BBC throws its weight behind connected TVs

Last week saw the launch of the BBC Sport connected TV app which has been designed to augment the coverage of Formula 1 via internet connected televisions. It will initially be available via Virgin Media TiVo with plans to roll it out across other platforms. The BBC has also launched a smaller news service that will run alongside the sport app. The broadcaster plans to use the new service during its coverage of events such as Euro 2012, Wimbledon and the London 2012 Olympic Games.

At launch the app will focus on Formula 1, allowing people to watch key moments from recent races, as well as content from the race that hasn’t been transmitted during the main broadcast. It means fans of the sport will be able to watch full coverage of the practice sessions, qualifying heats, and multi-feed coverage of the race itself.

It’s an important development for the BBC and one that we’re likely to see more of in the future. Internet connected TV’s give broadcasters an opportunity to deliver additional content without disrupting the broadcast schedule with very little extra cost. For consumers, F1 enthusiasts in this case, connected TV’s provide the ability to receive in depth on-demand content. As the host broadcaster for this year’s Olympics, the eyes of the world will be trained on the BBC and by embracing connected TV’s the BBC is maintaining its industry leading reputation which has been established by the development of world class services such as the iPlayer.

For the connected TV market, the fact the world’s largest broadcaster is beginning to embrace this technology is a very positive sign. By having the driving force of the BBC championing connected TVs, it can only help manufacturers to convince consumers to upgrade to the new generation of TV devices and even more importantly, to connect them to the internet. 

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.

Advertisers look to connected TVs to develop new campaigns

There has been lots of talk about the connected television and how the advertising world can take advantage of the possibilities presented to them. Advertising revenue has been on a downward spiral and there is a feeling that the current method of advertising on the box isn’t cutting the mustard anymore.

Media buyers are probably most aware of this and are keen to promote new technologies to help stabilise this trend. Carat recently held an event which brought together key figures from the advertising world to look at what technology can do to help advertisers to think of new ways of getting their content to the consumer.

With connected TVs, advertisers are only just beginning to get to grips with what they can do in terms of interactivity and weaving in new functions, offers, or promotions into the standard advertising campaigns that we are all familiar with.

In some quarters, the convergence of the two is being seen as The Holy Grail for advertisers. Not only does it provide them with the ability to interact with the viewer, but it can also push them towards further information and even the opportunity to buy the product directly.
Of course for this to be fully realised, the technology needs to be in place to allow for the industry to use its well-known creativity and ingenuity to the fullest. This is where the hardware and supporting software is going to be so important, and already we are seeing companies experimenting with what they can offer the market.

The TV App Agency recently launched its TV App Agency engine which allows brands to deploy multiple platform-ready apps from a single source code. This is allowing advertisers to deploy a range of creative executions that will help to draw in the consumer and utilise a multi-screen platform.

We’ve got some way to go before connected TV features are fully utilised by the mainstream, however it’s interesting to see new campaigns trialled leveraging these new technologies.

Streaming kills the video star

It looks as though the tide is turning for connected TV services. This month for the first time ever, LOVEFiLM announced its members streamed more films and TV series over the internet than it rented DVDs. The number of films and TV episodes streamed online increased by 20 per cent over the previous month and increased by 400 per cent compared with the same month last year.

These services are currently offered over internet-connected devices such as games console, laptops and connected TVs. But we should start to see connected TVs and STB’s take the lion’s share as consumers become more aware of the benefits of plugging an Ethernet cable into the back of their TV’s and set-top boxes.

Amazon’s LOVEFiLM was the pioneer in online film delivery services in the UK and with over two million members it’s still the largest in Europe. But the marketplace is hotting up with competing offerings from the likes of Netflix, Dixon’s KnowHow service and Sky’s NowTV to be launched in the summer.

We hope to see these companies take movie streaming services to the next level, by not only offering great content but interactive features as well. Service providers need to consider what value added content they can deliver on top of programmes, such as social media interaction and recommendations.

“Chatterboxing” set to be the norm

More and more people want to interact with the content they are watching and feel connected to their TV. If that was not already accepted, then the recent TeleScope report published by TV Licensing should help to convince the doubters. The report covered over 2,000 UK adults looking to take the pulse of the nation’s viewing habits. One of the headline findings is that over a quarter of those people (26 per cent) said they now use multiple devices whilst watching television.

The practice of using smartphones and tablet devices to comment on television in real time has been dubbed “chatterboxing” in the report, and if the growth of social networking sites and sales of such devices continues, then it is inevitable more people are going to want to interact with content in this way.

For instance, if a soap show or a football match is on the box, you can bet at least one aspect of the content will be trending on Twitter. People are watching their televisions and reacting to what they are seeing on social networking sites via their smartphones or tablets. TV shows are already creating their own hashtags to compliment what is being transmitted. Look at something like Question Time, interaction with the audience at home is now done via social networks. It’s almost completely replaced the concept of texting or calling into the show.

The key to this shift in consumer behaviour will be to rollout connected TVs with the ability to work in unison with other devices such as smartphones and tablets. At the moment these are treated as independent devices but the viewing experience of the future must enable these devices to 'talk' to TV’s, delivering a more personalised viewing experience for the consumer. This is something we looked at in our ‘Predictions for the year ahead’ blog.

Whilst for some this may be seen as a big investment for the TV industry to meet, the TV Licensing report shows it should be a financially rewarding project for them. Chatterboxing is actually encouraging people to watch scheduled TV. A quarter (24%) of social media savvy adults covered in the report, aged under 35, watch a programme live, rather than on catch up, because they enjoy being part of the related social media chatter. One in five (19%) are more likely to watch something as it is being shown on TV because they are worried ‘social media spoilers’ will ruin the ending.

If this heightened interaction and the risk of ‘spoilers’ encourages more people to tune in at the scheduled times, then it should help broadcasters to sell advertising space for higher rates. All of which will trickle through the industry helping everyone to benefit.

However, to ensure this opportunity is seized upon, content providers and device manufacturers need to work together to create further options and make sure interaction between the viewer and the broadcaster is taken as far as it can be. TV is such an important part of today’s social behaviour and the onus has now been placed on the TV industry to deliver a converged TV experience that embraces new viewing trends.

The net neutrality debate, with a difference

In a twist on traditional discussions about bandwidth use, Korea Telecom recently restricted internet access for Samsung connected TVs. This isn’t a new discussion: the net neutrality debates in the US over the last couple of years are covering many of the same issues. However, what’s different this time is that it’s about devices rather than applications.

In the US, the discussion was largely about how VOD services such as Netflix were saturating the networks of many large ISPs – Netflix and YouTube between them account for over 40% of peak bandwidth use in the US according to a report last year form Sandvine. In Korea, it’s the devices running those services that are drawing the ire of the telcos. It may not seem like much of a difference, but this is a core shift in the discussion.

Traditionally, PCs have been the main platform for these services, but the action by Korea Telecom has shown that consumer devices are gaining enough market share for telcos to be worried. And it’s the type of IP traffic generated by these devices that’s causing this worry.

Unlike a PC, TVs and consumer devices are almost exclusively used for streaming video and audio. Use of VOD services is growing at a phenomenal rate, and so as consumer devices gain market share they will probably be one of the fastest-growing sources of IP traffic worldwide. The Sandvine report showed that PCs were only accounting for 45% of video traffic by volume in the US, and this is why the focus of the net neutrality debate has started to shift from services to devices.

It’s still not clear how this will play out – bringing the device manufacturers into the net neutrality debate can only complicate it, especially when (like Korea Telecom) a telco has their own IPTV service that could be seen to compete with the OTT services offered by smart TVs. One thing is sure – the issue needs resolving. ISPs and telcos need to find a business model that can cope with the changing way the Internet is being used.

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Update - 3 March 2012

Following up on this post, we see that it’s not just Korean ISPs that are suffering from traffic problems caused by streaming video. Be Broadband, a UK ISP owned by O2, admitted yesterday that demand for iPlayer saturated its available bandwidth and left many users struggling to access web sites and iPlayer content.

What’s different about this case is that the problem wasn’t caused by issues in Be’s network itself: in this case, the culprit was Be’s link to the Akamai content distribution network. The Akamai CDN is intended to accelerate delivery of web content belonging to its partners by transparently mirroring web sites on its own worldwide network of servers and intelligently routing requests for that content. So that end-users access content from servers that are closest to them, rather than always having to access the original version of the content.

The BBC uses Akamai to deliver iPlayer content in an attempt to avoid bandwidth bottlenecks – in this case, the bottleneck was Be’s connection to Akamai, which became saturated when there was heavy demand for iPlayer.

Be have partially resolved the issue by working with other network providers to act as peers for connecting to Akamai, but this is not a permanent solution. With a full fix not due until the end of April, Be customers may be looking at slow access to iPlayer for several weeks.

BBC R&D investigate mood-based content discovery

With the explosive growth in the amount of content available to viewers, especially through connected TVs, the importance of finding good ways of discovering and navigating that content has grown as well. A personalised experience has gone from being a “nice to have” feature to being vital for helping viewers find what they want to watch.

Personalisation is not a new topic, and there are already many companies offering products that support a personalised experience or technologies to provide that experience. Traditionally, personalised content recommendations are based around factors such as genre, keywords or aggregated viewing habits.

BBC Research and Development is studying this issue from a slightly different perspective, using the user’s mood to steer the recommendation process as well as more traditional factors. This may help users discover content in a way that’s more suited for the “lean back” TV experience, in the same way that streaming audio services such as Pandora do. The BBC use five separate “mood scales” for classifying a TV show, and while this may not seem very high this additional level of classification may be enough to offer new opportunities for recommendations. One of the most powerful features of a good recommendation system is serendipity – those times when it throws up something unexpected that happens to be exactly what you want to watch or listen to. This additional information may give recommendation services better ways of making these less-obvious connections between programmes.

The BBC are the first to admit that mood alone is not enough to drive recommendations, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be a valuable tool in the toolbox.

The growth of multi-screen iPlayer

As a new iPad owner, one of the biggest advantages I’ve found is the convenience it offers over a laptop – especially for casual use such as watching video online. With an almost 600% increase year-on-year in the number of requests made to iPlayer from tablets, a lot of other people seem to agree with me. For connected TVs, the numbers are even more impressive – a year-on-year increase of over 1000%.

While the majority of requests are still made from PCs, the growth in alternative ways of consuming content isn’t too surprising if you think about the TV-watching experience itself. Watching TV tends to be both casual and social; smart TVs and tablets both offer a more suitable form factor than a laptop for this kind of experience, albeit in different ways. Smart TVs and iPlayer-equipped games consoles enable on-demand viewing to be more social, while tablets offer a better multi-screen experience than laptops due to their weight and form factor.

By making iPlayer available on these devices, the BBC has been able to offer an experience that is closer to that of watching live TV, and they’re now seeing the benefits of this. It’s taken a lot of effort on the part of the BBC to make iPlayer available on so many platforms, but with other broadcasters such as ITV, Channel 4 and Sky offering multi-screen catch-up services the benefits of this strategy are becoming more and more obvious.

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.

Predictions for the year ahead…

From ANT CEO, Simon Woodward

With CES over for another year it’s clear that 2012 is shaping up to be another exciting year for the TV industry. Connected TV was very much a key theme at the show alongside some 3DTV advances and some pretty stunning new TV’s including the 55 Inch Samsung Super OLED.

TV technology has undergone a huge amount of transformation in recent years, with the evolution of screen form factors, display and image definition; and it’s not going to slow down in 2012. We’re seeing growing demand for connected TV services and consumers are turning their attention to the features of their set-top box (STB) and the services it provides to them.

2012 will be a tipping point for the connected TV market. Multiscreen TV services are the next step towards the ‘TV everywhere’ vision that the industry aspires to, where consumers will be able to access content whenever and wherever they want. Multiscreen services undoubtedly offer new opportunities when it comes to features and content – for consumers, device manufacturers, broadcasters and brands.

With some of the world’s biggest technology players looking to stake a claim in digital TV services during 2012, new doors are opening for brands when it comes to engaging with consumers. Up until now, we’ve been stuck in a chicken and egg situation when it comes to the development of interactive TV advertising. Marketers have been slower than expected when it comes to exploiting the direct-to-consumer presence that connected devices offer, with many waiting for consumers to show an interest. But without engaging content, the fact of the matter is that consumers have nothing to interact with.

The next generation of STBs is set to deliver a wealth of new services that will enable brands to interact in innovative new ways with consumers while they watch their TV. This means bringing to the table a greater variety of services that will enable viewers to shape their own viewing experience. For advertisers it’s important to remember that there’s a fine line between personalisation and ad-overload, so they must work with broadcasters to take advantage of these new technologies and deliver intelligent connected TV strategies.

It’s important that the experience we value most about TV watching – that opportunity to sit back, relax and escape – remains at the heart of these new services.

GoogleTV 12 Months On

This time last year I witnessed GoogleTV for the first time at CES 2011, my blog ‘Greetings from Vegas’ raised questions about whether consumers really want to interact using a keyboard and a mouse to watch TV. It’s been a challenging 12 months for GoogleTV with one of its first customers, Logitech, pulling out following poor consumer feedback. At CES this week I’ve seen a couple of Google 2.0 implementations. Sony has returned, which has been a surprise to some, while LG demonstrated its efforts for the first time.

After using both demonstrations it was interesting to see how they have both attempted to tackle the usability issues with new, innovative, remote controls. Both have squeezed a small QWERTY keyboard onto the back of the remote which still feels too small to be usable without reading glasses and small thumbs. For the control of the onscreen cursor LG have a wand style pointer while Sony has moved to a mouse touch pad. Sony has also added voice recognition for search and added motion control for games.

While the weeks demonstrations are an improvement on last year’s launch, it was notable that both suffered on-screen error messages on a regular basis, while they are of course only demo’s rather than finished products, it’s clear that there is still a considerable amount of work to be done to meet the hype of the GoogleTV marketing machine.

UK launch of Netflix likely to ruffle loveFilm's feathers

Netflix’s online film and TV subscription service was launched in the UK yesterday. While this will certainly ruffle LoveFilm’s feathers this month, it is what falls out of it, that will be interesting. I expect the entire connected TV market to be shaken up this year as viewers get a plethora of next generation TV services offered to them. TV technology is becoming increasingly sophisticated in response to consumer demand for a more interactive, on demand viewing experience and we expect to see a wealth of innovative TV services follow in the footsteps of Netflix.

The connected TV has been critically overlooked in the past; as viewers were buying these devices but not being educated on how to connect them and enjoy the connected experience. 2012 will no doubt be the tipping point for the connected TV - as viewers realise the opportunity to explore and discover exciting new applications and services through their TV set, whilst still being able to sit back and relax.

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.

Insights into the market drivers for TV in 2012

Lipstick sales used to be the bellwether for the economy. Now it seems, its televisions, as an evening at home in front of the widescreen connected TV has become the new Friday or Saturday night out.

Consumers are reigning in spending as a result of the tough economic environment. But according to the analyst community they are increasingly willing to invest in both large- and smart-TVs (perhaps the result of the need to create an engaging environment as they cut down on nights out to save on spending).

A recent study by analyst Frank N. Magid Associates found that 40 per cent of consumers are looking to buy a new TV next year, with more than three-in-five seeking internet TV features. Meanwhile, Digital Entertainment Group reports that US sales of HDTV sets with a 60-inches or larger screen are expected to have grown by 50 per cent this year to 1.3 million units.

Innovation is opening doors to new services for consumers. In 2012 we’ll see the emergence of more unified services connecting TVs to mobile devices, such as iPads and iPhones. Meanwhile we’re also witnessing greater levels of integration of TV services with gaming devices, such as Kinect for Xbox with its hand gesture navigation system shows the potential for future TV navigation.

Driven by the economic climate and growing technology innovation, the evolving TV experience is undoubtedly becoming an increasingly important feature in connected homes across the UK. As the industry casts its attention towards 2012, we’re excited to see what’s in store as this year draws to a close and a new one begins.

Adobe abandons Flash for TV

Much has been made of Adobe’s recent announcement that it is halting development of the mobile and TV versions of Flash, but it’s worth looking a bit closer to see what this really means for the TV market.

While some pay-TV operators have used Flash, they have been in the minority. HTML, Java and native solutions have been the most common approaches to UI development. Most Flash content on the web is not suited to TV displays or TV remote controls, and so Flash has often been a “tick list” feature in the TV market rather than a must-have. This becomes especially obvious when you start asking the question “what revenue stream will cover the costs of licensing Flash?”

Many people have asked what this means for YouView: the answer is probably “not much”. What Adobe have actually stopped supporting is Flash Player for web browsing: the focus has shifted to AIR and to applications. This is the category the YouView user interface falls into, so is likely to be unaffected by the announcement.

This is probably a wise move by Adobe: it enables them to concentrate on their key products (AIR and development tools) while minimising the pain of supporting companies with porting Flash to new platforms and integrating with new browsers. As HTML 5 and related standards have become almost ubiquitous, the demand for Flash has decreased in the Web world. This announcement lets Adobe strengthen their position in the world of app stores and in the changing mobile market. Flash-based technologies will still be a force in the TV world for some time to come.

By Steve Morris

Connected TV goes global with new industry body

This week saw the launch of the Connected TV Marketing Association (CTVMA), a new marketing body for the worldwide connected TV industry. The CTVMA is an international body, which will bring together the equipment manufacturers, operators, advertisers and broadcasters working to develop connected TV content and services.

It’s a welcome move in the promotion of internet ready TV sets and STBs, and hopefully a significant step towards helping the connected TV market reach its full potential.

With a fifth of TV sets to be connected in five years and the digital switchover upon us, as an industry we need to embark on a programme of significant consumer education in order to boost market performance. Consumers need to have the most up to date technology and be made aware of the innovative services that are actually available to them.

We’ve already seen that marketers are missing a trick by leaving IPTV devices out of their marketing campaigns. It’s a catch 22. As marketers wait for consumers to demonstrate interaction with brands on TV sets, without providing the content, consumers have nothing to interact with. As the CTVMA gets to work, we look forward to seeing the next generation of broadcast content and marketing campaigns across all devices in the connected home.

Increase in demand for personalised TV services

A recent report, has found that over 70 per cent of UK consumers want to be able to watch what they want, when they want. 39 per cent wish catch-up content was available for longer and 45 per cent would like to be able to watch all the episodes of their favourite shows back to back.

It seems that on demand is in demand, as 74 per cent of viewers claim that they can’t find anything to watch on live TV. Many are feeling overwhelmed by content. The fusion of broadcast and broadband has provided a wealth of new TV services but the result is a content maze that viewers are finding increasingly difficult to navigate.

The survey goes on to say that 39 per cent of those surveyed felt that there were technology and film brands that could do a better job than the existing TV channels. This means that the pressure is on for broadcasters in the coming months, as companies such as Netflix launch in the UK.

As increased connectivity transforms the way we consume and interact with TV, operators and broadcasters need to deliver more choice and a variety of services that enable the viewers to shape how they consume content.

Viewers are ready for the next generation of TV. As we move into 2012 there is a real opportunity here for operators and broadcasters to look ahead and develop personalised services for their viewers so they can get the most out of their TV viewing experience.

Google TV updates – heading in the right direction?

Discussing the Logitech Revue saga with brutal honesty in a recent investor day, Logitech’s CEO has made it obvious that Logitech have no plans for future Google TV products. With Sony hinting at doing the same, the recent announcement of an updated Google TV may not have as much traction as hoped, despite LG’s hints of a Google TV product.

There’s no need to re-hash the criticisms that have been levelled at Google TV. However, there’s one important point to note: the presence of a mouse pointer, the “lean forward” experience of searching for content and the complicated remote control all point to an experience that’s designed for the PC rather than the TV. Google’s focus on “apps” for version 2.0 may not correct this, and potentially repeats their earlier mistake: TV is a “lean back” experience for the vast majority of people, as we’ve commented previously

If people do want to interact with their TV, are the apps on offer compelling enough? While there’s only a small number of apps available at present, this will not be about having vast numbers of apps to choose from: it’s about having the right apps that work in the right way for a TV audience. With nearly 50% of people now using a companion device while watching TV, apps-on-TV may not be enough to review Google TV’s fortunes given the prevalence of companion devices with richer user interaction models.

Both Logitech and Google failed to read the TV market. Logitech have admitted that and learned from it: the question is, has Google learned the right lessons?

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.

The future of French terrestrial Pay-TV?

Frédéric Mitterrand, the French minister of culture and communication, said recently that allowing the information channel LCI to become free-to-air would send a “very bad signal” about the future of pay-TV on French terrestrial networks. The channel’s owners, TF1, had mooted moving the channel to a free-to-air model if an updated carriage deal with Canal Plus could not be reached. The news channel BFM also opposed LCI’s move to free-to-air, saying that “there is no place on the free DTT market” for three news channels.

While recent developments mean that LCI will remain a pay channel, it does raise questions about terrestrial pay-TV in France. The free-to-air market is changing in many countries due to reduced advertising spend and due to new opportunities offered by connected services. The recent entry of Canal Plus into the free-to-air market may also affect the relationship between the pay-TV and free-to-air sectors. Through its plans to launch the new Canal 20 channel and its proposed acquisition of Direct 8 and Direct Star, there are concerns that Canal Plus will have an unfair advantage in the French market.

With the CSA pushing for the adoption of DVB-T2 and the European Commission evaluating the plans for the attribution of “bonus channels” following analogue switch-off, the picture for digital terrestrial broadcasting in France gets especially complicated.

While the LCI situation may be resolved, there are still a number of issues that may affect the delicate balance between free-to-air and pay-TV services. All parties need to be aware of the unintended consequences of the changes currently taking place.