The need for speed New developments in broadband cable technology - June/July 2018 - Digital TV Europe
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
June/July 2018
The need for speed
New developments in broadband cable technology
p DTVE JunJul18.indd 1 01/06/2018 19:06
Complete STB Software Solutions Software Components
Teatro-2.0 - Zapper Comedia TV and STB middleware (ARIB, ATSC, DVB, ISDB)
Teatro-3.0 - Linux STB Teatro TV Browser (HbbTV)
Teatro-3.5 - Android TV STB Teatro CI Host Software (HbbTV)
Teatro TR-069 Client
Teatro ABR Client Software (HLS, DASH)
ANDROID4TV
Broadcast and multicast Pay TV extension to Android TV
Associated software services Pre-integration with value-added services
Integration, maintenance, LCM, QA, etc. Voice control, home automation, IoT, targeted advertising, etc.
See us at ANGA COM (hall 7, booth A13)
pXX iWedia DTVE JunJul18.indd 1 29/05/2018 17:53
Digital TV Europe
June/July 2018
Contents
June/July 2018
12. Speed kills
With high-speed broadband increasingly seen as the key competitive battleground for fixed-line
service providers, cable operators are constantly looking to stay ahead of their rivals by investing The need for speed
New developments in broadband cable technology
in new technology, but they also need to prioritise investment to match what their customers
want. Stuart Thomson investigates. p DTVE JunJul18.indd 1 01/06/2018 19:06
18. The VR hotlist
The entertainment world is increasingly adapting to the possibilities of virtual reality,
experimenting with a format that stretches far beyond the realms of television. Andy McDonald
speaks to some of the leading lights in this nascent but quickly evolving market. 18
22 Smart moves
The battle for the smart home is heating up, as service providers seek to leverage their residential
footprint to control Internet of Things devices. Adrian Pennington reports.
26. ANGA COM 2018: the preview
ANGA COM takes place this year at the Köln Messe from June 12-14. Digital TV Europe previews
some of the technologies that will be on show. 22
Regulars
2 This month 4 News digest 28 Viewpoint 30 Technology 34 People 36 Final analysis
Visit us at www.digitaltveurope.com
1
p01 ont nts DTVE JunJul18.indd 1 01/06/2018 20: 0
This month > Editor’s note Digital TV Europe
June/July 2018
Issue no 339
Published By:
Fast times
KNect365 TMT
Maple House
149 Tottenham Court Road
London W1T 7AD
June is the month of ANGA COM and it therefore only appro-
priate that our lead feature article this month should be
on broadband cable technology.
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7017 5000
Cable operators – in common with other fixed-line network opera-
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7017 4953
tors – are increasingly focusing on broadband as the key weapon in their
Website: www.digitaltveurope.net
multi-play arsenal as they compete to win and retain customers. Increas-
ingly, it seems that speed rather than content is king for multi-play service
Editor Stuart Thomson providers.
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7017 5314 With that in mind, we take a look at the broadband network invest-
Email: stuart.thomson@knect365.com ment strategies of cable operators and the tools available to enable them
to compete with fibre and other fixed-line competitors, encompassing new technologies such
as Remote PHY and Full Duplex DOCSIS.
Contributing Editor Andy McDonald We assess how far these technologies will place cable in a better competitive position against
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7017 5293 rivals. We investigate how much interest there is among cable operators in delivering symmet-
Email: andrew.mcdonald@knect365.com rical bandwidth as well as ultra-fast downstream speeds, and weigh up the relative importance
of operators’ competing priorities.
Virtual reality has been the object of much hype over the last couple of years and some of the
Contributors
buzz around the technology has faded recently. However, industry players are still busy develop-
Kate Bulkley, Kaltrina Bylykbashi, Andy Fry,
ing new applications.
Adrian Pennington, Adam Thomas,
Also in this issue of Digital TV Europe we compile a short hotlist of compelling entertain-
Anna Tobin
ment-focused VR services, looking at what inspires VR creatives and assessing how the compa-
nies behind these initiatives view their prospects in this market.
Correspondents The concept of the smart home has also been the object of much hype and has long been
France: Julien Alliot; Germany: Dieter seen as a potential new market for fixed and mobile service providers.
Brockmeyer; Italy: Branislav Pekic In this issue, we take a look at the role pay TV and broadband service providers can play in
this market. Are their subscribers willing to pay monthly fees for smart home services that
would justify an investment in these technologies? What kind of strategy would make sense for
Commercial Director Patricia Arescy service providers? We take a look at whether it makes sense to bundle smart home services with
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7017 5320 other services such as pay TV and broadband.
Email: patricia.arescy@knect365.com Elsewhere in this issue of Digital TV Europe, we take a look at some of the key technologies
that will be on show at ANGA COM and provide our usual mix of news and insight into some
of the key industry developments of the last month. l
Art Director Matthew Humberstone
Marketing Executive Abigail Dede
Printing Wyndeham Grange, West Sussex
To subscribe to this magazine or our
daily email newsletter please visit
digitaltveurope.net/registerhere
© 2018 Informa UK Ltd
All rights reserved
Stuart Thomson, Editor
Reproduction without permission is prohibited
stuart.thomson@knect365.com
Visit us at www.digitaltveurope.com
2
p02 Ed ot DTVE JunJul18.indd 2 01/06/2018 20: 8
Q&A: Gernot Jaeger, Zattoo
Gernot Jaeger, Chief Officer, B2B TV solutions at Zattoo, talks about the disruptive TV solution Salt has introduced in Switzerland with
Zattoo and Apple.
What are the cornerstones of the TV service that Zattoo implemented the fact, that Salt does not deploy a classical set-top box anymore but
together with Apple for Swiss Service provider Salt? fully relies on the Apple TV Box. Furthermore, it is the first TV service
Zattoo has been operating a leading end-to-end white label TV and outside the US where Apple allows the automatic installation of the Salt
OTT platform for many years. This platform has now been leveraged to TV application for the Apple TV 4K Box as well as for other iOS devices
implement the new service for Salt – this time in close co-operation with using operator login.
Apple. As a result, for the first time outside of the US, Apple TV has been Thus, Salt customers do not have to enter any login data and can
made the central TV device, even with an operator login. This means that easily switch between Salt TV and Salt Video. This was implemented by
the consumer does not even have to enter complicated login credentials Zattoo in a very short time-frame and was only possible with the strong
but can start using the service right away. support of Apple.
The entire service is nevertheless of course a multiscreen service, i.e. it
comes with apps for mobile devices (iOS, Android) and browser-based How does Salt benefit from using Zattoo’s platform?
access. The service is deeply integrated across all these devices and gives
First of all, we are able to leverage a market proven, standard setting,
access to the full feature set in all use cases. This of course includes live TV
fully (geo-) redundant platform. This is an approach that is completely
in SD, HD and soon 4K, but also non-linear features such as live-pause,
different from starting from scratch by integrating various vendors and
seven day catch-up or replay TV, VOD and a cloud based personal video
components into something that will hopefully work and perform. In
recorder for all customers.
other words: we are able to provide a ready-for-market product which
In this service setup, Zattoo hosts, manages and provides the entire
can be heavily adapted and customised to the needs of an operator,
TV service end-to-end. Salt leverages its own network, thus ensuring the
in this case Salt. It comes with a proven track record, short time to
quality of the customer experience with their own infrastructure and
service orientation. This combined with the great product that Apple market, operator grade availability and cost efficiency. On top of this, we
provides, we can make a cutting edge TV and entertainment experience guarantee ongoing further developments of the entire IPTV solution –
become reality. we call this the Zattoo ‘Evergreening Roadmap’.
This service and this experience then enables Salt to market its TV
offerings comprising various product bundles, thus raising ARPU, How has the implementation been received in the Swiss market?
retaining existing customers and attracting new ones. Besides a tremendous response in the national and international media,
new and existing customers reward the new Salt IPTV offer with sales
What makes the solution ‘disruptive’ and what makes this unique figures even better than expected. This makes us very happy. And we
outside the US? are of course also happy to see that there are many other operators
Zattoo is the first end-to-end platform to partner with Apple leveraging in Europe, the US and Asia showing increased interest in the Zattoo
the new Apple TV 4K Box as a set-top box. What makes it disruptive is platform and in the disruptive service we built around Apple TV.
pXX Zattoo Q&A DTVE JunJul18.indd 1 30/05/2018 15:52
News > digest Digital TV Europe
June/July 2018
News digest
> 4 Canal+ loses Ligue 1 football > 6 BBC to run ‘first come, first served’ UHD trial for
World Cup > 6 Amazon to increase video investment > 8 Comcast preparing all-cash
offer for Fox > 10 Industry stakeholders slam copyright reform draft proposals
Canal+ loses Ligue 1 football to Mediapro in major upset
By Stuart Thomson > rightsholder Canal+ will carry cede all or part of their rights,
the channel Mediapro plans to and thus opens the possibility
In a major blow to pay TV leader launch for Ligue 1. for Canal+ to win them back in-
Canal+, Spanish broadcaster He said he planned to hold directly”.
and producer Mediapro has se- talks with all French operators The auction is nevertheless
cured the bulk of the rights to and intimated that one possibili- a major blow for the pay TV op-
French Ligue 1 football for the ty would be to come to some sort erator, which has struggled to
2020-24 period. of reciprocal arrangement with arrest a decline in its domestic
The results of the auction of Altice France/SFR, which holds Absent from the bidding was subscriber base, but has seen
rights by French professional the rights to Champions League Altice France, which has invest- some improvement in the rate
football league, the LFP, came football but which did not partic- ed heavily in Champions League of loss in recent quarters.
as a surprise. The LFP secured ipate in the Ligue 1 auction. and Europa League rights to The LFP can rest satisfied
a record €1.15 billion per season Also joining the list of Ligue build up its TV offering. CEO with an auction that saw its take
from the auction despite Canal+ 1 rightsholders for the first time Alain Weill indicated at the end increase by 60% – with two
failing to secure a single pack- is Iliad Telecom/Free, which se- of April that the group was un- packages still unallocated – and
age of rights and BeIN Media cured lot 6, comprising near-live likely to participate in the auc- attributed its success to invest-
securing only one package. highlights of all matches, along tion and said that Altice’s RMC ment by the clubs in delivering
Mediapro, which took no few- with magazine programme and Sport channel was working well a quality experience.
er than three of the seven pack- video-on-demand rights. The without top-tier French football. The league said that the auc-
ages on offer, has committed to company spent €50 million to For its part, Canal+ said that tion had enabled it to partially
create a dedicated sports service secure the package. it would look at the possibility of catch up with other European
for France to distribute its Ligue BeIN Sport, an existing sub-licensing the rights. In a let- domestic leagues that have hith-
1 rights. Mediapro president rightsholder, has held on to lot ter to employees – and ahead of erto outperformed it in terms of
Jaume Roures told journalists in 3, comprising 21:00 Saturday Mediapro’s press conference – securing TV revenues.
Paris that his goal was to build a evening matches and matches CEO Maxime Saada said that to Lot 5, which includes the
channel to be sold at a price that on Sundays at 17:00. However, “overpay for sports rights in the champions’ trophy and a
could attract an audience base with only two matches a week face of all economic logic is not number of other matches, and
of around five million subscrib- to offer to subscribers, it may a viable solution” but noted that lot 7, a package comprising
ers within two years. Roures struggle to sustain a viable busi- the LFP auction “authorises, for weekly magazine shows, have
said that he hoped current ness model. the first time, the awardees to not been allocated.
Geographic and 13th Street, and all OTT > RTL to up VOD free, advertising-financed service
Germany of the public broadcast channels German commercial broadcaster with a premium pay product.”
of ARD, ZDF, Arte and 3Sat. Sky Go RTL plans to increase investments The comments come after RTL
OTT > Sky adds live to Go now offers over 40 live-streaming in its video-on-demand services launched three new VOD platforms
Sky Deutschland has expanded the channels, with this number set to after launching three new VOD in Hungary, Croatia and Belgium –
range of services available via its expand to over 100 by the end of platforms in the first quarter of the all based on the 6play platform of
Sky Go app to include a broad range June. The only linear offerings pre- year. Announcing the company’s Q1 Groupe M6. RTL Play launched in
of linear services including Sky viously included were the Sky Sport earnings, RTL Group CEO Bert Ha- Croatia in January and in Belgium
Cinema HD, Sky Atlantic HD, Sky channels. Live channels in HD qual- bets said that the company’s VOD in March, while RTL Most! went
Sport and Sky Sport Bundesliga. ity can be chosen via the channel investment will have a “clear focus live in Hungary in February. RTL
The Sky Go service also includes a list on the app, which can also be on local, exclusive content.” He reported stable Q1 group revenue
number of channels from partners used to programme recordings on also said RTL will gradually move of €1.416 billion with underlying
such as Fox, TNT Series, National the Sky+ and Sky Q set-tops. to a hybrid model – “combining a revenue up 2.6%.
Visit us at www.digitaltveurope.com
4
p0 06 08 10-11 DTVE s Di st JunJul18.indd 01/06/2018 19: 8
Q&A: Wongeun Jeon, Alticast
Wongeun Jeon, head of the media experience unit at Alticast, talks about the company’s Dynamic UI and personalised TV
What is Alticast’s Dynamic UI and what does it enable service providers Apex™. Apex allows all of the intelligent, active features of the Dynamic
to do? UI to be applied to low-cost and low computational power (less than
Today’s viewers are demanding their viewing experiences become 750DMIPS) legacy devices without any technical constraints caused by
increasingly more personalised, while allowing for the quick and easy CPU performance, to deliver a sophisticated and graphic-rich UI.
discovery of content they want to watch.
Alticast’s Dynamic UI™ gives operators the tools they need to provide What are the challenges in applying user behaviour data to the
this level of personalisation to their customers. An adaptive, agile and creation of personalised UIs and how are these resolved?
intelligent user interface, our Dynamic UI enables operators to go The biggest challenge in applying user behaviour data is that it requires
beyond simple content recommendations by personalising the entire an advanced data analytics system to comprehensively analyse users’
viewing experience based on user behavior patterns and content behaviours, tastes and preferences.
preference. Dynamic UI is integrated with Alticast’s machine learning data
platform, Argus™, for accurately profiling users. Based on the analysis
Beyond content recommendations based on usage, what types of results, Argus segments and categorises the users into target groups to
personalisation of the UI might a service provider implement? develop and transmit the proper UI sets.
Personalised service is usually thought of as personalised content
recommendation. Alticast’s Dynamic UI manages the pay TV service How can the service provider’s customers benefit from this type of
through the subscriber’s service usage patterns and content preference. personalisation of the UI?
It takes into consideration viewing times, browsing patterns, purchase As viewing behaviour is observed and accumulated, the UI reacts and
habits, channel searching, VOD watching, etc. It also looks at metadata optimises based upon the habits and usage patterns of the subscriber.
of content purchased, genres normally watched, types of channels most The collected data generates and offers a personalised UI, as well as a
frequently viewed and price range of purchased content. The compiled default operator UI, to the end-user who can then choose the UI to which
data is then used to generate individualised UI adaptations; thus, they are more attracted, further enhancing the customised experience.
allowing operators to personalize the UX through menu configurations, Additionally, subscribers can benefit from quicker and easier content
content recommendations and the screen’s overall look and feel. The discovery and service navigation based on user habits and data
end-user can then decide to watch either the operator default UI or their recognition. This, in turn, creates increased satisfaction and loyalty
own personalised UI. towards the service they are receiving.
For example, consider two viewers who usually watch movies.
One viewer generally makes a selection after watching a trailer while From the service provider’s perspective, what opportunities are there
the other checks social ratings and reviews. The system will present for making additional revenue from this type of personalisation?
personalized UIs and movie recommendations to each user based on With Alticast’s Dynamic UI, operators are able to take personalisation
their respective behavior patterns when choosing a movie. to another level by offering UI and content recommendations that
Sports fans are given multi-view screen features as well as game stats are custom-made for the individual user rather than for the operator’s
and information (i.e. scores and player profiles) on their favourite player entire subscription base. Since a UI template is automatically generated
or sports team. Binge watchers are presented with UIs that filter search through the system, time-to-market is significantly decreased, allowing
menus per genre, country the show is produced or originated in, actor(s) for immediate customer satisfaction.
in the show, as well as a list of episodes per season, which will appear on Personalisation and compelling UIs stand to become the key
one side of the screen. differentiator between an operator’s success or failure. Through the
Traditionally, different UI components are developed individually. use of Alticast’s Dynamic UI, operators have a way to answer their
Dynamic UI provides templates for operators to deploy the UI flawlessly subscribers’ demands for greater personalisation, less searching and
and dynamically, reducing time-to-market. This is imperative in an more time enjoying their favourite shows. This ultimately will reduce
industry where media trends are changing at an accelerated pace. churn and help operators stand out from the barrage of competition in
Dynamic UI is enhanced by Alticast’s UX virtualisation solution today’s marketplace.
pXX Alticast Q&A DTVE JunJul18.indd 1 30/05/2018 16:40
News > digest Digital TV Europe
June/July 2018
million. The agreement establishes (AdC) has rejected remedies pro-
The Netherlands the commercial broadcaster as a posed by Altice to secure a green Events
strategic partner of Eleven Sports light for its planned acquisition of
OTT > KPN to shut Play Poland, with a new management broadcast and media group Media New Europe Market
KPN is to shut down its OTT TV board with two members each from Capital. Media Capital is the owner Date: 11 - 14 June
service KPN Play on July 2 cit- Telewizja Polsat and Eleven Sports. of Portugal’s leading broadcaster Venue: Dubrovnik Palace Hotel,
ing “insufficient demand”. The Eleven said the transaction will TVI as well as production outfit Dubrovnik, Croatia
company said that the subscription allow it to consolidate its position in Plural Entertainment and a number W: neumarket.com
service, which launched in 2015, did Poland and boost its global expan- of radio stations. Altice said that
not get sufficient traction. In June sion plans. Maciej Stec, member of the measures it had proposed ANGA COM
the company will make KPN Play the management board of Telewizja were “reasonable” and that it was Date: 12 - 14 June
available for free. Programmes will Polsat and Cyfrowy Polsat, not disposed to suggest new ones. Venue: Köln Messe, Cologne,
be unavailable after July 2. The will become president of the man- It had previously committed to Germany
KPN Play website will remain online agement board of Eleven Sports separating its channel distribution, W: angacom.de
until October 1. Network. Current managing direc- content, advertising and digital-ter-
tor, Krzysztof Swiergiel will become restrial TV activities into separate VR & AR World
CEO of the company. entities, ensuring that channels Date: 12 - 14 June
Poland were distributed non-exclusively. Venue: ExCeL London, UK
However, the AdC ruled that Altice’s W: tmt.knect365.com/
PROG > Polsat into Eleven Portugal commitments were not specific ar-vr-world
Polsat has acquired a “significant enough and failed adequately to
stake” in Eleven Sports Poland in PROG > Altice move rejected address the question of potential Broadcast Asia
a deal that valued Eleven Sports Portugal’s competition watchdog non-compliance and distortion of Date: 26 - 28 June
Network at approximately €80 the Autoridade da Concorrência the market. Venue: Suntec, Singapore
W: broadcast-asia.com
BBC to run ‘first come, first served’ UHD trial IBC 2018
Date: 13 - 18 September
By Andy McDonald > change view to behind either Venue: Rai, Amsterdam, The
goal so they can get up-close to Netherlands
The BBC has announced two the action. W: show.ibc.org
“cutting edge” trials that will The VR app will also present
see it bring this summer’s FIFA users with a range of live match MIPCOM
World Cup live to viewers in ul- stats, which will appear from a Date: 15 - 18 October
tra high definition (UHD) and virtual coffee table, and when Venue: Palais des Festivals,
virtual reality (VR). there is no live game they will Cannes, France
All 29 World Cup matches it to prepare for a time when be able to watch highlights on a W: mipcom.com
that the BBC is due to broadcast “delivering such large-scale virtual big-screen TV.
on BBC One will also be avail- events in such high quality, for “The BBC has brought major Sportel Monaco
able in UHD and high dynamic larger audiences, over the open live broadcasting breakthroughs Date: 22 - 24 October
range (HDR) on the iPlayer – internet is normal.” to UK audiences throughout the Venue: Grimaldi Forum, Monaco
but only as part of a limited trial. The BBC will launch a dedi- history of the World Cup,” said W: sportelmonaco.com
“This trial will be available cated BBC Sport VR – FIFA Matthew Postgate, the BBC’s
to tens of thousands of people World Cup Russia 2018 app, chief technology and product Broadband World Forum
to watch on a first-come, first- which will be available soon on officer. “From the very first Date: 23 - 25 October
served basis,” said the BBC. Apple, Android, Gear VR, Ocu- tournament on TV in 1954 and Venue: Berlin Messe, Berlin,
The UHD stream will be lus Go and PlayStation VR. The England’s finest hour in 1966, Germany
available from the iPlayer home- app will let viewers watch live to the first colour World Cup W: tmt.knect365.com/bbwf
screen from as soon as the pro- coverage of all 33 BBC matches in 1970 and full HD in 2006.
gramme coverage begins until from a virtual ‘luxury private Now, with these trials we’re giv- Africa Video Forum
trial capacity is reached for that box’ in a Russian stadium. ing audiences yet another taste Date: 13 - 15 November
match. The BBC said that it will Viewers will look out on the of the future.” Venue: CTICC, Cape Town,
use the data it gathers from the pitch from a virtual BBC Sport The UHD coverage will be South Africa
trial to help it optimise UHD de- sofa via the box’s viewing win- available in the Hybrid Log- W:tmt.knect365.com/africacom/
livery in the future and will help dow and will also be able to Gamma version of HDR. africa-video-forum
Visit us at www.digitaltveurope.com
6
p0 06 08 10-11 DTVE s Di st JunJul18.indd 6 01/06/2018 19: 8
Q&A: Roland Sars, Media Distillery
Roland Sars, CEO of Media Distillery, talks about the application of AI to improve the user experience of TV platforms
What do you see as the main ways in which AI can be used to help How do consumers stand to benefit from the new services that this
broadcasters and TV operators? technology can support?
Nowadays, broadcasters and TV operators are faced with the change in Consumers will benefit as the technology enables TV operators and
consumer behaviour from linear television to the more extensive use broadcasters to resolve some of the most pressing consumer frustrations
of replay environments. If they want to remain relevant, they need to in relation to watching television programmes in a replay environment.
act on this change and focus on optimising their replay platforms and These frustrations include missing out on the first couple of minutes of a
VOD platforms. We believe that AI, being much quicker than regular programme because they were not recorded, having to sit through a few
technology or human effort, will enable broadcasters and TV operators minutes of television advertisements, on top of online advertisements,
to optimise and continuously adapt their platforms to satisfy new-born before the programme finally starts because the programme started
consumer demands. later than scheduled, or wanting to binge watch a programme but not
being able to smoothly transition to the next episode. Furthermore,
How does Media Distillery’s Deep Content Understanding platform work? the technology, and the real-time metadata specifically, will help TV
Media Distillery’s Deep Content Understanding platform comprises a operators and broadcasters offer a number of new services in their
wide combination of Machine Learning methodologies to recognise replay environment for a better consumer experience. For example, they
every visual and audial aspect of video. These methodologies include can offer personal recommendations, short clips based on a consumer’s
speech detection, logo detection, face recognition, object recognition, favourite topic or personalised and in-video search options.
topic detection and OCR recognition. By using a synergistic approach of
combining the different technologies, we can provide highly accurate To what extent does this type of application reflect changing viewing
results. patterns among consumers?
Linear television is losing ground to video-on-demand: consumers
What benefits can the metadata generated by this technology in real increasingly watch video content when it suits them, not when the
time bring to operators? television guide tells them to. Yet the replay environments of television
The benefits of this are that broadcasters and TV operators will learn and operators have not been optimised and are not user-friendly at all. As a
know what is inside their video content: who is on screen and when, result, software companies, such as Netflix and Amazon, which have a
what a programme is about, or when a programme started and ended. strong focus on consumer experience, are taking away consumers from
These forms of metadata are vital for TV operators to be able to optimise the traditional television operators. By using AI applications to offer an
their replay environment. Essentially, the metadata helps broadcasters optimal consumer experience in their replay environments, television
and TV operators enhance their platforms more like Netflix and YouTube, operators will be able to compete with the software companies that are
for example. conquering the media industry.
pXX Media Distillery Q&A DTVE JunJul18.indd 1 31/05/2018 12:15
News > digest Digital TV Europe
June/July 2018
CAB > Eleven to launch integrate Netflix’s service into which will be open to other digital-
Global Wrap Eleven Sports has secured the Telefónica’s TV and video platforms terrestrial broadcasters in the
Portuguese rights to UEFA Cham- in Europe and Latin America. Tele- country, promises to “improve the
Some 24% of all media con- pions League and Spanish La Liga fónica’s first Netflix deployments in experience of consuming television,
sumption across the world will football ahead of a launch in the Latin America will be announced in allowing interactivity, thanks to
be mobile this year, up from country. Both agreements run from the coming weeks, while a Spanish HbbTV technology”. The trio said
just 5% in 2011, according to the beginning of the 2018-19 season launch is currently planned for the they were working together to
Zenith’s Media Consumption for three years until the end of the end of 2018. The agreement marks launch the platform that will group
Forecasts 2018. The Publicis 2020-21 season. Eleven has struck the first deal between Telefónica the audiovisual content of all three
Media-owned ad agency said a deal with cable operator Nowo to and Netflix, which already has with the objective of improving
it expects the proportion to debut its channels in the market. distribution arrangements in place the diversity and quality of the
reach 28% by 2020 as the The rights secured by Eleven for its with Orange and Vodafone in the free-to-air TV offering and the user
mobile internet takes share Portuguese launch are currently Spanish market. experience for those accessing
from almost all other media. held by Sport TV, jointly owned by HbbTV services in the country. A
Music streaming service Vevo Olivedesportos, pay TV operator OTT > Broadcasters’ OTT plan second phase of the project will see
is to phase out its owned and NOS, Altice Portugal/Meo and Spanish public broadcaster RTVE the launch of a new OTT TV service
operated platforms in favour Vodafone Portugal. and commercial broadcasters Me- that will distribute additional con-
of focusing on YouTube. The diaset España and Atresmedia have tent. LOVEStv will launch on June
streaming outfit said that confirmed that they have teamed 14 on a trial basis. The service will
would focus on distributing its Spain up to launch a new joint interac- initially offer catch-up TV content
catalogue of music videos and tive platform based on the HbbTV from the previous week, along
original content to reach its OTT > Telefónica takes Netflix hybrid TV standard, with plans for with startover functionality, and
growing audience of YouTube Telefónica and Netflix have an- a new OTT TV service to follow. improved programming guide and
and would explore ways to nounced a global partnership to The platform, branded LOVEStv, content recommendations.
work other platforms to further
expand its access to content.
Customer satisfaction with Comcast preparing all-cash offer for Fox
streaming video services such
as Netflix in the US far exceeds By Kaltrina Bylykbashi > with respect to both the spin-off
that for traditional pay TV serv- of ‘New Fox’ and the regulatory
ices, according to the American Comcast has confirmed that it risk provisions and the related
Customer Satisfaction Index is considering making an all- termination fee, would be at
(ACSI), an annual survey of cash offer for the Fox assets that least as favourable to Fox share-
consumer attitudes to services have been offered to Disney for holders as the Disney offer.”
including pay TV, video stream- US$52 billion (€45 billion). The news follows reports that
ing, ISPs and fixed and wireless Comcast said it is, “consider- Comcast had asked investment
phone. Customer satisfaction ing, and is in advanced stages of banks to increase a debt facility digital platforms – Facebook,
with pay TV services fell 3.1% preparing, an offer for the busi- by as much as US$60bn so it Amazon, Netflix, Google,” said
year-on-year on average to nesses that Fox has agreed to can make the offer. Ed Barton, chief analyst of en-
land on an ACSI score of 62 out sell to Disney.” Late last year Comcast made tertainment at Ovum.
of 100, while streaming video These assets include Fox’s a US$64 billion offer to Fox in UK hedge fund The Chil-
services, included in the survey entertainment networks, movie competition with Disney, but dren’s Investment Fund (TCI),
for the first time, achieved a studios, television production this bid was ultimately rejected. which has built up a 7.4% stake
score of 75. Hong Kong-based and international assets. They Fox cited regulatory hurdles. in 21st Century Fox, urged the
telco PCCW’s entertainment do not include the Fox News With Comcast upping this offer, Fox board to “immediately
arm PCCW Media has launched Channel, Fox Business Network what this will mean for the Dis- engage” with Comcast. TCI,
a new OTT TV platform, Now E, and Fox Broadcasting Company, ney/Fox merger is unclear. which is run by Sir Christopher
offering a mix of Asian drama which are to be separated into “Of course the main thing Hohn, highlighted a potential
series and movies and sports, what is referred to as “New Fox”. is it drives the price up. We conflict of interest related to
that is available on a range Comcast said: “Any offer for expect the battle for consolida- capital gains tax that could lead
of devices including a new Fox would be all-cash and at a tion amongst TV distributors, the Murdoch family to prefer
Android TV box. The service premium to the value of the cur- content and channel owners to Disney’s offer and said that this
includes content from partners rent all-share offer from Disney. continue because many people must be “an irrelevant consider-
such as HBO, MOViE MOViE, The structure and terms of any believe scaling up is essential ation” in weighing up the merits
Now Baogu, Viu and others. offer by Comcast, including to compete against the scaled of the Comcast offer.
Visit us at www.digitaltveurope.com
8
p0 06 08 10-11 DTVE s Di st JunJul18.indd 8 01/06/2018 19: 8Q&A: Charles Dawes, TiVo
Charles Dawes, senior director, international marketing at TiVo, talks about voice search, unmanaged devices, the rise of Android TV and
machine learning.
To what extent have consumers embraced voice search as a tool for What impact is adoption of Android TV as an operator platform having
content discovery and what more needs to be done to encourage its use? on the market and what are the advantages and disadvantages to
Over the past year, we have seen voice really starting to take off with service providers of using this technology?
consumers. In our own research(1), we’ve seen access to voice-based search Android TV used to be a major concern for the pay TV community, as
rise to over 24 percent, with over 70 percent of people saying they find it questions around the experience, security and control featured high on
easy to find the content they are looking for. We’ve also seen that the users the agenda. Google has listened to operators, and with the latest Android
of truly “conversational” products, like the TiVo Bolt Vox, which have more TV Operator Tier has ensured that these concerns are addressed. This is
advanced ‘Natural Language Understanding’ (NLU), and can handle multi- great, as it allows operators to choose to use a class-leading customer
faceted queries – such as “show me all the Bill Murray comedies from the interface like TiVo Experience 4 and still take advantage of everything
80’s with a four-star rating” – have a 21 percent higher weekly usage than that is offered by close integration with the Google Play store.
other more basic services. Key to encouraging usage is how the services
are being advertised to consumers through our operator partners. Where How can machine learning enhance content discovery and how
operators have embraced voice in their advertising – as Sky has done with Sky transformative is the use of this technology likely to be?
Q – we see strong and maintained growth, as consumers realise the added Machine learning is bringing rapid change to the realm of content
simplicity it brings to their lives on a daily basis. Voice interaction is entering the discovery in a number of ways. Most importantly it is helping to make
mainstream as tech giants like Google, Amazon and Apple heavily promote sense of the vast unstructured data sources that are available on the
voice-based features and drive consumer adoption. Done right, voice not only internet, finding information that is relevant, and helping enhance the
helps users get to their content faster, but also enables operators to expose structured data that is supplied by companies like TiVo. These content
users to a much greater breadth of content. The ideal offering for operators is sources and formats are constantly evolving, so you can’t simply
one that combines a deeply media-focused vertical content solution with the just write a set of rules to process them. The system itself must take
broader voice ecosystems of Google, Alexa, Siri, etc. advantage of the latest Artificial Intelligence (AI) to adapt itself and
continue to surface the most relevant information in real-time, at the
How far are TV operators embracing unmanaged IP devices and apps to right moment, without slowing down. With the industry fragmenting so
distribute their service offerings to subscribers? What are the advantages quickly, and consumers being faced with more compelling content and
and what remaining concerns do they have? ways to discover that content, machine learning will offer the speed and
We see many operators looking to take advantage of devices that consumers accuracy that is needed to keep up with consumers’ needs and desires.
have purchased to consume entertainment, as it can help to lower their
capital expenditure costs and deliver a service that consumers are coming What are the most compelling applications for the use of machine
to expect – namely their subscription services being available where they learning technology currently being investigated?
choose to watch them. The ‘TV Everywhere’ revolution was the pre-cursor One of the most interesting areas is how technology can be used
to this, where operators provided service to subscribers via an app on their to enhance the work of human experts. From helping find the most
mobile phone or through the web, but we’re now seeing this evolve to the appropriate content aficionados to curate an ever more specific set
point where we have operators – like BT in the UK – combining their own of content options – for example, your catalogue of Spanish horror
content along with the UK public broadcasters, Netflix, Amazon Prime and films that need a true fan to review. Machine learning can also help to
Sky’s Now TV, into one experience. Only a few years ago, those services bring scale at speed to the world of metadata, by comparing inputs
would have been seen as too competitive to the operator to contemplate from both machines and human editors for consistency and accuracy.
providing them to their customer. This type of content integration is a key It can also help to surface meaningful results and recommendations
cornerstone of the TiVo Experience 4 product, allowing consumer access to that enable contextually relevant discovery by assessing current events
content from many sources in one interface. In a market that is increasingly and connecting and presenting timely entertainment content to the
fragmented, there is a window for providers to serve as the starting point for customer.
consumers’ entertainment experience, and guide them through the maze
of content options. (1)
TiVo Q4 2017 Online Video and Pay-TV Trends Report
pXX TiVo Q&A JunJul18.indd 1 30/05/2018 16:33News > digest Digital TV Europe
June/July 2018
and Europa League Media rights, will
Sweden take over as CEO. Andreas Walker, UAE United Kingdon
who has previously held a number
PROG > MTG takes control of senior roles for MTG, RTL and SAT > MBC widens horizons IPTV > BT to offer Amazon
MTG has upped its stake in Zoomin. MTG subsidiary ESL, has been ap- Dubai-headquartered broadcaster BT is to include Amazon Video as
TV from 51% to 100% after agree- pointed as Zoomin.TV’s new CFO. MBC Group plans to place more fo- part of its TV offering as it pivots its
ing to buy out the digital video cus on Saudi Arabia and neighbour- fixed broadband service to become
network’s founders Jan Riemens ing markets. The media company part of a “converged network divi-
and Bram Bloemberg. MTG acquired Switzerland said the move is in line with “current sion” under new consumer business
the remaining 49% of Zoomin.TV transformational positive changes” CEO Marc Allera. In addition to the
from Adversa Media Groep, which CAB > UPC takes Höfe in Saudi Arabia – including premium Amazon Video app BT said it would
is controlled by Riemens and Blo- Liberty Global-owned UPC Swit- content production. The decision make Sky’s Now TV available to
emberg, paying €6.2 million in cash zerland has acquired the Höfe follows a strategy meeting held TV customers from next year. The
and settling Adversa’s €11.3 million region cable network belonging in the presence of more than 100 addition of Amazon’s offering makes
of shareholder loans to Zoomin.TV. to infrastructure group EW Höfe, top executives at MBC Group’s BT the first UK service provider to
Riemens and Bloemberg have been leaving its owner to focus on build- headquarters at Dubai Media City, embrace the e-commerce giant’s
serving, respectively, as CEO and ing out a fibre network. The cable chaired by MBC Group chairman Prime Video service, allowing users
chief financial officers of Zoomin. network currently serves around Waleed Al-Ibrahim. Al-Ibrahim used to access Amazon’s roster of exclu-
TV, but with the deal have stepped 15,000 homes in the Höfe area. UPC the meeting to highlight the view sive TV series and movies . The new
down to pursue new opportunities. Switzerland has been a long-stand- that expansion and in-market oppor- BT TV app will also allow custom-
MTG announced that Roger Lode- ing partner of the group. The deal tunities, especially in Saudi Arabia, ers to download and play content
wick, a former executive at TEAM means that subscribers will now will broaden MBC’s horizons and on the move for the first time. In
Marketing who was responsible for pay their monthly connection fees create more opportunities across addition to BT’s set-tops, the app will
the sale of UEFA Champions League directly to UPC. the entire group. be available on platforms including
Industry stakeholders slam copyright reform draft proposals
By Stuart Thomson > contracts every year with indi- ency requirements were to be
vidual rightsholders. established and implemented.”
Both public broadcaster organi- “For EBU Members this is a French authors copyright so-
sation the EBU and a group rep- very disappointing conclusion. ciety SACD meanwhile said that
resenting authors of audiovisual Member States had ample op- the draft was “a missed chance”
works have expressed dissatis- portunity to ensure pragmatism to make progress towards en-
faction with different aspects of and common sense but unfortu- suring “a just remuneration for
the compromise position agreed The EBU said that the agreed nately the conclusion will result audiovisual and cinema authors
by the European Council on cop- position had “failed to create a in cumbersome bureaucratic everywhere in Europe”.
yright reform in the EU. sensible balance between pro- procedures for our members,” SACD said that the failure to
The Council’s permanent viding transparency to authors said EBU head of European af- embed a general right to remu-
representatives committee, and performers on the one fairs Nicola Frank. neration from digital platforms
Coreper, agreed a position on hand, and the workability and “We are disappointed that the meant that the proposal may
the draft directive that will serve pragmatism required on the call made from the EBU for a end up worsening an already
as the body’s mandate when it other”. It said that it was con- more balanced approach has not out-of-date framework. “In the
kicks off negotiations with the cerned by an obligation to report been taken on board. Whilst we countries in which such a right
European Parliament once the autiomatically and individually support the principles of trans- is recognised, authors’ societies
latter agrees its own position. to authors and performers on parency and also fair remunera- can negotiate agreements, col-
With regard to authors rights, the use of their works at least tion, this conclusion is simply lect and distribute remunera-
the draft calls for collective bar- once a year, arguing that such not practical and realistic in its tion; in other states, when this
gaining between rights holders as approach places “an unprec- ambition. Public service media right doesn’t exist, authors are
and distributors to be “consid- edented burden on the creative play a unique role within our almost assured of never being
ered as an option” to ensure industries at a time when they societies, investing over €16 bil- remunerated,” it said.
transparency and calls for a tran- are already facing significant lion in content every year. The SACD said it counted on the
sitional period to enable organi- market disruption”. capacity of our members to con- European Parliament’s judicial
sations to adapt to new transpar- The EBU said that broadcast- tinue to invest would be serious- affairs committee adopting a
ency requirements. ers manage as many as 250,000 ly challenged if costly transpar- more favourable position.
Visit us at www.digitaltveurope.com
10
p0 06 08 10-11 DTVE s Di st JunJul18.indd 10 01/06/2018 19: 8Digital TV Europe News > digest
June/July 2018
Samsung Smart TVs, Apple TV and Nickelodeon channels. Nick Play will Comcast’s bid, Hancock took the
Google Chromecast. EE customers offer both full-length TV episodes view that the merged entity “would Zimbabwe
will also be able to view BT Sport and short form content and will not have a significantly larger pres-
app features, including the ability include titles like The Thundermans, ence in the UK news market than OTT > Kwesé Iflix launch
to cast direct from their mobile to Hunter Street, Henry Danger, that already exercised by Sky plc Kwesé Iflix, the joint venture be-
their TV with inclusive data ,for SpongeBob SquarePants and Pig, and Sky News, and would have no tween Kwesé owner Econet Media
the first time from the start of the Goat, Banana, Cricket. greater ability to influence the news and emerging market SVOD service
forthcoming football season. EE agenda”. The DCMS statement Iflix, have launched a new mobile
will also offer Google Chromecast SAT > Comcast Sky decision makes it more likely that Comcast app in Zimbabwe. The Kwesé Iflix
and Apple TV support, enabling Comcast has received a boost in will be able to proceed with its bid, app will be available to Econet
customers to share content from its bid for Sky as UK secretary of giving weight to the US group’s Wireless mobile subscribers and will
their mobile to the big screen. state for culture, media and sport argument that it would not face offer live linear content – including
EE customers will also be able to Matt Hancock has said he is “not the same regulatory scrutiny that coverage of all 64 FIFA 2018 World
access a range of new mobile TV minded” to intervene. While the has delayed 21st Century Fox’s Cup games – alongside a line-up
experiences throughout the year. UK Enterprise Act grants Hancock attempt to acquire the 61% of Sky of on-demand and entertainment
the power to intervene in media that it does not already own. Fox’s programmes. Kwese Iflix said that
CAB > Nick Play on Virgin mergers on public interest ground, own bid is subject to approval by the app’s sport offering will also
Viacom International Media he said that the evidence presented the UK competition watchdog, the include select NBA games while
Networks (VIMN) has launched its so far does not seem to justify such Completion and Markets Authority. the entertainment content will
Nick Play video-on-demand app via a move. Comcast formally notified The organisation had until the end include thousands of programmes
Virgin Media in the UK. The rollout the European Commission of its of May to deliver its verdict, leaving spanning international, regional
marks the UK debut of VIMN’s first intention to acquire Sky on May Hancock until June 13 to make a and local programmes curated
mobile streaming app featuring 7, leaving it to Hancock to decide final decision. If Fox is cleared, it will especially for an African audience.
long form content, with the Nick whether or not the bid warranted have to increase its bid from the Econet Media-owned pay TV provid-
Play app available free to Virgin the issuing of a European Interven- current £19 billion (€22 billion) to er Kwesé has acquired a “significant
Media customers who subscribe to tion Notice (EIN). In assessing top Comcast’s £22 billion offer. stake” in Iflix Africa in February.
Multiscreen Launch Platform
HIGH-DENSITY OTT DEPLOYMENT SOLUTION
Video/Audio Platform
HIGH-DENSITY VIDEO HEADEND SOLUTION
Micro Headend transmodulator with CI
HIGH FUNCTIONALITY IN THE SMALLEST FORM FACTOR
at e
See you
A C O M , Cologn
AN G 0184, 2
June 12-1
oth R11
Hall 8, bo
www.wisi.de
p0 06 08 10-11 DTVE s Di st JunJul18.indd 11 01/06/2018 19: 8Technology focus > Broadband cable Digital TV Europe
June/July 2018
Speed kills
With high-speed broadband increasingly seen as the key competitive battleground
for fixed-line service providers, cable operators are constantly looking to stay
ahead of their rivals by investing in new technology, but they also need to prioritise
investment to match what their customers want. Stuart Thomson investigates.
Speed is the killer app. High-
speed broadband is now
the key competitive battleground between
Cable operators in particular have managed
to build their broadband subscriber bases
by outperforming telecom rivals on speed.
for the last two decades. Thanks to DOCSIS
technology, cable has been able to stay one step
ahead of telcos, which have adopted a variety
fixed-line service providers. While some Broadband revenue-generating unit net of technologies to squeeze more out of their
operators have adopted a strategy of acquiring additions have offset long-term declines in legacy copper networks but have ultimately
exclusive content rights to differentiate their legacy analogue TV subscriber numbers. reached a point where the only way forward is
services, for the most part telecom and cable DOCSIS – the CableLabs standard for to dig up the ground and lay fibre.
operators alike increasingly see TV as a useful delivering broadband internet over hybrid Nevertheless, the growing prevalence of
tool to sell bundled offerings rather than their fibre-coax cable networks that were originally fibre in some areas means that cable operators
central area of focus. Increasingly, the true designed to provide broadcast TV signals, has can’t afford to rest on their laurels.
competitive differentiator is speed. been the gift that keeps on giving for cable Over the last couple of years, cable operators
Visit us at www.digitaltveurope.com
12
p 12-1 16-1 o d nd l DTVE JunJul18.indd 12 01/06/2018 18: 2Digital TV Europe Technology focus > Braodband cable
June/July 2018
at introducing a distributed architecture, which incentive to look to Remote PHY. He says that as
pushes intelligence in the network closer to the operators are under constant pressure to limit
home and limits what needs to be performed at capital expenditure and operating expenditure
a central location. while reducing churn, a distributed access
architecture offers a neat solution, enabling
them to stay ahead of the game without tearing
Remote PHY up their existing infrastructure.
“The R-PHY-based distributed architecture is
The benefits of a distributed access architecture a tempting alternative for cable operators eager
are in the first instance about saving space to take a quantum leap but still needing to run
and power in centralised headends and hubs. old legacy systems during the transformation.
Increasingly, the focus has been on Remote Continuous improvement in network
PHY, a technology that separates the QAM reliability and visibility is critical for cable
modulation and demodulation functions of television industry in competition with other
the CMTS from other headend functions and infrastructure providers,” says Narjus. “Digital
locates this closer to the edge of the network. fibre links offer a clear path to full IP delivery,
This can provide a number of advantages for which is welcomed by many operators who see
cable operators. IP as a catalyst for access network convergence.
“The first benefit is a dramatic reduction in Many operators have heavily occupied regional
space and power in the headends and hubs. headends running out of space and the R-PHY-
Separating the functions of the CCAP core based architecture enables headend space
from the Physical layer access network interface savings.”
[PHY], enables CCAP cores to be used more Narjus says that operators face a choice of
efficiently, enabling them to support up to four four different cable architectures – Remote
times the number of service groups, thereby PHY, Remote MACPHY, where both the
dramatically reducing space and power,” says physical layer and media access controller are
John Holobinko, director of business strategy located at the node, pushing on with traditional
at Cisco’s cable access business unit. segmentation of the network into smaller
In addition to saving space and reducing service areas, and finally, laying fibre-to-the-
the amount of power required, Holobinko home in the ground.
says that a distributed access architecture With a distributed architecture, says Narjus,
simplifies network management by enabling operators have a choice between deploying
cable operators to replace “cumbersome Ethernet networks in some instances and
analogue combining networks” in hubs with investing in DOCSIS infrastructure. Remote
10Gigabit Ethernet optics and layer two and PHY enables the use of existing HFC plant and
three switches. The key technology building therefore enables upgrades without civil works
block of a distributed architecture, Remote – a major cost saving for service providers.
PHY enables operators to digitise the stretch However, he adds, deploying this type of
between hub and remote node, eliminating network does require interaction between TV
analogue fibre optical networks that are and broadband teams in a way that operators
difficult to install and maintain. may not be used to.
Holobinko also says that extending the IP If a Remote PHY network is used for linear
network all the way to the node opens up the TV, there may be a need for software upgrades
possibility of extending intelligence to the node with requirements that TV engineers are
and enabling automation of RF installation and unaccustomed to, while DOCSIS specialists
have been able to set the realistic goal of a better remote view of the network, something may not be used to dealing with broadcast
delivering Gigabit broadband speeds to the Cisco has invested in. capacity management and PSI/SI tables
home – a useful benchmark for marketing Finally, he says, a distributed access network required for set-top boxes.
purposes as much as something that the “lays the groundwork for network virtualisation
average consumer will use. These operators in the future”. Operators, says Holobinko, will
have invested in new technologies to deliver be able to take full advantage of this when ‘cloud Immediate savings
high-speed broadband services more efficiently, native’ CCAP becomes a reality (see sidebar).
including high-density Converged Cable Hanno Narjus, senior vice-president, For Asaf Matatyaou, vice-president, solutions
Access Platform (CCAP) headend systems and network products at broadband cable and product management, cable edge business
the latest iteration of the DOCSIS standard – technology specialist Teleste, agrees with at Harmonic, in addition to bringing many
DOCSIS 3.1 – as well as, increasingly, looking Holobinko that IP migration is a key goal and practical benefits to operators, Remote PHY is
Visit us at www.digitaltveurope.com
13
p 12-1 16-1 o d nd l DTVE JunJul18.indd 1 01/06/2018 18: 2You can also read
