ITV

Tag: pay TV

  • Synamedia makes CES debut, offering pay-TV providers frictionless cloud migration strategies, new revenue opportunities

    Synamedia makes CES debut, offering pay-TV providers frictionless cloud migration strategies, new revenue opportunities

    LONDON : Synamedia, the largest independent video software provider, will bring its newest solutions to CES® 2019, illustrating how pay-TV providers can migrate to the cloud at their own pace, and seamlessly.  The company also unveiled new security software that combats the rapid rise in account sharing between friends and families, turning it instead into a new revenue-generating opportunity for operators.

    Synamedia is bringing to market effective solutions built to support customers wherever they are on their journey to deliver a blended broadcast and OTT multi-screen experience. Now an independent business, the company is committed to providing the world’s most complete, secure and advanced end-to-end open video delivery solutions.  Synamedia was formerly Cisco’s (NASDAQ: CSCO) Service Provider Video Software Solutions business. Its enviable portfolio of over 200 pay-TV and media customers includes Astro, Bharti Airtel, China DTH, Foxtel, Oi and Tata Sky.

    At the core of the Synamedia offerings is Foundation (formerly known as Evo), the pay-TV industry’s most widely deployed platform across cable, satellite and IPTV. Additionally, Infinite allows blended broadcast-OTT services to be delivered from a cloud-based infrastructure. With a clearly defined migration roadmap, pay-TV customers using the Foundation hybrid broadcast platform can now deploy Infinite to embark on a smooth and measured transition to the cloud.

    At CES 2019, Synamedia will showcase its leading technologies and latest offerings, including:

    •        Credentials Sharing Insight is a new offering within the video security portfolio. It uses AI, machine learning and behavioral analytics to identify, monitor and analyze credentials sharing activity across consumer accounts. It allows operators to turn casual sharing into incremental revenue, as well as detect and apply enforcement procedures on fraudulent, for-profit credentials sharing accounts.

    •        Video Processing features Synamedia’s patented low-latency ABR and Smart Rate Control that optimize IP video processing to match traditional broadcast quality, reliability and cost – currently major challenges for IP video streaming. Synamedia’s ABR solution uses patented technology to optimize the perceived quality of live streams. It includes machine learning techniques to further adapt the encoding quality target to match content characteristics.   

    •        Foundation which manages and monetizes in-home experiences on a broad range of broadcast and hybrid-IP set top boxes (STBs) and media gateways including Android TV. Deployed by 40+ pay-TV operators, it offers a smooth migration path to Infinite and the cloud.  A prime example of the power of Foundation is a first-of-a-kind integration of the Netflix application on the OSN Network. This integration enables:

    o   Consumers to gain convenient access to OTT content via a single application;
    o   The OTT provider obtains access to the pay-TV service provider market and the existing billing/payment relationship between the customer and pay-TV provider;
    o   The pay-TV operator continues to bring value to consumers via a familiar application, and can generate additional revenues when new subscribers sign up for OTT via their platform.

    •    Infinite is a fully integrated cloud service platform for pay-TV operators to process, secure, distribute and monetize premium video experiences on all devices including those available via Foundation.  Infinite enables operators to take advantage of the cloud economy and re-capture subscriber share of wallet by offering products, such as Cloud DVR, that leverage new business models and OTT partnerships. It is designed to help operators attract new customers, reconnect cord cutters, and increase the life-time value of a subscriber base.  At CES, Synamedia will showcase a joint demo with Amazon Web Services (NASDAQ: AMZN), using Alexa technology integrated into Infinite in order to provide consumers with voice activated recommendations and content information.

    “More and more of the consumer’s share of the video wallet expands beyond traditional pay-TV, pointing operators to the enormous OTT opportunity. To protect and grow new revenue streams and boost their brand value, operators need to broaden and deepen existing subscriber engagement, and entice new audiences. To do so, the sometimes difficult first steps for many are to add integrated OTT services and avail offerings across all consumer devices, which can seem overwhelming. Our roadmap takes a step-by-step approach that makes it easy to extend operators’ existing offerings and avoid any disruption to subscribers,” said Yves Padrines, CEO of Synamedia.

    Synamedia will be in Chambertin 1 on the ground floor of the Wynn hotel.

    Synamedia’s voice recommendation technology will also be shown in the Amazon booth, Venetian Ballrooms C-D.  

  • TV still has headroom for monetising from underpenetrated areas

    TV still has headroom for monetising from underpenetrated areas

    GOA: With the advent of OTT platforms, technological disruptions and change in content consumption trends, traditional linear TV has been facing a difficult time. Moreover, demonetisation and inclusion of GST also came as additional challenges in the recent past, with effects that lingered for long, while the biggest disruption – the new tariff order – is on the way. Due to the rapid changes, traditional players in the ecosystem are changing their strategy to stay profitable.

    In this scenario, Video and Broadband Summit 2018 held a session on monetising TV in times of transition. Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) chief growth officer Ashish Sehgal, TAM India CEO LV Krishnan, KPMG India media and entertainment partner, deal advisory and head, Girish Menon took part in the session which was moderated by Indiantelevision.com founder and CEO Anil Wanvari.

    Wanvari kick-started the session asking what the monetisation trend in TV industry was in the last nine months. Menon, whose organisation KPMG published a report two months ago on the entire ecosystem, spoke about the increasing interest levels, contribution and demand from rural and regional markets on the advertising side which ensures that there is a growing deeper demand. He added that if someone is able to optimally monetise those options, the opportunities fairly exist for ad growth. He also added that a fair amount of traction in the FTA market is attracting brands there. On the subscription side, Menon said there’s enough headroom for growth as till now only 65-66 per cent households are penetrated by TV in India.

    ZEEL's Sehgal also endorsed Menon’s view on the growth opportunities for TV. “Across the industry, there has been a healthy double-digit growth which is happening. Even if you talk about the demonetisation and GST period, which stunted growth, even then the industry grew in single digit. It’s not like it had gone back to a certain level and then grew back,” Sehgal commented on the growth of the TV industry.

    Asked about tariff order, he said they still need to see how it’s going to pan out. But he mentioned that broadcasters like Zee and Star have come out with consumer-friendly packages which will help in ARPU growth. While he was asked whether users will start cutting cords if the price of subscription packages goes up too much, he answered that there’s no other better option available. According to him, to get the amount of content available on cable or DTH, users need to subscribe to ten other platforms.

    TAM India CEO Krishnan also agreed with Sehgal on the growth side of TV. He said that in the first 9 months of this year, TV showed around 11 per cent growth. Owing to the assembly elections, the growth may reach up to 12-13 per cent at the end of the year. Moreover, he added, it is the real revenue growth, not only volume growth.

    While the moderator asked if TV has got its real value, Krishnan said it definitely has brought in value itself from advertising and subscription. He also spoke about opportunities in hyperlocal advertising which is very much prevalent in print. There were 130,000 new advertisers just in the last 9 months compared to 2017 on the print medium which is coming from hyper-local editions of newspapers. But when that is being monitored in the adex data, those advertisers are still not translated into advertising on television or radio or digital yet.

    “On the other hand if I look at exclusive advertisers happening on digital and on TV it’s very comparable. There are around close to 16,000 advertisers uniquely positioned only on TV and around 12,000 unique advertisers on the digital adex. Now they are just 10 per cent of the overall volume that’s coming into print. If that translates slowly into regional television or digital OTT platforms for advertising, imagine the growth that TV and OTT can get,” he added.

    Sehgal believes that certain TV genres aren't getting a fair deal. “Average price across the genres are increasing. Yes, I would say there are certain genres which are still underpriced. For example, south channels are 90 per cent penetrated in terms of television. They are still underpriced. This pricing needs to be corrected. Kids' channels segment is underpriced. Hindi movie genre is highly underpriced while the value input behind purchasing movies is high, from advertising as well as subscriptions you are still not getting the value back,” he said.

    Where all the experts agreed was that sports content and TV premieres get higher value but when it was asked if it’s enough compared to other countries they said it’s linked to the purchasing power of the country. Moreover, they also said the growth rate in India is much higher than the US or China. It was also said that the pay-TV ecosystem in most of the developed markets are subscription led not ad led. India is always going to be a market where the rates of advertisement will be low but the fact is given the level of demand there is in the country from a consumption perspective, the growth will also be much higher than what can be seen globally.

    While most of the players work on volume rather than value, Sehgal said ZEE is working on the mix. “We have to start working with the real mix – how to get value and volume both together. Today, we are going 2X with the market only because we are not only getting the volume but also value. My price point from what it was last year to this year has increased in every channel. Now somewhere it has increased more and somewhere it has not increased more,” Sehgal said.

    On the question of how TV, cable or DTH can be monetised better, the experts think they should not shy away from the competition coming from digital. They think investment in technology, going back to advertisers with more value proposition is important. Though TV cannot engage like digital, they think brand building on TV is easiest. Unless a brand advertises on TV, building awareness becomes difficult.

  • The challenge of DD FreeDish and new tariff order for DPOs

    The challenge of DD FreeDish and new tariff order for DPOs

    GOA: With the emergence of a large number of OTT platforms and cord-cutting phenomenon globally, the future of pay-TV has often been questioned. The talk of the town seems to be about the how pay-TV industry will continue to thrive in such an environment. Moreover, the new tariff order (NTO) in India is also set to overhaul the entire value chain, leading to some uncertainty.

    Against this backdrop, Video and Broadband Summit 2018 held an intense discussion on the “future of pay TV in India”. Travelxp CEO Prashant Chothani and Doordarshan additional director general Sunil participated in the session which was moderated by Indiantelevision.com founder and CEO Anil Wanvari. The session had viewpoints from two entirely different players as Chothani provides a niche premium offering to viewers, while Sunil is responsible for public service which caters to the masses.

    Travelxp works on a B2B2C model despite having 100 per cent original content. Chothani, who is very passionate about linear TV, does not share his content with any OTT platform other than Netflix in North America. He thinks it is extremely crucial to protect linear business as much as possible.

    Chothani, talking about the NTO, said that DPOs are in existential crisis. He thinks DD FreeDish is the biggest challenge for distribution platform operators (DPOs) as the former offers over 100 free to air channels to consumers for free and the latter has to charge Rs 130 for the same as per the NTO.

    “FreeDish is your biggest competitor. Where do you think these 30 or 40 million homes have come from? They go to a large part of north India, UP, Bihar and lot many other markets, where the customer is not willing to pay even Rs 99. There comes the cord cutting in favour of DD FreeDish because this population is satisfied whatever channels come to them for free,” he commented.

    While there are already technological disruptors like Hotstar, Netflix, Amazon threatening linear TV’s growth, consumers, who don’t wish to pay for the channels, can turn to DD FreeDish, said Sunil endorsing Chothani’s view.  

    From the audience, Doordarshan director general Supriya Sahu added that DD FreeDish is not only used by a marginal section of the society but the service is quickly evolving as an alternative option which clearly indicates that it could be a potential threat for DPOs.

    When asked if DD FreeDish would partner with broadcasters, Sunil said he was open to the idea of collaboration. Rather than making money, the pubcaster’s aim is to let the system grow, he said.

    “We have to work on a business model on that front and it is very difficult to answer this question at this point of time because the call has to be taken by the government. But yes cable operators and broadcasters are a part of this system. They are always welcome to partner with us,” he added later.

    He also thinks NTO will be a big game changer as the difference in price between small LCOs and bigger ones has been taken away by TRAI regulations. He also believes that the future of pay-TV is threatened by TRAI regulations. Customers will watch what they want, where they want and when they want and will only pay for that purchase, he added.

    Chothani also added that India is a very price sensitive market. Even in Serbia where currency value is weaker than India’s, Coke is priced the same as in Germany but in India, it is offered at a much cheaper rate. This nature does not fade away when it comes to entertainment.

    “We content creators got greedy. We thought why would you pay 50-60 per cent money with DPOs and do B2B2C business why not B2C. If you see RIOs of some broadcasters, you will see their B2C offering subscription on their apps is cheaper than they are giving to LCOs or DPOs. Why? Because OTT apps are not regulated,” said Chothani.

    “So, this regulation is also going to take away a lot of customers from traditional DPOs unless they play smart. Broadcasters have been playing this game for too long and will keep on playing for times to come. But DPOs need to rethink now. This is a golden opportunity for them. So, they need to get behind and think how they can make consumers pay for content while DD FreeDish is offering so many channels for free,” he added.

    The experts believe that though the future of pay-TV has a few challenges, the NTO offers opportunities to restructure the industry and make the business profitable for all.

  • VBS 2018: Media & entertainment industry leaders address pressing issues on Day 1

    VBS 2018: Media & entertainment industry leaders address pressing issues on Day 1

    GOA: Rapid advance in technology and infrastructure, entry of disruptive forces and changes in consumption habits have led the Indian media and entertainment industry to major conversion. The interesting developments are attracting international players to invest in the market, with traditional domestic players adopting new strategies for growth. Where the industry is heading in the next few years is something everyone wants to know.

    To seek answers for several concerning questions, Indiantelevision.com brought together industry doyens on the first day of the Video and Broadband Summit. The conference dedicated to industry issues has been supported by esteemed broadcasters, technology companies as well industry bodies. All the speakers agreed that the VBS platform is the perfect stage to discuss relevant issues as well as to gain new insights while sharing their experience.

    Indiantelevision.com founder and CEO Anil Wanvari set the tone for the day with his welcome speech. He spoke about how demonetisation and GST put pressure on business in last couple of years. He also highlighted how the burgeoning OTT industry is throwing new challenges to traditional TV, cable and DTH operators along with the new tariff order that is likely to reshape the trajectory of the sector. He also added how a disruptive force like Jio FTTH is fueling the transformation.

    The first session moderated by Anil Wanvari was about the future of digital delivery platforms where Tata Sky chief content officer Arun Unni, PwC India partner Raman Kalra and One Take Media founder and CEO Anil Khera participated. As the influence of video and broadband has become unmistakable now, Tata Sky recently rolled out a broadband service. While he was asked about how it stands out, Unni said customer centric nature of the business makes their service different. While broadband and telco players are throwing a challenge for distribution, Khera thinks India still has potential for DTH and cable growth owing to almost  90 mn households still unpenetrated by TV. Kalra said while pay-TV and OTT platforms will stay together, there will be a constant battle among players to stay relevant to consumers with proper content.

    In a fireside chat with Anil Wanvari, COAI director general Rajan Mathews spoke about various issues in the telecom industry. He said consumer choices are changing rapidly today, hence the model which is working at present, may get disrupted in future. He also spoke about the high cost of utilizing satellites in the country despite them being produced and launched at very low cost. Talking about 5G, he said it will take a while to be rolled out and added that it would be focusing on education, health, traffic management, smart cities and agriculture.

    Anil Khera who has now ventured into the value-added service space after spending considerable time in the DTH industry, explained the importance of this vertical and how DTH players are utilizing it.

    Another engaging session where audience also took an active part in the discussion, was about monetising TV in times of transition. ZEEL chief growth officer Ashish Sehgal, KMPG India media and entertainment partner and head  Girish Menon and TAM India CEO LV Krishnan spoke on the issue. “Only thing TV can't do is engagement which digital platforms allow but you cannot build your brand without TV,” Sehgal made a very important comment.

    The eventful day ended with a fireside chat between Viacom18 COO Raj Nayak and Anil Wanvari. Nayak shared glimpses of his inspirational journey in the industry and Viacom18 where he was the brainchild of several successful endeavors. Talking about the future, he said it will belong to those who can create content which is compelling. Moreover, he also said content cost is not going down but it's going up across broadcasters. Giving the example of Netflix’s change of fortune with House of Cards, he added that for changing the trajectory of the business, delivering two-three golden nuggets every year are enough.

    For more insights stay tuned for the updates from the second day of video and broadband summit 2018!

  • OTT players, cable ops find harmony in integration

    OTT players, cable ops find harmony in integration

    MUMBAI: Studies have shown that as far as India is concerned, nothing is going to dethrone TV’s position for a while. But the OTT boom is undeniable. Even TV broadcasters want to have their cake and eat it too by setting up their own video on demand services. Although cord-cutting is not as prevalent in India as developed markets, it is certain that viewing habit of consumers has already started changing. Cable TV (http://www.indiantelevision.com/iworld/broadband/cable-tv-dth-players-cautiously-optimistic-on-jio-fiber-competition-180706 ) operators are most vulnerable to the major shift in the near-term while DTH players are also under pressure to come up with new strategies.

    Recently, Hathway took a step to bridge the gap between TV and OTT by landing a deal with streaming giant Netflix. Hathway is more vulnerable to the change due to its urban-centric business. Another large operator Siti Networks announced its first hybrid set-top box that has YouTube and YouTube Kids in-built. However, this is not about only cable operators, OTT players also have high chances to reap the benefit of it.

    “Traditional cable players are already penetrated very deep, with 90-100 million TV households and broadband customers too. That is a huge customer base for OTT platforms to leverage. It’s a win-win situation: the OTT (http://www.indiantelevision.com/iworld/over-the-top-services/higher-production-values-of-ott-content-wont-put-pressure-on-tv-biz-punit-goenka-180814 platform gets access to the customer base while the cable company can increase subscription ARPUs,” Ernst & Young media and entertainment advisory services partner Ashish Pherwani commented.

    Netflix, the US streaming giant is trying to beef up its business in India very soon. With deep pockets, it wants to make a premium content library. But as the platform has high pricing and still does not have a considerable amount of regional content, it’s not easy for it to acquire customers here.

    KMPG India media and entertainment partner and head Girish Menon said it’s definitely a starting point for cable operators to be able to offer OTT content. With the rapid growth of mobile internet, linear TV may be under threat at least for certain situations. According to him, by offering OTT platforms, these cable operators are protecting their business from digital.

    “The biggest challenge for any OTT platform is physical distribution and customer acquisition. So by a deal with Hathway, Netflix is actually taking them into many more households than they are currently able to access on a direct basis. It partially helps them with both distribution and acquisition challenges,” Menon commented.

    A study by Parks Associates said approximately 33 per cent of cord cutters in the US would have stayed with their service provider if offered a Netflix-style service bundled with broadcast TV channels. In the US, where the cord-cutting started first, viewers love to get both experiences at the same time. As traditional TV still remains the primary screen in India, these integrations can definitely help cable operators to reduce churn and increase stickiness.

    On the contrary, Dolat Capital VP research Karan Taurani thinks the deal won’t help Netflix to acquire customers as the service is not bundled and will cost the same amount of money. According to him, Netflix is much easier on Chromecast.

    “It may help Hathway in some way if they tie up with four to five VoD platforms rather than just one; further, they will also have to provide the set top box with VoD access at a minimal price in line with the price of a Chromecast device which gives access to any VoD platform,” he added. However, the new set top box with a special button on remote for Netflix has been priced at Rs 2999.

    Talking about the benefits of the deals, Menon mentioned another vital point. As most of the cable companies also have broadband businesses, the alliance between cable and OTT players can lead to the broadband growth of the cable companies. Moreover, for cable companies, broadband operates at a much higher margin than traditional cable business.

    It seems as if even broadcasters are growing alert to the potential danger in OTT unless you make them your friend. Recently Zee Enterprises Entertainment Ltd entered into a content deal with Airtel after breaking up with Jio while ALTBalaji partnered Xiaomi with Mi TV. Eros Now, the OTT platform from Eros International, struck a deal with FashionTV.
    It is very certain that the industry is about to see more partnerships along the same line. Even DTH players have also struck few deals with OTT players. Acknowledging it as an upcoming trend, Pherwani commented that every OTT platform is trying to maximise its reach.

    “I think you will see more and more such partnerships and this is not just in cable, even in DTH. The reason behind it is that to a certain extent they are preparing for a future. Because the FTTH broadband roll out front that Reliance has announced makes it a significant player that could actually impact the distribution business of cable and DTH players. So the partnerships are a protection,” Menon commented.

    Large players like Hathway, Siti Networks, Den Networks will find it easy to invest more in the technological update and remain relevant. But small MSOs with lesser investment, cash flow will not be able to survive in the thriving competition. Hence, the cable industry is definitely going to witness a number of consolidations. The DTH and telecom industries have already realised that they need to merge if they want to sustain their businesses.
    Going forward, we will see more partnerships and deals between traditional TV and modern OTT.

  • SVoD subscriptions to see massive growth worldwide

    SVoD subscriptions to see massive growth worldwide

    MUMBAI: Streamers across the world are ready to pay for online video. According to a new study by analyst firm Digital TV Research, SVOD subscriptions will more than double between 2017 and 2023. While Global pay-TV and SVoD subscriptions are expected to reach 1.877 bn by 2023, traditional pay-TV(http://www.indiantelevision.com/dth/dth-operator/dish-tv) will only add 94 mn subscribers.
    At the end of 2017, the number of subscribers stood at 222 mn in US which is predicted to reach to 289 mn subscriptions by 2023. But China will see the highest rate of growth by adding 171 mn subscriptions during this period to take its total to 610 mn. However, its pay TV subscription will grow by 32 mn only. India will add 49 mn pay-TV and SVoD subscriptions in this period.
    Based on the new subscriptions, total subscription revenues (https://indiantelevision.com/iworld/over-the-top-services/global-ott-revenue-to-reach-129-bn-by-2023-says-study-180921) will increase by 11 per cent ($25.4 bn) to total $251 bn in this period. Due to cord cutting traditional pay-TV revenues will drop by $18.5 bn to $183 bn. On the other hand, SVoD’s revenue will climb by $43.7 bn to $69 bn. This revenue jump will lead to an increase in total share from 11 per cent in 2017 to 27 per cent in 2023.
    The market leader US will see total revenue from $108 bn in 2017 to $105 billion in 2023. While Pay-TV subscription revenues will drop by $20 bn, SVoD additions will not be able to make up the shortfall.

  • Comcast outbids 21st CF in Sky deal with $40 bn offe

    Comcast outbids 21st CF in Sky deal with $40 bn offe

    MUMBAI: US cable giant Comcast made a winning bid against 21st Century Fox and the Walt Disney Co for European pay-TV operator Sky by offering nearly $40 billion. The rare three round auction was managed by UK's Takeover Panel.  

    The Philadelphia based company offered about $40 billion at $22.57 per share for Sky in the knockout bid. Rupert Murdoch-owned Fox offered about $35 billion at $20.46 per share.

    “This is a great day for Comcast,” Comcast chairman and CEO Brian L Roberts declared. He hailed Sky as “a wonderful company with a great platform, tremendous brand, and accomplished management team”.

    While 21st Century Fox already owns 39 per cent of the company, both the competitors were contesting for 61 per cent control of Sky. The European pay-TV company has time until 11 October to accept the offer.  Fox has an ardent quest to take over the rest of the Sky it does not already own.

    For any company who wants to expand international business in European countries, Sky would be a lucrative option with its 23 million customer base across five European countries. Hence the over expensive bid from Comcast did not come as a surprise, as it could almost double its user base on the back of the offer. “This acquisition will allow us to quickly, efficiently and meaningfully increase our customer base,” Roberts said in a statement.

    Though the long running bid process has come to an end following the knock out bid, Fox could refuse tender the 39 percent of Sky that it currently owns. It will leave Comcast to share the company with Fox.

  • Viacom 18 adds ThinkAnalytics personalized multi-language recommendations to VOOT

    Viacom 18 adds ThinkAnalytics personalized multi-language recommendations to VOOT

    Pay-TV and OTT content discovery and viewer analytics vendor ThinkAnalytics™ today announced that Viacom18 in India has gone live with ThinkAnalytics on the ad-funded OTT service VOOT.  VOOT’s 37 million monthly active users now have personalized recommendations in seven languages on the home screen, making it quicker and easier to find content they want to watch.

    Viacom18 has also deployed the ThinkComposer UX engine and ThinkEditorial, integrated with the ThinkAnalytics Recommendations Engine, enabling its editorial team to automate and streamline content curation and promotions to better meet KPIs and business goals.

    The ad-funded VOOT service offers over 50,000 hours of original, domestic and international content for free. Content includes: COLORS TV, MTV India, Nickelodeon India, a wide range of Bollywood movies, and VOOT Original shows.

    The ThinkAnalytics Recommendation Engine uses machine learning and predictive analytics to understand individual viewer preferences and broader viewing trends in real-time and suggests new content, personalized to each viewer. As a result, operators see a substantial uplift in viewer engagement and loyalty.

    Mohit Srivastava, Head – Product and Engineering, Viacom18 Digital Ventures, said, “When we saw the data showing how much ThinkAnalytics boosts viewer engagement, we knew it was the right service for VOOT and for our viewers. Having ThinkAnalytics intelligent search and personalized recommendations on the main UI makes it easy for viewers to discover more exciting programs from the wealth of content available on VOOT.”

    Peter Docherty, Founder and CTO, ThinkAnalytics added, “ By adding ThinkAnalytics personalized recommendations to the VOOT home screen, Viacom18 is once again staying ahead of the innovation curve and offering its large and loyal customer base the ability to find suitable content fast. This represents the very best in personalized entertainment on a significant scale.”

    For over 15 years ThinkAnalytics has grown to become the leader in content discovery and viewer lifecycle management. By applying advanced machine learning technology and analytics to content discovery, editorial curation, ThinkAnalytics increases viewer satisfaction, boosts engagement across all TV and video content platforms and increases operator ARPU. Viewers’ interests and previous viewing behaviour are analyzed using advanced AI and machine learning techniques to help them find new content they want to watch quickly and easily.

    About Viacom18

    Viacom18 Media Pvt. Ltd. is one of India’s fastest growing entertainment networks and a house of iconic brands that offers multi-platform, multi-generational and multicultural brand experiences. A joint venture of TV18, which owns 51%, and Viacom Inc., with a 49% stake, Viacom18 defines entertainment in India by touching the lives of people through its properties on air, online, on ground, in shop and through cinema.

    About ThinkAnalytics

    ThinkAnalytics’ flagship solution is the ThinkAnalytics Emmy® award-winning Content Discovery Platform, the most widely deployed real-time, personalized content and recommendations engine worldwide. More recently, the company has broadened its reach with ThinkInsight, the industry’s first Viewer and Video Insight Platform built specifically to meet the needs of TV operators. ThinkInsight incorporates the ThinkAnalytics Content Discovery Engine, ThinkBigData, ThinkCpmposer UX engine, ThinkEditorial and ThinkVoice marketing suite of products. It gives TV players a holistic view of their business, with full viewer lifecycle management enabling them to better address key industry KPIs that will help to boost loyalty, ARPU, customer experience and develop new revenue streams.

    The company’s customer base of over 80 video service providers serves more than 250 million subscribers worldwide. Customers include: Liberty Global, BBC, Proximus, Cox, Rogers, Sky, Swisscom, Astro, Singtel, TataSky, Viacom18 and Vodafone. The ThinkAnalytics Content Discovery  Engine now serves over 3 billion recommendations per day and is available as a cloud service or on premise.

    ThinkAnalytics is a private, employee-owned company with offices in UK, USA, Singapore and India.

  • Pay TV execs feel need to innovate to remain relevant, finds study

    Pay TV execs feel need to innovate to remain relevant, finds study

    MUMBAI: With the advent of digital content platforms, pay TV industry across the world is facing stiff competition. The pay TV Innovation Forum report produced by Nagra in association with research firm MTM, found that 90 per cent of executives believe that pay TV providers will have to innovate strongly to remain competitive and relevant.

    The research has also found that 84 per cent of pay-TV executives expect competition for paid-for video services to increase dramatically over the next five years. The number of 90 per cent of executives who believe that pay TV providers will have to innovate strongly is 5 per cent up from last year. However, participants are optimistic they can continue to appeal to paying consumer.

    Findings of the report are based on extensive regional research conducted in Europe, North America, with a special focus on the United States, Asia-Pacific and Latin America.

    It has also highlighted that the pay TV (http://www.indiantelevision.com/television/tv-channels/viewership/india-china-to-provide-50-of-global-pay-tv-subs-by-2023-180411) industry is converging towards a platform-agnostic model and is transitioning into a paid-for-video market spanning a variety of offerings including standalone OTT and direct-to-consumer services. Moreover, 77 per cent of pay-TV executives consider innovation to be one of the top three strategic priorities for the industry.

    “Change is the one constant in the global pay-TV industry, driven by numerous pressures from competitors, pirates and subscribers, making it challenging for service providers and content owners to maintain revenue growth,” said NAGRA product marketing senior director Simon Trudelle.

    Executives have agreed that piracy remains a major problem. In addition to that, 47 per cent of respondents believe that piracy will lead to greater pressures on the industry over the next five years.

    “It is exciting to see a growing number of service providers embarking on the next stage of innovation, encompassing product and service portfolio improvements, alongside advanced technology platforms and new commercial and operating models,” said MTM managing partner Jon Watts said. “By keeping innovation at the core of their strategies and recognising the need to diversify, service providers can continue to compete effectively and grow revenue,” he added.

  • India’s video content budget up by 14% in 2017: MPA

    India’s video content budget up by 14% in 2017: MPA

    MUMBAI: The video content expenditure for TV, movie and online video across India, Korea and Southeast Asia’s five biggest growth markets (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam) has seen a growth of eight per cent in 2017 to reach $10.2 billion, according to the 2018 edition of Asia Video Content Dynamics from analyst firm Media Partners Asia (MPA).

    India’s video content budget soared by 14 per cent to $4.2 billion in 2017, purely driven by pay-TV. Content investment in India’s online video market is also growing rapidly, driven by competition among well-capitalised global and local platforms. This trend is expected to continue over the next three years.

    India is followed by Korea, where investment in video content increased by seven per cent over the year to approach $3 billion. The investment in Korea is also starting to accelerate and will continue to do so over the course of 2018-19. Growth here will likely accelerate when China eventually lifts its ban on Korean dramas, movies and talent.

    The biggest contributors to aggregate incremental growth in video content spend across the seven markets in 2017 were pay-TV (38 per cent) and online video (30 per cent).

    MPA VP Stephen Laslocky said, “In general, content investment dynamics are favourable with content investment growing. Pay-TV content costs in the surveyed markets grew five per cent, led by India and Korea, driven by local entertainment and sports.”

    Free to air content investment was up by six per cent in 2017. Scale and growth in free to air content investment are largely attributable to Korea, the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia, driven by local entertainment.

    Film production budgets in the surveyed markets were up 10 per cent, driven by Korea and India. Online video investment is growing rapidly from a low base, up almost 80 per cent during 2017.

    Laslocky believes that rising competitive intensity is driving up online video content costs as rival platforms produce and acquire local series and movies, especially in India and Korea. “We expect online video content investment to also pick up in emerging markets across Southeast Asia, led by Indonesia and the Philippines,” he added.

    Malaysian market witnessed a decline in video content investment in 2017 mainly due to Astro cutting spend on international pay channels. The outlook for Malaysia could improve as new government policies bolster economic growth, broadening consumer spend and ad dollars.

    Growth in production spend across emerging Southeast Asia markets was generally satisfactory in 2017, according to the report.