DVB World 2013 addresses OTT services, contribution networks and the digital dividend

The possibilities and costs involved in the emergence of over-the-top services, the use of contribution networks such as Eurovision (EBU) and the uncertainty surrounding the use of the 700 MHz band, focus the debate on the second day of DVB World 2013.

Tom Morrod, from Screen Digest, opened the second day of DVB World 2013, which is being held these days in Madrid, reflecting on the real cost of OTT services. Morrod starts from the idea that over-the-top television has led to the emergence of many new players who intend to take a good part of the pie. And it is precisely the distribution of on-demand content that is one of the fastest growing areas in the entertainment industry, even above cinema or video games.

Current broadcasters are trying to enter this multi-device market although they are faced with the problem of cost. According to Morrod, although CDN costs per stream are relatively low, the problem arises when trying to reach mass audiences. Therefore, compared to a unicast, this expert opts for a combination of conventional and OTT television broadcasting depending on the volume of the audience we are addressing.

For his part, Fernando Soto, from Telefónica, recalled that in 2016, 86% of total Internet traffic will be video. Soto has drawn attention to the fact that greater device penetration does not imply greater OTT video consumption but represents new opportunities to gain video users.
“OTT is a component rather than a substitute for broadcasting,” he assured.

The key to success in OTT services is to offer good content at low cost, in a Netflix-type model. There is no doubt that the entertainment ecosystem is changing very quickly (people are enjoying TV differently than before) and that telcos will play a relevant role in reaching new consumer segments in the video market, Soto has defended.

Focusing on an extremely multi-device strategy could be, Fernando argued, a mistake in countries like Spain. However, he assured that “OTT video is real and is here to stay.”

Graham Warren, Director of Networks at the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), presented the Eurovision Contribution Network at DVB World 2013. This network distributes 30,000 hours of sports and 75,000 individual broadcasts each year (79% of the contributions are sports and 20% are news).

Warren has assured that the EBU is firmly committed to the DVB standard and although proprietary developments have great weight in their network, they are already anticipating extensions of DVB-S2 and HEVC to support even 4K formats with greater efficiency. Furthermore, according to the EBU network director, Eurovision would be eager to use the DVB Carrier ID system.

The position of the ITU

Nangapuram Venkatesh, Consejero para la Comisión de Estudio 6 (SGD/CE6) del UIT-R en la Unión Internacional de Telecomunicaciones (UIT) centró su intervención en el controvertido dividendo digital. En la CMR-12 se acordó que después de 2015 la banda de 700MHz, que se utiliza hoy en día para la radiodifusión televisiva, deberá compartirse cntre radiodifusión y móvil.

ITU-R was invited to study sharing options for doing so, and this work has been carried out by different ITU groups, including ITU-R Study Group 6. The studios are also considering options for bands above the current television broadcast bands. However, as Venkatesh has admitted, the lines along which the WRC-15 world conference will take place is still far from clear.

Study Group 6 has carried out a questionnaire on the possibilities of using the 700MHz band, finding answers that suggest that the need for this band for IMT was limited, something that has not pleased public administrations that have found a strong additional income in the dividend.