UK leads Europe in TV innovation

A study released by Ofcom this week has shown that the UK is Europe's most screen addicted nation.

The UK leads the way in Europe when it comes to digital innovation, particularly in the TV space, you only have to look at the success of the BBC iPlayer to see why the rest of Europe keeps a close eye on the latest UK developments. So it’s no surprise that Brits are the most screen addicted nation. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg. In 2012 the entertainment experience is set to radically change as the explosion of online content hits our screens at home and TV addicts will benefit from a media revolution that has been brewing for some time. There are thousands of connected TVs sat in UK living rooms that need to be connected to the internet to benefit from the innovative new TV services in the pipeline.

2012 will see broadcasters and TV device manufacturers launch a wealth of new TV services. But it will be a balancing act between delivering more sophisticated online interaction and the traditional TV experience for broadcasters and manufacturers alike. As the TV is increasingly positioned as the hub of the connected home, broadcasters and manufacturers need to ensure they are providing the viewing experience consumers want.

Hunt urges telecom firms to put aside rivalries in bid to roll out superfast broadband

The RTS (Royal Television Society) Cambridge Convention took place here in Cambridge, UK, last week. The event at Kings College called TV Everywhere: Paths to Growth brought together executives from across the broadcast industry.

Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt addressed the conference and issued a call to action to telecoms firms to put aside rivalries to roll out superfast broadband.

The Government’s ambition is that the UK should have the best broadband network in Europe by 2015, with 90% of homes and businesses having access to up to 40MBps superfast broadband.

Superfast broadband will be critical to the mainstream adoption of internet services that require high bandwidth such as connected TVs.

Hunt warned that disputes between BT and rival telecom operators over the price of renting BT ducts were delaying the roll out of fibre. Watchdog Ofcom has promised to intervene but it’s unlikely that the issue will be settled until 2012.

Hunt also called for a cross-media approach to fighting anti-piracy. He said that advertisers, credit card companies, and ISPs should cut ties with web sites that serve illegal content.

A full copy of Jeremy Hunt’s speech is available on The Guardian web site.

4G mobile services could disrupt digital TV

The launch of 4G next year will bring some great opportunities to the mobile and tablet industries. However, it seems as though what is good news for mobiles, could well be bad news for digital TV. 4G will provide faster browsing and download speeds but it seems as though these new high speed signals could interfere with digital TV reception in the UK.

Ofcom, the government-approved regulatory authority for the telecommunication industries in the UK has produced a briefing document on the ‘Coexistence of new services in the 800 MHz band with digital terrestrial television’, which outlines how signals from base stations handling 4G might interfere with local STBs. The problem has arisen as 4G sits next to terrestrial TV signals in the spectrum. It is thought at the moment that around 3 per cent of UK viewers could be affected. And although filters should solve the problem for some, others may need to use different ways to get TV signal. Ofcom has started a research programme to investigate the problem and to find out to what extent viewers will be affected.

Although it’s still unclear as to where the responsibility lies for minimising the impact on TV viewers, this is something that could have a potentially large impact on digital TV services in the UK.

How will product placement impact traditional TV advertising?

This Morning became the first UK TV show to feature product placement, when Nescafe’s Dolce Gusto coffee machine was featured in This Morning’s kitchen set this week.

This follows OFCOMS recent unveiling of its new warning symbol for programmes containing product placement Commercial broadcasters and the advertising industry will obviously welcome this move, given the challenges facing the more traditional forms of advertising in the UK. What may not be so clear is how this could affect the revenue flow between broadcasters, advertisers, and production companies. Where advertisers were traditionally working with broadcasters, will product placement lead to production companies such as Endemol getting a bigger share of the advertising pie?

The restrictions on where it can be used, and the logo for shows that feature it, seem to be a reasonable compromise between slowing the decline in advertising revenue and maintaining the public’s trust. Along with differences in TV culture between the two countries, it is unlikely that the UK will go as far down the product placement road as the USA.

While some people consider product placement to mean TV shows are “selling out” to advertisers, the reality is that less advertising revenue means fewer new TV shows getting produced. As PVRs have become popular, we’ve already seen the content of TV ads change so that they’re still effective when played at 8x or 16x normal speed. This is just the logical next step for the advertising industry in overcoming the challenges introduced by technology. The trick for advertisers will be to make sure it’s noticeable enough to have the desired effect, but not so noticeable that it makes people change the channel.

What would you vote for?

As TV viewers get to grips with a new era of interactive TV delivered by hybrid STBs and connected TV’s we’re also seeing developments in the smartphone market. A new ruling by Ofcom means that viewers will now be able to vote on their favourite TV Shows via mobile applications.

TV shows such as the X Factor and Big Brother have always encouraged viewers to interact via telephone and text voting. But now smartphones are set to get in on the action too, with the development of voting apps.

Ofcom is keeping a close eye on developments. Viewers will be clearly notified of the costs and in order to keep everything fair, the app should only be one of several voting possibilities so that consumers are not pushed towards a particular platform.

It’s almost a surprise that this has taken so long, although the highly publicised fake phone-in scandal in 2007 may well have played a part in the delay.

This is another interesting new development for the mobile and TV industries and as app developers look to create new content, perhaps more interactive apps can be shared between the TV and mobile. What new apps would you like to see?

Ofcom report signals UK appetite for IPTV technology

Ofcom published its annual Communications Market Report 2008 report yesterday. One of its key finding is that there is a huge demand amongst UK consumers for features delivered by IPTV. It comes on the heals of BARB’s research which showed that on demand services weren’t denting traditional TV services.

But Ofcom reckons that viewers are watching programmes when they want and how they want, rather than just relying on the TV schedules. Time shifting and over the top services delivered via the Internet are both on the rise.

The proportion of people with an internet connection who are watching TV programmes online more than doubled from 8 to 17 per cent in twelve months. The BBC iPlayer, which enables viewers to watch programmes up to a week after they were broadcast, delivered more than 700,000 daily video streams in May 2008.

Nearly a third of internet users (32 per cent) watched video clips and webcasts in 2007, compared to a fifth (21 per cent) in 2006. The number of UK internet users who watched YouTube, reached 9 million in April this year, nearly 50 per cent more than a year ago.

Media watchdaog gives BSkyB surprise consultation on pay TV

Ofcom is investigating BSkyB’s plans to replace SkyNews, SkySports News and Sky Three with three new pay-TV channels in time for the start of the Premiership football season. The move will allow the broadcaster to take a larger slice of digital terrestrial TV's success. Last week Ofcom statistics showed that Freeview has now overtaken Sky as the most popular digital television service, which has grown rapidly in the first three months of this year.

The UK broadcasting industry is going through an astonishing rate of change and in the past five years we’ve seen major developments in technology not last seen since the introduction of the colour TV. The impact on business is an extraordinary level of competition and a rush to develop new and exciting services and applications for customers. Sport is one area where the broadcasters can make significant inroads with customers, almost locking them in once they have access to content rights. Who will win out only time can tell…