Asia-Pacific Broadcasting (APB) September 2016 • Volume 33, Issue 8

NEW 7 NEWS & VIEWS Voyage September 2016 TV Everywhere as a Service All You Need To Manage a Complete Pay-TV Service in the Cloud www.tvaas.com Turn to page 37 for more information www.apb-news.com NEWS & VIEWS 6 WORLD IN BRIEF A mobile Olympics RIO DE JANEIRO – There was a 150% growth in total video streams worldwide for the 2016 Rio Olympics compared to the 2012 London Olympics, said eMarketer. Many viewers of the Rio Olympics have also moved from traditional TV and desktop viewing to mobile viewing, added the market research company, with convenience and better content cited as the two main reasons for doing so. IOC’s own channel LAUSANNE – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has launched the Olympic Channel to allow fans to experience the power of sports and the Olympic Movement all-year round. Starting Aug 21, after the closing ceremony of the Rio Olympics, the Olympic Channel platform is available at olympicchannel.com via a mobile app for Android and iOS devices. FIBER TRANSPORT EXPERT 4K HD SD AES EBU CREATION 20 MANAGEMENT 24 | SEPTEMBER 2016 | VOLUME 33 | ISSUE 8 DISTRIBUTION 30 Chance to check out HDR TV at IBC 2016 by shawn liew GENEVA – High dynamic range (HDR) television will bring a whole new viewing experience to audiences around the world, declared Zhao Houlin, secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which has recently announced the ITU-R HDR-TV Recommendation BT.2100. The proposed new standard specifies two different approaches for producing HDR TV images — the Perceptual Quantisation (PQ) specification and the Hybrid LogGamma (HLG) specification. It also allows TV producers to choose from three levels of detail or resolution: HDTV (1920x1080), 4K/Ultra HD (UHD) TV (3840x2160) and 8K (7680x4320), all of which use the progressive imaging system with extended colour gamut and range of frame rates in ITU’s UHDTV Recommendation BT.2020. The newly announced ITU-R HDR-TV Recommendation BT.2100 is specified for the delivery of HDR TV images, as more HDR TV sets become available, including Sony's ZD9 4K/Ultra HD HDR Android TV. However, is HD HDR a real option for broadcasters in Asia? HDR will be an important factor in improving the TV viewing experience, and may not necessarily be restricted to 4K/UHD and beyond, suggested Dr Peter Siebert, executive director, DVB Project. “Personally, I see a big future for the combination of HD and HDR, PCCW Media invests in quality content HONG KONG – PCCW Media has acquired an equity interest in US-based STX Entertainment. As part of this investment, PCCW has also signed an overseas content distribution agreement with STX Entertainment to bring original and first-run Holly­wood content. The companies will also co-produce regionally tailored programmes for PCCW to distribute across its pay-TV and over-the-top (OTT) services in Hong Kong, South-east Asia and India. especially for terrestrial services,” he told APB. The current stumbling block to the adoption of HD HDR, Dr Siebert pointed out, lies with the ability, or lack thereof, of legacy receivers to work with a 10-bit transmission 88 X-PLATFORM Local content key in new era of audience engagement? LE GRAND-SACONNEX – Subscription-video-on-demand (SVoD) services are continuing to gain favour with European subscribers, growing by 56% between 2014 and 2015. By 2020, expect 50 million European households to have at least one SVoD subscription, said the Market Insights: SVoD in Europe report from the European Broadcasting Union’s (EBU) Media Intelligence Service. However, these are “modest gains” compared to the US, which remains the driver of global SVoD consumption. SVoD services in Europe are generally used as a complement to traditional TV, rather than as a substitute, Florence Hartmann, senior media analyst at EBU, told APB. “Although the emergence of SVoD services may be one of the factors behind the slight erosion of linear TV viewing in some 88 World’s fastest 4K and IP multiviewer When it comes to speed and flexibility, there’s nothing to compare with our new SynView multiviewer for 4K and IP production. Powerful, modular and with unequalled low processing delay and start-up, SynView is the perfect fit for a range of applications from major fast-response production monitor walls to small OB van preview monitoring. Ready for 4K today? To see SynView’s power and versatility for yourself, with multiple screens running from just three cards, visit IBC2016 Hall 10 Stand A.21 & B.21 for a live demo! See us at IBC2016 Hall 10 Stand A21 & B21 IT’S TIME TO LOVE YOUR SUBSCRIBERS Axon synview halfpage 100mm x 47mm + 5mm bleed.indd 1 R YOU SUB RS E B I SCR 34 11-8-2016 10:22:42 With Ideal Systems and Paywizard, when you love your subscribers, your TV viewers become loyal & paying customers. Find out more at loveyoursubscribers.com IN ASSOCIATION WITH