NEWS & VIEWS
November 2016
11
An industry in transition
KUALA LUMPUR – Change was
the buzzword at last month’s
APSCC 2016 Satellite Conference
and Exhibition in the Malaysian
capital, as a number of high-profile
speakers described and discussed a
satellite industry in transition.
Particularly for the satellite
broadcast industry, the past 12-19
months have seen “drastic change”,
as consumer behaviour changes and evolves, suggested Nile
Suwansiri, CCO of Thaicom.
He said: “Mobility and the
proliferation of 4G and fibre has
changed how people consume
TV. Operators today need to be
consumer-centric first, the technology comes later.”
Echoing Suwansiri was Huang
Baozhong, EVT, APT Satellite, who
urged operators to change preexisting mindsets in order to get
closer to their customers.
Like many of his counterparts,
Huang believes that the satellite industry is entering into a new cycle
— driven partly by the proliferation of multi-screen, multi-device
viewing.
In Indonesia, for instance, satellite is still the number one distribution platform, suggested Rudy
Tanoesoedibjo, president-director,
MNC Sky Vision. This is in spite
of the country’s average age being 27, with many of the younger
population moving towards mobile
viewing.
Tanoesoedibjo explained: “In
Indonesia, cable is not practical
and broadband is not yet readily
available, and is currently too costly
for the average Indonesian.”
He also cited factors such as
piracy, which is playing a role in
depressing the demand for more
satellite capacity. “There are perhaps 1,000 companies illegally
distributing content in Indonesia.
How do we address this so that the
Indonesian satellite industry can
continue to grow?”
With more and more pay-TV
operators offering “skinny TV
bundles” (cheaper plans with lesser
channels) and consumer potentially favouring an a la carte model,
this will also potentially reduce the
need for satellite capacity, Tanoesoedibjo pointed out.
Even in Japan, where a techsavvy populace is supported by
one of the highest rates of broadband penetration in the world,
linear viewing is still mainstream,
reported Minoru Yonezawa, executive director, Multi-Channel Pay
TV BU, Sky Perfect JSAT. “Pay-TV
penetration in Japan stands at only
25%, while 40% of viewers record
video and watch them later,” he
added.
And JSAT is already offering
Japanese viewers 4K/Ultra HD
(UHD) content, and was scheduled
to launch its first 4K/UHD HDR
(high dynamic range) broadcast
last month.
4K/UHD and 8K, for that matter, have yet to reach a level of relevancy for viewers accustomed to
HD content. “For mobile, especially,
you can’t really tell the difference,”
said Charles Wong, CEO of CMMB
Vision, a Hong Kong-based nextgeneration satellite-to-mobile
IP-broadcasting company.
The move from traditional
delivery to multiple screens is
inevitable. Therefore, while there
is still demand for linear services,
8 12
Time to mingle: Delegates discussing some of the topics discussed at APSCC 2016 Satellite Conference and Exhibition
during a refreshments break.
Huang Baozhong, EVP, APT Satellites: The satellite industry
is entering into a new cycle. Operators need to change preexisting mindset in order to get closer to their customers.
Satellite is still the number one distribution platform in
Indonesia, suggested Rudy Tanoesoedibjo, presidentdirector, MNC Sky Vision.