Christopher Slaughter
CEO
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Security was turning people away from Netflix CEO Reed Hastings’ keynote at CES almost an hour before it even started, the room was that full. And of course, the enthusiasm was justified by Hastings’ announcement of their simultaneous global launch in 130 countries worldwide (map here). (Top tip: scroll down for the post-keynote press conference, which in some ways was actually better than the keynote.) So not only has the 800-pound gorilla finally shown up, it’s shown up in almost ALL of our markets at once. (China is the obvious missing piece in the puzzle.) Still, there are no foregone conclusions in these troubled times, and while it might be cold comfort, it’s also true that even near-ubiquity is not a guarantee of success. |
John Medeiros
Chief Policy Officer
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The western world went on holiday last week, but there was no break in India, and the media had a field day obsessing about net neutrality along with earning some advertising revenue too from FB. Facebook, whose “Free Basics” plan is being savaged by the technorati and the print media , tried to fight back, but some of its methods (deceptive click-inducing ads which sent emails to the TRAI) were looked at askance. They finally pulled out the big gun: Mark Zuckerberg himself waded into the debate, writing Op-Ed pieces and calling tech entrepreneurs to get them on board. But in one sense, Facebook’s big guns backfired, producing a nativist backlash against foreign companies and their “colonialist” approaches. “India’s digital independence is threatened!!” Nix differential pricing. Man those barricades, tekkies. |
Kevin Jennings
Vice President, Programme
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There was a time when the established business model of paying for entertainment and having free water seemed a pretty safe bet. Nowadays many consumers pay for bottled water and expect most of their entertainment to be free. In a bid to address this ever –shifting trend, Apple has announced it intends to charge more for iphones and ipads in Germany with the surplus going towards paying for royalties as part of a copyright levy deal between the tech industry and content producers. The attached article highlights that people buying Apple products in Germany will also be paying royalties to porn sites and actors but that’s really only part of the picture … and who are we to judge.
… And in another piracy- related story, the Bollywood actress Kriti Sanon found herself sitting next to a fellow traveler on a plane recently who was quite shamelessly watching a pirated version of the film Dilwale that Sanon herself was starring in. Despite remonstrations the passenger continued to watch the movie. At the time the film had only been released in cinemas for 10 days so there was no chance this could have been anything but a pirated version. |
Anjan Mitra
Executive Director, India
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As usual digitisation too has run into a match of claims (by the government) and counterclaims (by the industry stakeholders, especially the LCOs and independent MSOs) for the third phase of digitisation the deadline for which ended on December 31, 2015. Meanwhile the courts too have got into play and, on petitions filed by LCO association, at least four high courts in different States have stayed final implementation for few more months. The drama continues; wait for the next episode. |
Mark Lay
Vice President, Singapore
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Oculus just announced details of the Rift rollout in March with a price-tag of US$599. But one will also need a beefy computer to drive it. It’s not just gamers that are excited about VR. Fox is all over it with The Martian VR Experience and have been described as, "most aggressive in terms of figuring out what a VR experience can be.” This can be seen with their recent investment into virtual reality smart glasses designer and manufacturer Osterhout Design Group looking to "take its 3D, high-definition glasses — billed as a 65-inch screen that goes anywhere — to the entertainment market." |
Kevin Jennings
Vice President, Programme
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Yahoo Screen, which launched in 2011 and offered up original series, short clips and licensed content, has been shut down. All of Yahoo’s video content will instead be routed to the company’s various sites. The move effectively marks the end of Yahoo’s original streaming online video plans. Yahoo’s comedy originals, are now available in Yahoo’s TV section. As well as a major cost –saving exercise, the closure comes on the heels of previous criticism from consumers when Community (re)launched that the viewing experience just wasn’t very good. |
John Medeiros
Chief Policy Officer
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The European Commission’s assault on country-based copyright commercial licensing seems to have abated a bit. The “Digital Single Market” proposal, in its latest iteration, calls for consumers to have the right to access their own content wherever they travel in the EU, but doesn’t repeat calls to dismantle geoblocking entirely. In the words of one commentary, “Sports and media rights owners will be pleased that (the) proposal is relatively limited and should not interfere with the traditional structure of licensing content on a territorial basis.” |
Mark Lay
Vice President, Singapore
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2015 was a tough year for most media stocks with $50 billion evaporating from the major players. Netflix ended up being the best performing stock on the S&P 500 with some expecting some serious profits in 2016. Though, Netflix could potentially feel the squeeze as numerous players are starting to play Netflix’s game. Closer to home, media companies in Korea were busy emulating the boom years of the 1980s showing outstanding returns. The Korean export model is now working in media, with China being a big market. |
John Medeiros
Chief Policy Officer
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One phase of the Kim Dotcom saga finally ended, as a NZ court ruled he could be extradited to the USA to face criminal copyright conspiracy charges. I’ve found myself reading the NZ Herald a lot in recent months, as their coverage of the court proceedings has been pretty thorough. Now the appeals begin, and the Herald has have an interview with Dotcom himself, in which the former Mega CEO says he plans to continue to “fight long and hard,” despite evidence including his emails in which he labeled himself a pirate, and testimony by one of his former co-conspirators, who has done a plea bargain. Meanwhile, in news that will mean majorly higher incomes for some Hong Kong legal practitioners, Dotcom also says he’s got a bunch of money now and he’s going to sue the US government “indirectly”, by suing the HK Department of Justice (as HK was where his companies were based). |
Anjan Mitra
Executive Director, India
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Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries launched late December its multi-billion dollar and ambitous 4G services, presently for its over two thousands employees, and promises to flood markets with Lyf-branded handsets soon. Along with Netflix’s arrival, the debate has started whether 4G could change India’s media landscape. — provided restrictive and intrusive policies are not put in place. |
Kevin Jennings
Vice President, Programme
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With the Christmas and New Year festivities now firmly behind us we turn our attention to the build up to Chinese New Year. Pepsi have launched a campaign in China to welcome the Year of the Monkey with what else than the story of the Monkey King family. |
