The rise of VoD, OTT and online has created new viewing habits that have caused some disruptions in audience measurement. There is a growing gap between broadcasters’ and rights holders’ need to understand their audiences’ habits and media buyers’ request for more standardized tools that can help them decide on which channel and when to buy advertising spaces. This means that audience ratings are critical for broadcasters as media buyers focus upon this measurement data when deciding which channels to advertise on and, viewership quality being equal, broadcasters can potentially charge more for slots that drive more eyeballs.
Thirteen industry experts offer their thoughts on technology for 2015.
The EBU (European Broadcasting Union) has ended 2014 by publishing a high level document aimed at helping broadcasters develop a consistent unified strategy for content distribution in the era of multiple screens and transport methods. In keeping with the time of year this has involved gazing into the crystal ball to identify the underlying trends that should underpin broadcasters’ video distribution strategies over the next decade or more. A key starting assumption is that the home will continue to be where most viewing takes place, whether this is linear or non-linear and also that the big screen will continue to predominate. With Ultra HD likely to become the mainstream format sometime later in that decade, this is likely to maintain the primacy of the big screen, which will on average be larger than today. But the EBU’s prediction that the home will retain its dominance for nonlinear viewing is not universally shared, given that a combination of Wi-Fi hot spots and greater availability of 4G or even in future 5G mobile services will increase the appeal of tablet viewing on the road, taking account of the time many people spend travelling.
Cloud computing and broadcasters—they are made for each other. Cloud computing enables global scale of operations, brings tremendous cost savings and enables the worldwide distribution of content.
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The goal in world-class powerboat racing is to fly down an open water race course without leaving the surface, faster than anyone else. At this year’s Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks race, the winner blasted through the finish-line at 244 MPH, setting a new event speed record.
A major shift in consumer behavior and significant growth in consumption on digital platforms hints at “appointment TV’s” slow demise.
With the continued drive within the broadcast environment for keeping costs down, better productivity and improved efficiencies, ensuring that the workforce has the tools to do their jobs properly is critical. As with other industries, broadcast finds itself in a state of flux, with several trends and changes impacting on businesses over the last decade. These include aspects such as the adoption of cloud, the move away from the use of proprietary hardware, and the increased use of automation throughout the entire workflow.
In this paper, you’ll learn how to cope with the growing demand for increased channel count and multi- format distribution whilst controlling capital outlay and operating expense.
