22 Executive Summary The impact of new players
Crossing the divide
Erik Huggers Former SVP, Verizon Communications
Region: United States Interviewed by: Andy Stout
Erik Huggers has been one of the most influential people in the roll out of IPTV. He joined the BBC in 2007 and was responsible for the BBC's Online, iPlayer, Mobile and Red Button services, and also led the BBC’s Broadcast and Enterprise Technology Group, BBC Archives and BBC R&D. More recently, prior to joining Verizon Communications, Huggers was President of Intel Media working to reimage television via the OnCue CloudTV platform. He interrupted his current sabbatical to speak at the IBC Leaders’ Summit.
Looking back on the development of the iPlayer, is there anything you would have done differently? My original ambition with iPlayer was always to make it the default industry platform for all UK free-to- air broadcasters. Imagine a single platform that would support both public service broadcasters as well as commercial broadcasters. The next logical step would be to take that product global and stand a chance to compete with the likes of Apple, Google, Amazon and Netflix. I very much regret not having pushed that idea harder. Having said that, it’s not too late for someone else to run with it…
How do you see the net neutrality debate shaking out in the US? Recent developments have me very worried about net neutrality. As far as I can tell there are two key differences with the rest of the world. First, in the US there is no real competition in the high-speed data market. US consumers mostly have a choice between two providers of which usually only one offers truly high-speed access. Second, it’s my belief that the regulators in Europe have real
teeth and are willing to bite whereas in the US a former cable/wireless industry lobbyist runs the regulator.
Does linear broadcasting still has a future? Linear TV remains essential in the media mix for a very large portion of the audience. These are 50- year-old habits that have not changed quickly. While we've seen enormous increases in on- demand, most consumers simply do not know what to watch and trust their favourite channels brands to be the curator. In the long run, live linear will become a medium for live sports and must- see TV where first run episodes are only available on the channel. Everything else moves to on- demand.
What has been the impact of new players to date? Companies like Netflix, Apple, Google and Amazon are leading the way by innovating with great user experiences, business models and commissioning of high quality internet first content. The board of every established media company is laser focused on figuring out what these changes mean for them.
Is there anything you think Europe needs to learn from American practices? The main difference that I have seen between Europe and the US when it comes to innovation in the media space is the appetite for risk and a willingness to think big. There's lots of incredible talent in Europe, but unfortunately it lacks the ecosystem of companies and investors who have a drive to change the world. As a result major American corporations may dominate Europe's media space over the next decade.
“US
corporations may dominate European media for the next decade”
theibcdaily
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