PANELLISTS
16
December 2016
Targeted content for niche masses
Caton Technology opens new Hong Kong office
Caton Technology has continued its expansion with a new Hong Kong office , which is headed by Dr Karl So , vicepresident , business development and marketing . Joining Caton Technology in October this year , Dr So is also in charge of the company ’ s corporate strategic planning , business expansion , investor relations , as well as sales and marketing . The new Hong Kong office , Dr So explained , will enable Caton to serve clients across all regions , as well as to integrate global activities and resources . “ Hong Kong is very much in the centre of APAC , [ and ] it ’ s providing us with good access to all countries in the region , and a well-developed commercial environment on which to build our business ,” he added .
Bluefish444 in HD / SD integration with Media-Alliance
As part of a new partnership , Bluefish444 and Media-Alliance are working together to qualify Bluefish444 hardware and software in parts of the broadcast workflow chain supported by Media-Alliance . Currently , Bluefish444 ’ s freely bundled IngeSTore software is being evaluated for ingest , and Bluefish444 ’ s integration with CasperCG is being evaluated for advanced 2D / 3D animated CG . This initiative is part of a larger integration of Bluefish444 with ONDA Automation , a scheduling and automation playout suite developed by Media-Alliance .
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Test & Management Solutions
PANELLISTS
Fintan Mc Kiernan
CEO Ideal Systems South-east Asia
Patrick So
Regional Manager Asia Pacific Magna Systems & Engineering
Graham Stephens
CTO Media City Development Malaysia
It would appear that there is no barrier that technology is unable to break today . When it comes to content delivery , are we hurtling towards an age where audience measurement techniques and tools are so advanced that content can be tailored specifically to suit diverse perferences and viewing habits ? Shawn Liew reports …
While AT & T ’ s proposed acquisition of Time Warner is proving to be every bit as divisive as the recent US Presidential Election , the second largest telco in the US stands to gain access to a trove of content from Time Warner brands such as HBO , Turner Networks and CNN .
Should the Federal Communications Commission ( FCC ) approve the controversial deal , viewers will enjoy even more unfettered access to content that they want , on the platforms of their choosing , argues AT & T .
As the oft-repeated saying goes , Content is King . While this is undeniably still holding true , the persuasion that viewers , in the same context , are becoming increasingly kingmakers , is arguably gaining credence .
Creating compelling content should remain a priority for TV service providers — the new paradigm , however , is dictating that the same content is appealing to the sectors of audiences that service providers specifically wish to target .
Content remains a major driver in initially attracting viewers to a TV service . Keeping them loyal , however , depends on what the service provider does right from signing up the subscribers through to each sucessive stage of the customer journey afterwards , suggests Bhavesh Vaghela , chief marketing officer , Paywizard .
He tells APB : “ Pay-TV operators , in particular , cannot just sit back and let the new series or film that first captured individual consumers ’ interest do all the heavy lifting if they hope to build lasting customer relationships , grow their subscriber bases and create a positive brand image that transcends the latest content .”
With viewers exerting the unprecedented level of control over the content they want to watch today , building lasting relationships may well be the key to success .
“ It is a competitive market these days and understanding viewers and how they are accessing content , and then being able to respond quickly and effectively to their needs , perferences and circumstance is key ,” says
❝ It is a competitive market these days and understanding viewers and how they are accessing content , and then being able to respond quickly and effectively to their needs , perferences and circumstance is key .❞
— Bhavesh Vaghela , Chief Marketing Officer , Paywizard
Vaghela . “ It is in this way that operators can create the level of experience that engenders lasting subscriber loyalty .”
This assessment becomes even more pertinent , he suggests , when the blurring line between linear and nonlinear TV consumption is factored in . “ With catch-up and on-demand services from traditional broadcasters being made more widely available , audience measurement becomes more critical than ever . TV opera tors have to find ways of capturing the bigger picture to establish broader , unified strategies that are informed by a wide array of audience data ,” Vaghela adds .
He recommends that operators put systems in place to track how and when consumers are viewing programmes , including when — perhaps especially when — they are tapping into over-thetop ( OTT ) services .
The next step is then to use that data to guide not just larger strategic content decisions but also individual subscriber management along key decision moments during the customer journey .
One name that has become rather synonymous with measuring TV audiences is Nielsen . As Craig Johnson , head of Reach Solutions , Southeast Asia , North Asia and Pacific , Nielsen , reminisces : “ Previously , it was all about measuring the TV in the lounge room delivered aerially or via satellite . Today , that measurement has evolved and is required to cater to five key items .”
He identifies these as : n The ability to measure consumer media exposure across all platforms
— PC , TV , smartphone and tablet , for example . n Addressing measurement across different business models — subscription versus ad supported , for example . n Creating comparable metrics across all platforms so when they are brought together for a total audience number , the methodologies and metrics are complementary . n The need to separate measurement of advertising and content to account for targeting and ad insertion versus digital distribution . n Having a solution across video , audio and text .
Encompassing these key criteria , Nielsen is progressively rolling out Total Audience Measurement , a multi-platform tool that acts as a single source platform , although Johnson is quick to remind that each delivery platform , whether linear or non-linear , has nuances that measurement solutions need to cater to . “ Often , what is suitable for in-home TV measurement cannot be replicated for digital screens due to fragmented audiences where panel-only methods becomes an issue due to sample [ size ],” he explains .
What Nielsen offers are measurement solutions that are designed to cater for each delivery platform to ensure accuracy and robust measurement . For instance , calibration panels , which are designed to be representative of a mix of all platforms , are set up for de-duplication ( a process where duplicate copies of repeating data are eliminated ) purposes .
Johnson continues : “ A de-duplicated comparable metric is ultimately