6 September, 2013

Welcome to News Views, CASBAA’s news round-up culled from sources across the industry for the week ending Sept 6th. Curated by CASBAA’s staff, News Views carries on in the tradition of Market Watch to keep you in the loop. We always value your feedback, so tell us what you think!

Christopher Slaughter CEO	We all like pretty pictures so for those who are befuddled by the confusing variety of online video players, here is an infographic of the online video ecosystem segments and companies that are fundamentally transforming TV, advertising and content delivery methods.
Jill Grinda Executive Vice President	After several years of unprecedented threats to Pay TV, it turns out that people do still appreciate what it offers, including linear TV, PVR and the potential for everything in one place. A Videonet report highlights that ‘digital natives’ might be more conservative than predicted.
John Medeiros Chief Policy Officer	Thailand’s NBTC has announced new content rating and labeling rules for broadcast television. So far, it appears the rules will apply only to free-to-air broadcasts (whether terrestrial or satellite-based) and not to pay-TV. (CASBAA plans to meet Thai regulators later this month to ask them about future plans.) There’s plenty of domestic controversy between Thais who want the government to assure minimum standards for broadcast television, and others who decry the advance of “nanny-state” regulations that are not needed.
Jill Grinda Executive Vice President	The smart STB and dongle market is expected to pass 18 million units in 2013 – higher than originally forecasted due to the arrival of Google’s Chromecast device. According to analysis firm ABI Research, overall the market is expected to grow with a 10.8 per cent with markets such as Asia-Pacific and Latin America helping drive this growth.
John Medeiros Chief Policy Officer	Keeping the Pressure On – Hats off to the Indonesian pay-TV association APMI, which has been keeping the pressure on illegal cable operators in several different parts of the country. Two months ago they got the police to close three illegal cable operators in Batam, and last week they were in East Kalimantan.
Desmond Chung Associate Director, PR & Communications	There’s an old saying that goes “cheaters never win and winners never cheat”. Well, try telling that to pay-TV operators who now have to contend with the trend of cord-cheating. First it was cord-cutting, then came cord-shaving and now cord-cheating…tsk, tsk, tsk…if you don’t play fair, I’m gonna have to give you a red card!
Jane Buckthought Advertising Consultant	Sales of phablets in Asia doubled during the second quarter of 2013 and they now stand at the same level as tablets and laptops combined, new research has shown. Latest figures from the International Data Corporation (IDC) revealed that device vendors shipped 25.2m phablets in Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan) during Q2 2013, compared with 12.6m tablets, and 12.7m portable PCs. This represented a 100% increase on the first quarter and a 620% leap on the second quarter of 2012.