The new television: the hybrid revolution

The Spanish Association of Interactive TV Companies (AEDETI) organized a conference this Thursday in Madrid in which an analysis of business prospects and future television services that will be developed in hybrid and connected environments was carried out.

The Spanish Association of Interactive TV Companies (AEDETI) organized a conference this Thursday in Madrid in which an analysis of business prospects and future television services that will be developed with the implementation of new technologies was carried out. Among them, what is already known as hybrid television, which will not only massively change the way we watch television, but is also emerging as the most ideal way to definitively develop interactivity.

In its second edition, the AEDETI Conference “The New Television” has brought together representatives of broadcasters, administrations and manufacturers to analyze the various business models that are emerging within the framework of connected television.

The Conference was inaugurated by Roberto Sánchez, general director of Telecommunications and the Information Society, who highlighted that after the analogue blackout the challenge will now be to enable the digital dividend for other services, mainly broadband in mobility. "As happened with the transition to DTT, we hope to have the collaboration of everyone, agents and public administrations. It will mean more access, more services and more Internet and in this context where interactivity on television must be developed," commented Sánchez.

There is a new generation of televisions connected to the Internet that, together with the social generalization of broadband, means that we are in a position to incorporate new interactive content. However, as the General Director of Telecommunications has admitted, "the lack of a common standard in the industry would mean an obstacle to the development of interactive television, although the hybrid concept of HbbTv, created in August 2009, is emerging as a very well-positioned option, especially in countries like Germany and France."

Brian David Johnson, one of the Intel gurus who is most researching the use of science fiction as a work tool for new future environments, has participated by videoconference at this Conference. In his speech he made an interesting review of his concept of futurism and future television.

Johnson has called for a more human future in the products and platforms of the future. "In 2015 we will have 500,000 million hours of television content available, and some 15,000 million devices that can be connected through the Internet... more content and devices than people in the world. Even so, television will continue to be the center of people's leisure hours," he highlighted.

This futurist considers that content will not only be obtained through a large screen but through different devices. This will mean a more informative television experience integrating coordinated metadata related to the image and action that we see on the screen, more omnipresent for consumption anywhere, more personal (with the possibility of customizing content and advertising) and much more social.

Hybrid TV business models

María Maícas, responsible for participation and social networks at the RTVE Corporation, participated in the round table that analyzed the hybrid revolution and new business models; Niko Muñoz, director of corporate development at Havas Media; Mario Centeno, head of Internet TV at Vodafone; Ignacio Sanchís, general director of Nagravision Spain; and José María Casaos, technical director of the Antena 3 Group.

Maícas has assured that RTVE's commitment involves the HbbTv standard with which they are already preparing a pilot. “Hbbtv is an open standard with multiple options that allows broadcasters to continue the relationship with our audience through the Internet. We now have time to bet on a common standard that benefits us all with correct DRM protection of content,” he stated.

Muñoz has put on the table the position of the world of advertising that finances a large part of the television business. "Advertising on television and the Internet have different rules and are configured differently. TV is based on controlling the distribution channel, putting an audience in front of it and managing a finite space based on a standard measurement and a common currency for buying and selling, which is the GRP. This scheme gives us a television product with wide demand and limited supply. For its part, the Internet is an open space, with a disaggregated audience where the inventory is unlimited and where the dynamics are exactly the opposite of television. Since there is no measurement or exchange currency, it makes the video “Online is interesting but a ruin for content operators, with low prices and irregular market development. Therefore, we need measurement standards, currency, formats and a much simpler value chain,” said the Havas Media manager.

José María Casaos has reviewed Antena 3's catch-up TV experience which, under the name “Living Room Mode”, allows consumers to access online video. “Although the group is committed to HbbTv as a private group, we cannot leave aside other platforms and alternatives,” he noted. Casaos recalled the principles that the EBU/UER has set for the development of hybrid TV and “which should be respected by all agents.”

Ignacio Sanchís has focused his intervention on payment models with respect to connected television in a multi-device environment. "Why are users going to pay if they can access endless content on the Internet? At Nagravision we believe that this situation is a challenge but also a great opportunity since it allows additional content to be added to the controlled, supervised and homogeneous experience that an Over the Top (OTT) environment represents. Reaching new devices allows payment operators to reach new consumers and monetize this service," he stated.

How to monetize these models? According to Sanchís, the most widespread model currently is to provide the user with on-demand content that they already access in broadcast on other devices such as mobile phones, tablets or PCs, offering them access without any additional cost. This represents indirect monetization since the loyalty rate to the payment provider increases significantly. Other operators have segmented these services according to the subscription package to which the user is subscribed, being free for the most premium customers or charging a supplement for those users with lower packages. A third model would be based on a transactional video on demand of payment for each content you want to access (exclusive video clubs for subscribers or open ones like Belgacom or BSkyB are doing). A final model would be to make available to non-subscribers to the payment platform all the services offered in the primary broadcast service, with a virtual multi-device offer.

Mario Centeno has reviewed Vodafone's experience in the television market it is now entering. Vodafone Internet TV is an innovative hybrid proposal that, far from replacing traditional IPTV proposals, the company hopes will be an option that will grow strongly. Among their OTT services they offer an online video store, on-demand television (with agreements with some broadcasters) and catch-up TV. “With a DNA inherited from mobile telephony, we consider that these proposals are exportable to all types of screens so that consumers can manage their viewing time on all types of devices,” commented Centeno.

Situation in Europe

In a panel in which Régis Saint Girons (SVP Sales and MKT Europe OpenTv), Álex Mestre (vice president of DigitTAG), Klaus Merkel (senior engineer platforms for broadcast services IRT) and Jon Piesing (senior technical consultant at Philips) participated, the situation of hybrid television in Europe was analyzed, confirming that manufacturers are seeking pan-European harmonization for this new television.

Régis Saint Girons stated that "we need a data streaming solution and different formats derived from broadband to have an interface of different solutions. The French Government has commissioned a guide for broadcasters to develop their entry into HbbTv in accordance with neutrality parameters." “Manufacturers in France have prepared a code of good behavior in HbbTv environments with standards compatible with the regulatory framework that broadcasters currently have, guaranteeing, among other things, connectivity and advertising management without overly contaminating the content,” he stressed.

In 2012, France hopes to give a new boost to digital television based on a connectivity scheme.

For her part, Merkel has recognized that "after the failure of the MHP, the Internet was the engine we needed for the development of authentic interactive television. But this requires technical development and a unified profile that allows us to make all services and applications running on all devices... and we have found this answer in HbbTv."

In Germany, HbbTv is much more advanced than any other initiative developed since 1995 and since August 2010 the large German broadcasters are already broadcasting numerous services under this standard. German users can now access more than 40 applications offered under HbbTv by broadcasters. “The advantage of Hbbtv is that it does not establish commercial or technical preconditions to develop these services under different business models,” Merkel highlighted. “For both satellite and DTT and cable operators, it is a reality that the Internet as a television hybrid is a reality that will be unquestionable by integrating HbbTV into the STBs to be able to offer value-added services,” he added.

Álex Mestre has expressed the position of the DigiTAG forum, which was born at the dawn of digital terrestrial television, regarding the new connected television. Since DigitTAG is not a standardization body, this Geneva-based platform has taken part in the hybrid TV debate since it has the advantage of having broadcasters, manufacturers, network operators and regulators within it. DigiTAG has organized a working group for connected TV with very interesting initiatives in close collaboration with different national associations, making it clear that the development of hybrid TV must be based on technological neutrality. At this moment, DigiTAG is working on an implementation guide for these new environments, establishing a basic reference point with elements agreed upon by the different agents.

Jon Piesing has highlighted that from the manufacturers' point of view, the objective is for any HbbTv to comply with the requirements of the standard in all countries. At this time, manufacturers are applying the tests to find possible errors in the specification and to be able to include these results in the current specifications of version 2 of the HbbTv that will be approved throughout this year. "We want to have a specification that, although not perfect, is good enough to develop a good part of the services. The current specification meets these requirements. We must remember that a new specification never reaches the market in a perfect way," said Piesing.

The role of manufacturers

To close this Conference, representatives from different manufacturers have contributed their vision on the influence of networks and electronic devices on hybrid services and how they contribute to the value chain.

En el panel han participado Andrés Román, gerente de planificación estratégica de tv en Europa en Sony; César Alonso, technical support manager en Philips; Jordi Rincón, manager demmand planner & future projects en Panasonic; y Guillaume Gerard, representante de Limelight Networks.

Román has highlighted that the important thing when it comes to accessing content for users is that it is a comfortable experience, stating that when asked if broadband will take over broadcast... "there is still a long way to go to remember taking into account that a film that has been broadcast twenty times openly continues to achieve shares of 20%."

Alonso has emphasized that the second screens are fully compatible with the main screen in the living room. "We will reach a time when everything has continuity from the television, the tablet or the mobile phone. However, it would be necessary to make an effort so that the solutions we use are uniform among all European countries, since it costs us a lot of effort as manufacturers to develop specific applications for each territory."

Rincón has put on the table the fact that connected television already represents, even without fully developed HbbTv, a significant penetration rate on the part of the consumer, with an offer of screens connected to the Internet that would already represent 60%. However, only 20% of users who buy a connectable television finally connect it to the Internet. This figure increases to 80% in the case of those screens that have WiFi connection capacity.

Finally, Guillaume Gerard has contributed his vision as a content distributor, content delivery network (CDN). Limelight's video platform allows publishers to manage their libraries, publish high-quality videos to a global audience on multiple devices, measure their performance, and monetize their content. Limelight's video platform now offers a complete solution for managing and streaming live events. The media and media can thus broadcast live from anywhere in minutes on web players as well as on Blackberry, Apple and Android devices. They can even manage their live and on-demand content from a single console using the same workflow.

Access to the streaming of the II AEDETI Conference