Broadcasters in markets such as Central and Eastern Europe and Africa are all facing some of the same challenges that broadcasters are in markets such as Western Europe and North America. In this exclusive roundtable, we talk to some broadcasters in key developing regions about where they are with their HD strategies, and how also they are looking to modernize their infrastructure. Taking part are: Alessandro Tucci, senior vice president & general manager, Fox International Channels (FIC); Petr Dvorak, CEO, Ceska Televize (Czech Republic); Elvir Svrakic, CEO, Hayat TV (Bosnia) and Alvin Naicker, head of production, SuperSport (South Africa).
VIA SATELLITE: What are the key challenges in 2013?
Tucci: Our key priority is always the growth of distribution in terms of territories and number of TV channels in each territory. As Fox International Channels (FIC), we have always partnered locally with our affiliates to upgrade our services to new market demands. With that in mind, one year ago the Group decided to create a new office and a local team in Johannesburg, South Africa to manage the African territories. South Africa will be the hub for the rest of Africa, but our intention is to expand our presence into East and West Africa. We believe that the local presence is the only way to support growth in a new market. FIC is involved at a global level in the increasing of our HD feeds and in the commercialization of multiplatform strategies in linear and non-linear services, in order to respond to the new audience patterns. Our objective is to implement these new formats in Africa as we are doing globally.
Dvorak: The main changes we expect in the next 12 months are the following: firstly, we have established a new system of production, and we introduced some new production. We now have around 20 creative producers from all areas from public affairs to drama to news. This system officially started at the beginning of the year. 2013 will be the first year that this system is fully implemented and we hope we’ll be able to produce higher quality content with less money. The second big thing we are doing in the next year is the introduction of the fifth Ceska Televize channel. Currently, we have four general channels – two entertainment channels, one sports channel and a news channel. We are preparing to launch a new children’s channel next year.
Svrakic: Our plan for the next 12 months is to modernize part of the technical infrastructure. We find ourselves in a dilemma regarding the choice of equipment provider. Based on our experience, we know that if you want to use the same technical equipment in different ways in the future, a lot of different elements have to be taken into account when selecting the provider. Our goal and our challenge in the next year will be to start broadcasting another channel, and to launch the platform for the existing channels.
Naicker: Without any single major event, content becomes critical. We have the hardy annuals like the English Premier League, Champions League, local football and international cricket and rugby, but there is no World Cup or Olympic Games. We have the African Cup of Nations, granted, but the challenge is to do as much as possible with existing content.
VIA SATELLITE: Are the costs of the production changing as you put content in multiple formats?
Tucci: It’s not a question of costs but a challenge for the future. The number of productions of series, films or documentaries does not change because of the distribution systems. The increased ways of distribution create more opportunities for the industry, so it is not about production costs but about an investment in the development of our future. FIC has always been at the front of technology and we want to continue in the same vein, delivering a diversified offer to our viewers and our platform partners.
Svrakic: Technology-wise, we have adapted all our production and technology so that we are able to produce and broadcast our programs in various formats. We initiated this adaptation project in 2006, and it has proved to be a very positive thing. Since we started facing our challenges six years ago, we are now ready for all the formats that could possibly appear in the future.
Naicker: This area is very people-driven. We must increase staff, but need to balance this with costs and budgets. Training and development of people is ongoing at all levels, plus of course retention. We are ahead of the game in terms of multiple formats – we changed our workflows three years ago to accommodate all platforms. These are now also fully integrated.
VIA SATELLITE: With the emergence of the iPad (and other tablet devices) proving to be serious devices to watch video content, what do you see as the revenue opportunities associated with these devices?
Tucci: We’re adapting our distribution systems to suit new viewing habits by the audience, working closely with our affiliate platforms partners to offer them the possibility of satisfying the needs of their subscribers, according to their technical development.
As an example, we’ve just launched in Europe, and soon we’ll have available in Africa as well, a National Geographic app that will allow users to see the best content of National Geographic channels on their tablet. The app uses an authentication system that can be integrated into platforms technologies. All these new devices, formats, and content will offer great opportunities for business not only with current pay-TV subscribers and with consumers, but also with consumers that don’t have pay-TV at home. I’m referring to, for example, mobile users.
Svrakic: Technology-wise, we have adapted all our production and technology so that we are able to produce and broadcast our programs in various formats. We initiated this adaptation project in 2006, and it has proved to be a very positive thing. Since we started facing our challenges six years ago, we are now ready for all the formats that could possibly appear in the future.
Dvorak: We are very active on the Internet. We are streaming content and putting various websites together. We have our own version of the iPlayer. The name of our website is ‘iBroadcasting’ written in Czech. This is the application that we think is the biggest one on the market. It is one of the distribution channels of our product. We don’t see the Internet as a threat, we see it as more of an opportunity. We try to use the Internet and bring our content to people who are moving away from television. We are trying to bring our content to all new devices like iPads or smartphones.
Svrakic: With all due respect for tablets, mobile phones, etc., in my opinion, a good TV production can be watched only on a big screen. New technology is good for accessing information, but not for watching show programs, talk show programs, series, sports programs, etc.
Naicker: With the proliferation of tablet (and other smart) devices and the trends in multiscreen viewing on the increase globally, it is only natural that video delivery will shift to these new platforms. For the foreseeable future, the revenue opportunities will be limited as users will expect their primary service to be accessible on multiple screens – and these multi-screens will largely be treated as value-add environments.
VIA SATELLITE: What impact is Over The Top (OTT) broadcasting and streaming technologies having for traditional broadcasting?
Tucci: The quality of the OTT platforms is still in development, but in many countries they have begun to compete with the traditional distribution platforms, often launched by the same operators. The advantage of OTT’s is that they require less investment in technological development, which makes them very attractive.
Dvorak: We feel OTT is more of a business model for commercial companies, rather than for a company like ours. For us, it is not something we have immediate plans for. We may well look to do something in the long-term but we are not focused on this. We are not trying to build a new commercial model. We are not trying to monetize everything that we give our viewers. The viewer is paying a monthly payment, and we don’t feel right about asking for further revenue from them. From our point of view, we are trying to put our product on the Internet, but provide the product for free. We may allow some advertising on there, but there is no real paid VoD element to the service. I don’t see NetFlix and Hulu having a real impact on the Czech television market. It may come in the future, but I don’t see any impact at the moment.
Svrakic: Of course they impact on traditional ways of broadcasting, but every new age brings new technology, and TV stations have to adapt. OTT and streaming enable broadcasters to reach many new viewers, but they do not bring increase in advertisement-generated revenues; however, they do open up revenue opportunities for pay TV stations.
Naicker: There is a very clear disruption that is taking place as a result of the OTT players – particularly in the developed, broadband-rich territories. Traditional broadcasters are being forced to consider new ways of delivering content and this is driving innovation and discussion across the spectrum – from platform providers to rights holders and content producers.
VIA SATELLITE: Where are you in terms of your HD strategy? Could you tell us how you handled the transition from SD to HD?
Tucci: All our series, documentaries and films have been produced in HD for a number of years already. We have HD versions of all our brands, ready to be implemented in all territories as soon as the operators demand them to us.
We have completed the transition from SD to HD in many markets and we are still in the process in others, according to the technical conditions of our distributors. We’re ready to launch HD in Africa on all of our channels.
Dvorak: Ceska Televize is a pretty complex company. Over the last three to five years, we have been working on moving all of the production from SD to HD. Today, almost all of the production is done in HD. We see HD as the future of broadcasting, so any content that we might use in the future is being produced in HD. We started broadcasting HD three years ago. Before the Olympics this year, we launched our first HD channel during the Summer. We basically had two HD sports channels on air during the Olympics. Now, we have one general channel and one sports channel in HD. We have HD on satellite and not on terrestrial.
Svrakic: A significant part of our production is already done in HD. In fact, in the entire network, we have only one SD studio left, and our goal in next 12 months is to have all the production done in HD.
Naicker: We are easily on par with the rest of the world. We have four HD channels and plan to roll out more. Ninety-five percent of what we produce is in HD. The transition was a gradual one, with one channel following the other.
VIA SATELLITE: What major infrastructure projects are you working on?
Tucci: As said, we’re ready for HD. As soon as our platform partners require them we’ll be able to provide all our channels in HD format. We’re also working on some apps for our channels. They will be developed for current platforms subscribers but we’re also thinking about non-pay-TV users.
Dvorak: We are working on several technical projects. One I would like to mention is the HBBtv application. We are offering this application with new HBBtv sets. We are also preparing for broadcasting into DVB-T2. If we get regulatory approval, we will look to launch a project in this area in 2013.
Svrakic: We mostly work on improving program broadcasting, and the purchase of new equipment that will give us the possibility to do full HD broadcasting.
Naicker: Our priority is upgrading SD facilities to HD. We’ll also be getting another HD OB van.
VIA SATELLITE: What trends do you see emerging in broadcasting over the next 12 months?
Tucci: From a distribution point of view, as said, HD and secondary screens (tablet or smartphone apps) will be our next objective in Africa.
Dvorak: There are two themes. Firstly, there is diversification and fragmentation taking place in the market. More channels are coming to the market. Secondly, there is the difference between the broadcasting of commercial stations and public broadcasters. We are not trying to build competition to the commercial stations, but more to give alternatives for viewers. We are not trying to compete in programming. We are not governed by ratings. We also put on programs, which might be considered too expensive for commercial stations to produce. These are the two main topics.
New channels are coming and they are trying to find some niche in the market. By launching a new children’s channel, we are trying to be relevant to a new generation.
Svrakic: TV stations have to adapt to new trends. I believe that if you “oversleep,” you will lose the battle. Therefor http://www.someawards.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/award.jpg e, all “serious” TV stations must have technical predispositions for being followed in all technologies, in all formats: terrestrial, DTH, OTT, streaming, via iPad, mobile phone…
Naicker: There will be a strong push towards multi-platform content delivery. Those who do not get this right will be left behind. People are beginning to seriously play in the second-screen experience. I’m not sure you can do much more with live broadcasts – perhaps making commentary more entertaining and ramping up statistics and match data. We are all waiting for the next big thing, whatever that may be. Perhaps it will be monetizing the second-screen experience.
