36 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com September 2014 Special Report: OTT Multiscreen
Talking heads What’s next for OTT multiscreen?
To complete our special report, we sought the opinion of a select group of executives about how developments in technology and demand could impact the OTT multiscreen experience of the future. Joining our technical insight are Braxton Jarratt, CEO of Clearleap; Tomas Petru, CEO and founder of Visual Unity; and David Leporini, executive vice president of marketing, products and security at Viaccess-Orca
Braxton Jarratt, CEO, Clearleap
lmost every day, somebody in the TV industry will wonder what’s next on the horizon for OTT multiscreen. This is not surprising given the success of content companies like HBO and Netflix. But the OTT multiscreen model is still evolving and key benchmarks that define what consumers want and are prepared to pay for stems not from linear TV but from Internet entrants. The likes of Amazon, Google and Facebook showcase the essence of the smart experience that many media brands aspire to. In part, these firms are responding to demand but they are also feeding and defining a certain level of expectation: a level of immediacy and responsiveness that TV traditionally has not yet exhibited. As we look to the future of OTT,
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such technological advancements are only set to continue dramatically enhancing the experience. TV consumers, like web users, have come to expect that providers will know what they want before they want it. In a correlation to Internet firms sifting data to deliver increasingly targeted ads and content, OTT needs to be able to analyse predictive data in realtime and use that data to drive experiences. Behind the scenes, these analytic systems cannot be built in isolation. The steps around creating and transforming content and the crucial content metadata and user behaviour have to be considered and built into processes and workflows. Like the internet pioneers truly know, data allows sellers to understand, serve and retain buyers more than almost anything – other than great content.
As OTT starts to span borders, languages and cultural nuances, these data driven systems need to be technically adept and flexible enough to help providers manage content flows against evolving consumer expectations. Where traditional TV was fixed within rigid borders by transmission towers and inflexible syndication agreements, the next generation of OTT is likely to span national borders, forcing system architects and operators to prepare for this eventuality. What will this mean at the technical operations level? Well, more interoperability between systems and adherence to international recognised standards for content preparation, exchange and data analysis are good steps. Standards such as MPEG-DASH and other adaptive technologies as well as content data models including XML, CableLabs ADI, RSS/MRSS should be considered as best practice for core OTT and multiscreen systems. In an industry that is becoming mostly IP-centric, the OTT sector can sidestep some of the highly proprietary cul-de-sacs that the broadcast industry drove down based on national regulations or dominant broadcaster influence. Another aspect starting to creep into the consciences of TV service providers is enjoying the acceptance of the wider social community. It’s clear from many reports that traditional TV viewing habits are becoming more personalised. The family sitting communally around a linear TV screen is fading. However, the paradox is that we have become the most socially connected society in history through digital technologies. The billions of Facebook users swim within ad-hoc hangouts, LinkedIn groups, Spotify friends, Twitter followers and a whole host of social networks that are informally sharing media content links. Although as an industry we still need to contend with piracy, the traditional TV service providers that can turn themselves into an online brand capable of sharing with subscribers and the wider social
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