ANNEXE 8 EXPERTS GROUP 2: DISTRIBUTION, TECHNOLOGY & AUDIENCES, REPORT & SUMMARY - EBU
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ANNEXE 8
EXPERTS GROUP 2:
DISTRIBUTION, TECHNOLOGY &
AUDIENCES, REPORT & SUMMARY
Francis Goffin (RTBF), Franz Manola (ORF), Gunillla Ohls
EBU
(YLE), Khalid Hadadi (Channel 4), Kazimir Bacic (HRT),
David Wood (Chairman), Bram Tullemans (Coordinator)
Klaus Illgner-Fehn (ORF), Lut Vercruysse (VRT), Marc
Savary (SSR), Peter Weber (ZDF), Robert Foster (BBC),
Member list:
Sven Lescuyer (FT), Sylvie Courbarien Le Galle (FT),
Andrea Fabiano (RAI), Annika Biörnstad (NRK), Benoit
Thomas Saner (SRG), Tomas Lindhe (SVT)
Balon Perin (RTBF), Christoffer Godt-Hansen (DR), Daniel
Wilson (BBC), Egon Verharen (NPO), Eric Scherer (FT),
INDEX
A: Summary of distribution and technology trends and C: Recommendations
their impact on PSM D: In depth: Distribution and technology trends and their
B: Dilemmas, challenges, opportunities and strategic impact on PSM
choices
A: SUMMARY OF DISTRIBUTION AND TECHNOLOGY TRENDS
AND THEIR IMPACT ON PSM
What are the ‘trends’ and ‘directions’ evident today that moving past 50”. Sets will become ever thinner and lighter
public service media providers must be aware of in radio, to allow this.
television, and new media, to remain relevant to audiences
and important to society in 2020? The second is the handheld device we know nowadays as
a tablet or smartphone, which will be used for just about
One tends to always think of public service as being a everything in media and communications. It will act as an
question of video (TV) and audio (radio). This is a mindset important tool for sharing thoughts on what is seen on TV,
that will no longer be viable in 2020. To be relevant, PSM heard on the radio or what is a hit on the internet. It will
has to play a certain role in society by means of electronic be used to find and watch content and even control other
media in a wider sense. devices. Everyone will have their own personal device that
is optimized for data entry, and it will be their companion
Europe is not homogeneous.1 European nations advance from dawn to dusk. With the establishment of the internet
their media technology at different rates, and use satellite, of things, media products follow even without dedicated
terrestrial, and cable television to quite different degrees. devices. Common items (cup, table, wall, light bulb, etc.)
As just one example, 20 years passed between the first connected to the internet will be at least used to promote
and last European nation’s transition to digital terrestrial our media productions if not to show them. TVs with inter-
television. mediate sizes will disappear.
Sometimes a latecomer can even have an advantage – The ‘selling motivators’ for purchasing a TV will become
earlier technologies can be ‘leapfrogged’. But in general, ‘sharp, big, light, cheap’ and 'connectability'. Picture quality,
the pattern set by pathfinder nations is eventually taken up screen size, weight, cost and the possibility to connect with
by all. The trends that we identify here are those found in other devices or internet related services will determine
pathfinder countries, but they will be relevant, in time, for what we buy. Asia is and will in 2020 be the centre of pro-
all EBU Members. Somewhere in the world, the future has duction of media devices including televisions dominating
already happened – or nearly happened. the technical developments in this field.
Changing viewing experience Mobile devices like tablets and smartphones will evolve too
In the years between now and 2020, the signs are that – the images will be higher quality, the devices will be thin-
homes will move increasingly towards two kinds of viewing ner, and they will have ever-increasing processing power
experiences, whether they use terrestrial, satellite, cable, and battery capacity. This will allow ever more sophisticat-
or internet. The first will be the large screen display in the ed apps and video with higher quality to be viewed. It will
lounge, which becomes ever larger with each purchase, increasingly replace the remote control and become the
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starting point of finding and interacting with content as it is Displays will have high resolution and be flexible. Immersive
optimized for data entry in quite new forms. sound will be a commodity and loud-speakers will dissolve
into their surroundings (wallpaper, body sound, etc.). This
These two connected things – large, high-quality, thin, light future will see the rise of context-aware TV. Cloud-based
media / TV screens and mobile devices – will become the technologies make it possible to create virtual devices and
tools with which public service media providers reach their services instantly in a given context optimized for personal
television or radio audiences. use or the demands of a group.
For the TV set, broadcasters will have two ‘directions’ Mobile devices will become as important as television to
to exploit. The first is towards better technical quality. access broadcasters' services. There is no question that
Technology is allowing step increases in image quality. The mobile devices will become as important for broadcasters'
greater the technical quality, the more involved the viewer media experience as televisions. Not only for consuming
feels, and the longer he or she will watch the programme. audio and video 'anywhere anytime' but also for finding,
Better technical quality is a win-win situation for broadcast- viewing, interacting with, or communicating about the
ers, set-makers, and viewers, and is inevitable. But some broadcasters' content.
aspects of the evolution of image quality (better decoding)
may be more easily done in internet-delivered rather than Interactivity and personalization in a multiscreen
in broadcast services. connected environment
Connectedness is the facilitator for a multiscreen environ-
The second direction is towards adding what the industry ment in which the TV is only one of the many screens being
terms ‘features’ but which are in fact services in an appli- used at the same time in the living room2 or on the move.
cation environment. These can be used to augment the Even radios are connected and have screens. The user can
broadcast, or possibly substitute for it. The main features select content on one device and play it on another or play
arise from the technology of ‘hybrid broadcasting’ – con- along with a quiz on the TV against friends in the room or
necting additional services from the broadcaster via on the 'digital couch' using their personal mobile device.
internet to the television channel. This can be used for Content providers will provide these functions 'server side'
programme guides, auxiliary information about the pro- and have a direct one-on-one relation with the audience. At
gramme, interactive elements like play-along scenarios or the same time set-top boxes and game consoles will try to
video on demand, including catch-up TV, all controlled by become the media hub in the household targeting audienc-
the content provider. es with attractive content bundles and new functions that
can be used without the need to buy a newer model TV /
The TV set becomes a media set and will also have its own media set.
app’ for controlling what the set does and what it shows.
TV / media sets will include increasing amounts of com- In a connected world consumer behaviour and attention
puter processing power. But equally the processing power span can be measured in detail by analysing the generated
used may be in another home / mobile device or in a set- traffic. There are no secrets and the audience wants all their
top box. devices to be instantly connected. Users will not be pleased
when content is not available online. Intuitive usability and
There are a number of different hybrid systems. The Eu- ease of use are the first priority of technical advances.
ropean HbbTV, a hybrid broadcasting system developed
independently of set-makers, could gradually gain ground Content authentication and identity will become key.
over the set-makers’ own systems, unless they decide to Communication, sharing of content and personalized rec-
favour their own platforms in the ongoing struggle to ‘own’ ommendations are basic needs. Protected content can be
the end consumer. shared with new technologies that are not device specific
and act as a sort of interoperable digital rights manage-
These features can also be provided for mobile devices ment (DRM). Privacy will have a big role to play in the fu-
such as tablets and smartphones, so the viewing experi- ture. PSM should drive technical developments in a socially
ence can be the mobile device alone, or a combination of responsible way to enable the protection of citizens and
a TV programme and the mobile device, offering multi- their social privacy.
media and social networking alongside interactivity. The
lounge viewing experience for many people will become Personal recommendations will play a central role in future
the simultaneous use of the large screen, the lap-mounted PSM services. It is easy to imagine the success of a 'digital
tablet and hand held smartphone. But viewers will also use butler’ app for which the end-user logs in and the applica-
mobile devices at any time, and in any room, to watch TV tion knows where he is, what he is expected to be doing,
programmes or other web content in private. and the context of his environment if he is home – relax-
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A study by WIK and Aegis predicted that by 2017 80% of all traffic to mobile devices will come over WiFi:
http://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/news/study-importance-wi-fi-socioeconomic-benefits-using-small-cell-infrastructuresANNEXE 8 3
ing, at home, doing other stuff at the same time, on the within the next few decades but it is unlikely that this will
move, etc. Taking all this information into consideration, be the case for the whole of Europe. Internet services will
the app makes recommendations or suggestions on how be convenient and available in urban areas, but there will
he can spend his time. It might suggest, for example, that be wide variation in what broadband internet access actu-
he finishes what he started watching yesterday on another ally means in practice. Internet might just become a substi-
device, because that fills exactly the time available until tute for broadcasting for a proportion of the population.
his next agenda entry. Such information will also be used
to cache content locally that he is most likely to want to In a world with many alternative ways to access a pro-
consume now or later. gramme, a new word – programme ‘findability’ – will be
critically important in many boardrooms. What happens on
The application will become the interface for finding, ac- ‘opening screens’, in ‘programme guides’, in ‘recommenda-
cessing, interacting and controlling the viewing experience tions’, and in search engines will preoccupy us more and
for any TV, radio or other content. more, as they often do not reflect the PSM remit to provide
citizens with a plurality of media content as a cohesive
Broadcasting is no longer only about audio and video and factor in a (national) society.
only those broadcasters that also become 'data-casters'
will survive. The application context is part of the broad- The battle with governments to stop the haemorrhaging of
cast and refers to the application that contains the interac- broadcast spectrum to mobile broadband internet will con-
tivity. The application environment is the user interface for tinue, and this may not be a winnable fight. Selling spec-
all media and it will regulate all possible media interaction. trum provides the government with a source of income,
Examples of this are HbbTV interfaces, browsable statistics, and national and European decision-makers see broadband
public alerts, traffic information. as a requirement for economic growth.
There will be more third-parties delivering data services, Broadcasting will, for many years to come, be the most
but only broadcasters know exactly what is going to hap- cost-efficient and effective way to deliver high-quality
pen in a programme and can provide play-along scenarios. video to large numbers of viewers at the same time. DTT
This information is valuable for all second-screen applica- is the only platform with a universal reach that enables
tions and can be sold as an EPG+ proposition. Data-casting free-to-air reception and this is difficult to replicate on
can generate new revenues. Needless to say, all this content other platforms. Internet, on the other hand, will always be
must also be produced. If Content is King then Metadata is attractive to those who can get it and afford it, because of
Queen. its larger choice of content, its flexibility, its interactivity,
and its convenience.
The immersive media experience will not be limited by cre-
ating higher quality of sound and vision on bigger screens Will wireless broadband internet be a substitute for broad-
but will be holistic and virtual. High-performance cloud- casting in 2020? In terms of providing universal coverage
based computing will enable realistic virtual programmes, that is available free to all at the point of reception, the
artificial content, visuals that will be directly projected answer is 'yes' in densely populated areas but is probably
onto the viewers’ retinas, augmented reality, holistic media still 'no' for Europe as a whole. It will be attractive to many
and other tacit forms that stimulate different senses of users, and for some the answer will be ‘yes’. From a cost
the audience. In future social media will also become more perspective for both audience and broadcaster it is a most
immersive, using tools such as telepresence. probable 'no'. Public service media providers will provide
both broadcasting (using whatever broadcast spectrum is
Distribution in a connected hybrid world left nationally) and broadband services.
In the United States, the hybrid broadcasting battle is being
played out with over-the-top services. These are internet There are also other trends to consider that could influence
VoD services delivered to the TV screen. They offer a huge the viability of using internet for delivering TV content. In
range of content at a low cost to the viewer, and some- some countries internet service providers are introducing
times specially created programming. It becomes worth- data caps to their internet access offerings. ISPs are also
while paying for OTT services when the subscription and developing a two-sided market strategy in which they try
advertisements are more viable models than pay-per-view. to charge content providers for the amount of traffic they
US OTT companies will gradually try to conquer European generate in their network. This unicast payment model
markets too, as they already have in northern Europe. conflicts with PSM funding, which does not increase when
programmes are more popular.
But services that rely on internet delivery are subject to
constraints. It is not possible to consistently provide high The major TV service in 2020 will still be linear broadcasts
definition or ultra-high definition to everyone at the same as the audience likes to sit back and relax without being
time. In smaller densely populated areas the public service prompted to take action. Furthermore, they like to be part
goal of 95% broadband internet coverage will be reached of something bigger than themselves and therefore tune in4
to live events and talk about what is being or has just been while adding related visuals. These streams can be used
broadcast. The meeting place for these conversations is besides the radio feeds on connected TVs or be published
moving from the water-cooler to social media. The growing via HbbTV interfaces.
requirement for on-demand viewing adds to the popularity
of the available content and therefore indirectly also pro- Impact on the production domain
motes live broadcasts. When making programmes for radio, TV and on line,
increasing use will be made of computer systems (IT) and
And if the scenario becomes reality that all content is off-the-shelf equipment, rather than tailor-made equip-
delivered on-demand a broadcaster can only reach mass ment. Work flows (the stages of programme-making) will
audiences by group-casting content for population inter- be arranged to allow for the use of the same content on
est groups by delivering more customized services and different platforms, but formatted in a number of ways to
dynamic storytelling. Addressing group social behaviour is suit the user-patterns of the specific device, site or service.
in this scenario the big challenge. Social media will grow
in importance for broadcasters. And not only in relation The multiscreen and interactive trends will reflect in more
to findability or the water-cooler effect, as it will also have ways on production. It’s possible to imagine services with
implications for the production workflow. which the audience can choose alternative camera angles.
But the camera operator, editor, director and producer will
Over the coming years we will see more governmental also be using mobile devices for real time playout during
pressure to provide additional services to help those with the production. The ubiquitous computing power and pro-
impaired sight or hearing to gain more from radio and tele- fessionalizing of cloud services will foster the trend towards
vision and services delivered over the internet. decentralizing production facilities.
At industry level, the forces of the open market economy Content ‘recommendations’
may lead to greater international concentration, also of net- Public service media are traditionally funded by a licence
work operators. fee or a government grant or advertising income or a com-
bination of these. They are given privileged access to radio
Trends in radio spectrum. They must, in return, meet certain requirements
What the years ahead will bring for radio is more difficult when it comes to content. They are required to transmit
to predict. It is 25 years since digital radio was first demon- TV and radio directly to the end-users without charge.
strated; yet its use is by no means universal. FM remains Public service media convert these privileges to a number
the most used delivery channel in Europe and, unless there of channel and programme brands. They have the ability
are national policies to switch it off, FM it may remain so. through their channels to, in a sense, ‘recommend’ content
It may be that digital broadcast radio capability will be in- to their audience.
cluded in some tablets and smartphones, and we may thus
gradually see greater use of digital broadcast radio. The PSM providers will also offer their content on demand
inclusion of FM radio in mobile phones in India created an – as many already do. The speed and availability of this
explosion of radio broadcasting there. transition will depend on national circumstances, and on
the penetration of high-quality broadband to support the
Radio as a media form will always have a special role to services chosen. The question is what 'recommendation'
play, whether it is analogue or digital. Along with live TV, it role PSM can play in this fragmented world were files are
sets the tempo of people’s lives. It can be the main outlet played out by platforms using proprietary recommendation
for recorded music and has the lowest cost for maker and algorithms that often conflict with the PSM merit.
user. It is local and has many other strengths. However, web
services are increasingly also a way of getting to know new Linear channels will still be relevant for many years to
music. come. As ‘recommendation engines’ they have their strong
merits. They are, however, to an increasing degree, being
Digital radios may have small screens that allow radio complemented by online services, where ‘recommenda-
programmes to be illustrated by multimedia. This could be tions’ can be made by either complex algorithms, or by the
delivered in the radio channel itself, or via an internet link. choices of friends or other trusted persons.
If screens with higher capability, such as those on tablets,
display the content, the experience can be even better. It Conclusion
remains to be seen how this potential will be exploited. In general, technology will move to the background as
The lack of national radio policies in many countries, and an invisible facilitator. Broadcasting will disappear as
the slow penetration of digital radio, makes it difficult to mere transmission and this distribution technique will no
predict. longer be the sole identifier of their services. The user will
not have to be aware of how to connect to media feeds.
'Visual radio' is a trend in which automated registration Technology will become transparent and all media will be
systems record the person talking into the microphone connected instantly via the internet of things. UbiquitousANNEXE 8 5
computing will dominate all media experiences. Broadcast- internet as one of the tools we use to reach our audience;
ers have to re-invent their branding strategy among other and, at the same time, higher image-quality options will
things and eventually reinvent their entire business model. become available to increase emotional involvement and
Broadcasting is dead, long live broadcasters. Recommen- do justice to larger TV / media sets. This will be accompa-
dation is the trade of those content providers and distribu- nied by necessary changes to programme production. Ra-
tors who are successful. dio will continue as a staple of the public, but the speed
of the transition to digital radio, and its potential partner
EBU Members may come to realize that they need to do Internet radio, is difficult to predict.
more technology innovation and standardization, and work
collectively, if they are to control their own destiny. If we PSM have to have a central role in this change to ensure
are to stay competitive we will need (as they say in Swit- that we are in the hearts and minds of our audiences.
zerland) to get up an hour before anyone else. Keep in mind that the best way to predict the future is
to make it yourself. With bold and adventurous ideas
In summary, the underlying trend for public service media between now and 2020, we can do so.
between now and 2020 will be the increasing use of
B: CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIC QUESTIONS
The most important strategic choices to be made include: distribution platforms? What user data is available on the
platform and if it is an on-demand platform can recommen-
Organizational structure: How does the multi-network dations be pushed?
environment call for new organizational structures and
workflows for public service media providers (PSMPs)? Cooperation: What are the areas where EBU Members can
best cooperate?
Timing: When is the right time to move into new areas such
as on-demand or higher quality, taking into account tech- Standards: What standards should be applied, and what
nology, market, and changes in usage patterns? are the implications of choosing proprietary or open stand-
ards?
Multi-screen: When and how will PSMPs accommodate and
create possibilities for programming on phones and tablets, Lobbying: In what areas do PSMPs need to work with
including by using social media, or their own or third party decision-makers, and sometimes competitors, in order to
applications? facilitate the above points?
Audience involvement: How can PSMPs use online media Financing: How are technology, streaming costs, and rights
platforms and services to offer new value to audiences and to be funded? Is there room for additional 're-transmission'
maintain direct contact with them? or subscription revenues?
Content recommendation: How should PSMs react to new
forms of ‘content recommendations’, and what should be The view from 10,000 metres
their place in the media space? These strategic choices have no single answer and are a
balancing act between:
Metadata: How can public service media providers make – An old reality and a new world. Finding the right middle
content ‘findable’ and shareable by choosing and applying ground between following and leading your audience, or
the right metadata? between serving old customers and serving specific first
mover groups.
Use of external distribution tools: To what degree should – Being a production house or also a content distributor.
public service media providers use third party platforms to To be relevant in 2020, PSMPs should produce content,
carry their content? This may dilute their own brands and but also be a commissioner by controlling delivery of
their mission in the public eye, yet may be the only way to content.
reach some segments of the public and offer features to –Q uality and quantity of output. Production workflows
everyone. are changing in a networked world. Different categories
of content demand different technical requirements from
Distribution platforms: On which networks, platforms, or production to distribution. For news we need to deliver
services should public service media content be available? fast and on a restricted budget while keeping the (jour-
How should new services relate to services on existing nalistic) standards high. For television in general we need6
to restrict budgets, while keeping technical standards –R
each (in the sense of reaching everybody and the ability
high to increase viewer involvement. for everybody to reach you) and Quality (as in both pic-
– 'Old-school' content production and new demands like ture quality and network performance) on the one hand
having a continuous social media presence by giving and transparent, justified, proportional costs on the other.
regular Facebook updates, which calls for an entirely
different view on traditional categories such as speed,
quality and content.
C: RECOMMENDATIONS
The underlying theme of the recommendations by the EGII with regard to content types and can be extended.
group are strategies for coping with and taking advantage 9. Improve efficiency and operational excellence
of the increasing demand for broadband internet-de- continuously, realizing that this is one of the main
livered services. At the same time the recommendations drivers for trust. Plan internal cooperation to support
cover future evolution of broadcast services including convergence.
the need for increased production efficiency and high- 10. Hire highly qualified staff from engineering to
er audiovisual quality. Both will be needed in 2020 and programming who can operate in a cross-media
beyond. environment, overlooking the limits of time and space
of linear broadcasts, and understand how these
Organizational structure and timing different platforms/networks/service relate to each
Develop an agile company-wide strategy (‘road map’) that other for producing and distributing content.
encompasses both programme-making and delivery for all
platforms, recognizing trends. This will ensure that your or- Multiscreen, participation and metadata
ganization knows when the right timing for change is there Follow your audience, let them decide when they watch
and also has the capability to act. what and on which device, embrace the participatory
1. Invest in understanding your audience and focus on culture and use social media or other communication plat-
how the (young) audience is using media, distribution, forms to have a two-way conversation with your audience
and screens / devices with a focus on new media. For in all your activities.
example gather user data with relation to attention 1. See ‘content’ and ‘services’ as your objective, rather
span, content choice, and consumption patterns during than simply delivery channels.
the day, from different online platforms including 2. Recognize that the core of all activities is good
external sources, such as social media. descriptive data about the programme. Metadata
2. Recognize that technology is a key, critical, enabler makes content ‘valuable’ in that it can be used by
of strategy. Embed technological innovation, with a service providers and the user to find and store content.
solid budget based on flexible workplans, encourage Invest well in generating and using ‘metadata’ and
initiatives and involve outside creativity / communities. define a metadata workflow starting in the production
3. Aim for flexibility of networked infrastructures. It will sector and then using them in services.
improve your 'time to market', adaptation to changes 3. Understand the use and usage potential of various
and potential to take initiative. different platforms and services, and apply that to
4. Stay independent with regard to delivery as in the long matching the services you provide. Collect usage data
run it will optimize your chances to reach and interact from your broadband services and use feedback from
with the audience on your terms in the most cost- social media to monitor and to shape your services.
effective manner. 4. Focus on ‘stories’ linked by a common brand on various
5. Optimize your recommendation abilities in a platforms.
networked environment to be able to offer value to 5. Embrace the multitasking audience and invite
both individuals and society. In addition, prepare to be, your audience to participate in the production of
for example, an ‘independent media guide’ for users. programmes, use their tags and descriptive data,
6. Be innovative in content and services. Think outside the embrace user-generated content, provide play-along
box. Recognize that even with just today’s technology, and voting, and update your multiscreen environment
there are many new services waiting to be discovered. with additional information during and after the
7. Recognize that partnerships with other national/local broadcast/publication of a programme.
media organizations can ensure a level playing field in 6. Develop applications with which the audience can
an environment of international media services. access all your services and combine linear and non-
8. Build up a highly flexible production infrastructure linear content in a single branding strategy. The user
with integrated workflows that is essentially ‘agnostic’ experience should be seen as an integral whole with theANNEXE 8 7
broadcasters’ branding. simulcasting costs.
7. Aim to offer users opportunities for personalization. b. Persuade car manufacturers that supply your
Reach masses by ‘being personal’, 'from mass media to country to include DAB+ radios/retrofits in new cars.
precision media'. c. Provide equivalent coverage on DAB+ as is provided
8. Access to (open) data from audiences that are reached on FM.
by third party closed platforms. d. Undertake an extensive awareness campaign among
9. Test, experiment and learn. the public.
e. Create new content for digital radio that has a ‘wow’
Distribution platforms and use of external factor.
distribution tools f. Make sure the public has access to digital radios that
Extend your presence to third-party content platforms, but work.
do not rely on them. Provide content on your own terms
but keep a direct relationship with your audience. It is a Cooperation and innovation
combination of adopting an open attitude towards part- Foster collaboration between activities of various EBU
nerships, to go where your audience lives while remaining Members with the goal of increasing technology sharing
independent of any intermediary. and cooperative development of innovative technological
1. Maintain universal coverage, meaning that your main solutions for the new network-based digital era.
linear channels are available for everyone, free at the 1. Allocate resources to shape, and contribute strongly
point of reception, and follow your audience and be to, the activities of the EBU Technical Committee.
available on all new platforms. Recognize that, for some Recognize that the allocation of one engineer to an
kinds of content, including sport and news and live EBU project group can be as effective as having 10 local
events, linear delivery is essential and most effective. engineers working on the project.
2. Explore opportunities to negotiate income 2. Recognize that what may be innovation for one
from redistribution of all content in addition to Member may be simply using technologies that already
retransmission rights. Balance between short-term exist or are in use by others. Learning from, and sharing
profit and long-term effects on findability, prominence with, other EBU Members will be very valuable.
and recognizability of your brand. 3. Consider whether your own, or collective, activities
3. When starting new partnerships use your independence in research and development and innovation should
and strong brand to negotiate the best prominence be increased and, if so, whether there should be an
of your content/services. Balance between what is increase in EBU resources to complement R&D and
available on different (third-party) platforms. For innovation activities by members.
example, only drama series on NetFlix and promos on 4. Find cooperation between EBU Members with regard
YouTube. to distribution techniques / solutions that enable EBU
4. Converge your direct offerings as much as possible with Members to sustain an independent delivery network.
those delivered via third parties by creating cross-links One example could be to investigate whether EBU
or hybrid applications using both managed and 'best- Members can cooperate to create an European PSM
effort' delivery. OTT platform with their content.
5. Keep your own peering relations on the internet and
use multiple content distribution networks at the same Standards
time to balance your online delivery, avoid dependence Understand that interoperability between systems in the
and improve reachability by the audience. digital workflow is a key business factor and avoid vendor
6. Together with all other broadcasters in a country (or lock-ins. Proactively force the developments of standards:
Europe), investigate the possibility to start a national 1. Use only internationally agreed open technical
OTT service on which the audience can find all local standards, whenever possible, and require them in calls
content. for tender.
7. Have an open attitude towards new platforms and try 2. Ensure that the EBU speaks with one voice in contacts
to influence their proposition, for example in designing with manufacturers and influences them with a strong
recommendations in third-party services to comply with customer voice.
PSM guidance values, or the availability of user data. 3. Aim to compete in terms of content and services, but
8. Decide on a distribution policy for broadcast radio. A not technology.
successful migration to DAB+ covers these factors: 4. Agree common standard platforms.
a. Persuade the national authorities that a national 5. Use generic IT systems wherever you can for
governmental plan is needed. Digital radio production and distribution.
broadcasting will only be successful if there is a
national mandatory plan for analogue switchover (as Lobbying and finance
exists for TV). If there is no plan, and no transition Lobby for your endeavours at European and national level.
timetable, digital radio broadcasting over the air PSM should be supported by policy and regulation in their
will languish in partial use, eating up public funds in efforts to be a cohesive factor in (a networked) society8
with the right resources. d. Protect signal and content integrity against
1. Maintain spectrum for free-to-air efficient distribution. commercial overlays and other parasitic business
Ensure that any changes to the use of broadcasting models across platforms to protect the European
UHF spectrum do not create any disadvantages for audiovisual production value chain.
audiences or any additional costs for broadcasters. e. With regard to connected TV, it is also
2. Ensure universal and easy access across platforms to important that must-carry obligations cover, as
a plurality of information sources and diverse content. a complementary service, the hybrid TV signal
PSM need to retain editorial responsibility over their that is part of the broadcasting signal and allows
content, and this editorial responsibility should not be viewers to interact with the programme and access
transferred to, or shared with, digital intermediaries. complementary on-demand content.
This particularly requires action in the following fields: f. Access to data from audiences that are reached by
a. Strengthening net neutrality principles regarding the third-party closed platforms.
open internet through regulatory safeguards, both at 3. Persuade manufacturers and network operators to
EU and national level and ensuring they are actually include the capability to receive broadcast signals
implemented. in their equipment (Following the launch of the EBU
b. Providing safeguards for access to content EuroChip initiative in order to promote the integration
platforms and gateways, in the interest of media of a cost-effective, interoperable and future-proof radio
freedom and pluralism, in addition to rules on access reception chip that can be easily installed in mobile
to technical facilities. devices and cars.).
c. Legal support for efforts to ensure the findability of
programmes and services that are of particular value
for society.
SECTION D
IN DEPTH: DISTRIBUTION AND TECHNOLOGY TRENDS AND
THEIR IMPACT ON PSM
broadband is not commonly available in the home. Wherev-
Television broadcasting er cable is more popular, terrestrial broadcasts will be used
European countries have their own history of regulat- less. In these countries, governments tend to have a more
ing distribution ecosystems for PSM. Besides legal ar- positive stance towards selling spectrum licences used
rangements, PSBs in some countries own their terrestrial for PSM to telecom providers for rolling out mobile data
broadcast facilities while others only rent capacity from services. In that mindset, spectrum is seen as a money-cre-
third-party suppliers. But demographic factors also play ating mechanism, whether for sales revenue or presumed
a role. Cable penetration for example is much higher in economic growth in Europe, that outweighs its importance
densely populated areas while satellite reception is more in society as a carrier of public service content. When there
popular in rural regions. These national variations in media is no universal coverage and some regions or groups of
distribution ecosystems are therefore open to different citizens are excluded from free access to public service
types and speeds of change. Online catch-up services content, this will have a great impact on PSM.
are not accessible to large audiences in countries whereANNEXE 8 9 The diverse European landscape with respect to the television access services used by the audience. Source: European Commission, Special Barometer 396, E-communications Household Survey, March 2013. Terrestrial broadcast is by far the most widespread distri- ly by almost one-third and one-fifth of the total television bution platform in Europe as almost half of the audience viewing audience. 97% of European citizens have access to uses it to watch television. The digital switchover to digital television, while 61% also rent a broadband internet con- terrestrial broadcast (DTT) is almost complete in western nection. Internet access is growing quickly (35% increase Europe. Use of cable and satellite have been relatively between December 2011 and March 2013). As many as 4% constant over the past few years, and are used respective- already use this distribution channel to watch television
10 programming. These figures are the outcome of an annual shows that these figures vary tremendously from country survey by the European Commission, and the report also to country. Source: European Commission, Special Barometer 396, E-communications Household Survey, March 2013. The TV industry’s revenue mix should remain stable global- ly over the next few years, at around 48% for subscription revenue, 42% for revenue generated from advertising, and a little less than 10% for public funding. It is also important to note how the European TV market is broken down in the illustration below.
ANNEXE 8 11 Consumer pay-TV spends in Europe 1997–2017; M€. Source: EBU based on IHS Screen Digest data Radio broadcasting In an era of convergence and multi-platform distribution, In the radio sector analogue FM broadcast is by far the PSM services continue to be trusted and popular among a dominant distribution medium. While in the television large proportion of European audiences. In the EU in 2012, sector national governmental programmes regulate the TV channels broadcast by PSM gathered an average 27.8% 3 switchover from analogue terrestrial broadcasts to digital, viewing share. In general, radio also remains very popular. this did not happen with radio. Only some countries have In 2012, it reached 80% of the population in an average digital radio via DAB as well as the existing FM channels, week in many European countries and people spent more while almost all countries have fully switched over to than three hours listening to radio every day (192 minutes). digital terrestrial broadcasting (DTT). DAB is less expen- On average, more than 4 out of 10 radio listeners listened sive in transmission costs for the broadcaster, could offer to PSM radio in these countries.4 higher-quality audio, a greater number of channels, and potentially make it easier for the user to find stations. FM Patterns of use sets have a vast existing base of receivers, with little dif- Looking ahead to the year 2020 it can be expected that ference in audio quality. But in the long term, all media will the popularity of the above-mentioned distribution plat- be digital and sooner or later radio over the air will need to forms will stay more or less the same at European level transition to digital. We can expect that analogue television with the exception of fast growing use of the internet. broadcasting will be history by 2020 while it remains to be Traditional broadcast techniques deliver linear program- seen whether radio broadcasting over the air will have a full ming most efficiently to a large audience. This is not only digital footprint. due to the technical optimization of one-to-many delivery 3 EBU, Media Intelligence Service (MIS) based on data from Eurodata TV Worldwide. 4 EBU, Media Intelligence Service (MIS) based on data from 18 Members.
12
of high-quality media but also from a cost perspective thousand people watch a channel, but will be more expen-
as broadcast delivery fees stay constant even if millions sive when ten of thousands 'tune in', let alone if one needs
are watching. Internet opens a two-way channel between to serve the millions that tune in every evening.
all users and this allows new interactive services such as
on-demand available media, user-to-user communication Prices of CDNs have dropped over the years but it is ex-
(social media), user-generated content or play-along sce- pected that this effect will level out.9 This 'unicast' business
narios. It is not, however, the ideal distribution medium for model creates a budgetary problem, as PSBs have a fixed
linear programmed content being watched by many people budget and do not earn extra profits when more people are
at once. Capacity-wise it is still not possible to deliver all watching. This puts a strain on the online distribution mod-
PSM media with the same quality over the internet to the el for broadcasters as the success of one channel, or on-de-
same amount of people that receive it nowadays via DTT. mand programme for that matter, can drain the budget.
This can only change when all citizens have access to in- Furthermore, online delivery is a 'new' expenditure in the
ternet via good fibre, fast cable or very high-speed mobile distribution budget, while this extra effort is not reflected
data connections, and the overall data throughput via in a rise of overall budget for PSBs. This is less of a problem
the major internet exchange points into local networks to for radio due to the smaller data footprint.
the connected play-out devices is upgraded to meet that
demand. Multicasting is an example of an already 27-year- Hybrid broadband broadcast
old technique that, if implemented throughout the internet All modern televisions are internet connected; most of
chain, would improve the capacity of this IP network to de- them becoming a hybrid broadband broadcast (HBB)
liver linear broadcast. Perhaps internet capacity will meet enabled set. HBB techniques allow PSM to enhance the
the high demands of audiovisual distribution in city regions broadcast signal with interactive services that can be
but it is extremely doubtful whether the roll-out of these activated by the audience using their remote control. The
expensive access services will reach rural areas. broadcast signal 'tells' the television from what server it
needs to collect an HTML overlay. Most popular are the
EU viewers spent an average of 3:38 hours per day enhanced electronic programme guides that integrate with
watching TV in 2012, which represents an increase of 7 the live broadcast and the on-demand catch-up service
minutes compared to 2011. Even if viewing time is lower or local recording functions. The combination of tradi-
among youth (2:13 hours in 2012), it also increased in 2012 tional broadcast techniques and the return-channel of the
compared with the previous year (+ 7 minutes).5 Linear internet provides the best of both worlds. The popularity
TV continues to represent the vast majority of total TV of these services will grow tremendously over the next few
consumption in the EU. It is expected to account for 91.4% years as proved by the uptake of HbbTV10 and YouView in
of total TV consumption in 2013 in the "big 5 markets" 6 recent years . Nowadays application signalling is part of
and is forecast to retain 82% of TV viewing in 2020. The the broadcast, setting new requirements for signal integri-
recent growth of non-linear consumption7 does not have ty, or more specific the integrity of signalled service. HBB
a very strong eroding effect on linear TV viewing. This is services will grow in importance for PSM in coming years as
due to the fact that the total time invested in TV viewing they offer the opportunity to enable one’s own interactive
continues to grow. For radio, linear consumption remains services, have a direct two-way relation with the audience
predominant while in parallel non-linear consumption has and "own the eyeballs".
increased over the past few years.8
The use of second screens
Providing internet capacity Televisions and radios are media devices that are watched
Related to capacity issues is the delivery cost aspect, which and listened to by all people in a room, filling a physical
does not favour the internet for the large-scale distribution location and creating a common experience. Conversely,
of high-quality linear programming. Most broadcasters that mobile devices such as laptops, tablets and smartphones
operate online use content distribution networks (CDNs) are personal, optimized for data entry and connected to
that have capacity arrangements with internet service the internet. This class of device can enable a synchronized
providers (ISPs). The broadcaster pays for the amount of media experience in many different ways. To name just a
media that is consumed by users. The cost can be lower few of them, one can use them to find additional informa-
than the fixed costs of traditional broadcasting when a few tion or extend the broadcast on a smaller scale as the show
5
Eurodata TV Worldwide and relevant partners.
6
IHS Screen Digest.
7
In France, total non-linear consumption of TV programmes doubled for the whole TV market and tripled for France Télévisions programmes
(between January 2011 and December 2012) (source: “Online TV” Barometer (GfK/NPA).
8
EBU, Media Intelligence Service (MIS).
9
IHS 2013_01 Scaling OTT
10
MIS Vision2020 annexe on distribution trendsANNEXE 8 13
is finished, or use them to communicate about a broad- chosen, the time of the day that the content is viewed and
cast via social media or online forums. They are also used the actual average viewing time, or attention span, of the
to get input from the audience, for example play-along audience using the specific screens related to the demo-
scenarios or user-generated content, that can in turn be graphic origin of the viewers. Stimulating discussion about
used to produce programmes broadcast live or aired at a important issues is an important virtue of PSM, and a great
later timeslot. These functions are often integrated into an tool to forge this is the embedded function that enables
EPG in one second-screen application, either managed by users us to easily post the programmes to other sites such
the broadcaster for its own channels or by third parties as as forums or social networks. From the streaming statistics
an umbrella application covering all channels available in a it is clear that this creates more traffic during the day when
certain region. Some consider second-screen applications people tend to discuss what happens in their country or
to be the future version of broadcast websites as during community.11 Just as the water cooler effect (people talking
the show the available content and interaction models are at work about what happened on television the day before)
updated. is used to describe the important binding factor of linear
broadcast, this effect is comparable to what happens via
The audience use the mobile devices to multitask, while embedding on-demand content online.
watching or listening to the shows being aired, or access
what is available on demand later on. With mirroring by the The 'social media buzz' is another element that can be
use of, for instance, Apple’s AirPlay or Google’s Chrome- measured to improve our understanding of audience
Cast, it is also possible to send the signal over Wi-Fi from behaviour. The appearance of programme titles and the
the smartphone or tablet to the TV / media screen. 'mood of the message' can be indexed to measure how
much discussion is generated. The amount of interaction
To accommodate these new media uses broadcasters per item can be related to the actual 'clicks' generated by
need to align content streams and this places demands on the audience.
production and distribution. If done well this is an immense As applications are becoming the main interface for media
task that requires creative and specialized cross-media consumption, all activities can be monitored. However, the
professionals. For every television or radio format the application cannot report how many people are actually
cross-platform production team will have to decide how watching or listening. If there are login details it is clear
the experience can be optimized for the different screen who is using the service. For this reason asset-based
sizes, what the second-screen interaction should be, what measurements using, for example, a watch distributed in a
extra must be produced and when it should become avail- representative panel that records detectable programme
able. Metadata feeds need to encompass what happens at identifiers in the audio spectrum will be needed to create a
a certain time-code in a programme during a broadcast. full picture.
Second-screen interaction requires a tremendous scalable
(cloud) infrastructure to serve the data to a mass audience The audience measurement sector is developing fast and
in just a few seconds after the audience is notified of the this is not a full list of solutions but only scratches the sur-
broadcast. All this makes a website or application more face. The big difference in comparing the TV world with the
complex. It is no longer a simple text page with some networked environment is that in the latter all data needs
on-demand media files, but a publication environment that to be available in real time as it is used directly in appli-
performs various functions. There are different upcoming cations. PSM will have to rely more on 'big data' systems.
broadcast-driven standardization initiatives at hand that Again it is very important for audience information to be
help to align broadcast signals with second screens. available from distributors and third parties.
Second-screen functionality is a fast emerging service but As different media devices are used during the day and
is not yet as popular as multiscreen live and on-demand audiences consume more content than ever, with a real
services that can be accessed from a much wider range. In multiscreen proposition PSM can extend the total viewing
the radio sector the live feeds are much more popular than time of their content. On-demand use does not cannibalize
the on-demand recordings of the programme. In television the viewing figures of linear broadcasts but creates extra
there are many more on-demand catch-up services availa- viewing time. The viewing rates of linear broadcasts remain
ble than 'live' feeds. relatively constant throughout Europe both for radio and
television. The overall on-demand market is growing rapidly
Knowing your audience and PSM is in a good position to take advantage of that.
Looking at the statistics of audiences viewing on-demand While linear TV viewing remains the predominant way of
catch-up services of PSBs it is clear that all the devic- consuming high-quality content12 (93%), non-linear services
es are used differently in terms of programmes that are are expected to grow further (5% is personal video record-
11
For more detailed reading: Page 14 of EBU Tech-i number 13, https://tech.ebu.ch/docs/tech-i/ebu_tech-i_013.pdf
12
Source: IHS – ScreenDigest: Cross-platform Television Viewing Time FY 2012. It indicates % of daily viewing per person (average in EU big 5)14
er and 2% is online13). This growth potential can be maxi- one user interface to navigate all services of a specific
mized by delivering more on-demand functionalities in the brand, in our case a PSB. Switching between linear and
multiscreen proposition. on-demand, television and radio, textual and interactive
services, is becoming normal. Apps are bi-directional
Authentication, personalization and other instead of being a single-source product like watching
possibilities of internet video. It is a richer experience than an EPG as it merges
Authenticating users over various devices is an important linear with on-demand services. The guidance role of PSB
function as it opens up opportunities to deliver more is therefore more horizontal, detached from linear only.
personalized recommendations but also the choice The application is part of a network and can be started
to watch content selected on a mobile device on from different devices or can drive connected screens. The
larger screen, such as a connected television. A basic role of the remote control is changing from a pointer to
personalized service helps audiences to be in charge of being more like a computer mouse. Users can also interact
their own programming. Recommendations on the basis of by means of touch screens on their phone or tablet or by
their behaviour is an extra and this model can be refined voice control.
in great detail. For example, besides taking past behaviour
into account, we can check what other users (or friends The best applications will be those with the best graphical
in their social network) liked in a similar situation. On big user interface (GUI) unlocking all these functions in an
screens not all viewers are known and therefore the time 'intuitive' manner and first and foremost making it possible
of the day is important to avoid a mismatch when different to access the desired content as fast as possible. Metadata
persons with different profiles and ages are watching. describing programmes and parts of programmes
determine whether content can be found inside the app
But even without personalization, playlist programming or externally via search engines indexing what is available
of virtual (thematic) channels on top of the on-demand on a certain distribution platform, be it Internet or a set-
available archives provides the opportunity to reach new top box from a cable operator. If content is 'King' then
audiences. We can also use the various platforms to extend metadata is 'Queen'. Applications are becoming integrated
a programme by continuing online after a broadcast, or services for broadcasters. In many countries the links
extend the coverage of a live event on different platforms to HBB applications are part of the broadcast signal,
using their specific capabilities to enable the viewer to redefining signal integrity.
continue watching or listening everywhere. A format
used very successfully in the radio sector is to allow the Multi-platform availability
audience to switch between different devices wherever Availability on different devices and platforms with on-
they are, optimizing the experience of 'being part of demand, live or interactive services is crucial if PSMs are
the event' and showing video on the TV and interactive to be found and build up a direct relationship with their
elements on the app/webpage. audiences. The modern broadcaster therefore needs
to adapt to different techniques quickly and the vast
Knowing your audience and personalization are closely fragmentation of the market does not make this easy.
related. We could say that instead of being a broadcaster We need only think about how the tablet has become
PSM should invest in customer-relation management to tremendously important in only a few years to get a feeling
be able to serve their audiences in person. This is a shift of how quickly changes can happen. The operating systems
from ‘addressing a mass market only’ to ‘addressing a mass – Android, IOS and Windows – set different requirements
market with general media plus a personal market with in how media can be played or applications can run. New
precision media’. versions of these systems are launched almost every six
months, introducing new functions that do not work on
Use of apps older ones, giving an idea how fragmented this device class
Applications are becoming the main user interface to is. Let alone the other popular device classes, such as game
access content. On almost all connected devices the consoles or for that matter the various browsers that are
user starts by opening an application and then chooses used on devices that deliver access to the internet in the
the content he want to consume. Even some modern broadest sense. Besides technical limitations there are also
connected televisions start up in a software environment business reasons why all devices and platforms are not
first. These new applications offer the opportunity to create open for broadcasters to deliver their content to.
13
For on-demand (non-linear) viewing it is to be noted that 80–90% of Android smartphone and tablet mobile traffic is already being off-load-
ed to private Wi-Fi, e.g. within the end-user’s home. Mobile broadband networks account for only 10–20 %, especially for long media formats
(see 'Impact of traffic offloading and related technological trends on the demand for wireless broadband spectrum' Report for the EC by
Wik Consult and Aegis). A recent European Commission study found that 71% of all wireless data traffic delivered in 2012 to smartphones
and tablets in the EU was delivered using Wi-Fi, possibly rising to 78% by 2016 (http://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/news/study-impor-
tance-wi-fi-socioeconomic-benefits-using-small-cell-infrastructures).You can also read
