Mumbai: PLANETCAST Media Services Limited is a key market player in providing technology-led managed services to the broadcasting industry in India & neighbouring countries with rapidly growing footprint across Southeast Asia.
PLANETCAST provides comprehensive, customized solutions across content management operations (including content storage, enrichment and automated play-out) and distribution (including satellite broadcasting/ up-linking, digital streaming and cloud distribution). We are proud that we are held in high esteem in the outsourced distribution and play-out services segment in India. Also provide end-to-end solutions across key segments of the broadcast content delivery chain. With a robust track record of nearly two successful decades, they have been offering most agile and state-of-the-art services to broadcasters. We are driven by a passion to help business units build stronger and innovative services.
PLANETCAST enables global enterprises make their operations as efficient and cost-effective as possible, thereby unleashing new potential across organizations. Our uniqueness lies in our ability to assist customers meet complex technical and operational challenges, and thereby enhance productivity. Their ability to conceptualize, architect and implement new and expanded capabilities allows clients take their business to the next level.
Indiantelevision.com in conversation with Sanjay Duda – CEO, Planetcast Media Services and Venugopal Iyengar, COO – Digital – Planetcast Media Services on their recent acquisitions, their performance in the domestic market, expansion plans in 2023 and much more…..
Edited Excerpts……
On the association with Desynova and how is it going to propel Planetcast’s expansion into cloud-based content management capabilities?
Sanjay – We are number one, and we are working with several large broadcasters. The Desynova product is used largely by Star and Disney. We are trying to see how we can use Contido and our systems to provide a complete unified solution and give a complete service with playout, with content management and delivery. We have a global reach which is getting stronger, and we are building on it already. We will use that network to take control of the product as it is, as well as along with our playout to broadcasters to give a bigger piece of the pie.
On the domestic front, how are you performing?
Sanjay: In the domestic market we continue to work as we did. Markets are changing slowly, going into the cloud. There are linear channels that are still running and growing – not tremendously but they’re not declining. So, we are busy with that part as well. But a lot of our customers are now moving to cloud-based playouts or cloud-based workflows. Let me clarify a few things. When I say cloud-based, it does not necessarily mean public hyper-scale cloud-based. It also means cloud as in a private cloud, a data centre cloud, a smaller cloud, and micro media clouds.
There is a lot of resistance to moving into public clouds. I think everybody is slowly moving to IP-based playouts. The minute you’re on an IP workflow, your infrastructure has to be converted into a basic IT server with the software on top, which means you are ready for any cloud. So that’s what is happening. The smaller broadcasters want to go for the cloud because, for them, it’s almost synonymous with lower costs. The bigger broadcasters are more careful because they want to understand what is to be gained out of it and then will they make a choice. But definitely, there is a move towards IP-based workflows and cloud-based workflows.
We do many things like transcoding, streaming, acquisition, distribution and playing out content. We do similar things for SonyLiv or for Voot where we get a stream, then we put in our breakers, put some ads in, and then just pass the stream on forward after transcoding. This is also pretty close to playing out. But in playing out, you switch between the server or recorded feed, as well as a live feed. We used to do a lot of content movement, acquiring from the field, getting DSNG live feeds and then distributing on the telephone that we still do, but we have added a whole piece of services in between, which is post-production, content management, and for some time also OTT.
Our intent of going into post-production and content management has been totally in the new workflow style. We are mostly cloud-based, and we have largely automated AI/ ML-based. Also, there is a requirement for doing physical edits, and edit rooms, because the creative is done by the editor and we have 2 edit stations in our Dubai facility. But largely what we do is content curation and workflow curation, which is completely light on infrastructure and mostly cloud-based. Prime Focus is one of the largest media services companies in the business. They were early birds, with an initial focus on movies, before entering television; whereas our focus has always been on television and OTT.
We have the MAM.C, which is a media asset management solution. Recently, we strategically invested in a company called Desynova, which actually has a similar product and it’s completely cloud-based – Contido. It is built completely on AWS, but it can work on different clouds. Star is also one of their marquee customers. It gives us a very quick and bigger look into this part of the world which is one of our key focus areas for growth.
On fine-tuning Desynova for the local market
Sanjay: This is a very recent acquisition. We’ve known the people there for many years, and it is great to be on the same side of the table. We are working together already trying to get some quick wins under the belt by using our common resources. They have been managing their company very well. So we are letting them do things and adding whatever help they need in terms of infrastructure, backup support, additional people on the field and additional feet on the ground. So, we are helping them and we see this as a part of a bigger solution.
Our objective is to provide end-to-end solutions starting right from acquiring content, doing whatever needs to be done – localization, post-production, content, curation – and then converting into various forms of consumable media. It could be VOD, clips, linear channels, streams, and then delivering them to various consumption platforms. Eventually, the next step would be monetization, helping in monetizing this content at the other end. In this entire journey, there’s an entire suite of services. Content management and curation is the first and most important part. It helps to create the touch point with the customer at the very early stage of the contract and then we have the other sets of solutions to provide them.
The idea is to take Contido and Desynova solutions globally because our focus has been for almost a year to build an international team and take our solutions out in the world. Now the cloud allows us to do everything – there are no borders. So, we are very excited that we will be able to take this great solution out to other customers globally. These guys haven’t been able to do any of that yet.
On the advantages Planetcast can offer to their customers
Experience is what we bring to the table. Today, if you are a big broadcaster, looking to economise, and at the same time have a workflow which allows you to make more money with what you’re doing with the content that you’re producing — you need to look at your options.
You will want to know: Who are they working for? What are their credentials? So, I think that’s what we bring to the table. I mean, we have a fantastic working relationship with some of the biggest broadcasters, Disney Star, Viacom, Sony and ZEE. So, with that kind of experience and those kinds of customers that we have, we feel that we give a lot of confidence to our customers.
Everything is a commodity, all technology is a commodity or it will be soon. So, the idea is to have more touch points, have a long relationship and have a lasting relationship with the players in the market. Given the fact that tomorrow, technology will keep changing, but as long as you are trusted, I think they will know that you can help them to cross beyond a point where things are unknown. Broadcasters want to be with someone they can trust and who has been with them for a while.
Venu: Another thing is DAMs (digital asset management) which can also become commoditized. They represent the gateway through which you can integrate many other functions like post-production, which is something that arose as a business because a lot of customers asked us for it. It can easily be brought in under MAM or DAM, for that matter. Similarly, playout can be floated under a MAM, and it can help you provide a front-end interface that can connect all of your multiple business verticals, so even starting with simpler stuff like QC or other on-going, regular requirements.
On not offering cloud rendering.
Venu: No, we’re not, but I’m saying that if a MAM or a DAM helps you integrate all of those as a sort of a one-stop workflow management process and that’s relevant still – yes, it can happen on two levels. It can happen offline, we offer your timing and our transport solution through MAM. Or it can also happen on our MAM, which is a much more elaborate longer-term outlook.
Sanjay: It is all about being there in this space. We can foresee some of the things that will happen, and we can’t foresee the rest. But once you’re there and closer up to the area where the action is happening, you will soon see more, and have visibility to more stuff, and then you can take those decisions as they come.
So, the idea is, while we have a lot of infrastructure as well in India, we are getting onto the IP workflows and cloud-based workflows and technologies. Because every year things are changing. Already, a lot of editing has started happening on the cloud. There are solution providers who had their initial problems, but they are slowly ironing them out. The idea is to have a platform where you can easily embrace and bring those people onto your platform very quickly so that if a customer, broadcaster or publisher wants that, they should be able to get that.
Again, another very important factor is that they’re all erstwhile manufacturers of appliances, who are now trying to very quickly rebrand themselves as solution providers, which is a good thing. But there’s a lot to do with the DNA. Also, you have to be very light and nimble. You can’t be a big organisation and suddenly have to operate in the cloud or these service layers, providing services at that technology front, you need to be very nimble and quick to respond and react to the market and technology and tools.
On live events
Sanjay: We have developed a great deal of experience in handling multiple formats, SRT, RTMP, HLS. Also, some technical know-how on how to make sure that if the incoming feeds are slightly slow and there are some problems, what do you do at the cache server end to make this experience better as we transport and deliver to the end user? Are we looking at the lowest latency or are we looking at the best quality – we need to see what the customer wants.
Also, we have automation, which has been built over several years and tested through Star’s rigorous requirements, like switching between live and recorded. We have achieved this in a big way and we can switch within two seconds. So, you can play a two-second or a three-second ad in between, and we can help monetize better through this process. So, technology is one side, the other is also how you give the rights owner better value for that.
We also have special switchable internet connections through IP schemes, where if one IP fails, we can automatically switch with the same public IP which is front facing, but we will switch to a different ISP at the back. So, at the user end, you cannot tell the difference. Those kinds of arrangements make an immense difference to deliver 99.9% good quality streaming.
On free ad-supported streaming TV
Venu: FAST channels have taken off, especially now in Western markets. The pressures and the conditions for growth are faster and more conducive. There is already a certain level of subscription fatigue, the levels of what Netflix experienced in the US versus when they came in here. They realised that it was not that easy-going. They had to give the Indian consumer a ₹199 package and at times even free. So, these conditions do exist abroad. There is a certain level of subscription fatigue, coupled with a critical mass of connected TVs and major channels addressing that platform itself.
FAST has been very interesting over the last couple of years, and it has grown well. And even for us, it’s an extension of what we’re doing already with our playout. So, it made a lot of logical sense to offer our customers that service. We’ve tied up with Wurl who is a global major in ad insertion and ad technology. They are also integrated with all the streaming platforms in the US, Europe and Latin America. They help us get our customers quickly onboarded and onto the platform.
On OTT in India slowly going off in the next 7-10 years
Venu: I wish we could look that far out. But you’re right in the sense that people are trying to establish control over the access points. And that’s still a very up-in-the-air kind of thing. Now set-top boxes, trying to offer a converged service and connected devices doing it, the TV manufacturers themselves now stepping in and saying, let’s manage that front-end access point; it is a bit of a toss-up. For us, one of the temptations is to look at OEMs, especially screen OEMs, but they have taken their time. Connected TVs are not a new thing. But actually getting connected to the Internet has taken ages, especially in India and Asia, even now. So, one doesn’t know how fast they can be able to jump this up, they haven’t shown that level of speed.
So far, connected devices took off quickly with Fire TV and made a lot of progress. Selling additional hardware to the always value-seeking Indian customer is a massive challenge — whether it’s 3,000 bucks, or 10,000 bucks. But we still managed to make strides. But now almost everyone is trying that, with the set-top box guys coming in with a dongle and offering services, and it’s a fair fight. Where I disagree with the statement you made is the experience of the last mile might still be controlled by them. But you still need the OTT services to be able to bring in that. So, what I’m seeing probably is that people are going to start economising on how much they spend on that experience because that’s going to be managed in a pretty shared manner between OEMs and OTT, and the second is going to be a distribution that’s getting impacted tremendously, bundling between Telco’s, ISPs and providers.
Almost every OTT platform now has a hybrid distribution strategy. At one point, you thought: “People know my brand, I just need to go out there, put it out and get my subscriptions”, to now saying, “I could do with a little help”. I mean, if someone’s sitting there with a 100 million – 200 million subscriber cache, why don’t I ride on that to find the right value? So, distribution is getting impacted tremendously. And with that level of experience management for the last mile owner, whether it is a Jio or Tata Sky or Airtel. How do you manage a diverse experience of applications and content services coming together on your platform in a way that’s not painful for your end user? I think that’s an area that a lot of people will be paying attention to.
I’m sure you’re hearing this and reading this a lot more. But the seriousness with which in the SVOD versus AVOD battle that’s been going on for a while, where if you look at five, seven years ago, western markets didn’t even consider AVOD to be a serious option. Now they are looking at AVOD a lot more seriously and figuring out how to make this work.
The western markets are a little easier in that sense because of the CPMs being where they are. It’s such a tough proposition to crack. If you’re on a premium connected device, it’s not even pressing $2 at that kind of level, so for everyone to collaborate and make money is a tough proposition, but one that will need to be cracked, because pretty much all of Asia, Africa alone or the growing markets are going to take it a lot more seriously and that’s how it will survive. Audience sizes will remain small, and the Indian market has shown that they don’t mind waiting a little bit. They don’t mind a little bit of compromise and user experience.
On plans for NAB Show 2023?
Sanjay: At NAB Show we are going to have a few things to show to that part of the world, engaging with our target respondents and prospects to see our product portfolio. Also, we have been addressed or approached by a lot of bigger players in the West in different regions. They are liking the idea of economising and I think India is now being seen increasingly as an option where you can get very good and high-quality services at reasonable prices. So, we are going to be meeting some big broadcasters and big platforms from that perspective as well. Other than that, we are always looking for partners who can add value to the services the entire platform offers.
On the expansion plans in 2023 – and in terms of technology, where are you with ATSC 3.0 that is set to be launched soon?
Sanjay: I wish I could answer that, there are projections and plans. We are hoping that we will have a 25–30% growth. We haven’t scaled down for sure. I mean, we have tried not to scale up that way in terms of people, but I think at the end of the day, we might have added a few more, maybe a couple of per cent in terms of the number of people.
It is difficult to answer. But I can tell you that a lot of things have to come together for ATSC 3.0. Two things have to happen for it to take off. The idea is great, but you need infrastructure, In the US it has taken off because it’s largely market-driven there, you need a lot of regulatory clearances, so it’s never going to be that easy. Doordarshan has the infrastructure end and private broadcasters at the consumer end, and in between, you need somebody like us who knows the services to make things happen in a proper way to manage content. But infrastructure is a big question and Doordarshan has to play a role. I’m sure broadcasters will be excited to add city channels and things like that. To me, it looks like a good idea. But as I said, a lot of players have to come together, which sometimes takes much longer.
At NAB Show, which are the markets you are looking at?
Sanjay: We are trying to concentrate on the USA, South America and Southeast Asia. There are a few opportunities which have cropped up in Europe too and we are happy to address them. In Southeast Asia, of course, we are already there.
Venu: We are also upgrading through agency partnerships for markets like LATAM where it is early days for us. Hopefully, by the end of this fiscal year, we’ll be looking at a stronger presence there. Leads are coming up and we want to service them quickly.
