ITV

Category: iWorld

  • Taiwan digital video still underperforming

    MUMBAI: A key meeting of government officials, political leaders, industry regulators, business heads and international and local experts in Taipei has called for removal of investment constraints in the multichannel video industry, and increased attention to online piracy, as the Taiwan market reshapes itself as an all-digital (and often mobile) regional communications hub.

    Participants in the meeting, convened by regional industry body CASBAA on June 22nd, heard that a major hurdle blocking further development of the Taiwan digital video industry is the rigid application of the “No state/No party ownership” rule prohibiting any “government official, political party, or elected official to invest, directly or indirectly”, in cable system operators. ** The meeting heard that the rule is interpreted to prohibit acquisition of cable equities by companies where their corporate parents, several levels up, have even a single share owned by a government entity.

    “Because of these rigid restrictions, only introduced in 2005, urgently needed mergers between telecom carriers (fixed-line and mobile) and cable TV operators have proved almost impossible,” said CASBAA CEO Christopher Slaughter at the end of the meeting.

    Slaughter added that the “No state/No party” investment rule flies in the face of global industry experience over the past 20 years. “This is preventing Taiwan from enjoying the most compelling aspects of the twenty-first century media revolution,” he said.

    Proliferation of online piracy networks were cited as another major problem.

    Representatives of start-up OTT operators trying to market bouquets of programming to Taiwan consumers observed they faced huge obstacles, as long as pirate networks based offshore were free to steal the programs and distribute them for free. They warned that the development of innovative, indigenous Taiwan programming was at risk.

    Earlier points made during the packed agenda for the 130 Taiwanese government and media-industry decision makers included lively discussion of pay-TV pricing issues (the basic tier programming package is tightly controlled) and the desire of the government to promote broadcast of more Taiwan programming.

    By Y/E 2017, online video in Taiwan should attract 15 per cent of US$120 billion in revenues accrued by TV/telecoms industry from traditional free-to-air TV, pay-TV and OTT services, according to research house MPA.

    In the meantime, the rising level of mobile broadband penetration in Taiwan is benefitting cable TV and IPTV operators such as the dominant state-owned telco Chunghwa Telecom as they develop their own local-language, multiscreen services.

    No longer limited to traditional TV viewing, Taiwan’s mobile broadband subscribers are downloading apps and logging-in to pay-TV programming of all kinds. The largest group of OTT followers in Taiwan are young women aged 18-34, some 42 per cent of the total. Together with 18-34 year-old males, almost 70 per cent of OTT subscribers are “binge” viewers.

    While the CASBAA meeting was generally upbeat, warnings of the cost of revenue leakage i.e. piracy) were a recurring theme. “The hugely damaging level of content piracy is not only holding back growth of both traditional pay-TV and innovative OTT offerings, but also the overall economic development of Taiwan as a whole,” said CASBAA chief policy officer John Medeiros.

    “Living with massive revenue leakage from piracy while blocking sufficient investment in the digital economy, Taiwan is falling behind its natural potential as a regional communications hub,” added Slaughter.

    (** 
The island of Taiwan and its 23 million people are served by 61 cable operators, 36 of which are controlled by five Multi-System Operators, plus 25 smaller independent providers. As of Y/E 2016, the five MSOs controlled 73% of Taiwanese cable subscriptions.)

  • New economy & the end of employment

    The internet brought upon us the first instance of a crowd-based economic model in mid-2000s pioneered perhaps by YouTube and followed quickly by eBay with its peer-to-peer facilitation of exchange of second hand goods.

    Full-time employment has come of age — having evolved to today include worker protections, benefits and the works. ‘The other 99%’ happily work for a few others and the model earns respect for and from the constituents in the society.

    Internet and the age of start-ups seem to be posing a challenger however.

    It’s becoming personal Now!

    Today Uber (ride hailing) and Air b-n-b (room sharing) are the poster boys of a glamorous new way of economic modelling popularly called ‘sharing economy’. People don’t shy today on the prospect of the extent of intrusion while willing to ‘share a bedroom’ to make the most of a gig economy.

    The gig economy basically relies on its ability to use resources optimally to give best throughput and is seemingly a more efficient, productive and better system.

    Platform-based disruptions

    Historically, employment as a method has seen unprecedented success as a model to organise labour over the last few hundred years.

    Platform-based disruptions across industries – enabled through an overall robust digital trust network (example – online profiles of hosts and guests, rating systems, etc.) in the ecosystem – is however becoming the order of the day.

    Are we witnessing the transformation of good old capitalism – the defining economic force of the 20th century? Will we see the 21st century lend itself to organising labour in a different fashion ultimately leading to end of full-time employment as a core model as we know it?

    Can ‘new economy’ work for everybody? Will it succeed in universally becoming the new normal? Can it be inclusive as it purportedly seems to be and contentiously fights to project?

    Is the sharing economy a pre-cursor to the beginning of the end of employment?

    Economic might has historically beaten military might across wars and across centuries.

    Is the gig economy Schumpeter’s ‘creative destruction’ in disguise or is this disruption only going to be replacing a rusty nail with a crooked one!  

    Are we fortunate to be living in interesting and exciting times that saw the early days of unravelling of future of work!

    Domino Effect

    For now, it seems ‘sharing’ could be a force for good but may not necessarily replace good old ‘full-time employment’ as a core model anytime soon.  

    When and if it does, will this massive change of democratisation of economic opportunity through crowd-based capitalism even lead to evolution of a better political system of governance?  What is your view?

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    (Piyush Sharma, a global tech, media and entrepreneurial leader, created the successful foray of Zee Entertainment in India and globally under the ‘Living’ brand. The views expressed here are of the writer’s and Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to them.)

     

  • ‘Info & cyber insecurity’ biggest risk in biz ops: Survey

    NEW DELHI: Information & cyber insecurity are considered as the biggest risk in 2017, and there has been an increase in the incidence of cyber-attacks and potential espionage on cyber-security in the recent past.

    The FICCI – Pinkerton India Risk Survey 2017 says: ‘Information & Cyber Insecurity’ has become more pronounced due to the shift that the nation is undergoing towards digitisation of various assets and services being delivered via internet and mobile platforms; and the ever-present loopholes that hackers breach upon’.

    The survey consists of 12 risks that pose the most significant threats to business perception and operations in the country. The new age risks are interconnected and overlap across domains, sectors and geographies. New risks have been identified on the basis of this year’s survey, which include: risk of non-compliance, business investment risk and legal regulatory risk.

    The survey says ‘The WannaCry malware incident has been, by far, the worst incident this year in which several systems were attacked, both of the public and the private sectors.’ It stressed the need to create robust security mechanism to address cyber-security challenge.

    Intellectual Property (IP) theft climbed a level to the tenth rank this time. India’s position in the US Special 301 list does not put India in the most favourable position. On the issues of counterfeit and piracy of films, music and, software, the illegal activities are still prevalent.

    ‘Terrorism and Insurgency’ risk rising up two spots from its position last year has been ranked as the second biggest threat to businesses in India this year. India has been featured 16 times in Global Terrorism Index in the list of 10 countries most affected by terrorism for the period 2000-2016. Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) perpetrated by communist terrorist groups remains the most severe terrorist threat. The persistent risk posed by ‘Terrorism and Insurgencies’, creates a risk perception in the minds of investors with interest in the Indian market.

    The ranking of ‘Corruption, Bribery & Corporate Frauds’ is at number 3 in IRS 2017. As per World Bank’s Doing Business 2017 rankings, India currently stands at 130 out of 189 countries.

    Interestingly, there is an overall sense of lowering corruption via regulations such as GST, Demonetisation, Make in India, the Digital India Program. However, the nature of corruption is such that it refuses to be completely removed.

    Other risks in that order are: Natural Hazards, Political & Governance Instability. Fire, Strikes, Closures & Unrest, Crime, Business Espionage, Women’s Safety and Accidents.

    FICCI secretary-general A Didar Singh said, “Risks to business establishments is detrimental to growth and development of any country. The nature of risks globally has changed enormously, and with their occurrences becoming more unexpected and their effects becoming more profound, risks need to be taken more seriously. In these changing times it is critical to understand emerging risks”

    Pinkerton MD – India APAC & EMEA — global screening Rohit Karnatak added, “The threats faced in today’s dynamic environment requires a more holistic strategic approach and thus emphasizes the urgency to shift from a siloed approach to security management, to one that is more holistic and a more collaborative process of Enterprise Risk Management”.

  • Bangladesh braces up to keep tabs on online media

    NEW DELHI: All online media in Bangladesh will have to register with a National Broadcasting Commission to be formed under the National Broadcast Act before launching operations, under a new decision of the country’s cabinet.

    The format of the Commission is yet to be drafted, but National Inline Mass Media Guideline has been approved.

    Under the draft drawn up recently by the prime minister Sheikh Hasina-led Cabinet, newspapers and TV channels registered under the 1993 Press and Publications Act will not require approval from the Commission for their online outlets, but will have to notify the regulator before the launch of their services.

    Action will be taken suo moto by the Broadcasting Commission against online broadcasters, if it appears that they have violated the code of conduct and discipline. The Commission is also empowered to take punitive actions against an online broadcaster if any content of broadcast poses a threat to security, territorial integrity, peace, public order and unity of the country.

    The Commission is further authorized to take actions against the broadcasters for disseminating vulgar, false and malicious stuff and contents against the spirit of the War of Liberation and distorts national history and heritage.

    Section 57 of the Information and Communication Technology Act, 2006 (ICT Act) already criminalises the offences which the Broadcasting Commission seeks to penalise.

  • Jio launches 25k-km 100Gbps submarine cable system

    MUMBAI: Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. (Jio), the largest 4G and mobile broadband digital services provider in India, has announced the launch of the Asia-Africa-Europe (AAE-1) submarine cable system.

    AAE-1, the longest 100Gbps technology based submarine system, will stretch over 25,000 km from Marseille, France to Hong Kong, with 21 cable landings across Asia and Europe. This large scale project is the combined work of leading telecom service providers from Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. With diversified Points of Presence

    (PoP) in Asia (Hong Kong and Singapore) and three onward connectivity options in Europe (via France, Italy and Greece), AAE-1 will provide the requisite flexibility and diversity for carriers and their customers.

    AAE-1 will pass through the critical hubs, serving the increasing demand for video centric data bandwidth supporting all types of communications, applications, and content within India and beyond. AAE-1 links seamlessly with other cable systems and fiber networks to deliver direct access to all global markets.

    “The new terabit capacity and 100Gbps direct connectivity to global content hubs and interconnection points ensure that Jio will continue to offer its customers the most exceptional high speed internet and digital service experience,” said Jio president Mathew Oommen.

    “We are excited to participate in the launch and deliver the cable landing in Mumbai at the time when India’s data traffic continues its accelerated data consumption and growth.”

    Due to its advanced design and route, AAE-1 provides one of the lowest latency routes between Hong Kong, India, Middle East and Europe with the fewest hops.

    Jio provides the Network Operations & Management for AAE-1 Cable System. The AAE-1 NOC, managed by Jio, leverages the state of the art facility in Navi Mumbai along-with its advanced tools and automation.

  • Four telcos will emerge from India consolidation, predicts CCS Insight

    MUMBAI: On 27 June, global analyst firm CCS Insight announced the launch of its new report focused on the development of the Indian telecom industry.

    The report – India: Halcyon Days Ahead in a Four-Operator Market – highlights the history, dynamism and consolidation of the Indian telecom market, revealing that:

    A total of 68 per cent of leading telecoms executives surveyed predict that India will consolidate to a four-operator market

    Just over half of respondents to a CCS Insight survey think that Vodafone will still be operational in India in five years’ time
    Market consolidation will be a positive outcome for network operators, consumers and manufacturers of infrastructure and handsets
    India’s population of more than 1.25 billion people represents an enormous market for mobile communications. It has attracted billions of dollars of investment from domestic and international companies over the past 20 years and, with the consolidation process in India now moving at a rapid pace, it has the potential to bring an end to two decades of market chaos.

    The report is written by CCS Insight senior adviser Tony Worthington, the former Global Head of Telecoms, Media and Technology at Standard Chartered Bank. Tony has been involved in the Indian telecoms industry for over 20 years.

    He notes that “the consolidation process in India is now well under way, and the main uncertainty seems to be whether the Ambani brothers — one of whom owns Reliance Communications, and one of whom owns Jio – will be able to live with a merger between the two companies. Most of the survey sample seems to think that, ultimately, they would”.

    CCS Insight CEO Shaun Collins adds, “This report provides some interesting thoughts for consumers, handset providers and mobile operators in India. Consolidation is a reality for operators across the globe and there’s a history of instability in the Indian market, so we’re excited to see the growth and evolution of this sector. CCS Insight looks forward to working with its valued clients in considering the future implications of consolidation in India, fuelled by the mergers of Vodafone and Idea Cellular, Reliance Communications and Aircel and by the ambitions of Jio”.

  • SonyLiv partners Pocket Aces, brings Filter Copy & Gobble originals

    MUMBAI: Underlining its commitment to provide the best entertainment experience, SonyLiv, the digital video entertainment platform of Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN), has announced a strategic partnership with Pocket Aces. With this partnership, latest content including iconic short videos from the Pocket Aces channel FilterCopy and food videos from its channel Gobble will now be available as a part of SonyLiv’s extensive content catalogue.

    The partnership will augment SonyLiv’s repertoire of entertainment offerings and allow Pocket Aces the opportunity to distribute its content to SPN’s audiences, which are different from the audience on its own social channels, thus also benefiting the advertisers and brands that partner with them for snackable content.

    Says SonyLiv EVP and head – digital business Uday Sodhi: “Our partnership with Pocket Aces aims at bolstering our already extensive content library with even more high-quality entertainment. The association will help us in meeting the growing demand for short-form video content in India and further consolidate our position as the country’s premium digital entertainment destination. We are confident our viewers will enjoy this high-quality addition to our content offerings as well as greater viewing flexibility and convenience that the partnership enables.”

    Pocket Aces co-founder Aditi Shrivastava: “We are excited to partner with SPN’s digital platform – SonyLiv and reach a completely new set of audiences through them. We reach over 25 million people on a weekly basis through our own pages and have been working with large brand partners to create some very successful content. Having our content distributed across various OTT platforms will benefit our brand partners and build a rich IP library. We will add to it this year with four web series and over 500 videos. We are glad to have several avenues to distribute this content.”

  • Facebook plans to stream sports, comedy, reality & gaming TV series

    MUMBAI: Cable cutters never had it this good. Now, a broad range of streaming services is available on all your devices, including those that offer live TV.

    Social networking giant Facebook, with around two billion monthly users, plans to start production on high-quality gaming shows and television series possibly investing up to $3 million (Rs 193 million) an 30-minute episode which would be broadcast on its platform. Facebook may announce its first batch of TV-like shows this summer, targeting 13-34 age-group audience but focusing on 17-30 range, PTI and WSJ reported. With that, Facebook is set to take on Netflix, YouTube, and Hulu.

    The online platform, which has around two billion monthly users worldwide, is working on the project with a small group of partners and hopes to start putting out episodes of its forthcoming series by the end of the summer. The company is also reportedly keen on sit-com programming having signed deals for short-form content from partners such as Vox Media, ATTN, and BuzzFeed earlier this month.

    It was in mid-April that Facebook originally planned to unveil its shows around its developer conference, then in time for the Cannes Lions festival, which started mid-June. But, it did not happen.

    Facebook vice president for media partnerships Nick Grudin, in a statement to AFP, said its goal was to make Facebook a place where people could come together around video, observing that Facebook and its collaborators would “experiment with the kinds of shows you can build a community around — from sports to comedy to reality to gaming.”

    Facebook is funding the shows on its own at first, he said, “but, over time, we want to help lots of creators make videos funded through revenue sharing products like Ad Break,” a software tool that allows adverts to be directly inserted into Facebook’s online content.

    Facebook could possibly not have shows about teens, or “political dramas, news [or] shows with nudity and rough language.” So, it seems Facebook wants to be the safest, most straight-down-the-middle TV network on the web. Facebook may share ad revenue with creatives who contribute short-form content. And, in a major change from the way online competitors have been doing business, it will also open up its viewership data to “Hollywood” — presumably production partners.

  • Opera TV tieup: ALTBalaji to be on smart TVs, Blu-rays & STBs

    MUMBAI: OTT business in India seems to be a game of good yet reasonable content in the most accessible form.

    ALTBalaji, a digital platform for exclusive and original shows from India, has announced its content availability on Opera TV. This means that all Smart TVs, Blu-ray disc players and set-top boxes powered by Opera TV, will provide instant access to over 250 hours of original content from ALTBalaji. Simultaneously, ALTBalaji subscribers will now be able to access the service using the Opera TV store.

    ALTBalaji was launched globally on 16 April 2017 with six original show. The app claims to have already clocked more than three million downloads with subscribers from over 75 countries. Opera TV is a leader in enabling OTT through its embedded and cloud software portfolio that is integrated by manufacturers and operators. In the past five years, over 150 million connected TV devices have been enabled by Opera TV, awarding it a global market share of 33 per cent in Smart TVs.

    ALTBalaji COO Sunil Nair said, “With this partnership, our content will be accessible for viewers on Smart TVs as well as other platforms like Blu-ray Disc players and set-top boxes. As per statistics, 29 per cent of TVs are Smart TVs, and 93 per cent of Smart TV owners connect their TV to the Internet. The wider offering and the intensive use of video on-demand content, fuel this development. Our aim is to provide a seamless and enjoyable user experience through our integration with Opera TV and making available our shows on the connected screens.”

    “We, at Opera TV, are excited to partner with ALTBalaji as we share similar objectives of offering a variety of content to end users through state-of-the-art user experiences on the big screen. Digital shows offered by ALTBalaji are rich and resonates well with our existing selection of informative, entertaining and educational content. Today, a majority of our smart TV audience use OTT apps for watching movies and original shows and this partnership ensures that they’ll continue to avail of the best of entertainment through a hassle-free experience,” said Opera TV CEO Aneesh Rajaram.

  • Govt gets active against cyber child porn

    NEW DELHI: Considering the growing menace of cyber crimes targeting children, child victims of cyber crimes can now lodge their complaints at National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)’s POCSO e-box.

    NCPCR has now enhanced the scope of POCSO e-box to handle cyber bullying, cyber stalking, morphing of images and child pornography.

    Child victims themselves or their friends, parents, relatives or guardians can report cyber crimes by pressing the e-box button available at the Commission’s website, www.ncpcr.gov.in They can also register their complaints on email id:pocsoebox-ncpcr@gov.in or mobile no.: 9868235077.

    Child abuse is finding new forms and channels through mobile and digital technologies. In India about 134 million children have access to mobile phones and the number is growing very fast with even faster access to internet. While this provides opportunities for accessing useful material for learning purposes, lack of digital literacy and online safety measures expose children to hazards of cyber crime.

    POCSO e-box is an easy and direct medium for reporting of child sexual abuse under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.

    Developed by NCPCR, POCSO e-box was launched by Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Sanjay Gandhi last year.