established infrastructure and maintain and grow market share.
Our extensive knowledge of Cloud-based services, global and local CDNs helps de-risk delivery enabling broadcasters to keep pace with multiscreen demands, retaining their focus on programming while we deliver and manage the technology layer which underpins it. Multi-screen is a complex formula, blending new technology and business platforms into existing systems and resources, media asset management, user
management and experience, social media integration with secure, reliable distribution. Visitors to this year’s IBC can look to the small number of expert MSIs such as Visual Unity to deliver a clear direction on how to accelerate their move into multiscreen services and provide the high performance that audiences demand. 3.B60
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