(Dec 12, 2013) Bloomberg Television has announced it has entered into a partnership with former Malaysian Minister and founder of ntv7, Dato Sri Mohd Effendi Norwawi’s Encorp Group. Bloomberg Television and Encorp Group will cooperate to create the first business news channel in Malaysia in 2014.
Read more at C+T
Welcome to News Views, CASBAA’s news round-up culled from sources across the industry for the week ending Dec 13th. Curated by CASBAA, News Views keeps you in the loop. We always value your feedback, so tell us what you think!
Christopher SlaughterCEO |
What we used to call an “article” is — in these Twitterifying times — now referred to as a “long read”… as in “tl”. But if you have the attention span, The New Republic recently accused Netflix of waging a war on mass culture. Despite the slightly breathless headline, it’s a fairly thoughtful piece, and author Tim Wu (a professor at Columbia Law School, focusing on media) manages to work in references to Nabokov, Steinbeck… and “I Love Lucy.” |
Jill GrindaExecutive Vice President |
Few have been able to put a price tag on the cost to the industry of a la carte programming, but Needham & Co. media analyst Laura Martin took a stab at it in her study. The report based on the US market finds that a la carte TV pricing would cost the industry billions of dollars. |
John MedeirosChief Policy Officer |
UK Police have been working hand-in-hand with creative industry reps to address the problem of pirate websites using piracy to drain the life force out of content creation. D’ya think we could get some Asian police forces interested in being so pro-active? |
Christopher SlaughterCEO |
Get ready: delivering more content digitally is going to cost a LOT more. ESPN’s Kelly Cooke, the co-chair of CASBAA’s OTT Committee, pointed out this article on recent predictions from PwC that digital content will account for 87% of new spending at media companies over the next five years. |
Sara MaderaDirector, Member Relations & Marketing |
Discovery Communications is looking to rewrite the script with Scripps with reports emerging of a bid in the US for non-fiction television specialist Scripps Networks Interactive. |
Jane BuckthoughtAdvertising Consultant |
From great expectations to managing our expectations, GroupM has downgraded its 2014 ad-spend forecast from 5.1 per cent growth initially projected back in August to 4.6 per cent due to persistent economic sluggishness in a number of markets. China remains the largest single source of ad spending growth, accounting for 37 percent of new dollars in 2013 and a projected 31 percent in 2014. |
Desmond ChungAssociate Director, PR & Communications |
My dream of a speedy daily commute is evaporating in front of my eyes. With a 133% surge in mobile and tablet video views in the past year, I can only assume the number of slow walking, and totally-oblivious-to-the-fact-that-there-are-other-people-in-the-world pedestrians is only going to increase! |
| Some additional links you might be interested in: |
BBC Motion Gallery’s Education division has been re-named BBC Worldwide Learning effective 9th December 2013. The new brand identity reflects BBC Worldwide Learning’s position as a provider of premium short-form educational videos and the division’s renewed focus on brand and content partnerships.
BBC Worldwide Learning will continue to work with the international education business community as well as helping to develop a digital offering to complement textbooks and learning programmes. Content will be taken from blue chip partners including BBC Television and NHK Television. BBC Worldwide Learning will also work closely with the public service activities of BBC Learning in the UK to offer topical, relevant curriculum content to learners outside the UK.
Stephen Davies, Director, BBC Motion Gallery said, “The introduction of BBC Worldwide Learning helps strengthen our position as a leading content provider and as a partner for co-branded opportunities in the global education market.”
The business’ new website, to be launched at BETT in January 2014 will offer thousands of educational videos, from clip licensing to fully produced short form video segments, encompassing all major curriculum subject areas.
BBC Worldwide
Jeanne Leong/ Director, Communications
Jeanne.Leong@bbc.com
+65 68495292
Amy Castle-Young / Emma Cooney, Communications Managers
amy.castle-young@bbc.com / emma.cooney@bbc.com
+44 (0) 207 612 3136 / 3146
About BBC Worldwide Ltd.
BBC Worldwide Limited is the main commercial arm and a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). BBC Worldwide exists to support the BBC public service mission and to maximise profits on its behalf. It does this through investing in, commercialising and showcasing content from the BBC around the world, in a way that is consistent with BBC standards and values. The business also builds the reach and reputation of the BBC brand overseas and champions British creativity. In 2012/13, BBC Worldwide generated headline profits of £156m and headline sales of £1,116m and returned £156m to the BBC. For more detailed performance information please see our Annual Review website:
http://www.bbcworldwide.com/annualreview
bbcworldwide.com
twitter.com/bbcwpress
(Dec 11, 2013) Elemental Technologies has announced the successful demonstration of full frame rate 4K Ultra HD high-efficiency video coding (HEVC). At an event in London, the company showed an end-to-end workflow in which live 4K@p60 HEVC content was encoded for display in real-time. At sixty frames per second, the demonstration proves the industry leadership Elemental has attained with its HEVC implementation and heralds a new age of highly immersive viewing for consumers.
Read more at Advanced Television
(Dec 11, 2013) Global ad expenditures will increase 4.6 per cent in 2014 to $531 billion, according to GroupM’s latest spending forecast – a downgrade from the 5.1 per cent growth that the firm initially projected for 2014 back in August. But persistent economic sluggishness in a number of markets worldwide prompted GroupM to issue the downwardly-revised forecast.
Read mroe at Advanced Television
So far, lots of hope, but not much payment
Two recent articles described the developments and problems in Vietnam’s OTT television industry.
OTT (Over The Top) is an irresistible trend, not only in the telecom market. Even Vietnam’s TV service providers are joining in. So far, VTVcab, FPT Telecom and VTC have jumped into the market, but user fees are proving hard to get.
VTVcab is the first official service provider; its service branded VTV Plus began in January 1/2013. It is the product of cooperation between VTVcab and the Communications Network and Services Corp. (Medianet Corporation). This application allows you to view multiple live TV channels, additional features and especially the completely new experience for interactive television.
VTV Plus allows viewers to recognize the device being used to select the signal flow and appropriate resolution to help the audience watch TV with the best quality on all devices, even though in motion.
Mr. Pham Anh Chien, Medianet Chairman, said VTV Plus offers coverage on all display systems (iOS, Android and Windows Phone, as on every screen phone, tablet, PC, Laptop or SmartTV.) Consumers need only to download the app; the channels provided on the system are on VTV VTVcab Plus
FPT Telecom provides its FPT Play app on the Apple and Google app stores. Since its initiation in 10/2013, FPT Play has attracted over 100,000 users downloads and installations.
FPT Play offers about 85 channels including SD and HD signals, and integrated entertainment features such as music videos, and television shows. It also has the ability to identify types of clients connected, so that the conversion quality can match. This enables users to see the contents with stable quality on all types of connections including 3G or WIFI. It also offers automatic notification to users of compelling new content.
Mr. Vu Anh Tu, Chief Technology Officer of FPT Telecom, said FPT Play’s superiority is the ability to transmit stable, high quality and rich content. In the upcoming version of FPT Play “Play HD” will provide connectivity between the two products, allowing users to interact better with the TV and use the content in a consistent manner on all TV screens, tablets, and mobile devices.
VTC has developed “VTC Play” OTT over the past year. It offers software support for both iOS and Android and the most common set top box receivers in the common market. VTC is running technical trials, allowing phone and tablet users to download the software, as well as laptops connected to the site.
Autumn is for testing fees
VTV Plus began offering service from 01.01.2013 and from 01.07.2013 began testing fees. To date, there are more than 2.5 million registered user accounts. However, Pham Anh Chien said, despite the high numbers there is very little payment. This despite the fact that VTV Plus gives viewers flexibility in payment – they can use monthly, weekly or even daily subscription, or pay per view of premium subscriber content.
“The amount of growth is very good but so far it is mainly free users; amounts paid are very little,” Chien said. Currently VTV Plus is still in the investment stage; its next task is to create a set of paying customers. Mr. Chien said that OTT TV is full of potential service providers, all of which hope to collect user fees from the content or through interactive TV services.
Mr. Vu Anh Tu said, FPT Play is currently being offered free of charge to all users. Commercialization of digital entertainment apps in Vietnam will take a long time and require particularly well-thought commercial strategies to take account of the special ways of thinking and style of the Vietnamese consumer. The evidence is that a lot of users already access online sites to watch movies that are full of ads, and even malware (malicious software such as viruses, trojans, etc.). The only reason they will tolerate this is to see a DVD-quality movie for free.
In addition, FPT Telecom views mobiles and tablets as a component of the ecosystem of products catering to video services — it provides user priority for Vietnam’s FPT Telecom products.
Similarly, Le Hoang Son – VTC Digital Director said, VTC will provide free services as well as services to its customers. But in the long run, for increased content, customers will have to be charged.
(This is a machine-assisted translation of the original article in Vietnamese, which can be found here)
(Dec 11, 2013) Elemental Technologies, a supplier of video solutions for multiscreen content delivery, has been named the multiformat and OTT video processing market leader across multiple regions by research released from SNL Kagan. The ranking follows an ABI Research report issued which was issued earlier this year and cited Elemental as the leader in live multiscreen encoder global market share.
Read more at Advanced Television
Kuala Lumpur, 10 December 2013 – Mezzo Live HD Asia will soon be available in the Asia-Pacific region for the first time, after a deal between Globecast, MEASAT Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd (“MEASAT”) and Mezzo to deliver the channel via the MEASAT-3 satellite.
Mezzo Live HD Asia is a new around-the-clock TV channel for the Asia-Pacific region. Dedicated to classical music, jazz and dance, the channel will broadcast some of the world’s most prestigious concerts, operas, jazz and ballet. Broadcast in French, Mezzo Live HD Asia will be subtitled in 11 regional languages and adapted to the tastes of local markets in Asia to ensure it reaches the broadest audience across the region.
Soo Yew Weng, Senior Vice President of Sales of Globecast Asia, said, “Globecast prides itself on helping channels expand to new regions. To this end, we are happy to partner with Mezzo and MEASAT. For Mezzo to expand its presence and bring such high quality content to the Asia-Pacific is great news indeed.”
“MEASAT is pleased to expand its partnership with Globecast with the agreement to distribute Mezzo Live HD Asia across the Asia-Pacific,” said Raj Malik, Senior Vice President – Sales & Marketing, MEASAT. “Mezzo Live HD Asia’s addition to the 91.5°E video neighbourhood is a reflection of the growing popularity of HD content that is available over this region via our hotslot.”
The MEASAT3/3a platform at 91.5°E covers 102 countries from Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa. The platform currently leads HD channel distribution in Asia with 47 channels.
Globecast receives the signal for Mezzo Live HD Asia at its technical operations centre in Paris. From there, the channel is sent via fibre to Globecast’s Hong Kong teleport for uplink onto the MEASAT-3 platform.
About Globecast
Globecast opens up global opportunities in broadcasting by making content distribution and management simple. Part of the Orange group, Globecast delivers tailored content management and delivery solutions to meet the needs of markets all over the world. For channels, Globecast provides media management and playout solutions as well as global content delivery via fibre, satellite and IP. Through its fleet of SNG vehicles and production partners, the company also provides coverage of news, sports and special events around the globe. Globecast has capacity on all the world’s major broadcast satellites, a three-continent proprietary fibre network and state-of-the-art facilities in the world’s biggest media hubs. Finally, Globecast has a content aggregation and distribution team that helps secure distribution on leading Pay TV platforms.Present in Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Australia, Globecast offers simplicity, flexibility and knowledge to the world’s leading broadcasters.
About MEASAT
MEASAT is a premium supplier of satellite communication services to leading international broadcasters, Direct-To-Home (DTH) platforms and telecom operators. With capacity across five (5) satellites, the company provides satellite services to over 150 countries representing 80% of the world’s population across Asia, Middle East, Africa, Europe and Australia.
The MEASAT fleet includes the state-of-the-art MEASAT-3 and MEASAT-3a satellites at 91.5°E which support Asia’s premium DTH and video distribution neighbourhood, MEASAT-2 at 148.0°E and MEASAT-5 at 119.5°E. In Africa, the AFRICASAT-1a satellite at 46.0°E provides satellite capacity across the African continent with connectivity to Europe, the Middle East and South East Asia. The MEASAT fleet at 91.5°E will be further strengthened with the addition of MEASAT-3b in Q1 2014 and MEASAT-3c in H2 2015.
Leveraging facilities at the MEASAT Teleport and Broadcast Centre, and working with a select group of world-class partners, MEASAT also provides a complete range of broadcast and telecommunications solutions. Services include 3D, high definition and standard definition video playout, video turnaround, co-location, uplinking, broadband and IP termination services.
For more information, please visit www.measat.com.
Contact
Ilham Bakti Adnan
MEASAT
+60 (3) 8213 2154
ilham@measat.com
PALO ALTO, Calif. – December 9, 2013 — Space Systems/Loral (SSL), a leading provider of commercial satellites, today announced that the ABS-2 satellite, designed and built for ABS, has arrived at the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, where it will be launched aboard an Ariane 5 launch vehicle by Arianespace. ABS-2 is a highly sophisticated and flexible satellite optimized to provide multiple services for a broad swath of regions.
“ABS-2 is a very advanced satellite that has the capability to improve the human experience by providing services for 60 percent of the world’s population,” said John Celli, president of SSL. “We are pleased that the satellite has arrived safely at launch base and look forward to seeing it launch early next year.”
ABS-2 is a multi-mission C, Ku- and Ka-band satellite, which is designed to provide multiple services including direct-to-home and cable television distribution, VSAT services, data networks, and telecommunications services across four continents. It will be positioned at 75 degrees East longitude, which is ABS’ prime orbital location.
“SSL has provided us with one of the largest satellites ever to be launched in the Eastern Hemisphere,” said Tom Choi, CEO of ABS. “With ABS-2, ABS will extend the reach of affordable and reliable communications and broadcast services to the emerging markets of the world. We are very excited that the satellite has been delivered to launch base and eagerly anticipate its launch.”
ABS-2 is a high power satellite with an advanced data handling architecture and a total of 89 active C-band, Ku-band and Ka-band transponders across 10 different beams. The satellite includes six dedicated high powered Ku-Band beams for Direct-to-Home television services in the Eastern Hemisphere and provides high powered C-Band beams for Africa and Southeast Asia connectivity requirements. Its Ka-Band beam is positioned over the Middle East and North African region where it will provide service for both commercial and military applications.
ABS-2 is based on the highly reliable SSL 1300 platform, which provides the flexibility to support a broad range of applications and technology advances. It is designed to provide service for 15 years or more.
(Dec 9, 2013) The BBC will launch five additional HD channels on Tuesday. BBC Three HD, BBC Four HD, BBC News HD, CBeebies HD and CBBC HD will be available on Freeview HD, Freesat HD, YouView, Sky HD and Virgin Media.
Tony Hall, BBC director-general, said: “I am delighted that we’re able to launch our new HD channels in time for Christmas, when families gather together to enjoy some of the best TV from the BBC. This year, people will be able to watch even more of our programmes in brilliant quality.”
Read more at Boradband TV News
