Goodbye BBC Television Centre, Hello MediaCityUK

Television Centre, home to the BBC since 1960, closes its doors for the last time on March 31. This week saw the BBC wrap-up its news broadcasting from Wood Lane and the One O'Clock News  on Monday 18 March marked the first domestic TV news programme to go out from the newly redeveloped £1 billion HQ and studios at New Broadcasting House, central London. All other departments from TV Centre, including BBC Breakfast, Children’s, Sport, Radio 5 Live, Learning, and Future Media and Technology are relocating to MediaCityUK, in Salford Quays.

It will be sad to see Television Centre go – the land is due for redevelopment into offices, flats, hotels, a cinema and private TV studios – but although it was state-of-the-art when it was built, it is now not serving its purpose.

MediaCityUK, on the other hand, is a brand new, high-tech development created specifically to attract companies from the media, digital and creative industries.  The area also boasts The Lowry arts centre (Greater Manchester’s most popular cultural tourist attraction), Manchester United’s Old Trafford, Lancashire Cricket Club and the Imperial War Museum North. To date, it has attracted not only the BBC, but ITV, Satellite Information Services (SIS) the University of Salford and over 50 creative companies from composer agencies to independent production houses.

But more important than the buzzing creative environment is the fact that it’s connected to one of the most advanced, high-capacity communications networks in the world and able to satisfy the needs of the media industry.

Today’s world of high definition digital TV was unimaginable back in 1960. Digital processes, new production workflows, delivery of interactive online sites, mobile television and OTT services such as BBC iPlayer are always hungry for more bandwidth. MediaCityUK, with its purpose-built infrastructure, creative village and 20 million plus metres of optical fibre for the high speed transmission of voice, data, high and standard definition video and wireless communications services is excellently set-up to be the home of the new BBC for the digital age.

Russia prepares for HbbTV

We’ve seen strong growth in HbbTV over the last year, not least in Central and Eastern Europe. Poland and the Czech Republic have both launched HbbTV services this year, and Russia has just announced that it plans to launch HbbTV in the first quarter of 2013.

Each of these deployments shows a growing trend towards the harmonisation of digital TV markets, especially in free-to-air systems. The fragmentation that has been endemic in the industry finally seems to be abating, with more broadcasters and network operators choosing to follow HbbTV as a common standard.

There is still some fading debate about whether HbbTV is the best choice for interactive TV services because of supposedly “advanced” features that are missing. However, this debate is now largely irrelevant.  HbbTV was always envisioned as a pragmatic solution that offered rapid time to market while meeting the core needs of broadcasters and device manufacturers. The value of this is being recognised in an ever-increasing number of countries.

Ultimately, the best solution is the one that is widely deployed that also provides off-the-shelf products and economies of scale for consumers, service developers and network operators. As more and more countries adopt HbbTV, the value of HbbTV as a common solution becomes more and more evident.

Will iPhone 5 increase multiscreen viewing in the home?

So the dust has settled on the launch of the new iPhone model. There was no great new feature that stole the headlines. It was simply more of the same that has made the iPhone so popular. With improved maps, a panoramic camera, 4G, and a new digital dock, the latest iPhone is set to be a worthy replacement for the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4s. But what stood out for us was the introduction of a larger screen.
The new model is getting a display larger than the traditional 3.5-inches. The screen measures 4-inches diagonally and will maximise the Retina display technology that was introduced on the iPhone 4. The new iPhone is just a little bigger than earlier models but with a width the same as the 4S.
Why has Apple done this? Well the success of the Samsung Galaxy and its bigger screen might be one reason. But perhaps Apple has picked up on the growing trend of consumers using their smart device to watch TV on.

This habit is something we’ve observed in the past, and it’s more than encouraging to see giants such as Apple developing products recognising this trend. The tablet is still maturing, but smartphones are already in most homes. As tablets become more popular, it seems larger smartphone devices are where we are headed.
This will be music to the ears of the connected TV manufacturers to see better companion devices to interact with, to highlight the functionality of their products. It’s now up to digital TV software specialists such as us to provide products, like ANT Galio Move, that will maximise this development.

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.

New services needed to capitalise on connected TV sales boom

More than every third flat-screen TV set sold this year in Europe (37%) will be Internet-compatible, according to recent figures compiled by the European Information Technology Observatory. But with connected TVs now set to boom across Europe, manufacturers and retailers are constantly having to up their game. One way to do this is to offer the consumer market more innovative features so that they remain ahead of their competition.

These latest figures show that connected TVs are becoming increasingly popular, and as a result, everyone wants a piece of the pie. This year, we’ve already seen the entry of Netflix into the UK market, the launch of Google TV 2.0, and an Apple TV is rumoured to be hot on its heels. So in an increasingly crowded marketplace, manufacturers are having to become more savvy by harnessing developments in new technologies and offering consumers a greater range of digital TV services. For a glimpse of future connected TV services it’s worth tracking the connected set-top box market: with a shorter development cycle it’s often where TV innovation can be seen first.

Multiscreen TV is set to shape the viewing experience of the future, with connected devices talking to each other to deliver truly personalised TV. By embracing new services such as tablet and smartphone viewing, connected TV sales will continue to thrive.

By Simon Woodward, CEO of digital TV specialist ANT Software

The big digital switchover – spreading the word is key

London was the latest region to flip the digital switch this week. Analogue BBC Two was turned off in Crystal Palace on 04th April, with the rest of the terrestrial station signals set to be stopped over the next week.

The campaign to raise awareness of the switchover has been running for some years now, but there is still some confusion about what the switchover means for consumers. In fact, it’s estimated that 1 million homes in London are not ready for the big switchover.

The initial switch to digital began in 2006 and since then an ongoing campaign has been led by Digital UK. Their aim has been to get the country up to speed on what they need to do to be ready to take advantage of what digital has to offer. So far the campaign has cost £630million and has set a target of getting 98.5 per cent of the UK population switched over to digital.

For viewers that haven’t retuned their televisions or invested in the next generation of connected TVs, they might be wondering what exactly all the fuss is about. Well, there are a whole host of benefits to be had from HD content to interactive services. In addition to this, having connected TVs and set-top boxes allows consumers to access a range of premium on-demand content. Since the beginning of the year, the competition in the connected TV industry has really ratcheted up. With Netflix joining LOVEFiLM in the UK market, there are some great deals to be had for consumers wanting to gain access to the latest films and TV shows.

Digital UK has made some good progress in getting viewers ready for the change, consumer guides showing what is on offer help, but there is still more work to be done. While there has been a lot of noise about the digital switchover itself, consumers still aren’t receiving the education and support they need to make the most of innovative new TV services. Many are investing in new devices, like connected TVs, but the key features remain unused.

We’ve only scratched the surface of what the connected TV can achieve and it’s important the consumer buys into it. The broadcast and retail industry need to undertake a significant education process, working in sync with new technology developments as a result of the digital switch, to ensure the viewer gets the most out of new connected TV devices. With that consumer base in place, we’ll see more and more interactive content and features made available that will enable viewers get more from their favourite shows.

It’s been a good start so far and we hope to see more positive media coverage in the months to come championing digital TV. It’s up to all of us working within the industry to help inform consumers and spread the word to ensure everyone is able to take advantage of new technology advances.

Starting the standard-definition switch-off?

A recent report from Digital TV Research suggests that the penetration of HD-ready televisions is high enough that operators may be able consider switching off some standard-definition channels in the near future in some countries.

There are several possible reasons why this may not be a good idea, though. While the report considers some of these, there are others that may be less obvious:

• HD-ready doesn’t mean people are watching HD channels. My own TV is HD-ready, but I don’t have an HD set-top box from my pay TV provider. There’s nothing technical stopping me from getting one, but for me the benefits are outweighed by the costs (which don’t have to be financial)

• A number of households may watch HD programmes, but only record SD programmes. There are a lot of standard-definition PVR set-top boxes already deployed, which people may not want to replace. Cost is part of that, but so is the loss of any recordings they want to keep: this is primarily what’s stopping me from upgrading

• A household having one HD-ready TV doesn’t mean that they don’t have other TVs or set-top boxes that are only SD-capable

• 80% penetration of HD-ready TVs by 2016, and less than 40% of people actively watching

HD by the same date, still leaves a lot of people who don’t watch HD. These are only predicted averages, and some pay TV providers may have substantially higher penetration rates, but switching off SD channels may still disappoint many viewers.

We’ve seen how long the conversion from analogue to digital has taken in a number of countries. While the move from SD to HD is not quite so radical, there will still be a great deal of public education needed and a great deal of equipment to replace. Following so rapidly on the heels of the move to digital, how many people will want to replace their equipment again?

SD switch-off for digital TVs may seem like a good idea, but it’s still a long way from being a reality.

Fifth of TV sets to be connected in five years

Digital TV Research has predicted that connected TV sets will represent a fifth of global TV sets by 2016. But despite infiltrating the mass-market, many of these connected TVs will not actually be connected to the internet.

There’s no doubt that the connected TV market is set for seismic growth in the coming twelve months and beyond. But the thought of millions of connected TV sets sitting isolated in living rooms across the country is a gigantic waste! It accentuates a critical flaw in the success of the connected TV market to date. Simply having the ability to connect is not enough – because if the consumer doesn’t know how, the technology is rendered meaningless. What’s the use in technical progress if viewers aren’t able to reap the rewards?

We must embark on a process of significant consumer education if the market is to truly succeed. Manufacturers must take responsibility for ensuring that set up is simple and efficient, while retailers must ensure that the consumer has all the necessary information to go home and get started on their connected TV experience. All too often consumers are confronted with the complex, laborious process of returning home with a device that looked great on the shop floor, but a nightmare install.

If the connected TV market is to realise its full potential, it’s critical that the industry takes the reins on this mammoth education job now, to help consumers understand the true value that a connected TV experience can bring.

NHS on your TV

The NHS in Scotland recently launched a new TV channel and interactive TV application that provides health information and advice to the public. NHS 24 is also using this to pilot a TV-based booking scheme for doctor’s appointments, indications are that this scheme is already reducing the number of missed appointments amongst people using it.

These services are all available over the Web already, so why make them available as interactive TV apps? Many people, especially the elderly or those in rural or deprived areas, have far better access to these services via their TV than they do via the Internet. While a website makes it far easier to offer a wider ranger of information and services, a digital TV service such as this gives much wider access to the basics and this is often enough to meet people’s needs.

Many commentators have already pointed out that the government’s plans to provide online access to more services risks widening the “digital divide” not only in Scotland but elsewhere. Offering some of these services via televisions as well via the Web can help reduce the impact of this, but only if those services are easy to use. Application developers need to carefully consider the audience most in need of these services – the elderly, those in rural areas and those in deprived areas – if they are to succeed.

YouTube delivers online movies on demand

YouTube has now launched its online movie rental service in the UK. It’s a welcome addition to YouTube’s online video services, bringing premium media content to consumers in just a few simple clicks.

The launch follows in the footsteps of Amazon and Apple, and could be a serious contender to LoveFilm and the iTunes store as it’s proved itself to be an online community, rather than just a portal for video streaming.

YouTube is bringing the service to the UK after launching in the US and Canada. This is only the third market that YouTube has launched the service in, highlighting the increasing demand for digital content in the UK. By hosting this content online these services not only deliver access to a huge archive of media content, but also give viewers the freedom to watch what they want, when they want.

These services have also embraced the ‘app’ providing the ideal format for multiscreen viewing. By downloading these apps to the TV, tablet or smartphone viewers can watch movies, TV shows and music videos on the go. And, with technology like our own ANT Galio Move application, viewers can stream live and recorded programmes from their TV device direct to their tablet or smartphone anywhere in the home.

Half-time for digital switch over

The UK is more than half way to digital switch over. Consumers that receive their TV signal via an aerial rather than cable or satellite will be able to access more than 15 channels and as many as 40 depending on their proximity to a transmitter.

The switch to stronger digital signals means extra channels, including high-definition Freeview services, and much improved reception.

In the last two weeks transmitters in the Midlands, Oxfordshire, Stoke and Newcastle-under-Lyme and Yorkshire have been switched over. By the end of 2011 include 11 out of the 15 TV regions, 80 per cent of transmitter sites and 65 per cent of the population.

But despite the investment in regional awareness building campaigns research conducted by ANT shows that consumers face confusion when looking to buy a new TV.

For example Freeview HD has been promoted ahead of digital switch-over but when asked whether an HD television with built-in Freeview would deliver Freeview HD, not one member of staff identified that in order to take advantage of this the viewer must live in a HD-enabled area.

Many retailers stopped the sale of analogue TV sets in 2010 with the launch of the digital switchover but it’s essential that retailers take responsibility for the education process as well, helping consumers understand how these new devices work, to ensure they are getting the most out of new digital TV technologies. We need to get the building blocks in place to so we can look to develop more personalised TV services to the consumer.

IPTV – ready for take-off?

As a company with its roots in IPTV, we’ve seen a lot of predictions in the past about how IPTV will grow rapidly in the future – and it’s often been “in the next couple of years”. However, Digital TV Research’s recent prediction that homes paying for IPTV will more than quadruple to 155 million by the end of 2016 is rather more likely to come true due to to changes in the market and in the growth of IP connectivity.

As expected, it’s the Asia-Pacific region, home of ubiquitous high-bandwidth Internet, that’s likely to drive this growth. But Asia-Pacific is no longer alone in deploying this kind of bandwidth; more and more operators are deploying gigabit networks to the home, with a large amount of this reserved for media services. This trend plays a large part in the growth of pay services, as the viewing experience improves to the point where more people will pay for it.

While we here in Europe are seeing over-the-top content as the most popular driver for connected TVs, in the USA pay-TV services dominate. A recent report by Sandvine indicated that, at its peak, Netflix accounted for almost 30% of internet traffic in the USA, with real-time entertainment as a whole making up almost 50% of the Internet traffic. Not all of this is paid for, of course, but as more and more companies offer their content online there will be more attempts to monetize this. We’re already seeing Apple offering streaming TV shows to Apple TV devices, and Google offering movie rental services to Android devices.

This isn’t “traditional” IPTV, but that’s not a bad thing. The growth in Connected TVs, broadcast digital TV services, and independent media services such as Netflix has meant a move away from the subscription-based IPTV service offered by telcos. IPTV is now less of a substitute for broadcast TV and more of an additional service alongside traditional TV services, pay-TV or otherwise. A recent DisplaySearch forecast indicated that half a billion connected TV sets would be shipped by 2015, indicating that this trend will only continue. People are having ever more choice in the content they consume, and where they get it from. We may finally have found a business model that enables IPTV to reach its true potential.

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.

TV viewers have their say – social media and the Royal Wedding

Everybody’s talking about it, so it seemed like we couldn’t really avoid a mention of tomorrow’s Royal Wedding on our blog. With the nation gearing up to tune in to the nuptials of Kate and Will, how we’re all going to get in on the action has been a hot topic for discussion. Social media is set to transform the viewing experience, with a Facebook page and a YouTube channel giving well-wishers the chance to ‘watch and react’, post messages, and even upload their own videos.

When Charles married Diana in 1981, it’s estimated that more than 750 million people tuned in worldwide. So with today’s technology, and the huge amount of investment from broadcasters to give the public as much access as possible to the celebrations, it’s anyone’s guess as to how many people will be watching tomorrow. But what’s really going to set this viewing experience apart is the opportunity for people to get involved from the comfort of their living rooms. It’s a little bit of TV history in the making.

With our TV’s becoming digital entertainment hubs, and an increasing number of services converging from the web to our television screen, tuning in to an event like this is no longer a case of sitting back and absorbing. The rise of the connected television, providing users with access to more traditional ‘web’ applications like YouTube and Flickr and greater engagement with the content they watch, has transformed the TV experience from passive, to interactive. With TV innovation evolving at an exciting pace in an increasingly connected world, we wonder what we’ll be able to do from our TV’s at the next Royal Wedding!

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.

The Digital Age

It was reported this week that May was the first month on record that no analogue TV sets were sold in Britain. The traditional TV format is fading out, as the UK digital TV switchover in 2012 fast approaches.

The rise of Digital TV with additional channels, HD, a variety of STB functionality and the imminent arrival of 3D TV means the consumer has never had so many choices. The switch to digital also provides viewers with a wealth of new content. The number of digital TV channels available through cable, satellite, Terrestrial, IP and hybrid STBs continues to grow. Add to that the on-demand content and you’re bound to find something you want to watch!

The film industry joins forces for a new business model

I’ve covered different business models for TV several times before ( here and here, as well as in a recent post titled Is cable subsription model under threat?) - indeed it is something of a recurring theme. However, a new joint movie studios initiative announced last week by Lionsgate, Paramount, and MGM has the potential to really shake things up.


Epix is an new HD TV network that will air movies after they have appeared in the cinemas but before they are released on DVD or BlueRay. But consumers won't pay a subscription or pay-per-view charges, nor specifically need to request the channel is added to their package; and the service will have no advertising. Even better, the same content is available to Epix customers at epixhd.com at 720p resolution.

So what is the business model and how can the movie studios afford to do this? Well for a start, Epix is only available to customers who are taking their tv providers' TV service and Internet service. Epix believe that their service can act as a key differentiator when customers choose a TV package. Epix are also planning to install caching servers directly in the provider’s datacenter thus avoiding the need to stream HD video over second or third party Internet connections. Epix can thus take a slice of the bandwidth cost savings that their caching servers realise for the operator. Epix aren't interested in relationships directly with consumers - they are looking to build partnerships with the cable, Internet and satellite companies.

Looks like Epix could be one TV network to watch.

TV ad revenues under threat

There was a great article in yesterday’s Observer that looked at how viewers are increasingly calling the shots in terms of how they consume television, and how this in turn is shaping how the industry generates revenues from advertising.

The premise of the piece argued that although TV still plays a massive part in our lives, audiences are becoming fragmented thanks to the likes of YouTube, MySpace and Google. Television schedules will become obsolete as people can now watch TV when they want and on the medium of their choice, and this will have a massive impact on the ability to generate advertising revenue. The journalist went on to cite how ‘TV’s share of the global advertising market dropped this year for the first time since its inception’ and outlined a number of ways in which TV has can claw back the lost ad revenue.

Some of these have their merits, a couple of others less so. But one option overlooked was using the user interface, or menu, to host advertisements. However people consume TV – via mobile, downloaded from the internet, or the old fashioned front room / sofa way – there will always be a menu used to navigate through the choices. As TV schedules get more personalised, it stands to reason that menus will do so as well, so what is there to prevent targeted advertising around those menus?

At ANT we provide user interfaces for around 70 per cent of the world’s IPTV market, and have recently made the push into the wider digital media world, precisely because of the reasons outlined in the article. TV viewing is changing and the advertising industry urgently needs to change with it, and we believe that using the user interface could be a real solution to this dilemma.

IPTV moves beyond early adopters and innovators

Recent forecasts from Alcatel-Lucent show that IPTV subscriptions are set to reach between 70 million and 100 million by 2010.

Simon Woodward, CEO of ANT Software Limited, comments:

"Alcatel-Lucent is forecasting very high, but that shouldn’t detract from the fact that, yes, the market is growing, and fast. There’s been continuous hype over subscriber numbers over the past few years and expectations have been high, but today the technology has reached maturity. Operators who were the first to innovate in IPTV are starting to see the benefits from their early investments as they start to compete heavily with their triple and quadruple play offerings.

“Europe outstrips the rest of the world in the uptake of IPTV – particular hot spots are France, Spain and Italy. For example, France Telecom is spearheading change with its successful mass-market deployment.

“In the past, operators were reluctant to invest heavily in IPTV following high profile delays in rolling out new services. However, the industry is now moving beyond that and service providers are generating real revenues and reducing customer churn through IPTV.

“The next round of innovation will be through sophisticated applications aimed at drawing in consumers. It’s these applications which can set IPTV apart from other broadcast mediums – whether it’s the ability to IM whilst watching the football or sharing a pictures and music with friends. There are endless applications which can be enabled through IPTV – only your imagination can hold you back.”

ANT Software at IBC 2007

ANT will be showcasing its next generation solution for the delivery of digital content, ANT Galio Client, at IBC 2007.

Operators are continuing to compete on the quality of their service and the user interface is at the heart of the viewers’ experience. The ability for operators to add new, exciting applications combined with the flexibility to personalise services can give a significant edge – providing it is done quickly and easily. No solution is more adaptable or better geared to the consumer than ANT Galio Client.

NEW DEMO: Scientific Atlanta demos ANT Galio on Cisco stand 1.471
At IBC 2007, Scientific Atlanta will be demonstrating ANT Galio and showcasing ANT’s industry grade suite of applications. ANT Galio offers unsurpassed delivery, control and presentation of digital media. Building on over fourteen years’ experience in the delivery of digital TV, ANT Galio provides operators with a solution that combines total flexibility with performance and robust control.

User Interfaces developed for ANT Galio achieve speeds comparable to the monolithic fixed applications found in many of today’s digital TV interfaces and are significantly faster than modified internet browsers.