In Broadcast - January 2018 - 21

21

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 8 - Issue 1 | January 2018

InForm

The Future of Video
Entertainment in 2018

The video industry has undergone some significant changes over recent years and 2018
will be no exception, writes Matt Kossatz, VP APAC, Accedo...

O

ur CEO, Michael Lantz, recently
wrote an article citing his vision
for the top three trends for 2018.
Interestingly enough, despite many
markets differing significantly across
the globe, his predictions are wholly
applicable to APAC and the majority of
the markets within the vast region.
Trio Of Predictions
The top three predictions were:
*	 Rise in multi-service consumers;
*	 Return of the set-top-box;
*	 Increasing VR content @ Accedo.
So, firstly the rise in multi-service
consumers - this is essentially about
consumers signing up to more than
one subscription video service. Many
providers are already making the most
of this trend with skinny bundles and
niche content services.
Secondly, Michael predicted
the return of the set-top-box,
thanks to declining unit costs,
lower cost technology system
options to power the boxes, and
emergence of new powerful client
technologies, such as Android TV.
In Australia, we have seen a great
deal of adoption of set-top-box
type offering already with some
very exciting product launches
recently such as the new Telstra
TV powered by Roku device.
Finally, he predicted the
emergence of all-in-one VR
headsets at an attractive enough
price point to entice a suitable
number of consumers. This in turn
will lead to more content being
developed for VR. Whilst this
adoption will likely be gradual,
we should see some interesting
content and use cases emerging.
Value Of Data
Data is also set to increase
in value as we move into 2018.
Indeed, it is a hot topic right now,
with many people talking about
data, but the key here is using it
to best effect. User consumption
data is already being collected by
video service providers every time
someone logs on and watches a

piece of content.
However, for the most part not a
lot is being done with that data, and
certainly not as much as could be
done. As we move into 2018, I believe
we will see a shift with many more
providers looking to extract value from
that data, using Artificial Intelligence
(AI).
It is clear that data and AI will enable
service providers to monetise their
video offerings to far greater effect,
but it will also increasingly be used
to ensure other key KPIs like churn,
consumption, retention etc, are all
significantly improved. Smarter use
of 'data' will significantly improve the
overall video experience for users
if utilised correctly. Dynamically
adjusting the presentation of offerings

Predictions:
Accedo CEO Michael Lantz

based on actual usage and data to
present only content that is relevant
to the end user, and indeed using AI
to present content that they are
likely to be interested in, but
might not know, will ultimately
lead to more consumption and
more loyalty to a particular
service offering.
Better use of data in the video
context is a win-win for both the
consumer and service provide
and regardless of the type of
video offering (i.e. aVOD, sVOD
etc), significant improvements
will lead to better monetisation,
retention, and experience.
Sports Drives OTT Growth
Just as sports was the critical
element to any Pay TV offering
of the past two-three decades,
it is now the critical element to
driving continued growth of OTT
offerings.
Previously these offerings
depended greatly on the TV
series and to a lesser extent
Movie catalogues. We are
beginning to see a number of
sports services launching, such as
the recently launched SportsFix,
Asia's first dedicated OTT sports
service. Offering a mixture of
live and VOD sports content from
both regional and international
matches, it is already proving
extremely
popular
with

consumers.
Sports have always had widespread
consumer appeal. Bringing them to
an OTT platform gives the potential
for bringing a whole host of sports
together in one place, but also
enabling fans to catch up with
missed matches and discover sports
content they may have otherwise
missed. I believe there will be many
more dedicated OTT sports services
launched in 2018 and we will see
plenty of existing OTT services look to
integrate live and on-demand sports
content into their mix.
OTT In Asia Pacific
Over recent years, the OTT market in
Asia Pacific has grown considerably.
As we move into 2018, this trend will
indeed continue. According to Rethink
Technology Research, the market will
reach 200 million subscribers in 2021.
Recent sVOD offerings which have
come to the market are likely to drive
a great deal of that growth. In Europe
and America, the OTT market is
already large, although we are seeing
a sharp rise in niche offerings.
In APAC, we are still seeing the
market catching up with those regions
in terms of maturity, but with the
sheer volume of potential consumers
for services to reach there are some
very exciting times ahead. Competition
in APAC will heat up dramatically in
2018 and we will see some fantastic
innovations emerging as a result.
http://www.inbroadcast.com https://youtu.be/2hIeuAPBlRc https://www.accedo.tv/what-does-2018-have-in-store/
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of In Broadcast - January 2018
