8
NEWS & VIEWS
November 2018
ASHGABAT – Broadcasters in Asia-
Pacific face multiple challenges
and need to take decisive action
to remain relevant, Masakazu
Iwaki, chairman of the Asia-Pacific
Broadcasting Union (ABU) Techni-
cal Committee, said.
Speaking at the 55th ABU
General Assembly held last month
in the capital of Turkmenistan in
Central Asia, Iwaki added that
emerging technologies and the
ease of providing content via public
Internet at reasonable costs had
put traditional broadcasters in a
“very difficult situation”.
“On top of that, the added com-
petition from new entrants to the
media industry utilising these alter-
nate platforms is driving audience
interests towards them,” he added.
Besides new media technol-
ogies such as over-the-top (OTT)
and integrated broadcast broad-
band (IBB), the industry is also
looking at rolling out advanced
technologies including 4K/Ultra
HD (UHD) and 8K services, as well
as IP and artificial intelligence (AI)
technologies.
Iwaki, however, cautioned: “All
of these solutions are available for
Be decisive in order to
overcome challenges,
ABU members told
Dr Javad Mottaghi, secretary-general of the ABU: “New technologies, new
media platforms and wide accessibility to broadband services are increasing
the demand for content to be delivered on all platforms for viewers.”
the digital environment, but the
sad truth is that, unfortunately,
most of our members are still strug-
gling with the move from analogue
to full digital facilities. This digital
transformation is a must, and is
inevitable for our survival in the
industry.”
Equally important, broadcasters
need to view advances in technolo-
gy as an opportunity, rather than a
challenge, urged Dr Javad Mottaghi,
secretary-general of the ABU.
He explained: “New technol-
ogies, new media platforms and
wide accessibility to broadband
services are increasing the demand
for content to be delivered on all
platforms for viewers, who now
prefer to consume their preferred
content at their preferred times on
their preferred devices.”
Making use of new digital tech-
nologies, such as big data, to un-
derstand the preferences of audi-
ences is key to developing an edge
over the competition, Dr Mottaghi
added, urging ABU members to
start using such techniques to
gauge their audiences’ needs.
Seize advantages of addressable TV and
be ahead in user experience & ad success
1
8
Addressable TV: The story so
far
To date, addressable TV deploy-
ment has moved at a leisurely
pace — with ad spend hitting a
modest US$1.26 billion in the US
last year. This is partly because the
market is nascent, and partly due
to early adoption barriers: primarily
cost.
Brands worry that addressable
ads are more expensive than linear.
Meanwhile, media owners fear
open auctions could see premium
impressions sold for lower prices
and devalued.
What are the advantages?
Addressable TV allows varied ads
to be served to different homes.
Bringing together the best of linear
and digital — vast reach and gran-
ular targeting — allows marketers
to match ads with unique audience
segments at scale.
With access to high-quality
first- and third-party data, such as
authenticated VoD log-in details
or location information, intel-
ligent platforms determine the
interests, habits and whereabouts
of viewers.
Using this information, relevant
ads that stand a greater chance
of engaging individuals in each
household are delivered. So, while
addressable may involve higher
short-term costs, long-term re-
wards are worthwhile — enhanced
response and less wastage.
And for sellers, it is possible to
safeguard value by setting fixed
prices for premium deals within
private marketplaces (PMPs).
Moreover, addressable allows
digital to complement linear as
part of integrated campaigns. For
instance, marketers can utilise
second-screening: capturing the
attention of individuals motivated
by TV ads to research products via
their smartphone. And the same
applies vice versa; online content
can build a buzz leading up to live
TV events that enhance viewing
and ad exposure.
‘Seamless viewing’ can also
be created across different plat-
forms — as shown in this year’s
multi-channel approach around
the Australian Open. Indeed, live
content is an enticing addressable
prospect, with real-time data about
audience behaviour — online and
off — harnessed to optimise in-the-
moment impact.
Adoption of connected TV
might have been slow so far, but
it is poised to explode. Malaysia
alone saw smart TV set penetration
rise from 1% to 22% between 2016
and 2017, while the current 67%
adoption of pay-TV in India is set
to escalate rapidly as an increasing
number of players enter the VoD
market in the region.
This means the smart money is
on mastering addressable now. By
seizing the opportunity address-
able presents to deliver targeted
messages that inspire viewers and
amplify the effect of linear, mar-
keters can set themselves ahead
of the crowd in terms of both
user experience and advertising
success.
Rashmi Paul is commercial director,
Asia-Pacific, FreeWheel, a Comcast
company.
Broadcasters must reorganise
ops to fend off FAANG
1
8
video-on-demand (VoD) streaming
service, agrees with Underwood’s
point on the increasing competi-
tion in the media market. He told
APB: “I can confidently say that we
will be seeing more content and
distribution partnerships within
the digital space as market gets
increasingly saturated and compe-
tition intensifies.”
Operating predominantly in
Asia, HOOQ itself is a joint ven-
ture by Singtel, Sony Pictures and
Warner Bros. Bithos commented:
“Partnerships have always been
part of HOOQ’s strategy right from
the get-go. We have been in part-
nership with the largest telecoms
incumbents in every market we
operate in, and are constantly strik-
ing partnerships with consumer
and tech brands to scale our reach.”
From the content perspective,
HOOQ has been offering both
local and Hollywood content, in
addition to its original productions.
This blend of content, according
to Bithos, presents an “exciting
proposition”, especially to busi-
nesses focused on consumers in
emerging markets.
“Built on our belief to bring ac-
cessible premium entertainment to
every Asian viewer, we are definitely
open to partnering like-minded
peers to bring our million stories
to billions more people in Asia,”
he added.
HOOQ also welcomes the en-
trance of tech giants like Facebook
into the media and entertainment
industry so as “to quicken the
pace of the evolution of the OTT
category in Asia”.
He concluded: “We look for-
ward to Facebook accelerating OTT
viewership in the region, creating
opportunities for HOOQ to expose
our content to more online viewers.
“The success of Facebook will
not only educate more consum-
ers about OTT category, but will
also allow HOOQ to ride atop the
shoulders of the tech giant to share
the best of premium local and
Hollywood entertainment to more
audiences in the region.”
Realising the profound changes
taking place in the industry, exacer-
bated by changing viewing habits
and the increasingly competitive
global market, BBC decided in
November last year to merge its
BBC Studios and BBC Worldwide to
form a single commercial organisa-
tion called BBC Studios.
According to the public service
broadcaster, the move has ensured
that the range of commercial
activities already carried out by
BBC Worldwide, including content
financing, sales and commercial
channels, and BBC Studios — the
BBC’s main programme produc-
tion arm — are brought together
in a simplified organisation with a
single business plan and combined
operating model.
With its distribution and pro-
duction divisions merged as one,
BBC Studios now has 17 production
companies — including Anton Cor-
poration — under its name.
Anton is a global content
company creating, financing and
distributing films, TV series, kids
programmes, documentaries and
short formats. The realignment
saw the establishment of The Dra-
ma Investment Partnership, a pool
of funding secured for investment
in premium British drama titles with
international appeal.
The initiative is also aimed to
increase the “pace and flow” of pro-
jects from British production com-
panies by having accessible capital
in place at the point of commission.
Under this agreement, BBC
Studios will identify projects for
development and investment, and
will take on global marketing and
distribution of titles financed by
The Drama Investment Partnership.
Tim Davie,
CEO of BBC
Studios,
stressed that
the content
unit of the
BBC is "very
focused on
British IP",
and have
production
businesses worldwide that could
support that IP.
Tim Davie, CEO of BBC Studios,
described the company’s content
unit as a “big small” global player.
He explained: “It is happening
to a lot of broadcasters within the
market where they feel very ‘big’
in their own space, but actually this
game has completely changed —
it’s utterly global.
And in the global context, BBC
chose to be very focused on Brit-
ish intellectual property (IP) and
ensure its production businesses
around the world support and
strengthen its IP.
Davie also explained that the
need to attract and retain talent
drove the BBC to establish BBC
Studios. He said that while every
CEO would maintain that content is
king, BBC Studios offers a nurturing
workplace for talent.
“In the BBC Group, we felt that
there were significant opportuni-
ties and jeopardy around retaining
talent and content supplier.
“A broadcaster has to have a
great supplier of content, and that
comes straight from the talent. So
to simplify these things, it is about
how you secure that talent.”
Indeed, to be able to fend
off FAANG, broadcasters have to
rethink and reorganise their opera-
tions to continue engaging their
fast fragmenting audiences.