It has been a busy few days for U.K. satellite pay-TV operator BSkyB. Firstly, its managing director of Sky Networks, Dawn Airey gave a keynote speech at Reed Midem‘s MIPTV conference in Cannes, France earlier this month where she gave some predictions on the future of digital television. Also, the operator announced that it has signed three contracts with Sony, Harris Corp. and Tandberg Television as it gears up to launch its HDTV (high-definition television) service in 2006.

BSkyB, as well as being a strong performer in terms of selling subscriptions, is increasingly becoming a major content provider. Airey is responsible for channels such as SkyOne, which provides a great deal of mainstream entertainment. It continues to offer satellite pay-TV operators around the world a template for generating revenues away from core subscriptions.

Drama

Even in this day of multichannel television, there are still many areas where content can improve. According to Airey, drama is one content area ripe for change. She commented, “Drama has so much potential for interactivity, but there is a current lack of it. For example, you could choose where you wanted to do the story and how you wanted it to proceed. This would revolutionize the art of storytelling. Why is it we continue to churn out linear television dramas, rather than multifaceted ones?”

In terms of how the delivery of content will change, Airey added, “The age of video iPod may be not that far away. The content is going to be markedly very different. In the United States, Fox is already making one-minute episodes of ’24’. It is all about the personalization of content. There will be opportunities to connect with the audience that are, as yet, unknown.”

In fact, content issues were at the heart of Airey’s presentation. One interesting area she addressed was operators paying for exclusive premium content, which could also be made available for download. If Hollywood studios looked to employ business models, where for example, movies were available for download, it could severely impact the money they could derive from pay-TV operators. Airey commented, “If Sony develops a digital download service, why should pay-TV networks pay a premium when the content is available.”

Tandberg Confirms Further HD Order

In terms of its HD announcement, BSkyB remains on track to launch HDTV in 2006. And Thomson was a big winner here, winning the initial set-top box contract. One of the other winners was Tandberg Television. BSkyB will use its high definition (HD) MPEG-4 AVC video encoding and distribution system. The use of Tandberg Television’s MPEG-4 AVC encoding systems will enable BSkyB to achieve very efficient HD bandwidth utilization. Warren Hobson, director of corporate strategy at Tandberg Television exclusively told Satellite News other HD deals were already done. He said, “In terms of other deals, there will be other stuff in the pipeline. What can I tell you that we have received further additional orders for HD MPEG-4 equipment from European customers. We are not in a position to say any more on that. We already have an order beyond the BSkyB deal and we expect to be receiving further orders as 2005 progresses.”

One possible deal for Tandberg could be Premiere, which like BSkyB, has announced that will launch HD services. Hobson said, “We are seeing a lot of activity with the BSkyB announcement, then it would be Germany and France where we are seeing most activity. Premiere in Germany is launching services, so you can assume that is one of the opportunities we are looking to address.”

Hobson also believes the Sky deal could be a spur for HD in Europe in general. He added, “It is a very significant deal. For us, it reinforces our leadership position with MPEG-4 HD, so that is obviously important. It is also a key landmark in Europe. It is Europe’s biggest satellite broadcaster is starting to roll out HD, so it is significant.”

–Mark Holmes

(Robert Fraser, BSkyB, e-mail, Robert.fraser@bskyb.com; Gay Bell, Platform PR for Tandberg, gay@platformpr.com)