Convention 2012 Day 1 Press Release
Convention 2012 Day 1 Panel Summaries
Making a lively opening, Marcel Fenez, chairman of CASBAA and global leader, Entertainment & Media Practice, PwC gave an update on the new members to the CASBAA family.
Following that, guest of honor, Eliza Lee, Director-General of Communications, shared with the audience how Hong Kong is aggressively looking to fulfill the needs of an increasingly sophisticated content consumer base. Facilitating the healthy development of the communications industry here, the Government set up the Communications Authority, a merger of the Telecommunications Authority and the Broadcast Authority. The Authority will unify regulation across the entire sector whilst encouraging innovation, investment and the implementation of best practices.
This brought home the point that the industry is evolving like never before. The day’s events highlight a number of key developments throughout the entire content value chain. There was a wealth of insights and knowledge that will benefit markets at any stage of development.
Myanmar for instance, is making inroads in their PayTV development. The Government is actively looking to create a more encouraging environment for foreign investment. They want to make sure their over 100 ethnic minorities are represented with content that is relevant to them. At the same time bolstering their learning and education programming to cater to the needs of their younger population, thirsting for knowledge.
And this is where the conversation really starts. Content is more than ever, King. A revolving theme that permeates the day’s activities, it is vital to have compelling content that consumers will be drawn to. This was a sentiment that was driven home in the opening sessions. Content must be relevant to the consumer.
The next step is getting that content onto the screens of consumers. Multi-screen technology has seen tremendous advances over the last few years. OTT capabilities that were once seen as a threat to traditional linear content providers may now offer the means to reach a wider audience, or enhance the quality of engagement for existing subscribers.
And then there is social media. To be ignored at threat of peril. Social media is what will ultimately shape the future of content creation. It is the future. Get behind it or be left behind. Engage consumers, allow them to interact with the creation of new content, give them a voice in the dialogue. Four great case studies showcased how to draw consumers in a way that will sustain the engagement and keep them coming for more. The ability to monetize Social is still eluding most players, however as these case studies and the insights shared throughout the day show, this challenge is being addressed by the industry from multiple angles. This will eventually lead to a breakthrough. In the mean time create opportunities that allow the viewer experience to live beyond the content show time.
Speaking of experiences, elevating the quality of not just the content itself, but also the visual and audio quality is equally important. Advances in sound technology allow a single surround sound audio stream to be embedded into content following which playback is optimized by the device depending on the available hardware capabilities.
Finally, there’s the thorny issue of piracy. After all, there is no sense in creating compelling and authentic content, only to leave it out for the pirates. Thankfully, there have been developments in this area as well. It is possible to secure the playback devices as well as monitor and track where illegal content is being redistributed and consumed. This will be a going concern and an area of increasing development as the complexities will only increase with the proliferation of newer models of content delivery.
The world of broadcast is at a very exciting place and it is promising to become even more interesting as the whole ecosystem moves along.