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John Medeiros
Chief Policy Officer
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The travail of the Hong Kong government’s attempt to bring its copyright regime into the digital era continues. After the legislative snafus and trash-can explosion reported in last week’s News Views, this week there was an attempted invasion of a pro-copyright press conference by young radicals. (For more on that, see Chris’s first person report below). Undeterred, our Copyright Alliance issued our press release anyway. Meanwhile, I’ve been doing lots of interviews for the English media, including one in which I followed the head of the local Bar Association (who sang music to my ears when she said “Hong Kong needs this bill quickly.” ) And we got an Op-Ed piece published in China Daily (HK). But nothing works to persuade the young activists, who continue to put forth conspiracy theories according to which their government is out to use the Copyright Ordinance to get them. On the actual legislation, the opposition continues to employ procedural tactics to delay consideration. As of this morning (Friday), there has still been no discussion of the actual issues related to the Bill. The holiday recess means the legislature will adjourn today and then come back to this after New Years. |
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Christopher Slaughter
CEO
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As John has mentioned above, I spent a pleasant Sunday afternoon last weekend with a couple dozen industry folks — including people from Time Warner, Turner, Fox, and TVB — sequestered in a small windowless room for about an hour. What was meant to be a press conference in support of the Copyright Bill was hijacked by this lot, who were as unsmiling as they appear in the photo. After scuffling with security guards and trying to knock down the door, police were called, and the event was cancelled. Outside, unable to even get into the room because of the protestors, were more industry supporters, including representatives from Turner, 21st Century Fox, and ITV, among others. Ah, the diversions of Hong Kong during the political season!
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Christopher Slaughter
CEO
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It’s that time of year again; halls are being decked, bells are being jingled, merriment is being made. And an almost infinite variety of Best of 2015 lists are popping up: as plain old vanilla Top 10 lists, as sort of equivocal Top Too-Many-To-Count lists, and as serial Best Of list (you have to wait for Part Two). There are lists of the best shows presented as pairs, there’s a Best TV Couples list, there’s the soon-to-be-everywhere slideshow Best Of list, as well as the trend-bucking non-slideshow list. At the risk of sounding like FX boss Jon Landgraf, there are simply too many Best Of lists to keep track of. But then again, excess is sort of what this time of year is all about. Happy Holidays! |
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Kevin Jennings
Programme Director
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Google has updated its Play Movies & TV app for iOS to give users the ability to stream content to Apple TV via AirPlay on newer Apple TV models and software. The update also enables streaming over a cellular connection so there is no need for Wi-Fi connectivity to watch video on the go. Google’s Play Movies & TV has long supported Chromecast, allowing iPhone and iPad users to stream content to their HDTV using Google’s own dongle. Google’s addition of AirPlay support to the app may come as a surprise, given the competitive arena but the sheer volume of Apple users probably made it worthwhile for Google to tap into the market, even if it means some Chromecast users will be cannibalised. Meanwhile if you’re in the UK, the BBC’s i-player app is now available on Apple TV. There is also a plan to introduce the ability for i-player users to sync progress between different devices so viewers can pick up where they left off. What a time to be alive.
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Christopher Slaughter
CEO
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It’s not the most massive tome ever printed, but at 230-some pages, the 2015 edition of the ITU’s Measuring the Information Society Report has a serious "thud factor” from all the information it contains. Among the key takeaways: mobile broadband penetration is greater than 95% globally, and a lot of the growth in the development of the Internet of Things will come from the world’s developing economies, despite the fact that IoT is reaching the top of the “hype curve”. Oh, and South Korea is the most-Internet-connected country, while Hong Kong ranks in ninth place worldwide.
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Anjan Mitra
Executive Director, India
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Social media wags questioned Google’s Loon project saying the loonies are all over (the obvious ones are left out here as they are elected representatives), but chai pe charcha (discussion over tea) with PM Modi in Silicon Valley earlier, notwithstanding, this project was questioned on security grounds (what else?) despite the end mean of getting more Indian linked to the Net. But the company CEO India-born Sundar Pichai, on a visit to India, seems to have charmed the hard-boiled Indian politicians on Loon for the time being, pitching with his vision for Digital India and later telling college students that Google’s new Android app may carry an Indian name based on his mom’s advise. That’s what we call an Indian charm offensive as moms seldom are wrong. |
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Anjan Mitra
Executive Director, India
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Meanwhile, while Google got more serious about India promising the whole cyber world to India (almost), company’s India-born and cricket-loving CEO Sudar Pichai bowled a googly stating he supported Net Neutrality. Facebook’s Zuckerberg lobbying hard for Free Basic initiative, criticised for violating neutrality norms, may not like the TV soap-like twists from Google though Facebook has launched a campaign exhorting Indian FB users to send a message to TRAI in support of Free Basics. Such corporate boxing will always excite Indian policy-makers. |
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Mark Lay
Vice President, Singapore
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A few weeks ago Disney launched DisneyLife in the UK. And now they have teamed up with Alibaba to launch a DisneyLife service in China. "The service connects customers, physical products and digital entertainment in a ‘holistic home-based kids and family digital destination.’” "Like other foreign groups, Disney is unable to operate its own TV channels in China." It will be very interesting to see if there are more such launches in Asia from other content companies and specifically how all these types of products fare in the market.
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Jane Buckthought
Advertising Consultant
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Media Research Development Association (Thailand) has awarded Kantar Media a contract to deliver new multi-platform TV ratings data in Thailand. The five-year contract will begin in 2017. The service will comprise a representative panel of 3,000 homes to measure multi-platform TV viewing and deliver a new TV ratings currency in Thailand. It is not clear yet whether these ratings will co-exist alongside the service from Nielsen, which has been the main ratings provider in Thailand for 30 years.
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Kevin Jennings
Programme Director
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The Indonesian Government has said it intends to promote local OTT services as part of the country’s vision to become the largest ‘digital economy’ in South-East Asia. The Association of Telecommunication Operators (ATSI) is inviting local startups to register their OTT services, after which three services (especially those with social media and chatting services) will be identified and earmarked for support by the association, They will receive training by ATSI and members will also promote the OTT services via their own channels, including their SMS blasts.
There are three requirements for OTT candidature: 1) They must be owned by Indonesians; 2) They must have at least 100 to 500 users; and 3) Their services must be available for the Android platform.
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Yegee Chun
Regulatory Assistant
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Netflix has formed a partnership with Bell, one of Canada’s largest telecommunications and media companies. Bell’s Fibe TV subscribers will now be able to access an existing Netflix account through their set-top box, without buying new equipment or switching TV inputs. This is the third TV partnership Netflix has established in Canada, after Cogeco Cable and TELUS. These companies pay taxes, so does this mean that finally Netflix consumers are paying their fair share of taxes?
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Christopher Slaughter
CEO
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It might not seem like your typical light holiday read, but even though the subject is clinical depression, it’s also a paean to the power of TV: "There’s something about a TV show that hits you right in the gut, something that no other medium can quite touch. You grow with these characters over years. You get to know them intimately. They come into your home, for goodness’ sake. And when you connect with a series, it’s like building a real relationship, with someone who will let you get to know them and also maybe help you better understand yourself."
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John Medeiros
Chief Policy Officer
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In Bangkok, the NBTC is playing tough with True Visions Group (TVG). TVG and a few other pay-TV operators had filed suits in the Central Administrative Court against the NBTC’s mandatory channel numbering scheme. (The plan requires the first 36 channel numbers to be reserved for the national digital terrestrial licensees.) TVG maintains that its cable and satellite networks were entirely built and paid for by its shareholders, and the NBTC has no right to commandeer a numbering resource that has value, and order it devoted to others. While the main lawsuits are still pending, a temporary injunction to suspend the NBTC’s order while the case runs its course was rejected. The Bangkok Post is now warning that the numbers game could get costly if operators don’t comply. |
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Anjan Mitra
Executive Director, India
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India’s MIB is leaving few digital stones unturned as third phase completion deadline ends December 31, 2015. Not only has MIB updated the list of cities to be covered in this phase, but has also advised broadcasters against giving analog signals to MSOs in the new year. A MIB official also publicly stated that STB seeding would pick up pace as deadline nears. Over to the industry stakeholders now. |
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Kevin Jennings
Programme Director
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Tis the season for crystal-ball gazing – a recent study has predicted that broadcasters will be using IP for live production in the next 10 years. According to the research, more than 40% per cent of respondents said they had already begun the transition to using IP in live production. This includes production of large set-piece events, such as the Olympic Games or World Cup, and weekly football matches. Only 7 per cent of respondents said they had no plans to transition to IP in live production. While IP and Ethernet production isn’t new, live events have been one of the last bastions of hardware –based systems and the move to IP will also help drive the inexorable push toward the adaptation of 4K signals and the march of OTT.
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Anjan Mitra
Executive Director, India
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It’s very subtle and under-the-radar as some may say, but the Indian media needs to be careful and alert. A self-regulatory body, set up by the industry itself, is red flagging issues. So, where does that leave the news media; especially when it’s targeted for being sensational? |
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John Medeiros
Chief Policy Officer
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The Digital Citizens Alliance, in the USA, has focused a lot of attention on the ills associated with content piracy. This week, they released a new report, “Digital Bait“ which noted that injections of malware are so common on torrent piracy websites that 12 million users each month, in the US alone, get infected. They studied 800 popular torrent sites, and found that fully a third have malware ambushes pre-loaded – and that doesn’t count the stuff a user gets by actually clicking on ads or from the torrent files themselves. |
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Mark Lay
Vice President, Singapore
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For those of you who like looking forward, and have a hankering for VR/AR, I have something special for you. You have just got to see this presentation by virtual reality legend Jesse Schell at the VRX conference in San Francisco. Watch with the accompanying slide show. VR and AR predictions galore going to 2025. A taste: By 2018 Comcast will have a VR channel. By 2020, there will be at least ten virtual reality reality shows. By 2025, AR experiences synced with TV will be a thing. Plus, Jesse is total kick. Hmmmm…how to place him at a CASBAA conference.
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