Smart TVs Help TV Overtake PC For Online Video Viewing

A recent study from the NPD group in the US has revealed that the television has now overtaken the PC as the preferred device for viewing over-the-top (OTT) media. The rapid adoption of smart TVs obviously has a large part to play in this, but we’ve also seen that many smart TVs have ease-of-use problems and so the growth in smart TVs alone may not be enough to account for this trend.

Smart TVs have some obvious benefits over the PC for viewing media content – the large screen and the “lean back” user experience are pretty much essential for watching content that’s longer than a few minutes.  As a regular user of iPlayer, I much prefer to use it on the Wii (for those times when the entire family wants to watch something) or on my iPad (for when I’m the only one who wants to watch something) because they’re more convenient and comfortable to use.  While I could connect my laptop to the TV and use that, the difference in resolutions and the hassle of getting audio set up properly means I simply don’t bother.  I’d rather watch a standard-definition version of the programme easily than deal with the messing around required to watch the HD version on the big screen.

As online media services become more widely deployed through smart TVs and set-top boxes (with both YouView and Freesat doing this in the UK, and various HbbTV-based catch-up TV services available in Germany), viewing OTT content is eventually going to become just another part of the TV experience, in the same way that PVR functionality already is today.

At the same time, there’s still a long way to go – recent figures have revealed that three quarters of YouView boxes sold so far have been used to view on-demand content for more than three minutes per session.  Given that the current purchasers are by definition the early adopters, who are more likely to be familiar with catch-up TV services, this is not a very impressive set of numbers.  Seeing how these numbers grow as YouView and Freesat’s Freetime service become more widely deployed will give a good indication of how this trend will develop in the UK.

The Sky’s the limit for brand new Now TV service

This week we have seen another contender enter the arena to battle it out for our on-demand attention. BskyB launched its own streaming service – Now TV – challenging the dominant players in the market, Netflix and LoveFilm. Now TV will be made available on PCs, Macs, smartphones, iPads and YouView. Consumers will be given the option to either watch unlimited films for £15 a month or pay up to £3.49 for individual films, with the "pay and play" option. With the launch of the new internet service, Sky is going beyond its pay-TV subscription roots. It’s a smart way of maximising its premium catalogue.

Having seen LoveFilm and Netflix make a huge splash this year, the launch of Now TV is a bold step for Sky to take. The move is a sign that Sky’s looking to get more from what it already has. More bang for essentially the same buck.

Whilst the launch is exciting news for consumers who don’t want to subscribe to Sky’s packages but do want access to Sky’s content, it’s also an interesting development for the digital TV industry overall. The launch is another sign that the market for on-demand services is rapidly growing.

A big “phew” from the people behind YouView

YouView is finally set to launch. Chairman Alan Sugar and Managing Director Richard Halton showcased the new television service backed by territorial broadcasters (BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5 and ITV) and three communications companies (Arqiva, BT and TalkTalk) to the press for the first time this morning. While trials continue, YouView has committed to the first STB’s being available to buy at the end of the month, around two years later than originally planned.

YouView is some four years in the making having been known initially as project canvas in 2008, with a view to launch in 2010. It will allow viewers to access 100 digital TV and radio channels as well as a selection of on-demand content from BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, 4oD and Demand 5. Today’s launch focussed on its EPG that enables users to scroll backwards in time as well as forwards, so they can catch up on shows they may have missed in the last seven days. You can see some glimpses of the EPG here.  Subscription packages are yet to be announced and may hold the key to whether the service is able to offer anything that isn’t already available in the market today. Subscription free STBs will cost £299, meaning it’s very much a premium product. 

After some technical delays, the product is now ready to go to market. Crucially, it will miss the anticipated pre-Olympics surge in TV device sales. But it’s thought the new TV service will also provide film studios and TV production companies with the ability to set up their own channels, an interesting development for the UK market.

Broadcast content is still king

Digital Spy carried out a survey of 3000 UK consumers this week highlighting that 75 per cent still prefer to watch broadcast content live. With broadcast content still king, what does the future hold for more interactive TV services, such as on-demand content?

Whilst on-demand content is increasing in popularity as it offers viewers the chance to watch what they want when they want, broadcast programmes will always have a place in our living rooms. Viewers will always want to experience and share important events in real time but increasingly, viewers are multitasking whilst watching the TV.

Now, advances in TV technology are giving viewers the opportunity to interact directly with this content using phones, tablets and the TV itself. Social media is already being used by viewers to enhance their viewing experience, and broadcasters are responding to this, with Twitter hashtags becoming more prominent during programmes. There is a real opportunity for the TV industry here. But you can’t just transfer the PC browsing experience to the TV, it’s essential that both broadcast and broadband content are developed together to provide a seamless viewing experience.

By Simon Woodward, CEO of digital TV specialist ANT Software

Connected TV Summit 2011

Videonet’s second annual Connected TV Summit took place in London this week. Attended by over 360 delegates, with representatives from across the connected TV delivery chain, it proved to be a strong industry event.

While there was very little talk of 3D TV, the leading TV manufacturers arhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gife clearly committed to increasing their connected TV offerings. According to Informa’s Senior Analyst, Giles Cottie the main driver for this is simply to keep up with the competition.

As you’d expect, Video-on-Demand remains key, as viewers enjoy the freedom of watching what they want, when they want. Ian Mecklenburgh from Virgin Media stressed that TV still remains the most important aspect of the connected TV, he also told delegates that if on-demand was a channel it would be its third most popular.

We also saw an increasing number of services for companion devices such as the iPhone and iPad as the connected home takes shape. NDS, Philips, Samsung and Sky were all talking about new projects along with Siemens showing a slick new demo using a cloud based service.

Edd Uzzell from Sony had some interesting points about connected devices, notably that demonstrating their full capabilities continues to be a challenge as the majority of retailers aren’t even ‘connected’, making it impossible to showcase the full range of benefits to consumers. As we’ve discussed on this blog before we mustn’t forget the consumer in all of this, retailers and device manufacturers need to help consumers understand how they can make the most of these new services, so they don’t get left behind in these exciting developments.

Press the ‘Yellow button’ for personalised Local TV news services

UK On-demand TV services could soon be personalised to deliver consumers content targeted at local communities. Under new government plans, local TV news services could be tailored to towns and cities as well as larger regions currently covered by programmes such as ‘South East Today’ and ‘East Midlands Today’.

The services could be rolled out as early as 2012. Initially they will be start on ordinary channels such as 6 or 106, however they could soon be available through the ‘yellow button’. Delivery through an application or widget will provide users with much more flexibility to browse content, and if successful, the ‘yellow button’ could become synonymous with news as the ‘red button’ has with on-demand.

These types of new services represent a new era in how we consume TV content. At the same time it’s essential that broadcasters keep the viewer in mind when developing these new applications. With 118 million TV’s predicted to ship in 2014, broadcasters and services manufactures now have the opportunity to deliver targeted on demand services that haven’t previously been possible. It’s an exciting time for consumers as long as we strike the right balance.

Global growth for on-demand services

Global revenues from on demand video services are set to rise by as much as 24 per cent by the end of this year, despite the decline in TV subscriptions. This is according to new research from Informa Telecoms & Media this week.

On-demand services have enjoyed a phenomenal success in the UK this year, the BBC iPlayer received 139 million requests for TV and radio programmes last month. Not only this but viewers have been accessing the content across a wide range of platforms, including Virgin Media, Wii, PS3, computing and mobile platforms, confirming that viewers want to consume their content in more than just the traditional formats.

The majority of on-demand services still come from cable TV subscriptions (around 51%), which is expected to rise as more viewers make the switchover to digital services. However, there are likely to be changes in the platforms viewers can access on-demand content. At the recent Morgan Stanley TMT conference, ITV’s chief executive Adam Crozie, commented on its plans to create a new micropayments system, so it can sell its content across a wider range of platforms and reduce its dependence on advertising revenues.

But, to be successful in any of its target platforms, ITV will need to invest in creating popular new content. Something they are clearly keen to address, with the recent appointment of Denise O’Donoghue to lead commercial strategy at production arm ITV Studios.

Every penny counts – credit crunch helps drive digital TV sales

18 months ago, as consumers we were being inundated with credit crunch survival tips – how to save more, go out and spend less, or make our nights in more entertaining. For the digital TV market at least, it seems, the latter has proved extremely fruitful.

New research released by Informa Telecoms & Media has found that despite the global economic downturn, the uptake of digital TV around the world has continued to grow. By December 31st this year, Informa calculates that approximately 85 million TV households will be added bringing the global total to 517 million. It predicts the digital TV universe to be one billion digital households strong by the end of 2015.

Staggering stats like this bring to life the huge transformation taking place in the TV industry today as new technologies change the way in which we receive and consume TV content. But what also really strikes me is how the results of this study highlight the prominence of the TV in global society.

In the interests of saving money, more people have turned to nights at home in front of the box, especially in the last couple of years. But with the rise of digital, our viewing experience has changed significantly to include on-demand, interactive red button features and tailored content – a world away from the TVs of old. Making staying in, the new going out.

Service providers prepare for the increasing demand for on demand

On-demand players such as iPlayer and 4OD have enjoyed huge success in the last couple of years; catering to viewers’ increasingly busy lifestyles, on-demand content allows people to watch what they want, when they want. But the growing popularity of broadband delivered TV has led to a large increase in the volume of data traffic and concerns over net neutrality.

This week Alcatel-Lucent Velocix and TalkTalk have been the first to announce that they are developing a new dedicated Content Delivery Network (CDN) ahead of YouView’s launch next year. The CDN built by Alcatel-Lucent Velocix will run over TalkTalk’s existing high speed IP network.

The move by Alcatel-Lucent Velocix and TalkTalk indicates another turning point in how we as an industry are working to address the evolving landscape of TV. Is the roll-out of new CDNs something that all service providers should invest in or is it just a precautionary measure?

Project Canvas announces ‘YouView’

This week Project Canvas marked the next phase in its development, announcing the brand name for its connected TV offering. ‘YouView’ will be a free-to-air service and will launch in H1 next year, delivering viewers digital TV, on-demand services and internet content.

YouView set-top boxes are set to include a variety of services including: a programme search function, a Personal Video Recorder (PVR) and an applications store.

The current Project Director Richard Halton has now been appointed as Chief Executive Officer and will be working with Chairman Kip Meek. Unsurprisingly, the news has drawn a fair bit of attention in the press, with Halton stating that the service will “change the way we watch TV for ever”. A slick video has been added to the homepage of the new YouView website, click here to watch it.

Connected-TV catches up in France

A new report from Nouveaux Paysages Audiovisuels Conseil (NPAC) has shown that more than a quarter of TV sets in France will be internet-enabled by 2012. Only 5% of TV sets currently have the ability to connect to the internet but this is expected to grow to 14% in 2011 and then 28% by 2012.

This growth is expected to be reflected globally, NPAC has predicted that by 2014 59% of TV sets will be connected to the internet. This growth is driven by increased viewer demand for access to both broadcast and online content via one centralised experience. The TV provides an ideal channel for these sources of rich media content, bringing on-demand and interactive content straight to the viewer in their living room.

The report also states that the “biggest winners with the arrival of connected TV will [be] non-linear services, like VOD and catch-up TV”. It is essential that broadcasters provide viewers with access to this ‘must have’ content, as this is what attracts and retains subscribers. But the presentation and delivery of the combination of online and broadcast services remains vital, merging the two into one seamless experience, is the key to unlocking the TV experience of the future.

First Ruling for On-Demand Advertising

There was an interesting ruling from the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) last month, when it was revealed that young children had been able to view an inappropriate advert when watching The X-Factor on ITV’s VOD service. The ruling stated that "adequate steps [were] not taken" to ensure that children did not see an advert which had been booked for post-9pm viewing.

This highlights the need for a different approach from broadcasters when distributing on-demand content. While a programme such as The X-Factor doesn’t require an on-screen warning when viewed on-demand, the adverts booked might.

HD on-demand is in demand

Cable and telco IPTV operators are investing in both video on demand and streaming content server capacity in order to support on-demand HD content, according to a recent report from Infonetics. This highlights the increasing importance of ‘must have’ content for both Cable and IPTV operators.

On-demand content is enjoying huge popularity in the UK with the availability of platforms such as BBC iPlayer and 4OD. Between 2008 and 2009 world wide video on demand and streaming content server revenue increased by 60 per cent and is expected to continue to grow over the next year.

More for Channel4

If you like watching daytime banter between big haired presenters and culture shocking, stress busting evening entertainment on Channel4 then you’re about to get lucky as C4 is putting up 4,000 hours of archived content online for free from 3rd July.


According to CNet UK, Channel4 will be making programmes like Time Team, Location, Location, Location, Shameless, Queer As Folk and Unreported World available via its 4oD service. However, it’s pre-warned that C4 won’t backdate all past programmes and viewers shouldn’t expect “bizarre, experimental three-part documentary from the 80’s”. In return for this classic content you’ll have to sit through a few adverts of course, 4oD is an ad-supported VOD provider like most of the VOD services in the UK, as posted in On-demand TV competition heats up previously.

In a similar vein, BBC iPlayer is reportedly working on an agreement with Youtube’s parent company Google to extend its service outside of the UK although there are significant DRM issues to be dealt with first.

On-demand TV competition heats up

There’s been a significant improvement in the quality of on-demand TV services offered by the UK broadcasters and cable and satellite networks. This is partly due to the increased adoption of high-speed broadband and the government’s plans to boost the digital industry.

As the competition heats up for on-demand TV providers to offer the most compelling, on-demand content package at a competitive price, viewers are being given more options to watch on-demand TV through platforms of their choice. To help viewers gain better perspective on what’s out there, I put together slides comparing some of the most popular on-demand TV services in the UK with a little help from my team at ANT.

UK On-demand TVs Compared

View more presentations from ANTplc. (tags: tv on-demand)

On-demand adds to TV viewer figures

I read an excellent article from Julian Clover of Broadband TV News over the weekend about how on-demand TV is reinterpreting broadcasters’ approach to measuring viewer figures.

According to Julian’s insight, since the on-demand measuring system Unitam, for digital cable and satellite channels, was rolled out in 2006, on-demand data now contributes significantly to broadcasters’ performance figures. Meanwhile, BARB data has revealed that the number of hours we spend watching the fixed TV has dropped.

What’s more interesting, it’s said that multichannel broadcasters like Sky are benefiting most from these new consolidated viewing figures from BARB.

Julian also points out that the new figures make ITV2 and ITV3 as the most watched individual channels partly because of a successful cross promotion and a wider reach through Freeview DTT platform.

UK TV rivals come together for on-demand

In a completely unprecedented move, the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 are in 2008 to launch a joint on-demand service. The new service will bring together around 10,000 of hours of television programmes in the one place, including access to both current shows and archive material.

With all three parties already having their own on-demand services, this move could be viewed as surprising. But they have realised that consumers are more likely to use a site that has output from all major broadcasters rather than individual sites. It also prevents (for the time being) content being sold by another provider, which takes the away the control over pricing and packaging, a fate that has already hurt the music industry.

2007 has been a landmark year for the TV industry, with the push towards IPTV and TV over mobile, and this announcement ensures that 2008 is going to be equally significant for the industry.