CONNECTED TV WORLD SUMMIT 2014 PREVIEW

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Once regarded as a niche activity, connected TV has now established itself right into the mainstream of television. The connected

TV revolution, if it can still be described as such, is around five years old, and is unique in that unlike many things in the TV industry, it has been totally user-led. It wasn’t the TV industry that demanded the ability to watch TV services on smartphones and tablets and games

consoles whether in the home or out and about; it was the users of such devices.

Even better is that in these five years, not a week seems to have gone by without a launch of a connected TV set or connected device capable of running video applications, nor indeed the unveiling of actually connected TV and video services from the biggest names in the entertainment field including Samsung and Sony on the device side plus Netflix, the BBC, ESPN, BSkyB, HBO etc. in terms of content.

Yet despite the plethora of connected TV technology and devices out there, the reality remains that the business of connected TV is still very much in its infancy and really robust business models are yet to emerge.

That said, when it comes to a thirst for buying connected TV advertising, including on programming streamed through over-the-top (OTT) set-top boxes, gaming consoles and the like, media buyers and planners are show-ing significant interest. Research in May 2014 from Mixpo has revealed that 75% of such companies believe that connected TV deserves consid-eration in media plans either right now or within the next 12 months. In fact, 97% of respondents believe that they should be considering connected TV buys in the near future, and more than 51% said they should do so within the next year.

And it is in this context that we present this preview of the Connected TV Summit. Now in its fifth year, the show is designed to provide thought leadership on the business and technology strategies that will safeguard and grow television services in the hyper-competitive connected era. It is anticipating 700 attendees from pay-TV operators, CE manufacturers, content owners, studios, broadcasters and technology providers. In short the people who make the products and services, and hopefully successful business, of connected TV. We hope you enjoy it. Joe O’HalloranEditorRapid TV News

Connected TV takes off

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Content is king, but experience is the queen that reigns supreme

Bringing multicast technology into the connected TV market

Six degrees of multiscreen discovery

Achieving multiscreen success

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By Joe O’HalloranEditorRapid TV News

In the world of TV, maturity for a particular product or service arrives at a very interesting point, when the theme of the discourse changes

from being a focus on new possibilities to customers not getting value for money for what they pay for. Connected TV has reached this latter point.

The idea of getting television services any-where is now just table stakes. That is not to belittle this state of affairs – indeed a lot of hard work, intellect and not to mention billions of R&D dollars have gone into reaching this point in the evolution of connected TV. And this latter point is all about quality and not possibility.

Let’s just look at what has happened in the UK over the last few months regarding mobile video. For the first time since the late 1990s when they invested billions of pounds in acquiring 3G wire-less spectrum, UK telcos can now plan to offer high-value video services that may help them recoup their investment. Why? Because the lat-est 4G networks support a true broadcast-quality experience.

The state of UK mobile networks has been a constant bugbear and source of frustration to users: lack of consistency and quality of signal are among the reasons why to date mobile TV and video has yet to take off. Who would pay for services where the quality is so poor? But with reliable 4G networks Vodafone felt confident enough to unveil in May 2014 details of an exclusive mobile promotional partnership with over the top (OTT) video leader Netflix to offer its 4G customers a six month pre-paid subscrip-tion to Netflix, giving access to a wide variety of movies and TV box sets. This is in addition to an existing arrangement with Sky Sports.

4G: SPEED IS JUST THE STARTCommenting on what a 4G mobile video service could offer, Vodafone UK consumer director Cindy Rose said: “With 4G, speed is just the start; it’s what you can do with it that’s really exciting… We’re providing an amazing video streaming experience… with ultrafast 4G you can just enjoy your favourite entertainment on the move whenever you want it.”

Content is king, but experience is the queen that reigns supreme

Who wouldn’t want an ‘amazing’ streaming experience? But hyperbole aside, Rose hits the nail on the head for delivering multiscreen video: users will only use connected TV services of any kind if they are delivered at an acceptable quality wherever they want to access it.

Long gone are the days when operators could adopt an ‘if you build it, they will come’ approach to networks. It’s a point indicated in the recent NPD Connected Intelligence Con-nected Home Report, which revealed that quality of experience figured highly in users’ demands.

SIMPLE DELIVERY“Consumers want devices that can deliver high quality content to their TVs,” explained NPD executive director John Buffone. “The increase in connected TV and streaming media player penetration is proof that consumers are investing in solutions that can provide app-related content in the simplest, most effective way. In some ways the TV viewing experience consumers want has not changed, although how they receive it continues to, and an app experience is no dif-ferent. Consumers want easy to find, entertain-ing programming and a quality picture that does not buffer.”

With connected TV services being part of the general Internet of things, with applications and services even including DVR increasingly cloud-based, it’s vital that quality of delivery is addressed. The Internet of things ultimately depends on the fabric of everything - the network. Networks have to deliver high levels of perfor-mance, secure connectivity and control required to make viewers feel confident in spending their money on compelling services that they feel deliver value. That is the bottom line.

“The state of UK mobile networks has been a constant bugbear and source of frustration to users: lack of consistency and quality of signal are among the reasons why to date mobile TV and video has yet to take off”

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By Bulent Celebi, executive chairman and co-founder, AirTies

In a highly competitive marketplace operators are continuously looking for new ways to dif-ferentiate themselves.One such way that has been identified by

many is providing TV content to mobile devices over mobile networks. For example, recently Verizon announced that it was taking another step forward in its mobile strategy and the launch of a mobile TV streaming service by trialling the mobile video services on its 4G wireless network at the Indy 500 car race in Indianapolis. The aim is for Verizon to broadcast the race live over its LTE network, using the multicast protocol and technology, alongside additional footage from the track and race cars themselves. But this will not be without significant challenges and certain caveats being made.

Yet multicast technology itself is not a new concept. It has been in the IPTV sector for more than a decade and while they are taking the concept to the mobile market it is a niche appli-cation.

HOW MUCH DEMAND IS THERE FOR LIVE TV OVER A 4G LTE NETWORK?Largely multicast technology is a more efficient way to distribute video as the same feed can be pushed to multiple devices simultaneously rather than streaming it on a case-by-case basis. In this sense, it is great for live events where users may want to watch it on their smartphones, yet ulti-mately the TV market and the way users con-sume content is moving towards video on demand (VOD).

Live TV and on demand services are available now on smartphones and tablets, so for the con-sumer there is little that is new. For sports fans in a stadium, the network will be less congested. For the operator multicast means lower network and operating costs, but how much of their data/video traffic is actually live TV?

For multicast capability on the 4G LTE net-work to work, the mobile phones need to have specially designed chipsets and firmware built into the device and it will not work on tablets, where the vast majority are Wi-Fi only. The big question here is if there was really a big demand

for this kind of service then why have we not already seen it? If all of it comes for free, then why not have a nice to have feature?

ADOPTING THE RIGHT STRATEGY FOR MOBILE OPERATORSThere have been operators, including Qual-comm, that have tried to launch a mobile video

service with little or no success. Whilst multicast may be more efficient on the operator’s network as they see it as the only way to offer a high qual-ity service without a negative impact on the net-work, the truth is they need to look to a different strategy if they want longer term success and to add value to their customers.

If operators are serious about entering the pay-TV market then they should develop a full casting strategy. Smartphones are the ideal user interface to search and select content versus the cumbersome remotes on TVs. Capitalising on the growing trend for VOD, this will enable a consumer to pick and preview a programme via their mobile device and push it onto a TV in full HD. This means they will not be restricted to their mobile devices and can watch their programme on a full TV screen and have full access to premium content due to advanced security.

By looking at the longer term benefits, trends and technology available, mobile operators could find a niche in the market and offer a new and revolutionary service. Only then will they be seen as significant players in the pay-TV market.

Bringing multicast technology into the connected TV market

“If operators are serious about entering the pay-TV market then they should develop a full casting strategy”

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By Charles Dawes, Global Strategic Accounts Director, Rovi

Consumers are increasingly demanding seamless entertainment discovery experi-ences. Whether finding information

about a favourite TV programme, film, or even the related soundtrack, consumers want informa-tion quickly and on their device of choice. Facil-itating this discovery experience is a growing priority for entertainment providers through intelligent search and recommendation function-ality. This process of content discovery with a human touch can be described as the six degrees of entertainment discovery, which is powered by metadata.

Metadata, or descriptive, image-rich entertain-ment programming information, can be sourced in almost every part of content discovery, whether it’s in a TV programme guide, on a DVD or Blu-ray box, or closing credits. It forms the information companies use to market a film or show’s content like title, actors, description, release date, running time, genre etc. The data can drive consumer connections through content discovery, recommendation, and through social media interaction.

THE CHANGING ROLE OF METADATA Metadata has gained in influence as digital enter-tainment continues to expand across new devices, platforms and services. Content discov-ery has transformed dramatically over the last 60 years as we’ve moved from paper television guides to the scrolling electronic programme guide, allowing viewers to discover what’s on by embedding the guidance experience directly into the television screen.

Today, many viewers now have access to the interactive programme guide, giving them even more control with expanded programme descrip-tions and access to additional information such as biographies on the actors appearing in a given show.

Search and recommendations are becoming critical components of content discovery and looking ahead, personalised experiences will drive an even quicker and easier way for con-sumers to engage with content wherever and whenever they want. We also see this data

increasingly fuelling social media interactions, acting as the valuable baseline information for cultivating meaningful interactions between consumers and the content and brands they want the most.

THE SIX DEGREES OF ENTERTAINMENT DISCOVERYThe process of finding connections between new and favourite celebrities, music and films can be described as the six degrees of entertainment dis-covery, as consumers are surrounded by immer-sive and interrelated entertainment associations. This is underpinned by data as the crucial link between different pieces of content.

Access to metadata behind search and

recommendation functionality can enhance entertainment connections as consumers are able to discover new content, which can inspire them to buy more, spend longer browsing or renew a subscription. Today’s entertainment consumers are embracing the unprecedented amounts of content and consumption choices they have access to by actively seeking more.

EFFECTIVE INTEGRATION FOR BETTER ENTERTAINMENT EXPERIENCES As the volume and breadth of content becomes greater than ever before, providing a platform that acts as a trusted source for discovery can unlock vital new revenue streams. As function-ality such as search and recommendations and personalisation becomes available across con-nected devices and applications, the foundation of deep, standardised entertainment data is criti-cal to ensuring a high-quality user experience.

Data should be comprehensive and normal-ised for all media and categories to ensure a pos-itive consumer experience. It should also be optimised for delivery at peak interest times and must be updated regularly to ensure consumers get what they are searching for – as quickly as possible. Finally, the infrastructure supporting metadata needs to be flexible, meeting the demands of today’s dynamic entertainment envi-ronment and presenting a robust user interface that’s built to accommodate unanticipated influ-ences while providing an engaging experience for consumers across multiple screens.

Six degrees of multiscreen discovery

“Metadata has gained in influence as digital entertainment continues to expand across new devices, platforms, and services”

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By George Ivie, executive director and CEO, Media Rating Council

A recent survey from Digital TV Research forecasts a pay-TV boom over the next few years, predicting that global pay-TV

subscriber households will reach nearly 1 billion by 2018, driving investment in multiscreen and over the top (OTT) services and technology.

However, there are increasingly high con-sumer expectations of a high quality of service, good user experience and new devices continu-ally coming to market. Coupled with evolving piracy threats and stringent content owner secu-rity requirements, many operators are still strug-gling to deliver a compelling, revenue-generating multiscreen experience.

Pay-TV operators need to make sure that they are harnessing the opportunity. They can no longer treat multiscreen as a defensive strategy or as an interesting experiment: the game is being played now and operators will thrive or fail based on their ability to provide the best content to hungry consumers on any device.

SWITCHING TO AN OFFENSIVE STRATEGYThe first step in turning multiscreen into an offensive play is to ask some questions of your current strategy. Here is a quick checklist identifying the business requirements we hear most often:

● Can I get to market painlessly?● Is my multiscreen solution flexible?● Can I give my subscribers the content they want in the way they want?● Am I able to monetise my new multiscreen service?● Can I support all the devices I need to?● How can I scale and support high-peak live events?

FOCUSING ON REVENUEWith all of these pressures and challenges, how does an operator turn multiscreen services into a revenue-building venture that propels its busi-ness forward? We’ve pinpointed four key build-ing blocks to multiscreen success:● Offer a personalised user experience to

Achieving multiscreen success

increase loyalty: an operator can make custom-ers want more through a personalised experi-ence, which can be achieved through intuitive design, coupled with recommendation technol-ogy and consistent user interfaces.● Reduce time to market, cost, and risk: opera-tors must remove the delay and risk inherent in complex integration projects. This can be achieved by using a reference architecture that is pre-configured, templated and ready for branding. In addition cloud-based services can provide instant scale and high levels of availabil-ity and redundancy.

● Content protection that does not compromise: it is imperative for pay-TV operators to enable customers to access content securely from any device of their choice, as well as ensuring uncompromising security on any device to allow content owners to maximise the amount of premium content rights they can acquire and the business models and devices they can use to distribute it.

● Use different business models when monetising: In order to adjust their multiscreen offering, operators must be able to test market preferences and pricing and constantly refine their models to maximise consumer uptake and ARPU.

AN OFFENSIVE MULTISCREEN STRATEGYFor broadcasters and pay-TV operators that are serious about competing for consumers, and indeed revenue, a successful multiscreen strat-egy must be about more than just getting content onto multiple devices.

Today’s demanding consumers require a personalised experience that engages them, pro-vides tailored recommendations, interacts with their social networks and enhances their current pay-TV experience. This can be achieved by leveraging managed services, cloud-based infra-structure, innovative technologies, pre-config-ured workflows and intuitive interfaces.

A truly great multiscreen solution will propel your business in the right direction and give you the freedom to focus on delivering a compelling user and content experience. Having the right technology partners in place is essential.

“For broadcasters and pay-TV operators that are serious about competing for consumers, and indeed revenue, a successful multiscreen strategy must be about more than just getting content onto multiple devices”