feature iptv/hybrid tv

Consumers buy content and services, not access technologies. IPTV needs to grow its subscriber populations quickly to get better content and lower prices, and satellite needs managed VOD to remain competitive. This win-win will lead to more hybrid services, according to Giles Wilson, CTO & head of product portfolio at Ericsson TV.

Broadcast-IP hybrids

will redefine Pay TV

I

PTV technology has been a great success but the IPTV providers who have made the most impact are those who excelled in content and services and transformed themselves into full- scale media companies. Perhaps the biggest lesson from IPTV is that consumers don’t care about, or buy, access technology. Great television packages are what sells.

Starting from zero subscribers, IPTV providers need to offer a compelling service to attract customers from established Pay TV operators. Because of their low initial penetration, they have to pay a premium to secure content deals. Established business models determine that, in very simple terms, if you have a large subscriber base you can get paid for carrying content, but if you are building from the ground up you probably have to pay the content owners. This is one reason why IPTV providers are under pressure to achieve critical subscriber mass quickly.

Satellite and telcos need hybrid

Increasingly, telecoms companies are looking for ways to achieve instant scale so they can negotiate more favourable terms for content, and so

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A hybrid strategy provides a more effective way to combine content and reach, and meet the demands of the modern consumer. Hybrid networks provide a stepping stone into what eventually will be an all-IP world.

build better value packages. This then drives more subscriber acquisition, creating a virtuous circle. This explains the growing interest in hybrid broadcast and IPTV platforms, where one-way satellite or digital terrestrial television (DTT) signals are combined with two-way IP networks. By harnessing broadcast networks, IPTV providers can achieve national coverage overnight for services that include ‘over-the-air’ broadcast channels and also provide managed IP video on-demand (VOD). Progressive VOD download means TV services can be offered to broadband customers even in rural locations. Some broadcast channels can be multicast across the IP network. This could include local or regional content that helps differentiate the service. IPTV providers can make use of local DTT services for broadcast TV or, more significantly, partner with or acquire satellite TV platforms. Importantly, they are not the only ones seeking change. Satellite Pay TV platforms have a major challenge that also requires new thinking. They need to deliver true VOD and growing volumes of catch-up TV with the big-screen quality that can only be achieved today, and for the foreseeable future, through a managed network on- demand infrastructure.

Platform operators are increasingly pragmatic about how they embrace more consumers and grow their business, so are less wedded to any delivery technology. France Telecom and Portugal Telecom are two examples of how IPTV and DTH has already been combined. IPTV and satellite each has what the other needs, so nobody should be surprised to see more hybrid networks and more consolidation.

The power of on-demand

Linear programming remains the foundation for television services and accounts for the majority of TV advertising revenues today. However, the trend towards more on-demand viewing is accelerating and consumers are starting to expect, not just want, time-shifting and catch-up TV. Push- VOD with PVRs cannot deliver the vast catalogues of movies, television series and archive programming that are starting to differentiate leading cable operators.

One-way network operators know they must respond to the trend away from scheduled television. Some are using the Internet to download movies into PVRs but services are less compelling than what cable has to offer. Meanwhile, broadcasters hoping 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