In the next five years, watching video content on VR devices will be

By CASBAA in Technology 0 Comment

vr

“In the next five years, watching video content on VR devices will be ……”

Give us your answer in 6 words or less.

 

China to Dish Out Almost US$200 BILLION to Boost Internet Speeds – What’s It All About?

By CASBAA in Internet 0 Comment

SCMP reports……

China will invest more than 1.2 trillion yuan (that’s a whopping US$193 billion) to boost internet speeds and coverage across the country as it looks to move towards an economy driven by services and innovation.

The announcement follows Premier Li Keqiang’s call last week to telecoms companies to ramp up internet speeds and cut charges. Li said China is the world’s biggest mobile phone market but its information infrastructure is backward, with internet speeds ranked below 80th in the world…..
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In 6 words or less, China’s US$193 billion investment in the internet will….?

  • lead chat apps further into video?
  • make it world’s top OTT market?
  • help bring down the great firewall?

What Role Do You Think AI Will Play in the Pay TV Business in 2020?

By CASBAA in Technology 0 Comment

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(Photo by: LGEPR)

It was recently reported that a machine powered by AI developed by Google’s DeepMind learned how to play 49 classic video games.

In 6 words or less, what role do you think AI will play in the pay TV business in 2020? (e.g. Will shows be written and produced by machines? Will there be better, more predictive audience measurement? Will, as Stephen Hawking put it, this mean the end of the human race?)

Are users ready to get HOOQed?

By CASBAA in OTT 0 Comment

HOOQ is here. Singtel, Sony and Warner Bros. announced the launch of this new OTT platform, the first of its kind in Asia. The platform already seems to have a substantial library, with Spiderman, Harry Potter, Friends and Gossip Girl on board, together with a catalogue of Indian, Chinese, Thai, Filipino, Indonesian, Korean and Japanese content. It might be a preemptive strike against Netflix and anyone else looking to get into the OTT space in Asia, but is it a killer blow? Or will it simply accelerate Netflix’s plans to expand into Asia (with Australia and New Zealand launches later this year)? Are users in Asia ready and willing to pay anything for a service like HOOQ or Netflix? What rights / business / infrastructure / legal challenges will it have to overcome to succeed? And who else has a say in all of this – a regional startup like iFlix or a tech behemoth like Google/YouTube?

So, the topic for our 6-word debate this month is:

In 2020, HOOQ will be…

Profitable?
One of many?
Free?
Out of business?

We look forward to hearing your view in 6 words or less!

The Interview and Simultaneous VOD and Theatrical Release

By CASBAA in Media, OTT, TV 0 Comment

The Interview, starring Seth Rogen and James Franco, has received more attention than anyone could have ever predicted. The relatively absurd political comedy was always meant to provoke, but few could have anticipated it would turn into a full-scale international scandal with real geo-political implications.   The entire affair may also be remembered as a tipping point that raised the awareness of corporate hacking and cyber-crime – two issues that every company, regardless of their industry, will have to deal with going forward.

From a commercial perspective, The Interview also became a high-profile test case in releasing films simultaneously on digital platforms and theatrically. Although it was not a true worldwide release, platforms originally limited the digital release to North America, the movie became a cause célèbre for freedom of speech and received an inordinate amount of press coverage. The box office and VOD figures are still being calculated, but will The Interview change how films are released?

The biggest TV industry story of 2014 was…

By CASBAA in TV 0 Comment

tv

(Photo by: SamsungTomorrow)

 

TV % advertising drops YOY, first time!
– Nick Binns, GroupM
Aereo. Technology challenges copyright. Copyright wins.
– Matt Pollins, Olswang
We need more Aereo’s for progress!
– Khush Kundi, Ericsson
Original content – made, owned and loved.
– June Tan, HBO

 

Please leave your thoughts, comments, feedback—or your own 6 word response to the question.

Will Taylor Swift be on Spotify in 2020?

By CASBAA in Music 0 Comment

desktop-your-music-albums

The 2020 Blog is taking a new direction with a “GroupBlog” format to give everyone their say on new developments in media. A topic will be presented and we will ask everyone to send a 6 word. This month’s topic is Taylor Swift and the future of the music industry:

We discuss piracy often in the media business, in particular the pay TV space. As consumption and availability of media has evolved, two of the consistent drivers/excuses of piracy are availability and pricing. Spotify has touted itself as a “antidote to piracy” and in many countries you can freely stream Spotify’s vast library of music across multiple devices. In conjunction with the release of her new album, Taylor Swift decided to remove her entire back catalogue from the Spotify universe. While the music industry is different from the pay TV space it was an interesting move by the pop musician, and one that got the chattering netizen class very excited. So we asked the CASBAA 2020 Committee a simple question to be answered in 6 words or less: Will Taylor Swift be on Spotify in 2020?

Can revenue keep up with Royalties?

– Benson Koh, Tata Communications
..never, ever, ever, getting back together.

– June Tan, HBO
Stream it on beats.com instead people.

– Khush Kundi, Ericsson
At $0.006 per stream, who wouldn’t?

– Matt Kurlanzik, 21CF
No. Google will pay her more.

– Matt Pollins, Olswang
Will Spotify be around in 2020?

– Shoggy Banerjee, A+E Networks

 

Please leave your thoughts, comments, feedback—or your own 6 word response to the question.

CASBAA Convention: The Disruption Debates

By CASBAA in Piracy, TV 0 Comment

“The average millennial will never own a pay TV subscription.”

With
Matthew Kurlanzik, Director Government Relations, Asia, 21st Century Fox
Sushant Sharma, Senior Business Development Manager, Accedo

 

“Pirate services are inadvertently building the pay TV market of the future.”

With
Matt Pollins, Associate, Olswang Asia
Khush Kundi, Head of Solutions, APAC, Ericsson

 

Wherever you stand on these provocative statements, everyone is wrestling with the effects of technology-driven disruption on their distribution strategies and business models. For some, these developments represent a huge opportunity. For others, technology-driven disruption will put their operations under intense and ever-growing pressure.

Host: John McLellan, Partner, Head of the Commercial & Media and Entertainment Department, Haldanes

Vietnam in View 2014 Monetizing OTT – Is Free the Best Price?

By CASBAA in Media, OTT, Technology, TV 0 Comment

 

With: •Benjamin Yun, VP Business Development SEA, Movideo •Nguyen Nguyet Phuong, Project Director, MyTV •Esther Nguyen, Founder & CEO, POPS Worldwide • Do Viet Hung, CEO, VTVlive

With: Benjamin Yun, VP Business Development SEA, Movideo; Nguyen Nguyet Phuong, Project Director, MyTV; Esther Nguyen, Founder & CEO, POPS Worldwide; Do Viet Hung, CEO, VTVlive

matt-kurlanzik

Matt Kurlanzik

21st Century Fox

Director, Government Relations Asia

 On September 11, 2014, CASBAA conducted its Vietnam in View summit in Hanoi that gathered many of the leaders of the TV and media industry to discuss the current state and future prospects of the Vietnamese market.    From market development and regulatory frameworks to TV production, the event was a great success and touched on many crucial issues.  One of the more provocative subjects was the future of distribution and consumption of Vietnamese content, and a panel of four industry professionals focused on over the top (OTT) video and attempts to monetize this content in Vietnam.The four speakers represented a variety of interests – from Movideo  an online video delivery platform, to traditional cable platforms entering the OTT space like My TV and VTV, to POPS Worldwide a multichannel network focusing on local Vietnamese content.   All the speakers agreed that OTT video is a tremendous opportunity and stressed that OTT video may allow “non-traditional” players to enter the video production and distribution business.The panelists also focused on the need for Vietnam to update its technological infrastructure to allow for high quality content and delivery in order to prevent buffering and a poor user experience.  Expanding 4G was cited as crucial to the development of OTT in Vietnam, but fixed internet connections also need to be improved before widespread OTT adoption may be possible.  According to Akamai, Vietnam’s average connection speed was 1.8mbps for Q4 2013, placing it at 113th place worldwide – and well below the 3.0mbps that American streaming device maker Roku recommends for HD quality content streams.

In concluding remarks, the panelists expressed that OTT in Vietnam:

  • will allow consumers to choose to watch on a number of devices
  • is still “chaotic at the moment”
  • will allow traditional pay TV operators to increase ARPU
  • is something media companies need to learn more about and join in

Digital Indonesia

By CASBAA in Technology 0 Comment

(Photo by: The Diary of a Hotel Addict)

Sushant Sharma

Accedo

Business Development Manager

 Indonesia, South East Asia’s largest economy, a member of the G-20 and the world’s 4th most populous nation, has been a big contributor to Asia, the center of attention and a growth engine of world economy. Corporations, big and small, foreign and domestic, look to Indonesia as an attractive and lucrative market in the region. However, Indonesia, without doubt, is in throes of change — politically, socially, economically and also digitally! The country boasts over 100% mobile penetration (280Mn mobile phones in a population of 250Mn) with Smartphones accounting for 23% of all mobile phones. Internet users, currently at 70Mn, are expected to reach an astounding 145Mn by 2015.The two biggest digital stories in the country are Social and Mobile. Social media is growing at a frantic pace with Indonesia the 4th largest country in terms of Facebook members. Indonesia is one of the very few markets where social networks, other than Facebook and Twitter, are gaining rapid adoption. Mig33 and Path are two such platforms, underlining the fact that companies can ill afford to ignore social media as an important means to connect with their consumers.Mobile, on the other hand, has emerged as the single largest instrument connecting Indonesians. According to Mobile Marketing Association, 49% of Indonesian Mobile Internet users consume videos, which is only second to the 70% of users downloading games and App. Music isn’t far behind, where 44% of users consume it on the mobile devices. “Affordable” smartphones are further changing the landscape of usage and consumer behavior, enabling a wider range of demographics and income groups to connect and access social networks, content, apps and so on. Along with Xiaomi and other consumer electronics makers, Mozilla, developer of the popular Firefox web browser, is also planning to bring a $25 smartphone to the market.Amidst all the optimism around economic growth and a  burgeoning middle class with disposable income, the uptake of pay TV has been sluggish. In its two decade long history, pay-TV penetration has only reached a meager 3% and  the primary reasons have been the availability of locally relevant content on FTA channels and rampant piracy. The Indonesian Cable TV Association claims that there are around 2,500 operators throughout the country illegally rebroadcasting pay-TV channels.Other industry participants concur that piracy has been the bane of the industry. “Piracy, for one, is a bigger issue than it’s historically been for pay TV. Low video CPMs is another issue but it should improve as piracy falls due to content protection measures which will give way to more confidence for brand managers”, opines Unmish Parthasarathi, who is driving NewsCorp’s BallBall service, a pure OTT content business in Indonesia and other emerging countries in the region.According to a survey by Irdeto, among 1,600 adults in Australia, India, Indonesia and Singapore, 37% of the respondents mentioned a lack of content availability through legal means as their top reason for consuming pirated content. Mentioned by 36% respondents in Indonesia, concerns over price is cited as the second most significant factor behind rampant piracy. “Sachet pricing is key as a low barrier to entry gives content the best chance of being tried/tested/tasted by a large segment. But we need to quickly move beyond low/competitive pricing to garner an audience and differentiate by always looking to deepen the localization”, says Unmish, based on his experiences in striving to monetize the service in the country.Other industry leaders share similar sentiments. Roy Simangunsong, CEO at PT LinkTone, a MNC Group company, added, “Digital has rarely been monetized except in the form of content marketing for the advertisers. Subscription based video content is in the early stage but has huge potential with the right content and pricing for consumers. In digital, most of the monetization is in the form of digital advertising.”Indonesian consumers cite poor quality of pirated videos as one of the main deterrents to content piracy. Innovation in payment mechanisms, such as Phone credits, will make it easier for consumers to purchase content and is another area expected to work to the benefit of the industry.

There are, without doubt, several challenges to overcome to make digital a sustainable and economically viable means for the media and entertainment industry. Nevertheless, industry players see immense potential and are increasingly willing to take a bet on the potential of digital adoption in Indonesia as a means to reach a wider audience and garner more eyeballs.

“Internet penetration reaching 35% will be the tipping point for the industry and then we will see an explosion of many business models and revenue streams,” predicts Roy, emphasizing that improvements in infrastructure will unleash the real potential of the Indonesian market.