Welcome to News Views, CASBAA’s news round-up culled from sources across the industry for the week ending Sep 25th. 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 |
Hats off to WPP’s Group M, which has announced its full support for the Trustworthy Accountability Group’s (TAG) anti-piracy guidelines, saying it will only work with media partners who have anti-piracy certification from TAG. An estimated US$200 million of the US annual online advertising spend is channeled to pirate websites that have tricked ad networks into thinking they are legitimate, and the partnership is intended to work towards nipping that in the bud. To find out more about the fight against online ad-funded piracy, ask for a seat at our half-day Conference during Convention Week, entitled “Making Online Advertising Click: Promoting Online Safety and Protecting Brand Integrity”. (Some seats are still available, but they will go fast, and government reps get first priority.) |
John MedeirosChief Policy Officer |
So-called “net neutrality” issues continue to dominate tech talk in the USA. You will all remember that the Democratic majority on the FCC decided a few months ago that full-on regulation of the Internet was required in order to preserve what it called “neutrality.” Now the FCC’s lawyers are having to defend that in court. Simultaneously, one of the Commissioners who opposed that vote, Ajit Pai, told a gathering in Washington that imposition of over-heavy regulation has meant a precipitous drop in broadband infrastructure investment. Of course, not everybody agrees with Pai’s view, so the debate rages on. Meanwhile, using vintage Silicon Valley pseudo-populism, “neutrality” advocates are urging IT professionals to “defend net neutrality” by lobbying the court that is now considering the matter. Never mind that the Court is highly unlikely to respond favorably to such pressure tactics… in any case, it’s likely the petition is just another data-harvesting enterprise, and the suckers who sign on will get fund-raising emails ad infinitum. |
Christopher SlaughterCEO |
At the risk of making this yet another piece about Donald Trump, it’s true that politics and show business have always been slightly odd bedfellows, and that the comparison between the US Presidential campaign and reality TV is a fairly easy one. But things start to get really weird when you consider the intersection of Republican party and actual Reality TV “stars”. Particularly given the fact that the future of “unscripted” TV is far from certain in these troubled TV times. |
Anjan MitraExecutive Director, India |
The TRAI first made the recommendation back in 2013, but now the Narendra Modi government is reported to be seriously considering allowing 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in cable and DTH companies. The reports led to predictable agitation on the stock market, and although it’s unclear whether the initiative will pass, the Modi government’s track record in relaxing FDI norms so far is seen as cause for optimism. |
Kevin JenningsProgramme Director |
New Zealand’s Sky is upset that a questionable provider is carrying World Cup Rugby in New Zealand and undercutting SKY which holds the exclusive rights in the country. ViewTVabroad is offering access to the streaming service of the UK broadcaster ITV which is carrying the Rugby but is something that should be blocked outside of the UK.
A Sky spokesman described ViewTVabroad as illegal and ‘a form of piracy’. |
Mark LayVice President, Singapore |
Lots of talk in the press this week about how Industry Attitudes Toward Netflix are changing. “James Murdoch praised Netflix for being “good for both sides,” while also announcing that Fox would now steer future content licensing to Hulu Plus”. Some suggest that mergers may help to retain leverage against consolidated distributors. And while Netflix CEO Reed Hastings predicted when cable TV will die once and for all, FX Networks CEO John Landgraf, isn’t that impressed with the streamer’s programming. “Take any 14 shows we’ve made — they’re better.” |
Christopher SlaughterCEO |
The Apple TV is “…just a device”, and never mind about the streaming business, Discovery CEO David Zaslav says it’s all about the content. But on the other hand, if — as Apple would have it — the future of TV actually turns out to be apps, there will definitely be winners and losers. |
Jane BuckthoughtAdvertising Consultant |
Two new reports highlight third screen viewing. Every third viewing hour is apparently now spent watching on-demand television and video. The Ericsson ConsumerLab TV and Media Report suggests that 35% of all television and video viewing is now watched on demand and that young adults spend more than half their television viewing time on a portable screen. The findings are not entirely consistent with traditional television viewing estimates. For years, most of us had just one screen in our living rooms: the television. Over the past decade, laptops, tablets and smartphones have all muscled in on this relationship. Is the smartphone TV’s friend or foe? |
John MedeirosChief Policy Officer |
The Asian satellite industry has gotten some prominent attention in the context of the total dysfunction that is the U.S. Congress under Republican control. The conservative know-nothings in the House of Representatives have blocked re-authorization of the US Export-Import bank, which provides export credit financing for US-made satellites. A few weeks ago, it was announced that our member ABS had cancelled a planned order with Boeing for its ABS-8 satellite, as export financing would not be available. This week, there was word that another Asian satellite order went down the tubes. (Of course, Boeing is not keeping quiet about this… companies like Boeing and GE that are big exporters are making noise to put some pressure on the politicians to… um… get real.) And now it seems there’s a ray of hope, though nobody knows when the credit taps might really be turned back on. |
Jane BuckthoughtAdvertising Consultant |
Media buyer Carat has predicted that programmatic transactions in the US will account for 52% of non-search digital advertising by the end of 2015, and will continue to grow. Carat’s latest worldwide advertising expenditure forecasts for 2015 and 2016 predicts global advertising spend to grow by 4% in 2015 to US$529bn — a slight decline from the 4.6% growth predicted in March — and by 4.7% in 2016. |
Anjan MitraExecutive Director, India |
The Indian government (read Telecoms and IT Ministry) has done it again— withdrawn the draft encryption policy that was put out on its website for public comments after massive public outrage over proposed government control, Big Brother syndrome and breach of privacy (it was proposed an ordinary citizen cannot delete his/her WhatsApp and other social media messages, etc before 90 days). Earlier a paper on OTT and net neutrality was withdrawn by DoT. Jokes abounding on social media and weak defence by Minister notwithstanding, a commentator highlighted how the draft policy defeated the purpose for which it was being sought to be created. “Expecting every single citizen to know how to use the government-prescribed encryption services was perhaps asking too much,” the critic opined, adding with so much data floating around in plain text format, it would be easy for hackers to steal data. And, what happens if someone manipulates the data in these text files — how will the law handle that? Keep tuned in for more updates. |
Kevin JenningsProgramme Director |
Somber news from Al-Jazeera which is expected to cut hundreds of jobs worldwide as the Qatari-owned broadcaster looks to make savings in the face of a falling oil prices and a possible change in investment strategy. It’s thought almost one quarter of the total workforce, around 800 to 1,000 staff might be affected. |
Yegee ChunRegulatory Assistant |
Oh no! Say it isn’t true! Winnie the Pooh got banned by censors in Poland. Said the official: “It is half-naked, which is wholly inappropriate for children. A proper teddy bear is dressed from head to toe….” At least that example of censorship silliness didn’t come from Asia; we have enough of our own. Of course, the ultimate silliness is that the censors ignore what people can watch on the internet, while clobbering the pay-TV industry. |