❝ The future of our industry is bright . Change is coming , but we should ensure we balance this and not abandon the old in the rush for the new .❞
APB PANELLISTS
6 NEWS & VIEWS
March 2018
The future of broadcasting starts in 2018
BY MIKE WHITTAKER
If you read industry news , you will be aware that the TV landscape is more fragmented than ever before .
However , I always take these predictions of the speed of such fragmentation with a word of caution . It is the words of Bill Gates that come to mind when I think on such predictions of the immediate demise of television : “ We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next 10 .”
With that in mind , I believe that TV is booming , but the change in consumption patterns is here . In one single household , on one single night , we might expect to see mom tuning in to her favourite live-broadcast soap in the living room ; dad watching last night ’ s football match via IPTV in the bedroom ; their youngest son binging on cartoons via a subscription video-on-demand ( SVoD ) service on his mobile phone ; and his sister sitting in front of her laptop streaming short-form video content from a free online platform .
For individual consumers , all of these channels are blending into one . Consumers do not care how they get their favourite content — so long as they can enjoy high-quality productions , compelling narratives , and their favourite user-generated content in a way that is convenient and cost-effective to access .
We see this clearly in consumer behaviour in Asia-Pacific , where viewers are taking an “ and-and ” approach to how they view linear and over-the-top ( OTT ) content . Even though the region ’ s OTT TV revenues are predicted to triple in less than five years , linear TV is alive and well , with 77 % of APAC consumers watching an average two hours of broadcast TV per day on top of online video . Now , whether they ’ re doing this as a family unit or individually is another question .
What does this blurring of lines mean for the future of broadcasting ? Mr Gates
Consumers do not care how they get their favourite content — so long as they can enjoy high-quality productions , compelling narratives , and their favourite user-generated content in a way that is convenient and cost-effective to access . goes on to caution : “ Don ’ t let yourself be lulled into inaction .” Even though the change does not always seem as fast as the hype would predict , we are clearly seeing a shift in consumer behaviours and needs . At the same time , we are offered huge opportunities to better understand what our consumers want and how they interact with our content .
Competition for consumers is growing and every player in the TV industry must put a renewed focus on making content king — because only the best stories have any chance of differentiation and pull for today ’ s media-overwhelmed consumers . And , when I say stories I do not just mean films and drama series ; I also mean how we tell the story of a great explorer or of nature , and how we tell the story ( and drama ) of live basketball , football or other similar events .
To ensure that storytelling is the foundation of what we do and never just an afterthought , media businesses will need to consider three key actions — leveraging emerging technology in creative ways ; seeking out new , mutually beneficial partnerships ; and making strategic choices for today with one eye on tomorrow .
Telling the best tales , via technology
Do not be fooled into believing that technology and storytelling are at odds with one another . In fact , technology is unlocking a new world of ways to understand how we can create compelling narratives . It is an interesting thought that data and machine learning tools are helping us to better understand what consumers most want to see , and to deliver on their preferences — whether it is more romance , more short-form content , or more features that star localised talent .
How do we marry the science of data with the purely creative process of creative compelling content ? To some , this is a step too far , akin to letting the geeks take over the asylum . But is it so ? For many years , formal and informal audience measurement systems have influenced what is acquired and commissioned , and when it is scheduled . This is merely an extension of this — data will help us to focus better on content .
The exciting part of having access to better data is that in the digital world we can trap this in real time ; no longer do we have to wait for the overnight ratings for it to influence how we position and promote content . However , once we have this data — and it is truly big data — the key is being able to mine it for insight and then act on this across multiple platforms . For me , the excitement from this datadriven future is as much the innovation it will enable as the insight it provides .
The insight that data unlocks can be leveraged to help producers , advertisers and content curators put quality narrative content at the heart of their business ;
❝ The future of our industry is bright . Change is coming , but we should ensure we balance this and not abandon the old in the rush for the new .❞
whether in terms of developing new content , deciding which stories to share in which markets , or sharing the data with production partners to drive mutually beneficial collaborations and support the growth of the industry .
The power of partnerships
Indeed , orchestrating mutually beneficial partnerships should be a key broadcaster focus in 2018 , in order to deliver the best quality , most engaging content to consumers and keep them from feeling that the TV landscape is so fragmented that it might be easier to simply switch off the set .
Traditional broadcasters now have unique opportunities to work in collaboration with partners and introduce new services to viewers , such as OTT content . In this way , a broadcaster can transform into a multi-platform video business that is positioned to capture more opportunities in the future , and provide a major value-added service to viewers who want more access to the most fantastic narratives from around the region and the globe .
Key to enabling a wider collaboration between producer , scheduler / curator and affiliate — and delivering on strategy — is the technology team . We have always had a role in providing the facilities for production and distribution , but our roles are now changing to move from those traditional areas — where cloud and content delivery networks ( CDNs ) make it possible to simplify our architectures and operating models — and to new technology-enabled areas of data , artificial intelligence ( AI ) and insight .
Strategic choices for the future
Like many players in Asia ’ s media , broadcast and entertainment industry ,
Louis Boswell CEO CASBAA
APB PANELLISTS
Graham Stephens CTO Media City Development , Malaysia
Fox Networks Group is focused on laying a solid foundation today that will enable us to be ready for tomorrow . With technology and consumer demands now evolving at lightning speed , 2018 is a key year to consider how we can innovate for the future .
For Fox Networks Group , working towards the future means not only finding new sources of data , but also investing in the next generation of analytics capabilities that enable our business to understand the broader story behind why some content shines above the rest — in effect , using technology to get back to the roots of great storytelling . And , the information we uncover is not stowed away in a spreadsheet . We make data part of the living , breathing process that informs which content we create , buy and distribute , to ensure we are consistently providing APAC viewers with the stories they love .
The future of our industry is bright . Change is coming , but we should ensure we balance this and not abandon the old in the rush for the new . In 2018 , the opportunities are wide open for every player in the industry to leverage technology , collaborative partnerships and forward-thinking strategy in order to deliver the best stories to APAC viewers and push for innovation at every turn .
Mike Whittaker is executive vice-president and CTO , Asia-Pacific and the Middle East , Fox Networks Group Asia . He is also an APB panellist .
Goh Kim Soon Senior Vice-President Broadcast Engineering Mediacorp
Shad Hashmi
Vice-President , Digital Development , Global Markets & Operations , BBC Worldwide Asia