Welcome to News Views, CASBAA’s news round-up culled from sources across the industry for the week ending Oct 16th. Curated by CASBAA, News Views keeps you in the loop. We always value your feedback, so tell us what you think!
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Christopher SlaughterCEO |
It’s still the story of the week, and the announcements that HBO and CBS plan to go OTT will probably continue to be fodder for “think pieces” for some time to come. Inevitably, there’s been speculation about who will be next to take the plunge, dire predictions of eminent disaster, and slightly giddy prognostications about an online-only TV industry of the future. Meanwhile, amidst all the hubbub, Lionsgate and Tribeca Enterprises also announced plans for an SVOD service to launch next year. Find out more when Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer presents his Opening Keynote at the CASBAA Convention in Hong Kong next week! |
John MedeirosChief Policy Officer |
I must have a small mind, but I do see a certain amount of irony in the complaints by a large China-supported company, the Star Times Group, that investment restrictions in the media industry are preventing its direct entry into South Africa’s pay-TV market. The Star Times chairman said he understood that investment rules might have been needed 20 years ago, when the country was weak. But now, time has gone by and “there’s been a lot of change in the industry.” Oh, how true it is. I’d love to see the Chinese government demonstrate its own understanding of this, by relaxing China’s strict controls on foreign media participation. (But I’m not holding my breath.) |
Sara MaderaDirector, Member Relations & Marketing |
I must have a small mind, but I do see a certain amount of irony in the complaints by a large China-supported company, the Star Times Group, that investment restrictions in the media industry are preventing its direct entry into South Africa’s pay-TV market. The Star Times chairman said he understood that investment rules might have been needed 20 years ago, when the country was weak. But now, time has gone by and “there’s been a lot of change in the industry.” Oh, how true it is. I’d love to see the Chinese government demonstrate its own understanding of this, by relaxing China’s strict controls on foreign media participation. (But I’m not holding my breath.) |
Desmond ChungAssociate Director, PR & Communications |
What’s in a number? If the number happens to be 388, that is the percentage year on year increase in online TV consumption according to a new report issued by Adobe. You think this has anything to do with another report finding that digital ad revenues have jumped by 15%? Well, if it walks like a duck and squawks like a duck… |
Christopher SlaughterCEO |
One of the premises of multi-channel networks, or MCNs, is that by aggregating YouTube and other online content creators, they are incubating talent that will eventually go on to create traditional broadcast programming. It’s been the subject of Masters’ theses, and arguably, we’ve already seen several examples of the real-world value of that assertion. And increasingly, it’s a premise that is coming true, with more deals being announced to bring online talent into the TV world. Find out more about the MCN phenomenon at the CASBAA Convention next week, and if you haven’t registered yet, do so today! |
John MedeirosChief Policy Officer |
At next week’s CASBAA Convention, we’ll be hearing from Mike Weatherley MP, who, as David Cameron’s IP Adviser until recently, has been an acerbic critic of the search industry’s practices, which offer pirated content to consumers doing searches. Meanwhile, Google announced last week that it would make further changes in its practices, after 2012 tweaks in its search algorithms didn’t do very much. The British music industry was sort of happy, and urged Bing and Yahoo to at least do as much as Google, at the same time calling on the search engines to totally delist illegal sites. We are not impressed by the Google report’s repetition of the tired old mantra that “People engage in piracy because they can’t find the legal content; if the content were just easily available, people would be happy to pay for it.” (Right. And pigs can fly, too.)
Interestingly, if Google and the other search engines get serious about pushing pirate links down in their searches, it really could have a serious positive effect… at least if you go by this academic study. But the most amusing part was that Google coupled its latest moves with a brilliantly original idea: pay us and we’ll boost your legit content. Any way to make a buck, I guess… |
Godfrey ChanMember Relations & Marketing Executive |
In the run-up to CASBAA Convention 2014, World Screen has published an informative investigative report showing how, in Asia’s ever-more-crowded pay-TV landscape, channels are on the hunt for new ways to innovate on-screen. |