4 TVBEurope


Opinion The Year Ahead


www.tvbeurope.com January 2014


2013 saw the discussion and the theory behind 4K. This year it won’t just be theory anymore; it will start to be used in practice


4K, OTT and TV in the air


Last year saw the rise of connected devices, OTT and Smart TVs becoming commonplace in the home and the emergence of Ultra HD. David Hochner, CEO of Satlink Communications, takes a look at what’s ahead in 2014


2013 HAS certainly been a year where broadcasters and providers alike have not been able to take a step back and admire their work. Instead they have taken a deep breath to prepare themselves for what the future holds. With new technologies come new challenges, and as audiences expect greater quality and greater customisation of services, broadcasters, content providers and solution providers are preparing themselves for a busy 2014.


The top industry trends


that we see for the next 12 months are:


4K will finally take off Last year saw the discussion and the theory behind 4K. What could it do? How can we do it? What benefits will we see? This year it won’t just be theory anymore; it will start to be used in practice. The uptake won’t be huge, with only a few channels testing the water, but this will spark the kick-off for real transmissions and productions of 4K content. The trigger for 4K content, as with many new and innovative broadcasting technologies, is sports and entertainment content such as movies. With the Brazil World Cup taking place, I would expect to see this type of content hitting some screens next summer, particularly in the European and Asian markets, which are already open to this kind of technology. One of the challenges still facing 4K is that there are no standards yet and much of this discussion is still ongoing within the industry. Yet it doesn’t have the same restrictions as 3D did, which means that it stands a real chance of taking off and becoming a part of the way we consume TV content. The uptake won’t be fast — for some emerging countries HD has still not been introduced — and it won’t reach full


“The OTT customer base will be large and varied”


potential until SD is removed from the picture, but 4K is accessible and meets the growing need from audiences for higher quality content on bigger screens.


OTT — No longer just a buzzword Admittedly everyone has been talking about OTT for a while. What was once seen as a far- away idea has become a very real reality as the technology is now available and broadcasters and content providers are having to adapt and change the way they provide content to their audiences. One of the biggest challenges so far with the OTT model is that businesses have not been seen to be making any money from it, particularly if you take into account issues such as distribution and rights management. However, as more and more players enter the market, particularly the content management area, then next year will be the commercial kick-off for the technology as


increasing focus is placed on it. Additional consideration will also need to be given to how to monetise this content through advertisements, etc, within the technology. The rise of OTT has also opened up the market for smaller, sometimes more niche broadcasters. There is a growing trend amongst these smaller broadcasters to make use of cloud-based managed services and offerings from specialist providers. This technology is effectively lowering the financial entry barriers to smaller and start-up broadcast and content providers as well as levelling the playing field in terms of giving smaller players access to leading edge technology that would previously have been available only to large multinational broadcasters. The OTT customer base will be large and varied. We don’t envisage it competing with the 4K market, but instead it predominately will be used to reach out to ethnic communities across the globe and those seeking more interactive content. With the US market leading the way, the African region is actually more than ready for OTT as they are able to skip previous technological incarnations and jump right into the next generation solutions that are available.


Hochner: “The next step could be live viewing up in the air, travelling on an airplane”


It is also likely that, due to the


rise of Smart TV and apps, we will start to see the demise of the Set Top Box (STB). This means that providers will need to work alongside TV manufacturers so that technology is incorporated into the standalone TV set.


Less linear consumption of TV content In a busy society, the way TV is consumed has been changing as audiences play ‘catch-up’ with their favourite TV programmes on their mobile devices, laptops and TVs. With on-demand TV and associated apps making it easier to watch TV whenever and wherever you want to, VoD platforms are competing with the traditional concept of linear TV. Whilst linear TV may remain the habit of choice for some audiences, ultimately 2014 will see the increasing rise of mobile consumption of content, and even the development of content specifically designed to be watched on a mobile or tablet device.


Watching TV in mid-air In a completely connected world, users want to be able to access content whenever they want. And when could be a perfect time to take a break and watch your favourite TV channel? Having provided broadcasting services for 20 years, and to a wide ranging selection of outlets, including live broadcasting to ships in the middle of the ocean, I think the next step could be live viewing up in the air, travelling on an airplane. Whilst this may sound crazy, it is already commonplace in the mobile telecoms market for users to expect no drop in coverage or service, even if they are mid-air. On most major US airlines it is possible to have the same service that you would expect when you have two feet on the ground. So what about taking this to the next level and being able to watch live TV content, or stream TV content, to mobile and tablet devices or even the on-air television systems? This would be a completely new media for broadcasters and content providers to adapt to, and I think that as the connected vision takes flight, the development of solutions that are available mid- air will be one to watch. Whilst many broadcasters are getting bandwidth savvy and selecting solutions that make efficient use of what is available, these technologies may be truly tested in 2014, and it will be interesting to see how this develops. www.satlink.tv


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