❝ The impact of on-demand is already apparent but that is only the beginning . TV is going to evolve into something more immersive , more pervasive , more interactive , and more personalised . We are already seeing the beginning of this shift .❞
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August 2018
NEWS & VIEWS
NBT is now all-digital
BANGKOK – The National Broadcasting Services of Thailand ( NBT ) has terminated its analogue broadcasting services , and switched to a digital-only operation .
The termination came after Thailand ’ s Office of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission gave its approval to the broadcaster ’ s transition plan to move from analogue to digital services .
Having operated in analogue for more than three decades , NBT has been testing its digital system over the past two years while maintaining its analogue services . Last month , on July 15 , the NBT decided that it is ready for full-on digital services and terminated
PHOTO CREDIT : ISTOCK BY GETTY IMAGES
With NBT switched to a digital-only operation , ASEAN is now edging closer to a jointly agreed 2020 time frame to transition fully to digital terrestrial television ( DTT ).
its anlogue system .
Dr Charoon Chaisorn , Deputy Director-General of Thailand ’ s Public Relations Department , together with members of the NBT board visited the Baiyoke Tower II , personally switched off NBT ’ s analogue system , officially marking the arrival of the broadcaster ’ s digital era .
NBT ’ s move comes as ASEAN edges closer to a jointly agreed 2020 time frame to transition fully to digital terrestrial television ( DTT ).
A number of recent delays have cast this common goal into doubt . In Malaysia , for instance , the digital switchover ( DSO ) has been pushed to a “ later date ” from its original scheduled date of June 30 this year .
In Singapore , the DSO , which was scheduled to be completed at the end of last year , has been pushed to Dec 31 this year . As of June 14 this year , the Info-communications Media Development Authority of Singapore reported that the republic ’ s digital TV rollout has now hit its half-way mark .
‘ Not all investments in AI are bogus ’, says report
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spend in the US , 34 % spend in Asia and 26 % spend in Europe .
The vertical sectors of cybersecurity , automotive , healthcare , manufacturing as well as finance and insurance will thrive with the total vertical markets reaching $ 24.8 billion by 2023 , of which cyber security will be the largest with revenues of $ 7.2 billion .
Philip Hunter , Rethink Research fellow and report author , wrote : “ Huge sums have been invested in AI with the upward trend still accelerating through 2018 .
“ Global venture capital ( VC ) - based investments alone have risen from $ 3.2 billion in 2014 to $ 12 billion in 2017 , while the number of funding rounds per year for AI startups doubled to around 1,300 over that period .
“ The total invested globally in AI during 2018 alone amount to over $ 100 billion , taking into account of money spent by governments and big corporations , as well as VC funding of startups .
“ This is more than double the expected annual return from AI even by 2023 , and so there is no way this is going to generate a ROI over the forecast period .
“ Investors will begin rolling up startups that fail to generate revenues into others that show promise during 2019 .”
AI is a bubble that is about to burst , warned Riot Research , who is nevertheless keen to stress that this does not mean all investments in AI are bogus . Instead , the research firm expects most investment in AI to be wiped out as the marketplace finds its feet and consolidates .
The only way AI startups have made money so far is from being acquired , rather than selling their products or services , Riot Research pointed out .
Valuations have been based purely on the assessment of the people working for the company — often at as much as $ 10 million per head .
Describing this method of valuing startups as “ insane ”, Riot Research concluded : “ Key people can leave after an acquisition , unless golden handcuffs tied them to the deal , and even that can lead to disenchantment on both sides .
“ After the bubble bursts , more realistic and sustainable valuations will be placed both on AI companies and their engineers .”
BBC : Days when all media will be distributed over the Internet ‘ not too far away ’
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the BBC ’ s highest online-viewed live programme ever , with 3.8 million live requests on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport .
Speaking at the DTG Annual Summit in London in May this year , Matthew Postgate , chief technology and product officer , BBC , maintained that the days when all media would be distributed over the Internet “ are not too far away ”.
He explained : “ The impact of on-demand is already apparent but that is only the beginning . TV is going to evolve into something more immersive , more pervasive , more interactive , and more personalised .
“ We are already seeing the beginning of this shift .
“ One of the simplest innovations is instant restart on live programmes . When we implemented it on mobile , a third of people used the feature , and the Internet is going to allow us to extend these ideas of breadth and control even further .”
Despite drawing impressive online viewership figures over the course of the month-long tournament , the British broadcaster issued a latency warning prior to the match between England and Sweden , informing streaming viewers to expect a delay of at least 20 seconds compared to regular
❝ The impact of on-demand is already apparent but that is only the beginning . TV is going to evolve into something more immersive , more pervasive , more interactive , and more personalised . We are already seeing the beginning of this shift .❞
— Matthew Postgate , Chief Technology and Product Officer , BBC
broadcast on TV .
A BBC spokesperson told APB : “ On the latency issue itself , we have been working on this , but currently , live broadcast coverage is quicker to get to people ’ s homes than coverage streamed live over the Internet .
“ There are many factors that affect this but , at this moment , live online video goes through a process that introduces greater latency when compared to the more direct TV broadcast .
“ While this is normal today , innovation in online streaming technology is driving continuing improvements , including reducing the delay .”
Streaming woes worsened in Australia , as Australian telco Optus was faced with technical difficulties that led to streaming disruptions . In an attempt to resolve public outrage while ensuring fans in Australia were able to enjoy the rest of the tournament , Optus handed over the rights to public broadcaster SBS to air all remaining games , from the group stages to the final , in addition to offering refunds to its subscribers .
In a statement , Allen Lew , CEO of Optus , said : “ Optus is here to push the boundaries of innovation in Australia and deliver choice to customers .
“ We had technical issues with the Optus Sport service over the first weekend of the tournament but these issues have now been addressed .
“ All of us at Optus will use what we have learnt from this experience to place ourselves ahead in the delivery of content to customers via streaming to their mobile devices .”
In Singapore , the 2018 FIFA World Cup also marked the firstever collaboration between Singtel , StarHub and Mediacorp in bringing the football tournament to fans in the republic .
Besides broadcasting all 64 matches on linear pay-TV channels on Singtel TV and StarHub
TV , the companies also offered subscription packages on their respective OTT services — namely Singtel ’ s Singtel TV Go and Cast apps , StarHub Go from StarHub , and Toggle from Mediacorp .
Former CEO of StarHub , Tan Tong Hai , commented : “ Football unites people and nothing proves this more than the FIFA World Cup , which turns even casual onlookers into diehard super fans overnight .
“ We are happy to put public interest first and take to the field together with Singtel and Mediacorp to enable all of Singapore to enjoy the beautiful game .”
Despite major broadcasters ’ hefty investments in securing sports rights in their respective regions , the sports rights market has now expanded its reach beyond the broadcast industry .
In recent months , Internet giants such as Amazon and Facebook have secured rights to the English Premier League ( EPL ) in the UK and selected countries in South-east Asia respectively .
The agreement between Amazon and EPL will see the former offering selected live EPL matches and weekly highlights packages to its Prime Video subscribers , beginning from the 2019 / 20 season . The addition of EPL also enhances Prime Video ’ s portfolio in live sports , which already comprised US
Open Tennis , ATP World Tour Tennis events , and National Football League ( NFL ) games .
Having tapped into the video industry with the launch of the Face book Watch video-on-demand ( VoD ) service last year , Facebook has now secured the broadcast live streaming rights for EPL in Thailand , Vietnam , Cambodia and Laos , beginning next year through to 2022 .
“ Facebook is now a competitor for all pay-TV broadcasters , as it is offering large minimum guarantees to rights holders for media rights ,” declared Daniel Markham , executive director , sports content , beIN Media Group . beIN is also the sports rights holder for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in the Middle East and North Africa region .
He continued : “ This shift into acquiring premium sports rights comes with responsibilities — Facebook will find it harder to position itself as a passive full service platform to rights holders , broadcasters , athletes and the entire sports ecosystem .
“ It will also mean that broadcasters around the world will have to treat Facebook at arms length , rather than as a partner when looking at how to use the Facebook platform to exploit live media rights .”