15 November, 2013

Welcome to News Views, CASBAA’s news round-up culled from sources across the industry for the week ending Nov 15th. Curated by CASBAA, News Views keeps you in the loop. We always value your feedback, so tell us what you think!

Christopher Slaughter CEO	Love him or loathe him, it’s sort of hard to ignore analyst-turned-editor Henry Blodget and his five-year-old Business Insider website. Now Blodget is getting back into research, presenting a substantial slide deck on “The Future of Digital”, which (perhaps unsuprisingly) leads to the conclusion that mobile is the only media growing. Interesting data in the deck, including a taunt to the TV industry: “Bigger they come, harder they fall.”
John Medeiros Chief Policy Officer	Dear Government: Butt Out. A veteran HK journalist offers a view (in China Daily!) that is worthy of more attention by Asia’s governments: that the justifications for heavy government intervention in broadcasting policy have vanished, as pay-TV and the internet have multiplied communication channels available to every viewer. “Why should you need a license for a broadcast station, when you can set up a newspaper by filling in a form and a website with no formalities at all?”
Jill Grinda Executive Vice President	Asian OTT reaches Europe: Zee-TV is making its Ditto TV OTT service, including 17 channels, available in the UK. It’s the first example of a specific, legal, stand-alone Asian OTT offering in Europe that we’re aware of. Go Asia!
Christopher Slaughter CEO	As those of us with children know, there is nothing more tyrannical than a kid with a TV remote control in its hands. Except, maybe, a kid with a tablet and a WiFi connection. Which means, of course, that there is definitely a battle for viewership of children’s programming online taking place.
John Medeiros Chief Policy Officer	File This Under “Yeah, Right”: Baidu’s posted response to the US$50 million suit lodged against it for copyright violations: “We have always prioritized copyright protection.” I have a bridge to sell you, Baidu………
Jill Grinda Executive Vice President	It’s time to play nice in the sandbox for FTA and pay-TV in Australia! The lack of cooperation between Free TV and the Pay TV is hurting television as a medium, says Match Media’s John Preston.
Sara Madera Director, Member Relations & Marketing	Despite the old adage, silence isn’t always necessarily golden. A hearing-impaired reader in Singapore has written a letter in The Straits Times calling on service providers, including TV platforms and cinemas, to provide the deaf community greater accessibility to media content.
Desmond Chung Associate Director, PR & Communications	Is this a case of keeping your friends close and your enemies closer? US online entertainment service Hulu is now reported to be in talks to integrate the platform with established pay-TV operations. While talks are still in the early stages, only time will tell if this turns out to be an unholy alliance or a marriage made in heaven!