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www.csimagazine.com
September 2017
TV wants in on
the eSports action
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Android TV Video Latency High Frame Rates
NovelSat NS4
Contents
32 Android TV
With ever more payTV providers jumping
www.csimagazine.com
High Frame Rates
on the Android TV bandwagon, we assess
Video Latency
Android TV
requirements and implications for operators
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
TV wants in on
the eSports action Editor
Goran Nastic
38 Artificial Intelligence
Described by Gartner as one of three key Commercial
megatrends for the digital economy over the John Woods, Camilla Capece
next 10 years, what are its uses in video?
September 2017
csi-cover-September2017-V3.indd 1 22/08/2017 12:12:11
Design and production
10 COVER STORY: eSports Matt Mills (Manager)
eSports is big business, which broadcasters 42 Watermarking Jessica Harrington
want to tap into. But how can pay-TV The rise of premium live sports streaming Matleena Lilja-Pelling
differentiate itself and add value? on top of existing MovieLabs UHD
requirements is finally giving the technology Regular contributors
Adrian Pennington, Philip Hunter,
14 Analyst column: eSports a much needed commercial push
David Adams, Stephen Cousins,
Futuresource Consulting asks if eSports and Anna Tobin
TV could be a natural fit 44 Q&A with Michael Crimp
The IBC CEO gives his thoughts on this Circulation
Joel Whitefoot
18 New security paradigms year’s show, as well as what lies in store for
the future
From cyber security and IoT to new Accounts
European data regulations, we explore Marilou Tait, Lynta Kamaray
changing security habits the broadcast 46 Technology corner: HFR
industry needs to deal with DVB’s David Wood shares his expert view Editorial
into high frame rates and their likely tel +44(0)20 7562 2401
goran.nastic@csimagazine.com
24 Latency evolution
Streaming latency is becoming a critical Advertising
component of live OTT, so how can it be as 50 IBC preview tel +44(0)20 7562 2421
low as possible? An overview of some of the highlights john.woods@csimagazine.com
visitors can expect this year tel +44(0)20 7562 2438
camilla.capece@csimagazine.com
Subscriptions
Editor’s report: tel +44 (0) 20 1635 588 861
perspectivesubs@dynamail.co.uk
Circulation manager: joel.whitefoot@
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a fascinating, if complicated area. Its many manifesta- perspectivepublishing.com
tions result in a perplexing set of intricacies to the casual eye. As IT, cloud, tele-
coms and other areas influence the evolution of broadcast more and more, so AI Subscription rates
is beginning to permeate aspects of our industry. Developments are in their infan- Per year: Europe £88; UK £68;
cy, but we can already identify a number of promising applications and services Rest of World £98. Cheques payable
to Perspective Publishing
where the technology will be useful (see feature on p38). Will it also open a Pandora’s box?
Limited and addressed to the
This is one of the main topics I will be talking to people at IBC about, in order to gauge their
Circulation Department
feelings on AI going forward. The responses should prove interesting and play a big part in
our show review, with more editorial coverage to follow in 2018 as we explore new horizons. Printed by Buxton Press
Goran Nastic, editor Managing Director
John Woods
Perspective Publishing Publishing Director
3 London Wall Buildings
London Mark Evans
2017 EC2M 5PD
www.perspectivepublishing.com ISSN 1467-5935
www.csimagazine.com September 2017 03
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News
Disney, Netflix and iflix moves signal news in brief
shift in future payTV dynamics Sky’s loyalty programme
Sky is introducing a loyalty
Traditional producers and distributors Other content suppliers are The relationship was always programme that rewards
may be rethinking their relationship to expected to follow Disney’s lead or at slated to end in 2019, and partly to customers, as it becomes tougher
Netflix after Disney decided to end the least drive a harder bargain demands counter such eventualities, Netflix to attract and retain subscribers.
distribution of new movie releases on in negotiations. has been investing billions in Sky VIP is described as the
the SVoD platform from 2019 and It comes as Disney announced a original content (it plans some first ‘tenure based’ loyalty
then cozied up to rival iflix as the new global SVoD service from 2019 $7bn next year alone) and also programme in the TV and
emerging markets streaming service and ESPN-branded OTT sports purchased comic book publisher broadband sector and the latest
launches a channels feature, starting service in early 2018. To help achieve Millarworld, the company behind strategic attempt by the company
with Disney. both aims, Disney is taking a Kick-Ass and Kingsman, to create to stand out in an increasingly
Analysts at The Diffusion Group majority stake in BAMTech, the new titles for its 104m members. competitive landscape. The
foresee the Netflix wholesale online video technology company iflix, meanwhile, is turning into rewards get better with time and
licensing business dead in the water spun out of Major League Baseball. an even more serious player and the longer customers stay with
as a consequence. “The media landscape is one to watch, now available in the payTV company. The loyalty
“Disney’s decision to pull its increasingly defined by direct some 20 markets across Asia, programme divides into four tiers,
content from Netflix is the right one relationships between content Africa and the Middle East. starting with Silver (0-3 years)
and really can’t happen soon enough. creators and consumers, and our Espellien also argued that the and rising to Black (those who
Netflix wants to produce originals. control of BAMTech’s full array of era of the ‘one stop shop’ for video have been a subscriber for 15
The rest of Hollywood needs to hold innovative technology will give us the entertainment is coming to an end. years or more). They include
them to that, even if it means future power to forge those connections, As new direct-to-consumer exclusive preview screenings,
consumers will have to stream Star along with the flexibility to quickly services become the norm, these sports events and the chance to
Wars and Toy Story somewhere else,” adapt to shifts in the market,” said decisions will shape the future win trips to Game of Thrones
thinks Joel Espelien. Disney CEO Bob Iger. landscape of content aggregation. film locations among others.
Discovery CEO hails the skinny bundle
David Zaslav, CEO of Discovery Zaslav noted that including PlayStation Vue and the new
Communications, said the era of broadband costs, skinny bundles Hulu Live aren’t true skinny bundles
cheaper, sports-free, skinny bundles could cost between $60 and $70 because they are laden with networks
is coming to the US, much as per month, compared to the $8-$12 that are heavy with sports
they already exists in Europe and monthly charge he sees in slimmed programming.
Latin America. down video packages in Latin “I believe that will happen.
Zaslav said that cheap monthly America and Eastern Europe. I think these overstuffed turkeys
packages of programming, free of But eventually he sees the US are going to end up being a challenge
sports and containing most of the market moving in that direction too. from a consumer perspective. In the
networks viewers want, similar to In the sense, he said current end I think
offerings in Europe, will eventually slimmed down offerings in the the market will be rationalized,”
make their way to the US. US like DirecTV Now, Sony he said.
www.csimagazine.com September 2017 05
News
news in brief OTT sports set for the big time in 2018
Discovery finally buys Scripps It has been a big summer for sports the US this
Discovery Communications has streaming, with a number of season, alongside
bought Scripps Networks landmark deals and announcements broadcasters NBC
Interactive in a $14.6 billion deal, made by players old and new. and CBS. In May,
ending its long pursuit of the The first involves Amazon, a it added 40
Food Network programmer. The company that is increasingly streaming TV
combined company will produce flexing its muscles in terms of channels in the
about 8,000 hours of original programming in general, including UK – including
programming annually and be now sports. The tech company Eurosport, which
home to about 300,00 hours of outbid payTV operator Sky to win a will enable it to
library content. It will generate a five-year contract to show the ATP offer the US Open
combined 7 billion short-form World Tour tennis in the UK. With and French Open tennis and EUR4.99 per month on the
video streams monthly, creating the deal, Amazon Prime Video will Olympic coverage from next year. Amazon Prime app.
opportunity for new digital be the exclusive destination for all “This is a real game changer. And In a further sign that the global
distribution partners, including the biggest tournaments apart from lays down a marker for future sports sports broadcast landscape is
mobile, OTT, and D2C. the four grand slams, starting in rights auctions. Amazon must be changing, Turner in August
2018. The contract covers the ATP considered as a serious threat to announced that it would launch its
HbbTV updates test suite World Tour Masters 1000 and sports rights holders not only in the own streaming platform following a
The HbbTV Association has Masters 500 events from around the UK but other markets as well,” said deal with UEFA from 2018.
released version 9.2 of its test world, including tournaments in Paolo Pescatore of CCS Insight, a Turner Sports plans to launch the
suite. The latest version contains Monte Carlo, Madrid, Paris, Miami, telecoms and media analyst firm. service on the back of acquiring
1909 HbbTV test cases, of which Indian Wells and Shanghai. “There is a new player in town and exclusive multi-platform rights to two
1492 are approved for testing It is Amazon’s first major live TV the likes of Sky and BT Sport need of the world’s biggest football
conformance. The aim of this sports rights deal outside the US to watch out.” competitions, the UEFA Champions
release is to support the and described by analysts as a Amazon then also signed a deal League and the UEFA Europa
certification of devices coming “game changer”. Like fellow digital with Eurosport to live stream sports League. Those two competitions will
to market in 2018 for all versions players Twitter and Facebook, it has in Germany and Austria via its be the foundation for Turner’s direct-
of the HbbTV standard. been experimenting with streaming Amazon Channels service. Amazon to-consumer streaming service.
live sports. In April, Amazon Germany will add coverage of Walt Disney’s premium sports
Kantar incorporates signed an agreement with the Germany’s top football league to its network ESPN also recently
Facebook measurement National Football League in to Prime Video offer with a deal to announced it will launch a streaming
Kantar Media has integrated stream 10 Thursday-night carry the Eurosport Player. service in 2018 as OTT sports starts
Facebook data into its newly American football games in The service will be available for to go mainstream next year.
renamed Social TV Ratings, with
Instagram set to follow. The
Kantar Social TV Ratings tool
now enables clients to see counts
EE TV claims Alexa first
of posts, likes, comments and EE TV has become the first UK set Alexa will respond to questions continually looking for ways to
shares across the Facebook top box, and one of the first service with three recommendations further enhance the accessibility and
platform as it pertains to TV providers worldwide, to offer a provided from the same source that usability of EE TV. The new skill will
programmes. Clients can also hands-free control option via supplies Freeview Picks, according to allow users to discover new content
drill down at a granular level to Amazon Alexa. the telco. Users can also ask about and help to enrich their TV
view this data by demographics EE continues to innovate its TV shows on any Freeview channel for experience, so they can make the
such as age and gender, for better service with its technology partner either now or the following day. most out of it.”
engagement visibility. The Netgem, the latest being the The EE TV skill for Alexa is the “Alexa integration with EE TV
original Kantar Twitter TV integration of Amazon’s digital first in a number of commands being creates a truly hands-free TV
Ratings tool (KTTR) launched in assistant. The support of Alexa reviewed for the EE TV platform. experience,” said Fabrice Rousseau,
2014 since when it became the voice control through Amazon Echo This includes reviewing Amazon’s General Manager, Alexa Skills
official industry metric in the UK or Echo Dot is available as of today, Alexa Video Skill APIs for Kit EU. “Customers can now ask
and has since gone live in Spain, meaning customers can just ask for integration with the service. Alexa to find things to watch and
the Philippines, Brazil, Argentina, information on what’s on, or to Max Taylor, Managing Director of record the shows they want — no
Colombia and Turkey. record shows. Marketing, EE said: “We’re remote required.”
06 September 2017 www.csimagazine.com
TM
News
news in brief BBC and Microsoft test voiceprints and AI
Hrvatski Telekom deploys “The idea of being able to talk to
Zenterio OS computers and for them to be able
Croatian telco Hrvatski Telekom to understand who we are as
is the latest Deutsche Telekom individuals has been a science
subsidiary to deploy Zenterio’s fiction fascination for decades,”
software on its set-top boxes and said Cyrus Saihan, Head of Digital
a major milestone for the Partnerships, Distribution &
partners. Having already installed Business Development, in a blog.
the Zenterio OS on its boxes in “We wanted to explore how TV –
Germany, Slovakia, Hungary, just by hearing the unique sound of
Romania, and Greece, Deutsche The BBC and Microsoft are testing a computer will be the main way your voice – could give people a
Telekom has now launched the voiceprints and artificial intelligence that people interact with many of more intuitive and more personal
“independent STB middleware” for voice interfaces and to enable digital devices. service in the future.”
in Croatia with incumbent even greater levels of personalisation. The BBC and Microsoft built a There could be scenarios in a
Hrvatski Telekom, which serves The BBC has worked with proof of concept. In the experiment, typical family setting too; just by
408,000 IPTV customers. Microsoft to build an experimental by recognising the individual listening to the voices in the room,
version of BBC iPlayer that uses characteristics of voice (tone, the TV could automatically detect
US streaming media artificial intelligence to allow modulation, pitch etc), processing when there are multiple people in the
player adoption individuals to sign in to BBC that information and then matching living room, and serve up a
Roku has increased its market services using their unique it to a sample of the voice stored in personalised mix of content relevant
share in the US among streaming voiceprint and to talk to their TV to the cloud, AI software checks that to all of you in the room.
media players. According to new select what they want to watch. users are who they say they are and “If we look further into the future,
research from Parks Associates, AI and voice interaction are fast- are then signed in, without the need when artificial intelligence and
Roku is increasing its lead in the developing technologies that the for typing. machine learning have advanced
streaming media player BBC believes could have interesting The internal prototype also gives sufficiently, you could end up in a
landscape, with 37% of US use-cases in TV as these are early a user the option to select what conversation with your TV about
households owning and using a days for voice interfaces. they want to watch by talking to what’s available to watch now,
Roku device as of Q1 2017, up With voice controlled interfaces their device. whether you like the sound of it or
from 30% in Q1 2016. The other such as Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s As the technology advances, not, whether there’s something
major players in this market, only Siri, Google’s Assistant and voiceprints and artificial intelligence coming up that you’re interested
Amazon’s Fire TV had an Microsoft’s Cortana starting to gain could enable even greater levels in, and what you like to watch
increase in its share of installed popularity, there is a good chance of personalisation, according to when you’re in a certain mood,”
base during the same timeframe. that in some situations, speaking to the BBC. said Saihan.
Amazon increased its share from
16% to 24% of US broadband
households. Google’s Chromecast
now holds an 18% share of
Beaming bitcoin via satellite
installed base, while Apple’s Blockstream is using satellites to operate and maintain Bitcoin nodes, Satellite network currently consists of
share fell to 15%. A third of US broadcast bitcoins via a global without the constraints of traditional three geosynchronous satellites at
broadband homes now have teleport and GEO network. network connectivity. various positions over Earth that
streaming players. The blockchain and financial Teleport ground stations uplink cover four continents - Africa,
cryptography specialist has the public Bitcoin blockchain data to Europe, South America, and North
Patents for AI-based security announced the availability of the satellites in the network, which America. By the end of 2017,
Vectra has been issued five US Blockstream Satellite, a new service then broadcast the data to large areas additional satellites will be added to
patents for artificial intelligence using leased satellite capacity that across the globe. Additional teleports the network enabling worldwide
enhanced visibility into cyber broadcasts real-time Bitcoin are being built out in phases to coverage and reaching nearly every
attacker behaviour. The five US blockchain data from a group of enable worldwide coverage. person on the planet.
patents - numbers 9237164, communication satellites in space to The service is at launch available Blockstream Satellite makes
9407647, 9565208, 9602533 and almost everyone on the planet. across two thirds of the Earth’s extensive use of open source software
9628512 - for advanced cyber Blockstream Satellite is described landmass, and additional coverage such as GNU Radio and the
security analytics capabilities the world’s first public satellite areas will soon come online to by the Fast Internet Bitcoin Relay
automated by AI. service that allows anyone to end of the year. The Blockstream Engine (FIBRE).
08 September 2017 www.csimagazine.com
News
4K TV drives global set-top box market news in brief
Despite persistent predictions of its putting pressure Children’s VoD market
demise, the set-top box landscape on prices. The number of kids’ video
remains in good health and a new The Asia on-demand services has more
report forecasts robust growth ahead Pacific region, than doubled in the last five
for the global market. While 4K will excluding Japan, years, according to IHS Markit.
provide a new boost, HD boxes will is the largest The cumulative number grew
continue to perform strongly too as single market, 136% from 74 services in 2012 to
they maintain a role in payTV. estimated to be 175 in 2016. Notably, one-third
The global STB market is worth over $6.5 of the services specialising in the
projected to grow by 7.5% a year over billion in 2017 children’s audience are accessible
the next decade. Estimated to be and forecast to rise to nearly $10 increasing interest in customised only via mobile devices. Western
worth over $22 billion in 2017, it is billion in 2027. Western Europe is 4K Android set-top boxes. Europe accounts for the highest
forecast to reach $46 billion in 2027, worth around $4.5 billion, with But growth will come from HD number of children’s VoD
according to a report published by Eastern Europe approaching $1.5 and even SD boxes still. In 2017, services, with 65 in operation by
Future Market Insights. billion and the Middle East and the SD set-top box segment is the end of 2016. The Asia Pacific
Growth is expected in the Asia Africa at almost $2.5 billion. The estimated to be valued at $5.38 region sits in second place with
Pacific region, with disposable North America market is valued at billion and is interestingly expected 52 services, having overtaken
incomes rising in developing around $5.75 billion in 2017, and to register a CAGR of 5.1% during North America in 2012.
economies, especially in India and forecast to reach nearly $10 billion in the assessment period. The HD set- According to IHS, 51% of the
China. Production of set-top boxes by 2027, with increasing demand for top box segment is estimated to be services predominantly followed a
local companies is leading to 4K. Indeed, the focus is increasingly valued at $16. 9 billion in the year subscription video on-demand
increased competition with global on high definition video and high- 2017 and is forecasted to touch a model, followed by free-to-view
set-top box manufacturers and quality user interfaces, with value of $18.5 billion in year 2018. video on-demand at 26%.
Discovery CEO hails the skinny bundle
David Zaslav, CEO of Discovery Zaslav noted that including PlayStation Vue and the new
Communications, said the era of broadband costs, skinny bundles Hulu Live aren’t true skinny bundles
cheaper, sports-free, skinny bundles could cost between $60 and $70 because they are laden with networks
is coming to the US, much as per month, compared to the $8-$12 that are heavy with sports
they already exists in Europe and monthly charge he sees in slimmed programming.
Latin America. down video packages in Latin “I believe that will happen.
Zaslav said that cheap monthly America and Eastern Europe. I think these overstuffed turkeys
packages of programming, free of But eventually he sees the US are going to end up being a challenge
sports and containing most of the market moving in that direction too. from a consumer perspective. In the
networks viewers want, similar to In the sense, he said current end I think
offerings in Europe, will eventually slimmed down offerings in the the market will be rationalized,”
make their way to the US. US like DirecTV Now, Sony he said.
www.csimagazine.com September 2017 05
eSports
Cashing in on the
sports (eSports)
crowds and events,
the way people view
eSports boom them, whether in
physical stadiums, on
TV or devices, and
amount of time they
PayTV has burst into the spend watching.
electronic sports arena, Today’s eSports
competitions attract
eager to grab a slice of a vast global audiences.
The 2016 League
massive global fanbase and of Legends World
experiment with new forms of Championship finals
were seen by 43
involved as sponsors, including Red Bull, Audi,
Coca Cola and also Gillette.
content and delivery. Stephen million people,
according to Riot
Broadcasters, too, want a piece of the action.
Seeing the writing on the wall, many TV
Cousins reports
O
Games. In March, broadcasters and operators are making moves
ESL’s Intel Extreme to exploit this fast-growing market. Sky and
n the face of it, the Masters tournament in Poland attracted 173,000 ITV joined forces with Ginx TV in October, to
world of competitive fans to the arena and a further 55 million launch GINX, the UK’s only 24-hour eSports
gaming hasn’t changed a followers on social media. TV channel.
great deal since 1980, Increasing commercialisation has helped drive GINX Esports TV currently reaches eSports
when Atari launched eSports further into the mainstream. International fans in 46 million payTV homes globally. The
the first ever large tournaments now offer multi-million-dollar cash GINX Esports TV channel is available in the
scale tournament, for prizes and the best players elevated to the status UK on SKY and Virgin Media and on DStv in
the game Space Invaders. Back then, of stars, similar to ‘real’ sports stars. South Africa (Channel 240), as well as in many
as today, crowds gathered to watch teams Football clubs like Ajax, VFL Wolfsburg, other territories around the globe.
of teenagers hunched over computers, Manchester City, West Ham United, Roma, PSV Earlier this year, BT Sport won the rights to
blowing away imaginary baddies with Eindhoven and Sporting Lisbon are among the broadcast the remaining four Electronic Arts
imaginary guns. brands backing eSports and sponsoring individual FIFA video game majors, enabling fans to watch
What has changed is the scale of electronic players and eSports teams. Big brands are also virtual football live on TV. Meanwhile, ESPN,
Footage captured from an eSports tournament in Russia
Turner, Telefonica, Orange and a number of
other US, Scandinavian and Asian operators
have all made investments or launched dedicated
eSports channels (see table, on next page).
All in all, the burgeoning eSports and online
gaming sector has seen investment from internet
giants and telecoms operators exceed $2 billion in
the past six years, according to Ampere research.
Modern Times Group (MTG) went further
than most, deciding to take a majority stake in
Turtle Entertainment, the holding company
for ESL, the world’s largest eSports company
based out of Cologne, Germany. The acquisition
has great strategic value, according to Arnd
Benninghoff, CEO of MTGx (the media
company’s digital arm).
“Businesses such as ESL are both relevant and
scalable, which is exactly what we look for in our
digital investments. ESL’s content is appealing to
an audience which becomes very hard to reach
elsewhere: the millennials,” says Benninghoff.
10 September 2017 www.csimagazine.comeSports
Ready, player one
Media company/telco eSports tieup
Analyst firm Newzoo has predicted that global
audience figures will double to nearly 600 million BBC Showed coverage of the Gfinity Elite Series
by 2020, with revenues passing £1 billion. tournament in west London. Games such as
Total hours viewed in the genre exceeded 6 Street Fighter V, Counter Strike: Global Offen-
billion globally in 2016, up 19% from 2015, sive, and Rocket League, were broadcast every
according to IHS Markit. Online viewing is weekend this summer on BBC Three online
driving the eSports video market, accounting
for more than 85 percent of time spent watching. Sky Invested in Ginx TV, following the launch of the
China is by far the largest market for eSports channel on the Sky platform. Ginx TV own a 24-
hour eSports TV channel in the UK and Ireland
video, accounting for 57% of all viewing last year.
“The rise of eSports provides some valuable
lessons for channels and programmers more BT Partnership with eSports network Gfinity to
broadly,” said Dan Cryan. “In particular, it broadcast live matches from its upcoming Elite
Series tournament.
demonstrates the value of aggregating audiences
globally, rather than the more country-specific
approach that defined much of the traditional Telefonica, Orange and All feature dedicated eSports channels on their
TV business. Esports video is a perfect example Vodafone respective TV services
Lions Gate Entertainment Invested in eSports outfit Immortals, a profes-
sional eSports team that competes worldwide
According to data
from the Sport1 TV Amazon/Twitch Partnership with games developer Blizzard to
secure exclusive broadcast rights to 20 of its
channel in Germany, tournaments
14-19 year olds Twitter Pledged to broadcast more than 1,500 hours of
live eSports content this year
make up three
YouTube Teamed with FACEIT to be the exclusive home
quarters of the of its tournaments. Along with Twitch, YouTube
commands the biggest audiences for e-sports
prime time audience
Modern Times Group (MTG) The most active broadcaster in this area. Had
for eSport content, dedicated 24/7 full-time eSports channel,
called eSportsTV. Acquired US-based online
compared to just gaming platform, Kongregate, as well as
eSports events and leagues company, Dream-
over a third for Hack. Also acquired MCNs Splay and Zoomin.TV
which have large gaming communities. Owns
regular prime time majority stake in Turtle Entertainment, which
owns eSports league ESL.
programming.
of younger viewers. According to data from the Curt Marvis, CEO and co-founder of short-
of the increasingly complicated competitive Sport1 TV channel in Germany, 14-19 year olds form video content provider QYOU Media, told
landscape in TV.” make up three quarters of the prime time CSI: “There’s a realisation that younger audiences
In North America, the 2016 League Legends audience for eSport content, compared to just are cutting the cord not because they don’t
final attracted an audience of seven million, over a third for regular prime time programming. want to pay for TV, but because the content
in the US, which compares favourably to the Tapping into this demographic can help payTV they want to watch is not available to them via
15.8 million who watched 2016 NCAA college providers to address a growing exodus to online that particular service. By including eSports in
basketball final. viewing. It can also help counter falling viewing their offerings, payTV operators can entice
eSports continues to outperform many times for traditional live sport on TV and linear younger audiences back with content that
traditional sports in terms of the percentage programming in general. they find relevant and engaging.”
www.csimagazine.com September 2017 11eSports
That said, the eSports audience is more diverse become one of the “main protagonists” of with the likes of YouTube and Twitch, online
than one might expect. According to MTG, eSports in Spain. mega-brands and innovators in the world of
almost 30% of eSports viewers in the US are MTG chose to cut out the middleman, directly video where gaming audiences currently coalesce.
female (and the number is rising rapidly), and acquiring the companies that run the tournaments Twitch alone has 9.7 million active daily users
20% are over 36 years old. “The appeal of eSports (Turtle Media and the Swedish digital festival and in the last six months Twitch users spent
is getting broader all the time, which is a big Dreamhack) to take ownership of the content. almost 80 million hours watching eSports
factor behind our view that it has the potential Ted Hall, Senior Principal Analyst at IHS content from ESL. Facebook also recently entered
to become the sport of the 21st Century,” says Markit, told CSI: “They saw the huge growth the fray, signing a deal with ESL to broadcast
MTGx’s Benninghoff. in eSports and determined that they stood to over 5,550 hours of eSports events and other
The most common play for traditional TV generate the most value from it by investing in the original content.
operators has been to launch and build channels content and the IP. This was partly informed by Unlike most payTV operators, the platforms
around eSports content, striking country-specific the rights costs they had witnessed in relation to leverage at scale with a multi-region approach,
distribution deals with content owners. Telefonica ‘real’ sports.” and deliver live online gaming in its native online
has gone further than most, teaming up with ESL environment. Putting eSports content behind a
to develop a platform, exclusive content and a Space invader paywall could deter a younger demographic used
professional electronic sports club in a bid to Entering the eSports arena means doing battle to accessing it for free online (Twitch is free, but
also has a premium service, Twitch Prime). How
can payTV differentiate itself and add value? How
Source: Leonel Calara / Shutterstock.com
can it attract players, fans and other eSports
stakeholders onto its platforms?
Other subscription services show that
Millennials and other young viewers are not
averse to paying for content. The younger
generation is driving growth in Netflix
subscriptions, expected to increase by 5.3
million by 2020.
Dan Finch, Chief Commercial Officer at
Simplestream, provider of live streaming and
live-to-VoD services, comments: “Although the
millennial generation are more savvy when it
comes to streaming, there is no denying that
effective monetisation of online video platforms,
where viewers have to provide a monthly or
annual cost, such as Netflix or Amazon, have
been successful among younger generations.”
Most people would not sign up to payTV
purely to get an eSports channel, so the
opportunity is perhaps more about diversifying
content and making it more relevant in homes
where teenagers have access to a TV service
being paid for by their parents.
Cord cutting could be seen as an opportunity
for linear TV to play to its strengths when pushing
eSports, by exploiting its long term experience
with production, multi-camera, arena-style
events, and the creation of formats that tap into
the zeitgeist.
The creation of peripheral programming
and original content, perhaps using online
personalities as hosts, in-depth player reviews,
expert commentary etc, can help make eSports
more mainstream and generate value through
traditional television advertising. This is a tried
12 September 2017 www.csimagazine.comeSports
and tested strategy used for established
‘real’ sports that has helped deepen engagement
with existing fans and attract new ones.
ESL, the oldest professional eSports
organisation still in operation, has seen the
potential, having partnered with the award-
winning production company Pilgrim Media
Group to create and distribute original
eSports content across TV, as well as online
digital platforms.
Watching on the big screen can provide a
collective eSports viewing experience not
possible on a smart phone or tablet. Emma Lloyd,
Group Director of Business Development &
Partnerships at Sky, comments: “With the quality
of live streams continually improving and the
strong visual nature of eSports, the content
lends itself to the big screen. As with traditional experienced when it had just two weeks to deliver and maintain its identity. This is the only way pay-
sport, the shared experience of fans can be live feeds for the 2017 Intel Extreme Masters TV will be able to profit from this entertainment,”
powerful, and supporting digital and social tournament, run by ESL. The firm delivered Wilson thinks.
content helps amplify the story around a live IP Network feeds, as a replacement for
live event.” satellite, to 13 broadcasters in multiple regions, Smash TV
Immersion could be a major ingredient for the plus OTT and digital cinema delivery to some eSports remains a nascent market, particularly in
success of eSport on TV, together with the ability of them.” Europe, but figures indicate there is big money to
for the viewer to easily switch camera and Tom Holmes, Sales and Marketing Director at be made. A report earlier this year from market
viewpoints. An interesting point is made by Deluxe MediaCloud, told CSI: “The main intelligence firm Newzoo predicts the global
Accedo, which sees future potential in immersive challenge was the tight timescale of two weeks eSports economy will grow to $696 million during
VR, enabling fans to feel and follow the action for set-up, including at each of the sites. ESL 2017, a year-on- year growth of 41.3%. Of this
more closely. was securing new rights deals with platforms figure, $95 million is related to media rights.
A spokesperson for Accedo told CSI: “From right up until a few days before the start of At the same time, more mainstream bread-and-
the tournament, so we had to coordinate kit butter TV sports audiences are falling, both in
at global sites, install and test it, and go live Europe and North America. Audiences in the UK
“We think VR in short turnaround times. It was a challenge, declined 10% season-over-season and 31% from
technology has a lot
but at the same time it was great fun to the peak in the 2011-2012 season. NBC carried
deliver against.” 2016-2017 Premiere League games across several
to offer. Immersing Holmes’ advice for payTV operators wanting
to enter the eSports space is to make sure that
channels and saw the average audience fall 18%
from last season. One of the groups most affected
the viewer into rights and technical details are completed before
the event starts. When delivering feeds to
by declining football ratings is the millennials.
NFL ratings have been declining in 18-34-year-
the competition multiple regions, it is important to have clarity
on the formats and bitrates required, prior
olds for some time. Whether payTV companies
acquiring eSports can help plug this gap remains
will certainly help.” to transmission.
“It is understandable that Pay TV services are
to be seen.
Moreover, whether eSports should be
trying to benefit from the seemingly overnight considered a ‘real’ sport seems something of a
that perspective, we think virtual reality success of eSports. However, these traditional moot point, although it is worth noting that the
technology has a lot to offer. To those who institutions are running the risk of International e-Sports Federation is processing an
question why so many people would be interested commercialising eSports too much, making it application with the International Olympic
watching others play competitive video games, unattainable to fans and then isolating them,” Committee (IOC) to be recognised as such.
immersing the viewer into the competition warns Richard Wilson of CLICKON. With big brands getting in on sponsorship
will certainly help change their mind and further “In order to enable the relationship to be opportunities for tournaments, and major sports
broaden the appeal of eSports content.” mutually beneficial, the companies investing in organisations from other disciplines sponsoring
Delivering live eSports content raises certain eSports must allow themselves to compromise in players, now could be the be the time for TV
technical challenges, as Deluxe Media order for the industry to maintain its sense of self operators to grab the eSports joystick.
www.csimagazine.com September 2017 13Analyst corner
Is pay-TV the right online viewers. eSports’
primary outlet has
through pay-TV with curated linear programmes/
shows. Following investment from Sky and ITV in
home for eSport?
traditionally been October 2016, Ginx TV now has deals in place
online video platforms with several pay-TV operators gaining presence in
such as Amazon owned 41 territories and a potential reach of over 37
E
New channels jostle for crowded EPG
Twitch, YouTube million homes globally. Its main revenue stream,
Gaming and more like most eSports platforms, is advertising, and
sports, or pro-video gaming, recently Twitter and Facebook. The social aspect has recently extended its reach further with the
has been the talk of the of these platforms has extended the content introduction of a dedicated SVoD service. Despite
town recently, with VCs, beyond just video, to building communities this reach, it is still a comparative niche, one of
brands and broadcasters around the games and wider industry. Fans can many channels jostling for position on an already
investing in an effort to directly engage with players online and event crowded EPG.
reach a generation spending hosts can offer up digital merchandising- such
an increasing amount of functionality would potentially be lost through a eSports-lite
time away from the big screen and from traditional channel, and subsequently reduce However, eSports is not the only niche trying
scheduled TV. A rising number of pay-TV engagement which has been one of eSports’ to seek benefits from presence on pay-TV. Vice
operators are now testing this market, major appeals. began online and saw successes from its high
adding eSports to their content line-up, in In 2016, US network Turner launched the quality and often controversial content targeted at
part to maintain attractiveness to younger Eleague tournaments, announcing a multi-year younger demographics, garnering 8 million
audiences and also to take advantage of its deal with Twitch to distribute through its site, subscribers and 1.4 billion views through its
rapidly rising popularity. complemented by a weekly roundup show on a YouTube channel alone. Across 2016, Vice made
Whilst from a pay-TV perspective, aggregating Turner linear broadcast channel. Its most recent the leap onto pay-TV with the introduction of its
eSports on to their respective platforms forms tournament shown on TBS reached an audience Viceland channel. Although not deemed a failure,
part of a well-rounded content proposition, what of 335,000, a number three times higher than despite a strong following and reputation this
is the real value that can be extracted from this? usual viewership for the Friday 10pm slot. venture has fallen short of its online success with
Will, or can, eSports see a similar trajectory to Although arguably still relatively low, what this UK daily viewing figures peaking at just 50,000.
traditional sports on pay-TV? ‘experiment’ provides is distribution and access to While distribution through pay-TV offers
eSports has seen major successes in its current a more casual viewer and builds the awareness of new and potentially greater financial reward
guise, with content offered for free, remaining eSports to a wider audience. for eSports, challenges of transitioning an
easy to access and available on a global scale - So can eSports flourish on pay-TV? To date entertainment medium that currently offers
indicative of tournaments such as The Intel Ginx TV, a 24/7 eSports TV channel, is interactivity and immersion to a one-way
Extreme Masters in Poland, achieving 46 million attempting to bring eSports to the mainstream traditional viewing experience, potentially
curtails its appeal to its current fan-base. Yet
perhaps they can offer up a more compelling
and attractive ‘eSports-lite’ experience for the
average viewer. So pay-TV will certainly play a
part in the future growth of eSports, but as with
the overall entertainment sector, it will be one
proponent in a wide array of mediums, as
content owners continue to seek the widest
audience possible and the best medium in
an ever more fragmented landscape of
platforms and devices.
Amisha Chauhan
Research Analyst, Media &
Entertainment
futuresource consulting
14 September 2017 www.csimagazine.com• Your window to the world
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channel networksAdvertorial
TV content providers solution for satellite transmission that is based on
virtually unbreakable AES 256-bit encryption.
take back the sky
‘Virtually’ unbreakable means that it is
theoretically breakable. It would, however, take 50
of the most powerful supercomputers on earth,
from satellite pirates
working in parallel for approximately 4 times the
age of the universe to decrypt a 256-bit key. So,
hacking does not pose a real-world threat today.
5
By Ronen Sadan, AVP Marketing, NovelSat Together with a secured OTA (Over-the-Air)
channel for exchanging AES keys plus event
5 years ago, when AT&T and lost revenue and damaged reputations. Although scheduling and content entitlement tools,
NASA launched Telstar, the BISS/BISS-E are the DRM encryption standards ProtCASTER is the most secure satellite
world’s first broadcast for many broadcasters, BISS/BISS-E algorithms broadcast solution currently available.
satellite, it wasn’t long have been hacked making it common for ProtCASTER is an optional add-on to the
before pirates and thrill decryption keys to be published by pirates in NovelSat high-efficiency satellite transmission
seekers started tapping into social networks 24 hours before major broadcast platform and is compatible with all NovelSat
broadcast signals. By the events. These cyber crimes make it obvious that products. It works with DVB S2 and DVB-S2X
1970s, millions around the world were the broadcast market needs more aggressive DRM transmissions as well as with NovelSat
‘enjoying’ pirated content broadcast via solutions. That is true for distribution and NS3/NS4 waveforms.
satellite. Some early analogue ‘encryption’ redistribution of recorded and live content, and Any security expert will tell you that there is no
methods, such as colour shifting, splitting also for contribution. unbreakable encryption: that it is only a matter of
audio and video signals and adding One solution designed to foil today’s hackers time before some hacker group works out the
intentional interference, worked briefly. and pirates is ProtCASTER from NovelSat. It was code. However, with AES 256-bit encryption, the
But, as with any security measure, it was rolled out for the first time in 2017 and was consensus is that, although security theorists have
not long before the hacker community recently implemented in one of the world’s largest come up with ways to crack it, there will be no
defeated it. satellite broadcast distribution networks. practical way to break the code in the foreseeable
Security hacks have been a painful reality in ProtCASTER was already in place to support future. No other satellite broadcast encryption
the satellite broadcast industry. Over the last worldwide distribution of a major international can make that claim. Armed with this
dozen years or so, BISS and BISS-E encryption football tournament in Russia, and will secure information, it is now up to TV content providers
keys, transmitted over the air using the satellite upcoming major sporting events including tennis, and broadcasters to decide if 2017 will be the
link, became the target of cyber-attacks and digital basketball, football, auto racing and athletics year that they take back the sky from the
pirates, costing TV content providers millions in events. ProtCASTER is the world’s first DRM satellite pirates.
16 September 2017 www.csimagazine.comData corner
Torrents, technology almost doubles
the strength of
Chart: Scatter graph torrent usage vs
legal OTT Penetration
and temperament
the relationship
Source: Ampere Analysis
between the
factors.
Similarly, there
By Guy Bisson, Research Director, seems to be a fairly good
Ampere Analysis
W
relationship between the
uptake of streamers and
ith IBC OTT hardware and the levels of piracy, with
upon us, higher streamer uptake relating to lower levels of
thoughts piracy. Germany — with its incredibly low
inevitably reported usage of torrents — is the outlier in this
turn to relationship. Removing it from the analysis results Chart: Bar chart relationship between torrent
usage and OTT box uptake
technology: in a 30% increase in the strength of the
chipsets, relationship between the two measures.
set-top boxes, and that mainstay of the pay TV Neither relationship is perfect, and clearly
industry, encryption. Content protection has been there are multiple factors at play here, including
at the centre of pay TV since its gestation, when a the fact that content access and availability, even
technology initially developed with banking where there are several legitimate OTT services,
protection in mind was repurposed to protect still shows huge variation.
Hollywood movies and soaps. National character may also play a role. It
With the move to IP and expanding range of seems the Germans are the most honest when it
DRM options (often now requiring multi-DRM comes to paying for content… or perhaps the
support) the market is more challenging than most dishonest in lying about their actual piracy
ever. Nearly three decades on from those fledgling habits? By contrast, the Spanish and Brazilians
Table: Torrent usage league table
pay TV offers, piracy remains an on-going battle show the highest rates of torrent usage (or,
for the content industry. One reason that has conversely, perhaps the greatest honesty about Country Torrent usage
18-34 year olds (%)
often been given as an excuse for fueling piracy is habits…?). Either way, the figures presented
Brazil 15.2
restrictive content access policies. Over the years, actually represent an underestimation of piracy
has piracy been created, or at least been stoked, levels. Additional sources of pirate content, such Spain 12.3
by restrictive windowing, and the ‘failure’ of the as locker site usage, boost this even further. Saudi Arabia 8.9
content owners to make content available at a Nonetheless, after the Brazilians and Spanish, Netherlands 8.7
time and in a means demanded by the audience? the Saudis and Dutch rank next highest for piracy, France 8.4
Today, with the growth of legitimate OTT while the British and Danes show the lowest Poland 8.0
services and the proliferation of content viewing levels after the Germans. Interestingly, torrent Italy 7.9
devices and options, can this excuse for piracy usage in Sweden is almost twice that of Sweden 7.5
still hold water, and is there any discernable neighboring Denmark, showing that national
USA 7.1
relationship between piracy and OTT services? character is quite geographically specific.
Turkey 6.9
Obviously there are many factors that play into Most of the other countries surveyed fall
UK 5.1
a consumer’s decision to pirate content, including somewhere in the mid-range with between seven
Denmark 3.9
peer group, social status and income, but it’s and nine percent of Millennials using torrents to
Germany 1.1
increasingly hard today to suggest that consumers stream content. This appears to be a fairly typical
are not being given legitimate opportunities to baseline and also the point at which increasing
consume the content they want. availability and uptake of legitimate OTT services also far more likely than average to be male and
Using torrent usage among Millennials (18-34) has little further impact on the levels of piracy. of lower income. One thing rings loud and clear
as a measure of piracy and comparing this to the This ‘legitimacy threshold’ is perhaps best from the data: content piracy isn’t going
uptake of legitimate OTT services (subscriptions), illustrated by the USA, where very high OTT anywhere, despite the industry’s drive to provide
there does seem to be a relationship between the uptake does not result in a decline in piracy below content ‘anytime, anywhere and on any device.’
two, with markets that have higher uptake of legal the mid-range level. Locking down content, water-marking and
OTT services,generally having lower torrent usage. Supply and demand also play a role. Pirates are tracking properties that do get pirated remains
The US is actually an outlier, because of its very particularly keen on sci-fi movies and action key. The stalls of IBC don’t look like emptying out
high OTT penetration. Removing it from the data content weighs heavy on pirate sites. Pirates are anytime soon.
www.csimagazine.com September 2017 17A NEW
HOME
FOR OUR CONNECTED SECURITY PLATFORM
Connected devices are extending the security landscape for video and beyond. Before
seizing new opportunities through cloud-based services, analytics and even IoT, you need
to redefine your security strategy.
Who are you going to trust with your connected future?
www.verimatrix.com
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15-19 September • RAI, Amsterdam
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Cloud and IoT securitySponsored feature
Locking up the clouds
know-how,” he highlights.
“Security needs to be automated and embedded
in the entire process, from requirements, to
CSI’s Anna Tobin looks into cloud security and design, build, test, deploy and through into
operations. We recommend that businesses
upcoming major data regulation in Europe
T
moving to the cloud start off small with pilot
projects to minimise risks and ensure that any
here is no getting away rearchitecting our solutions and working with our issues with skills, processes and tools or security
from it, anywhere, anytime, partners to create new end-to-end systems using are resolved quickly, rather than moving
personalised content and a cloud-based architecture.” everything into the cloud at once, which could be
the need to scale is pushing In a bid to contain costs there is the temptation risky. A holistic, gradual and maturity-based
the majority of the world’s to try and adapt an existing legacy system for the approach is crucial.”
IT infrastructure into cloud, but bugs and incompatibility problems can
the clouds. The latest result in this costing more and eventually being Public or private?
forecast from the International Data scrapped for a new cloud-based system. The public cloud is expected to grow faster than
Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly “Cloud changes the game entirely,” states private alternatives at 13.8% year-on-year,
Cloud IT Infrastructure Tracker, predicts Peter De Rooij, security principal at Accenture according to the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Cloud
that total spending on server, enterprise Digital Video. “It’s not just about a technology IT Infrastructure Tracker. If an operator owns
storage, and ethernet switches for change, but about putting entirely new processes their own private cloud service the total control
deployment in cloud environments will in place – security being a critical factor - and they have over it should make it easier to keep it
increase 12.4% year-on-year in 2017 to a changing the culture in terms of the way the secure. The public cloud, however, offers great
mind-blowing $40.1 billion. business operates. benefits in terms of scaleability and affordability,
The advantages of cloud storage far outweigh “A common issue that we see across private, which is what makes it particularly attractive
the disadvantages, but the security of those public and hybrid cloud is that there is a lack to smaller companies who work on short ‘bursts’
clouds, is now concerning every operator of realisation about how different cloud is. It of activity.
deploying their digital assets within them. Russia’s changes relationships between stakeholders, “There are advantages of running things in the
suspected involvement in the US election is the demands entirely different processes, and the public clouds,” says Peterka at Verimatrix, “but
most high profile cybercrime to date, yet related rate of change goes up dramatically. All of this you need to understand what tools you get in the
stories make the news daily. Germany’s BSI means that traditional security processes simply public cloud to protect your business, consider
federal cyber agency, for example, is investigating fall apart.” them correctly and understand what is missing
a wave of attacks on German firms suspected to and then provide that functionality or that
have begun in April and Disney and Netflix have Cloud skills shortage security yourself.”
had to deal with ransom demands from hackers Highly skilled personnel are key to maintaining The key areas of vulnerability in the public
who have obtained unreleased content. Most and growing a secure cloud-based business, adds cloud come from the users of that cloud, not the
recently, a hack at HBO has reportedly led to a De Rooij. “This is one of the biggest challenges management of it, says Tim Erlin, VP at Tripwire,
leak of unreleased content, including unseen companies face today, because there is a skills “The public cloud infrastructure itself may
episodes of its global blockbuster Game shortage for people with both cloud and security experience vulnerabilities, but they’re more likely
of Thrones.
There has been a seismic shift in the way
content security is viewed now compared to just a
few years ago, highlights Petr Peterka, Verimatrix’s
CTO. “Compare cloud use to the traditional
deployment, where the operator had a full IT
staff, physical data centres and physical head-
ends. They had full control over the physical
network and their machines and full control over
physical access to the rooms holding them,
determining which staff could and couldn’t enter.”
Operators have had to rearchitect their systems
for the cloud, adds Peterka. “They’ve had to
identify interfaces that were previously assumed
to be physically secured and secure them
electronically,” he says. “We’ve spent a lot of time
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