17 November, 2017

Welcome to News Views, CASBAA’s news round-up culled from sources across the industry for the week ending November 17th. Curated by CASBAA, News Views keeps you in the loop. We always value your feedback, so tell us what you think!

Christopher Slaughter CEO Hold onto your hats, the AT&T-Time Warner roller-coaster ride isn’t over — AT&T and the US Department of Justice have reportedly agreed to extend the review of the deal past this week’s deadline. Earlier, stories were making the rounds that the Trump White House was trying to kill the deal (which would not be without historical precedent), or wait, was it Rupert Murdoch who was trying to scuttle it? But either way, if the terms “behavioural conditions” and “structural remedies” mean anything at all, CNN could be the price to pay. As usual, John Malone gets the best line: “What is the DOJ smoking these days?”

John Medeiros Chief Policy Officer

It’s been a while since we’ve checked what’s going on in Washington: Current FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has been energetically following a deregulatory agenda, which might actually bring some of the antique US regulatory environment into the 21st Century. Whatever you think of the “net neutrality” reform that Pai has pursued (which continues to be a bone of contention), a LOT of his other stuff makes huge good sense:

Clare Bloomfield Director, Policy & Research

The ongoing battle for sports-content has Amazon entering the field as there is a strong indication that it has secured the UK rights to the US Open tennis tournament, with a possibility now open for them to be a strong contender for the EPL rights when the bidding opens early next year. The potential addition of the US Open tennis tournament to Amazon’s earlier acquisition of the 5-year rights to the ATP World Tour, in which they outbid Sky, gives a clear indication of their desire to increase their focus on sports coverage.

Cathryn Chase Regulatory Assistant

Top Indian telecom operators are calling for the same data protection rules applied to them to also be applied to OTT communications apps, such as WhatsApp. While telecom service providers said that the regulations currently applied to licensed operators in their sector are robust and sufficient, they argued that the same norms to safeguard consumer data are not being applied to OTT players who offer comparable services. Other industry bodies, such as the internet freedom foundation, have gone further by emphasising the need for more comprehensive legislation on the matter. While the current discussion is focused specifically on the telecommunications industry, it also applies to OTT video service providers, who similarly remain largely unregulated in APAC and in other regions.

Mark Lay Vice President, Singapore

Some notable OTT-related stories of the week. Amazon has apparently scrapped it’s plans for a skinny bundle. Are traditional networks wary of creating another monster? Ad-supported OTT content is not a fad and it’s supposed to take off in 2018. According to longtime CASBAA friend, Bruce Tuchman, House moves are killing the basic pay bundle. For the curious, albeit non-techy type, a simplified version of what happens when you hit play on an OTT service. From Irdeto, take an inside look at Live streaming piracy – the darker side of social media. And, to finish off, the competition for your viewer’s time and attention just grew yet again with this very cool mix of game and video, Is HQ Trivia the future of TV? Get your victory dance planned out. (Inside joke for those who watch the video.) A plethora of more OTT news at the CASBAA OTT Group NewsFeed.

Kevin Jennings Vice President

Pakistan can expect to see a bit of a shake up with the news that the state broadcaster Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV) has been told to prepare for the launch of DTH television. The government has told PTV to initiate work immediately to provide “state of the art, affordable, uninterrupted and quality services” on par with international platforms. Launching a DTH service in Pakistan is part of the current policy to change the digital landscape of the country which also includes the introduction of 4G and 5G mobile technology. Earlier in 2017, three licences to private operators to launch DTH TV services in Pakistan were declared null and void after legal concerns over PEMRA’s eligibility guidelines.

John Medeiros Chief Policy Officer

People who’ve been negotiating/arguing over Chung Hwa Telecom’s arrangements with foreign channels might be interested in this profile of CHT’s current CEO,who talks about their new “fair cooperation mechanism” with channel providers. Oh.

Jane Buckthought Advertising Consultant

Brand safety when advertising is one thing, but how about analysing how safe is your ad expenditure and planning. New research from the UK shows that TV ads create 71% advertising-generated profit according to a study by Ebiquity and Gain Theory, commissioned by Thinkbox. The study has, for the first time, quantified the total profit generated by different forms of advertising to show what they deliver to the bottom line. It found that all forms of advertising create profit to varying degrees in both the short and long term. But TV is the safest by far.

John Medeiros Chief Policy Officer

Commentaries on the effects of piracy: This one, from San Diego, takes an ethical approach: “Before you, too, get sucked in by the proposition of free everything, I implore you to think about what you’re doing….it’s a matter of right versus wrong, and even kindergartners know it’s wrong to steal.” In New Zealand, this article on copyright policy includes a devastating statistic, on the impact of piracy on a small media economy: “Over the last ten years the value of copyright in music, books and audio-visual content in New Zealand has dropped 35-40 per cent.” Are the Asian economies listening? Singapore, for one, seems to have other goals in mind.

Christopher Slaughter CEO

GroupM has released its “State of Video” report, examining the rapidly changing dynamics surrounding the consumption of premium video content. It’s a dense, information-packed 48 pages, but you can skim through Campaign’s top 5 takeaways if you’re pressed for time; the scariest is the prediction that “Millennials will never take to traditional TV (more than they are now)”. But the whole report is worth downloading, take your time and read it all the way through. (Love this line: “We live in a world of abundance which democratizes creation, atomizes audiences and fragments attention.”)

Clare Bloomfield Director, Policy & Research

An in-depth report this week by PwC highlights that 62% of US consumers have a hard time finding something to watch, and 55% are looking for a new TV show or movie at least once a week. It goes on to report that aimless browsing has become a primary means of content discovery and PwC also found that Pay-TV subs are less frustrated over content discovery than streaming-only users; 38% of Pay-TV customers enjoy searching for new video content, as compared with 31% for cord-cutters and 23% for cord-nevers.

John Medeiros Chief Policy Officer

From Russia comes news that strict enforcement (site blocking) against online piracy is in store – but only for Russian works.What happened to those international copyright treaties? Mercantilism lives.

Kevin Jennings Vice President

No sooner was the CASBAA Convention over when we started to see our first Xmas TV Ads being rolled out in the UK. Schmaltz from John Lewis whilst M&S use Paddington Bear, who unwittingly saves the big day, and a bit of controversy from TESCO after complaints from a very small minority of viewers. The supermarket’s one-minute festive ad follows various families from different backgrounds celebrating Christmas Day and preparing their respective turkeys, with one scene showing a Muslim family greeting each other with gifts as they arrive at someone’s house as well as a Sikh family sitting around the table pulling crackers. Tesco’s response to the complaints was that the advert was promoting diversity and “Everyone is welcome at Tesco this Christmas and we’re proud to celebrate the many ways our customers come together over the festive season”.