www.tvbeurope.com

July 2015Business, insight and intelligence for the media and entertainment industry

2020: visions of the futureSpecial report: Eurovision

Forum: Channel in a Box

Bridging the gender divideEvaluating the landscape for women in broadcast

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TVBEurope 3July 2015 www.tvbeurope.com

What a privilege it was to

be sat amongst such

industry experience,

intellect, and inspiration. Our rather

functional setting may have lacked

much ambience of its own, but this

was a roundtable debate of such

expression and candour that little

external stimulus was required to

encourage it along.

This was a room full of industry

experts; achievers; a gathering of

role models to the next generation

of talent that we as a business

must strive to encourage into our

fold. The very essence of bringing these people

together was so that somewhere on our horizon,

they will be acknowledged for their professional

acumen and achievements, and not because

they have overcome gender discrimination and

other forms of ‘political’ imbalance to get to

where they are.

Ultimately, this was a panel that could have

been offering informed perspectives on a legion

of industry topics. The fact they weren’t tells you

all you need to know about where we are in the

pursuit of gender equality in our sector.

Unfortunately, it appears that the only time

a signifi cant body of female executives are

seen together on a conference panel or closed

seminar of this ilk is when gender equality is the

discussion point. There must be a consensus

throughout the sector to change this, but talking

about the existing problems will only get us so

far. That’s why we created this roundtable event,

to not only acknowledge the status

quo, but to identify how all of the

momentum created by forums of this

nature will inspire action. There needs

to be a tangible result – something

that can be measured in the same

way a business measures ROI on its

activities.

Much of the discussion inside the

apologetically beige interior of our

Bloomsbury Hotel suite centred on

the grassroots, on education; on

informing the next generation of

talent that there is a future for them

in our industry – male or female. It

touched on the responsibility of senior female

fi gures in the sector to support the new wave

by becoming their champions, ambassadors,

and role models. There are many success stories

in this marketplace: the dignitaries sat at our

roundtable a great example of that fact. Those

successes need to be highlighted more often,

but in highlighting them, we need to ensure there

is an end product.

Forums, seminars, roundtables, and all their

associated editorial coverage will only get us so

far: it’s action that will bring about the change

we envisage. And I agree with our esteemed

panel that to pave the way for change, the best

place to start is at grassroots level.

And while gender imbalance remains a cause

for concern, TVBEurope will remain a committed

advocate of the movement for change.

James McKeownExecutive Editor

We must target the grassroots of our industry to bring the required balance

Welcome

Bridging the great divideEDITORIALExecutive Editor - James McKeownjmckeown@nbmedia.comEditor - Melanie Dayasena-Lowemdayasena-lowe@nbmedia.comSenior Staff Writer - Holly Ashfordhashford@nbmedia.comNewBay Media, 1st Floor, Suncourt House, 18-26 Essex Road, London N1 8LN, England +44 207 354 6002Contributors - Chris Forrester, David Fox, David Davies, Dick Hobbs, John Ive, George Jarrett, Adrian Pennington, Philip Stevens, Catherine WrightHead of Digital - Tim FrostHuman Resources & Offi ce Manager - Lianne DaveyHead of Design - Jat GarchaEditorial Production Manager - Dawn Boultwood

Senior Production Executive - Alistair TaylorPublisher - Steve Connollysconnolly@nbmedia.com+44 207 354 6000Sales Manager - Ben Ewlesbewles@nbmedia.com+44 207 354 6000Account Manager - Richard Carrrcarr@nbmedia.com+44 207 354 6000Managing Director - Mark BurtonUS Sales - Michael MitchellBroadcast Media International, PO Box 44, Greenlawn, New York, NY 11740mjmitchell@broadcast-media.tv+1 (631) 673 0072Japan and Korea Sales - Sho HariharaSales & Project, Yukari Media Incorporatedsho@yukarimedia.com+81 6 4790 2222 Fax: +81 6 4793 0800CirculationNewBay Media, Sovereign Park, Lathkill Street, Market Harborough, LE16 9EF, UK

Free subscriptionstvbe.subscriptions@c-cms.comSubscriptions Tel +44 1580 883848

TVBEurope is published 12 times a year by NewBay Media, 1st Floor, Suncourt House, 18-26 Essex Road, London, N1 8LN, England

NewBay Media is a member of the Periodical Publishers Association

© NewBay Media 2015. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior permission of the copyright owners. TVBEurope is mailed to qualifi ed persons residing on the European continent. Subscription is free.

Allow 8 weeks for new subscriptions and change of address delivery. Send subscription inquiries to: Subscription Dept, NewBay Media, Sovereign Park, Lathkill Street, Market Harborough LE16 7BR, England. ISSN 1461-4197

Printing by Pensord Press, Tram Road, Pontllanfraith, Blackwood NP12 2YA

In this issue4 TVBEurope www.tvbeurope.com July 2015

A host of leading female industry authorities gathered at the Bloomsbury Hotel in London for an exclusive TVBEurope roundtable to discuss the continuing gender imbalance in broadcast and technology

2020: visions of the future 24 2810 Opinion and Analysis

Why OTT is an opportunity and not a threat to TV operators, by Michael Lantz, CEO of Accedo

32 TVBEverywhere

12 Workfl ow

Three French broadcasters are using Avid technology in diverse ways. Melanie Dayasena-Lowe visited M6, TF1 and TV5Monde in and around Paris to fi nd out more

16 Workfl owSpecial report: Eurovision

36Angela Buenger was on the ground at the Wiener Stadthalle to report on ORF’s live production of the record-breaking 2015 Eurovision Song Contest

To follow on from the inaugural TVBEurope 2020 conference on 30 June, we invited Ericsson’s Simon Frost to off er a vision of the future of television within the Networked Society

38This month’s forum takes on a diff erent shape with Philip Stevens talking to a number of Channel in a Box vendors to discover how their solutions are being utilised to maximum eff ect

Channel in a Box forum

Bridging the gender divide

Russell Grute continues his focus on mergers and acquisitions by examining the ‘value of people’

Moving with the times: TVBEurope visits the new Modern Times Group transmission centre

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Opinion and Analysis6 TVBEurope www.tvbeurope.com July 2015

The TV landscape has changed

dramatically in recent years, with

consumers growing accustomed to

receiving the content they want when and

where they want it. With this evolution is

increased pressure on video providers to know

what the customer wants and to provide

recommendations and compelling value added

services. Providers are tapping into metadata

to increase service value and generate new

revenue and business models.

Metadata has been present in video streams

since the middle of the 1970s. It is in the changing

environment of consumer-driven content

consumption that metadata is the way to

enhance the viewing experience.

The SCTE-35 standardWith the SCTE-35 standard becoming a

requirement, metadata must be handled

in a very specific way. There is some confusion

as to what adhering to the standard

actually involves.

The SCTE-35 standard provides more flexibility

than previous methods, making it possible to

fully describe a segment within a programme.

SCTE-35 messages not only define the start

and stop points of a segment, but also the

duration, and the content within the segment.

This flexibility makes it easier to provide

personalised content.

Required metadataTwo primary pieces of metadata are required

within the video stream: the first identifies

where in the stream a segment starts and ends;

the second identifies what content is present

in that segment.

In order to set those parameters, the video

provider must determine what constitutes a

segment for them; e.g. the main programme is

often one segment, with other segments

for national and local advertising spots.

SCTE-35 can be used to define more specific

segments than that. Individual scenes can

be defined, enabling the possibility of scene

substitution based on the age and preference

of the viewer.

The rules for content replacement are defined

outside of the video stream and should follow

the Event Signalling and Management (ESAM)

and Event Scheduling and Notification Interface

(ESNI) standards.

Being SCTE-35 compliant: determining the ‘where’SCTE-35 splice messages indicate where to

replace content in a video stream. Splice

points must be identified at the beginning and

end of the content segment. Every splice point

should begin with an encoder-created IDR

frame and the encoder should insert the

SCTE-35 splice message. The splice commands

are contained within a splice information

section SCTE-35 message.

Because duration is present, while it is good

practice to supply both the start and stop points,

it is only a requirement to provide one.

Determining the ‘what’SCTE-35 messages are used to define what

content is in each segment. Splice descriptors

identifying the content in each segment can

be added to a splice information section

message. The SCTE-35 standard predefines

three types of descriptors: the Avail descriptor

is added to the splice insert command, and

this descriptor functions like a cue tone. It is

interpreted by the receiving equipment as a

splice point for substituting local advertising into

the programme stream.

The DTMF descriptor instructs a receiver to

initiate the specified DTMF tone. The result of

this descriptor is the same as the Avail, but

it accomplishes this by signalling older

splicing equipment that still require the

audible DTMF tones.

The segmentation descriptor is used to define

the content of a programme segment. This

descriptor has fields that are used to turn web

distribution on or off, or mark whether a segment

should or should not be blacked out.

According to the specification, the

segmentation descriptor is added to a time

signal command or other splice commands,

and is used to identify the content of a

new upcoming segment. The segmentation

descriptor message should be delivered at

least four seconds before the beginning of

the segment, but is often delivered eight to 12

seconds before the segment.

Making the most of metadataWith the pace of change in the video

distribution industry, it is clear the future

for content distributors is in the value added

to the distributed content. It is a challenge

to implement new standards quickly,

especially when you need to leverage older

equipment and systems that are not fully

compliant. However, the companies that

plan today to manage content smartly will

reap the rewards, delivering compelling

content to viewers, and generating new

revenue streams.

MetadataMeeting the SCTE-35 requirements

By Roger Franklin, CEO, Crystal

With the pace of change in the video distribution industry, it is clear the future

for content distributors is in the value added to the content distributed

Providers are tapping into metadata to increase service value and generate new

revenue and business models

Opinion and Analysis8 TVBEurope www.tvbeurope.com July 2015

Satellite interference is a big topic. Much of

this discussion and activity is sparked off by

broadcasters, who wanted to ensure the

seamless delivery of content. The satellite industry

responded by kicking off a host of activity aimed

at reducing interference over the last few years.

There have been a number of specifications,

resolutions, training and quality programmes, and

guidelines issued to ensure the various initiatives

can be as effective as possible, but there is still a

certain lack of clarity for some.

Carrier ID specificationsCarrier ID (CID) is perhaps the most talked about

initiative over the last couple of years, and is an

effective way of fighting interference once it

occurs. It takes the form of a unique embedded

code within the transmission, meaning that when

interference occurs, it can be quickly pinpointed.

After much commitment and effort from the

manufacturers, we now have a DVB specification

and ETSI standard for a new CID insertion

technology, based on an original development

by Comtech EF Data, with Newtec and others

supporting testing and the DVB procedure. The CID

info is now transported in a resilient spread-spectrum

carrier, ensuring the ID can be detected at all times.

Most manufacturers have already integrated

CID support into their products and most new

launches have the ETSI version. The original

Network Information Table (NIT) standard is still in

place and functioning, but as we will discuss in a

moment, it will eventually be phased out. So for

broadcasters, buying new products and ensuring

they adhere to the ETSI standard for CID will

guarantee being CID ready, but also future-proof.

The WBU-ISOG resolutionsThe World Broadcasting Union’s International

Satellite Operators Group (recently renamed

International Media Connectivity Group or

IMCG) issued a number of important resolutions

relating to CID implementation. Some of these

affect satellite operators, to begin the transition

to CID, and the broadcasters’ role to ensure

inclusion of CID in transmissions.

So, here is what you need to be doing already:

CID support should be specified in all requests for

proposal for any SCPC and MCPC video and data.

If you are buying new modulators or single

thread encoders for video uplinking, they should

have CID support that meets the ETSI standard.

The next major deadline for this set of

resolutions is 31 December, 2017, at which point

you will need to ensure:

CID is included for all SCPC and MCPC video

and data transmissions.

The phasing out of the NIT version of CID and

transition to the ETSI standard for CID.

The FCC guidelinesThe FCC is also doing its bit to ensure widespread

implementation of CID by making CID a

requirement for all SNG/flyaway broadcast

platforms by 1 June, 2016. Of course, this

specifically relates to US broadcasts, however,

I would really like to see other regulators and

major broadcasters follow suit.

Getting CID-readyThe broadcasters wanted something done.

Although progress is being made, it is slow.

The satellite industry has made great strides in

developing the technology and tools to combat

interference and there really is some incredible

technology worth looking at, but what is really

needed now is for the broadcasters to step up

and implement CID and training programmes.

There are two principle parts to a

broadcaster’s involvement:

1. Ensure your SNG operators are properly

trained. Better-trained operators are less likely

to cause interference in the first instance, and

better equipped to handle any errors that

may occur. Many operators in the broadcast

environment are simply not sufficiently

trained. Our End Users Initiative (EUI) Advisory

Committee has created a customised training

and certification programme, specifically

tailored to the broadcast SNG environment. The

certification ensures that uplink operators are

properly trained, leading to reduced transmission

errors and decreasing instances of interference.

2. Adopt the Carrier ID technology developed

by the industry to combat interference by

adhering to the guidelines. As a group we

are working continuously on innovations relating

to improving geolocation and tools for determining

VSAT interference. This technology is well

advanced, with the ability to use interference

cancellation technology to ensure you can

tackle this challenge.

Complying with interference guidelinesBy Martin Coleman, executive director, the Satellite Interference Reduction Group (IRG)

Th e wireless and most

of capturing

It’s the subject that comes up time and again

in discussions about M&A. With individual

behaviour often triggered by perceived threat

or opportunity, assessing the role and ongoing

value of key individuals and teams causes many

misunderstandings.

Regardless of company size or funding

type, it’s the people that innovate and deliver.

Working together they market, sell, and support a

company’s value proposition.

I spoke with Ben Davenport, director of

marketing at Dalet and an M&A veteran from

both AmberFin and Omneon. “As an investor or

shareholder, gauging the success of a merger

or acquisition could be fairly black and white:

largely deduced over a defined period of time

from the (merged) companies’ quarterly or annual

financial statements. For customers, the benefits of

one vendor acquiring another can be much less

obvious. It’s important to remember, especially in

such an innovative industry as ours, that companies

are actually about people. It’s people that have

the courage to collaborate, innovate and create.

Sure, you buy a product and might compare that

like-for-like with other products, but later on you

actually buy from a person or group. Personal

relationships are often your direct connection to a

brand and crucially where you have placed your

loyalty and trust.”

Once those key people start to move or are

moved around then trust has to move too. That’s

a difficult transition, impossible to predict. The long-

term, face-to-face dialogue which helps forge that

trust with customers is hard won. Ask any real sales

professional. And it’s great sales people that often

suffer most during a change of owner, if they judge

that their promises and customer commitments

might be affected by the new regime.

Keith Nicholas, head of operations for digital

media services at BBC Studios and Post Production,

adds, “Acquisitions can cause unintended

uncertainty for customers and while those in the

boardroom understand their rationale behind

bringing companies together, this is quite often

misunderstood by those that interface directly with

the clients; their concern is often more about their

future within the merged organisation. Whilst the

press releases may make all the right noises, the

discussion in the pub may be more confusing.

So it’s important that the new structure is made as

clear as possible as early as possible: time is

of the essence.”

So how do potential investors successfully

mitigate this – how do they get beyond the

spreadsheets and the roadmaps? It’s not

uncommon during an acquisition for there to be

a target list. Specific individuals, who are judged

to be of the highest value, may be obliged to

stay with the merged company for a prescribed

length of time post-acquisition. Their loyalty may be

incentivised; so called ‘golden handcuffs’. There

can also be a longer list of those who are protected

from ‘combined efficiency’ restructuring targets

later on too. Maybe they get boxing gloves?

Davenport again: “Smart integrations try to

understand the value of individuals and the

intangible values they bring. Acquisitions often

fail to achieve enough growth when there is

inaccurate perception of these intangible values or

inappropriate leadership.”

Timing is everythingHavard Myklebust, CTO at Norwegian commercial

broadcaster and media house TV 2, gives his

customer’s point of view when an acquisition

becomes public knowledge.

“For vendors of strategic technology, it can

affect their short-term business negatively. In many

cases it can be a double negative. It casts doubt

over any urgent choices. A vendor that you may

have been investigating successfully for many

months can suddenly look like a less clear choice.

Why are they being acquired? The local sales

team cannot usually offer the reassurance you

need. The next thing you know is that you receive a

delegation from the new management promising

everything will stay the same, or that everything

will change. Only one of those statements may

actually be helpful. Alternatively, the delegation

comes fishing for answers about your requirements

and the market potential; this can really set alarm

bells ringing. Customers have much less time and

resources to adapt to the consequences of an

acquisition than investors realise. Often, it causes a

loss of interest.”

Indeed, I have seen many occasions where in

addition to the unintended consequences of poor

customer communication, the competition takes

immediate clear strategic action to benefit from

an acquisition or rumour in the short term. Extra

stamina is required to get growth going again. Even

if that is present in the target sales team, it may

take longer for the people at resellers or systems

integrators to regain their impetus and direction.

Joachim Bergman, head of service area

playout and media management at Ericsson

Broadcast and Media Services, adds, “In recent

projects where vendors have been acquired,

the results have been mixed and comparatively

small issues have caused tangible performance

issues. Sometimes, problems arise in support and

in larger issues related to premature or rapid

decisions on product rationalisation without proper

communication, both internally and to customers.

“For us, there is a need for transparent and

rapid communication of roadmaps and changes

in order for us to mitigate any potential negative

consequences. Hiding or waiting to communicate

bad news is never a good option and that has

sometimes happened. It is better for us to have the

difficult conversations up front with a constructive

dialogue about transition and ‘sunset’ of products

and services.”

The customers’ buying cycle and expectations,

especially with longer-term technology investments

such as MAM, newsrooms systems and automation

that have lengthy implementations, often conflict

directly with the timescale of acquisition – and

the product strategy post-acquisition. People are

important here too, as many situations are better

dealt with face to face.

Where’s the edge?Investors often comment to me that the broadcast

and media technology industry is financially difficult

to size – appearing both too big and too small at

the same time. The edges are hard to find. So many

products appear unfinished, too.

For investors, and customers of course, it’s

sometimes challenging to ascertain exactly how

mature the target’s emerging new technologies

and products really are. Early adopter users are

looking for the same thing as more adventurous

M&A: the value of peopleOpinion and Analysis

10 TVBEurope www.tvbeurope.com July 2015

I hope you enjoyed last month’s feature ‘Ghosts in the machine’; Broadcast Innovation’s soft-rock-defined M&A review. This month, part two focuses on the greatest intangible of all in successful M&A: the value of people. By Russell Grute

investors, something with suitable potential that

is currently undervalued. In other words, the right

marginal area for public or private investment as

explained by Josh Stinehour in last month’s issue.

Optimal success comes when products and

solutions are ready enough. Or ‘out of the box’, as

specified in many an RFP. This takes real discipline

in product management and in selling to control

commitments. And perhaps ‘the box’ might be a

strange shape; not square. Maybe the cardboard

is a bit soggy.

By way of example, in my experience smart

appliance vendors (for example Axon, Evertz,

Snell and Ross) are better at this. Telestream and

Elemental impress, too. However, many MAM,

automation and newsroom control vendors

have a more difficult time. Their products are

more complex solutions with multiple third-party

integrations, and they suffer where clients do not

effectively communicate all of their requirements.

I use these to illustrate where I have found investors

confused by the dynamics of the broadcast

industry. Please don’t write in.

Smaller, privately owned vendors often innovate

the fastest in any industry. Private ownership allows

them to optimise their own balance of innovation

and risk internally. This is usually via a succession of

early sales, where they try to mature their solution

(finish the product) whilst gaining feedback. This is

a tried and tested path for the vast majority of the

start-up and small (say around $5 million annual

revenue excluding support) vendors at NAB. This

inevitably leads to a highly challenging imbalance:

choosing between continued investment in

innovation and development versus the growing

pressure to deliver on their commitments in new

sales and projects.

With many customers actually much larger than

the suppliers their businesses rely on, in terms of

revenue, customers do exert inappropriate pressure

at times. When further growth is required beyond

what is possible organically in-house, or it looks like

the wheels are falling off due to customer success

and pressure, investment is sought.

Another potential cautionary indicator is when

a vendor’s key developers end up on the projects.

Late night tactical coding on the job accompanied

by too many fizzy drinks is fast, but often means

poor quality control and bad documentation. This

high wire act is usually managed instinctively by a

small core group of people. Often, the company

founders, led by a charismatic CTO, are performing

the front line communications face to face. Unless

this can be scaled-up, the acquired company,

however smart, may not add as much growth

as expected.

I’ll leave it to Keith Nicholas to bring us back down

to earth. “However long you have worked in

the industry, we all develop a network of trusted

colleagues and associates who we work with and

follow from supplier to supplier. These relationships

can be overlooked at the time of merger, but it

can make the difference between a sales call

being accepted or declined. I am a strong

believer that our industry’s greatest strength is still

the people and personalities.”

TVBEurope 11July 2015 www.tvbeurope.com

Opinion and Analysis

Until earlier this year, the UK operation

and administrative centres for MTG

(Modern Times Group) were located in

buildings some miles apart. With the lease on

the operations centre due to expire in 2015,

the group made a decision to locate all of its

UK operations under one roof. The result is an

impressive facility close to London’s Chiswick Park

that handles the playout for some 60 television

channels in both SD and HD serving various

parts of the world.

But what is a Swedish company doing with a

truly state-of-the-art broadcast facility in the UK?

And why does it also have another major

TX centre in Latvia?

“When MTG started broadcasting to

Scandinavia in 1987 there was no commercial

TV market there,” explains Magnus Lindholm,

CEO of MTG Broadcast Centre, Sweden, Latvia

and Africa, and project manager for the

Chiswick Park build. “Therefore, we obtained a

licence in London, and set up a broadcasting

facility that could offer entertainment channels

to viewers all over Scandinavia via satellite. As

our channel offering grew over time, it continued

to make sense to have a central broadcasting

hub in London.”

London is not, however, the only transmission

centre for this international broadcaster. Until

2010, MTG also operated three separate

broadcast centres in the Baltics, but all were in

need of extensive technological investments.

The most effective solution was to centralise

playout to Riga, Latvia, but keep the studio and

sports productions in the neighbouring regions.

Essentially, the live productions in those regions

are produced locally, and sent via fibre network

to Riga for inserts.

Today, both Riga and London provide

separate playout facilities across a number of

MTG’s outlets, but more importantly they provide

back-up for each other’s priority channels in

the case of an emergency or a breakdown.

Workflow12 TVBEurope www.tvbeurope.com July 2015

Moving with the timesPhilip Stevens visits the new Modern Times Group transmission centre

The MCR at the MTG facility is located close to the playout room

Each day, the transmission playlists are

loaded in both locations so that a switch can

be made, if necessary.

“That essential duplicating of operations

played a major part in the technology

decisions when we moved into this new

facility,” says Lindholm.

SynergyHe continues, “[The Riga facility] was built

about five years ago and that was based on an

automation system from Pebble Beach Systems.

When we decided to build the new UK facility

it made sense to look at synergies and

efficiencies that could be made. So when we

looked at the options for an automation system

for the new facility, it was reasonable to go with

Pebble Beach Systems Marina, with which we

felt very comfortable.”

Alongside the main transmission facilities in

Riga and London, MTG also utilises Pebble Beach

Systems equipment in other centres in Sweden,

Ghana and Tanzania.

“By using the same brand across several sites,

we can share knowledge and components but,

most importantly, we are more effective,” states

Lindholm. “London and Riga playout centres

are interlinked with a fibre – so what we ingest in

London is available in Riga and vice versa. We

use Front Porch products mainly due to stability

and flexibility. We had an alternative supplier for

this application, but due to the required archive

synchronisation and robustness, Front Porch was

the choice.”

He says that the complexity of the London

operation makes considerable demands on

all the equipment. “For instance, with the TV3

Swedish channel and 19 regional opt-outs being

part of the mix, all the systems need to be totally

reliable and readily manageable.”

TVBEurope 13July 2015 www.tvbeurope.com

Workflow

“Our goal is to be the leading digital entertainment company in each of our

major markets” Magnus Lindholm, MTG

The new Transmission Centre has been planned to allow daylight to be seen in the room

Workflow14 TVBEurope www.tvbeurope.com July 2015

Axon Cortex software is used for controlling the

switching of these 19 regions of TV3 Sweden.

All ingest is carried out in HD format, with

transmissions for the SD channels being down-

converted within the centre.

Automated ingestFrom the outset, the facility has been built

for tapeless operation. Although some of the

content still arrives on tape, MTG is looking to

transition to total digital file delivery by the

end of 2015.

Rachel Bernard, vice president of Broadcast

Operations in London, explains more. “Ingesting

directly to a central storage with instant

playback and editing was one of our key

requirements, mainly to minimise time for file

transfer. The Dalet iCRs were the only application

at the time that could meet these requirements.

The iCR in combination with the Aurora is the

perfect match to automate ingest and quality

check, which we see as an important element to

increase speed, while maintaining quality.”

One major change of supplier came with

the choice of media asset management

(MAM) system.

“We looked at around three MAM solutions

and TMD Mediaflex came out strongest,” states

Bernard. “At the time of the selection process,

TMD offered one of the few systems supporting

two of our key requirements: Quick Time

reference and multilingual audio and subtitling

which is used on our pay-TV channels.

The change of system involved considerable

re-training, but it was completed with few, if

any, problems.”

The transmission centre utilises two separate

Harmonic systems. Each system is fully redundant

providing four spectrums in total. To minimise

transfers and disturbances there is a cache of 36

hours of each spectrum.

“We need to store broadcast material for up

to six months, so the video archiving solution

from Ideas Unlimited was a good option. This is a

disc-based system that is attached to their server

giving the users access to the complete period via

the Ideas Unlimited software,” explains Bernard.

Onscreen optionsWhen it comes to graphics, MTG uses both

Pixel Power and Vizrt systems. The former is

used mainly for the group’s free-TV channels

dynamic branding, while Vizrt is employed on

the pay-TV outlets.

One of the shift supervisors checks for new schedules in order to chase any missing material for later in the day

MTG’s facility close to London’s Chiswick Park handles playout for some 60 TV

channels in both SD and HD serving various parts of the world

“We have also been using Screen

Subtitling products for many years,

not only in London, but also in

Riga,” says Lindholm. “Screen

offers rapid remote and onsite

support and we are happy with

their performance. MTG has been

using a mixture of other brands

over the years, but we keep

coming back to Screen’s products.

SDI Media, the owner of Screen

Subtitling, delivers MTG’s access

services and this system is well

integrated into our workflows in an

efficient way.”

As far as the physical operation

is concerned, the control room

consists of three ‘pods’ plus a

supervisor position running 24 hours

a day. There is also a schedule

checking operator position that is

manned seven days a week.

“It is a fairly small team, but

that is adequate because we

handle all our own ingest and

because we are really hot when

it comes to QC, especially the

metadata,” says Bernard. “So,

a great deal of the hard work

is done prior to material being

passed to transmission. We have a

really dedicated team that makes

certain everything is ‘good to go’

before it hits the robot.”

She says that with multiple sites it

is vital that a policy of ‘ingest once,

playout many, ingest anywhere,

playout anywhere’ is followed.

Although there are no studios

for live production in the London

centre, there are editing facilities.

Before the relocation, MTG

was using a mixture of editing

formats, but with the move a

decision was made to minimise the

number of brands and solutions

for compatibility, knowledge and

commercial reasons. “We use the

Adobe Premiere mainly for in-

house productions of commercial

material, trailers editing of ingested

material and compliance editing.

Currently, we have more than

100 stations which are connected

to large production storage

to increase efficiencies with

minimised file movements,”

states Lindholm.

Working environmentAlongside the new equipment

and state-of-the-art technology,

Bernard has worked hard to

establish an exceptional working

environment. The main control

room has windows that enable

operators to see the difference

in night and day. Wherever

practical, other rooms, such as

the ingest facility, have been built

with access to daylight. An area

has been set aside that will be

equipped with computers and

printers where technologists will be

able to experiment with new ideas

and concepts. Even the canteen

has been designed to look like an

outdoor leisure facility.

And with all the offices and

technical areas spread across five

floors, there is ample space for the

working environment.

Although the move has only

recently been completed, there is

still movement towards the future.

“Our goal is to be the leading

digital entertainment company

in each of our major markets,”

says Lindholm. “Geographical

expansion and content are our

other key priorities; therefore,

we’re actively looking for and

creating our own formats,

securing Hollywood studio deals

and long-term sports deals, such

as the UEFA Champions League,

Formula One, NHL and the English

Premier League.”

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TVBEurope 15July 2015 www.tvbeurope.com

Workflow

“MTG has been using a mixture of other brands over the years, but we keep coming back to Screen’s products”

Magnus Lindholm, MTG

By touring the offices of French TV networks

M6, TF1 and TV5Monde, it was clear that

the broadcasters all share the same vision

when it comes to technology. Collaboration

and sharing assets emerged as the common

requirements expected from their systems.

The first visit of the day was to M6 Group, one

of Avid’s longest standing customers, which is

very strong in digital offerings and innovation.

The media group operates ten channels,

which includes the flagship M6 generalist

channel, W9 aimed at a younger audience, and

6ter for families. The company also produces its

own original programming such as teleshopping.

On the digital side, Mathias Bejanin, CTO at M6

Group, said it is the number one group in terms of

visibility on the web with dedicated sites such as

Meteocity for weather reports. “We have digital

services for replay. Our main service is 6play. It

delivers catch-up TV for the main channels of the

group and also offers online channels for specific

thematics such as food or fashion,” he says.

In terms of technical infrastructure, Bejanin

outlines the group’s set-up: “We have a lot of

technical operations because we have studio

production, post production and internal

subsidiaries of the group focused on media

production. We have chosen Avid for both

newsroom and magazine production.

“Regarding magazines, we have about 45

to 50 Media Composer rooms and seven Pro

Tools rooms across the various buildings. In

the newsroom, the system can host up to 30

NewsCutters associated with ingest servers,

playout servers controlled by iNEWS Command,

Capture Manager and iNEWS. The full Avid

range in fact.

“The main addition to our technical infrastructure

recently is the asset management system,

Interplay | MAM.” The new Avid workflow

enables M6 to share purchased content

between 50 concurrent users and four

departments and maximise the value of its

massive archive of media assets.

“Avid Interplay | MAM enables us to save

valuable time and resources across our entire

organisation. Our old workflows and systems were

limited, and did not allow easy co-operation

between departments.

We are now able to easily share media between

all of our different departments.”

Bejanin explains what M6 was looking for from

a MAM system. “A few years ago, we had a lot

of technical infrastructure for post production

and different teams working on post production

infrastructure but quite independently, which

means every team would keep their own

archives and database. There was no exchange

with the newsroom. This was difficult to operate

and didn’t allow us to share images or save costs

as we could end up buying images several times.

“We started looking for a system that would unify

Workflow16 TVBEurope www.tvbeurope.com July 2015

French broadcasters value collaboration and innovation

Three French broadcasters are using Avid technology in diverse ways. They are adapting their workflows to meet the changing needs of their networks as well as adapting to more digital and non-linear services. Melanie Dayasena-Lowe visited M6, TF1 and TV5Monde in and around Paris to find out more

“Now, 80 per cent of our archive is digitised and is directly accessible in the

Interplay | MAM system” Mathias Bejanin, M6

Mathias Bejanin: “It’s in our plans to plug more and more teams into Interplay | MAM.

all databases, allow us to share and give the

same tools to all the teams. We wanted to

have common rules for indexing, description

of assets, and archiving.”

Exchanging mediaTalking about the benefits, Bejanin adds:

“Interplay | MAM has opened up collaboration

between the internal teams and that was the

initial goal. We can now see each other’s assets.

It really facilitates the exchange of media

between different services and we reach a

much larger database than before.”

M6 has also built an interface for Interplay

| MAM. “We have an interface with our MAM

for the broadcast part. Interplay | MAM is used

for archive but there is a different MAM for

broadcast. The perimeter for this second MAM is

that all the files are ready to be broadcast and

are not archive files.”

Alongside the MAM project, M6 had already

started a programme to digitise all of its assets

because most of it was on tape. “Now, 80 per

cent of our archive is digitised and is directly

accessible in the Interplay | MAM system.”

The company also has plans to extend

accessibility to the MAM. “It’s in our plans to plug

more and more teams into Interplay | MAM. The

most recent addition is the promo department as

they need a lot of images to make their promos.”

One of M6’s other goals was to fully switch to

a file-based workflow and that has already been

achieved. There are no more tapes, everything

has been digitised,” he adds.

The next stop was to TV5Monde, a French-

speaking TV network created by French-

speaking countries such as France, Belgium,

TVBEurope 17July 2015 www.tvbeurope.com

Workflow

In the M6 newsroom, the system can host up to 30 NewsCutters associated with ingest servers, playout servers controlled by

iNEWS Command, Capture Manager and iNEWS

“It is impossible to just think linear. We have to think 360 degrees”

Alexis Renard, TV5Monde

Alexis Renard: “We wanted a product that was reliable and flexible in terms of IT integration”

Canada, and Switzerland. “We broadcast every

kind of content including entertainment, movies,

and news,” says Alexis Renard, deputy technical

director, TV5Monde.

The network’s content is French speaking

and attracts 250 million households worldwide.

According to Renard, its audience comprises

mainly French-loving people and those wanting

to learn French. “In order to attract non-French-

speaking people we subtitle content, so this is a

key differentiator for us. We’re subtitling about

12 different languages including English,

French, and Arabic.”

And what goes on behind the scenes with

TV5Monde’s technical set-up? “Technology is

everywhere because we have four main systems

for ingest, broadcasting, post production, news,

and archiving/storage,” he explains.

“In order to link everything together we have a

centralised service-oriented architecture (SOA).

It was mainly an IT integration project, which

started in 2012 and took two years.”

The project was progressive, “not an on-off

operation”, he remarks. “With the traditional

broadcast operation, we offer a lot of services

around that: internet, mobile platform, catch-up

and non-linear content services.”

TV5Monde has been an Avid customer since

2000 and Renard explains how Avid’s technology

plays a key part in enabling the staff to share

assets and collaborate.

“Everything that is focused around hot content

(news and live) goes through the Avid system. It is

ingested there, goes through a post production

step and is then sent to the production control

room. Cold content goes through the traditional

ingest and playout system.”

For archiving, Interplay | MAM is used for two

purposes. “We extract everything valuable from

the hot content, which can be reused later and

archived. There is a team of people in charge of

describing the content and filling in

metadata in Interplay | MAM. It is also used

for referencing and tracking the content that

is used for playout.”

Renard says the Avid system is crucial

for TV5Monde. It is used for traditional post

production plus there is a native Avid workflow

for news. iNEWS is used by the journalism team

to access footage and validate stories while

NewsCutters are used for editing and Interplay

Central for rough cutting, rushes and logging.

“Everywhere else, the workflows are managed

by our SOA SYGEPS where processes are

scripted. That’s where we can master and

control our operations. SYGEPS is also connected

to the supervision system.”

Flexible and openRenard praises the Avid system for its openness.

“We wanted a product that was reliable and

flexible in terms of IT integration. Now, there is

proof that we can integrate that system very

deeply in a modern TV organisation.

“We wanted to optimise the quality of the

content and storage we wanted to buy. We

decided to go for XDCAM HD, which the Avid

system supports. It’s also flexible so if we want

to extend the system and scale it, we can. The

post production system is separated from the

www.tvbeurope.com July 2015

Workflow18 TVBEurope

TV5Monde is French speaking and attracts 250 million households worldwide

“More and more we’re making graphics-only stories”

Hervé Pavard, TF1

Hervé Pavard: “TF1 is still working with a traditional MAM to edit stories”

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Workflow20 TVBEurope www.tvbeurope.com July 2015

ingest system. This was a major step because in

the past it was the same and in terms of resource

allocation it was not perfect,” he comments.

When it comes to technology, the network has

also focused on sustainability and conserving

energy by building a green room three years

ago to house its technical equipment in an

environmentally friendly manner.

Going forward, TV5Monde will be tweaking

and customising its workflow. “The architecture

has been conceived for change, thanks to the

openness. We keep moving especially when we

talk about non-linear services.”

Renard elaborated on the importance for non-

linear services: “Now it’s impossible to promote

and develop the business if you don’t offer non-

linear content around the core offering. We work

with our digital team to provide content for these

non-linear platforms: catch-up, streaming, VoD,

mobile apps, web apps and websites. Everything

is managed from the same system. Workflows are

managed by SYGEPS for delivering content to

these non-linear channels. It is impossible to just

think linear. We have to think 360 degrees.”

The final leg of the tour was to see TF1, the

oldest French TV channel, which is considered to

be the leading broadcaster for news in France.

TF1’s news shows at 13:00 and 20:00 are the most

popular shows. The broadcaster also produces

the 24/7 LCI news channel.

Located in Boulogne, the TF1 building features

a main studio for TF1, one for LCI, and two for

production facilities. The broadcaster uses non-

TF1 facilities for shows such as The Voice.

The main studio used for TF1’s news shows –

built by TF1 with help from a set designer – was

refurbished back in 2010/2011. Hervé Pavard,

CTO for TF1, says it was a complex project to

ensure the equipment was kept cool through

sufficient airflow and circulation.

Pavard provided a guided tour of the

broadcaster’s facility with a detailed look at the

operations and workflows.

TF1 has a main incoming and recording facility.

“The main incoming desk is where we record all

the feeds and all the stories/rushes in our Avid

system using Interplay Capture. That is recording

on the ISIS system,” explains Pavard.

He describes the change in workflow in

terms of how files are received compared to

a few years ago.

“We now receive files that can

come from our own teams and news agencies

that we use from around the world through

FTP. We are managing files and these are then

pushed to the Avid system.”

For TF1 news, there are 13 editing rooms with

Media Composer and two Pro Tools mixers. “TF1

is still working with a traditional MAM to edit

stories,” he explains.

Graphics-only storiesWith LCI, there are 15 to 20 editing booths, which

are journalist operated. Pavard explains how

there is now a shift towards more graphics-only

stories. “More and more we’re making graphics-

only stories. We used to use stock shots but now

we try and make it 100 per cent graphics. We tell

the story only with graphics.”

Overseeing the main technical operation is

the cockpit. “It looks more at IT supervision of

the complete infrastructure and at broadcast

supervision. It checks everything in real time.

There are messages about what needs to be

done and alarms if anything goes wrong in

the system. You can control the complete

facility from here.”

There is also a test and investigation room

where people can isolate themselves and take

control of the equipment to check everything is

functioning correctly.

iNEWS is used by the journalism team to access footage and validate stories

RTL News organisation’s Amsterdam

operation recently upgraded its studio and

gallery to high definition (HD) and, at the

same time, extensively transformed its existing

facilities by incorporating some innovative

virtual 3D solutions.

“Our previous set-up was somewhat basic,

and we need to develop a new look,” explains

director of news, Marc Schreuder. “What we

wanted to create was a studio with the option

of incorporating a group of very large virtual

images and graphics. These would enable us

to expand the scope of stories or to carry out

animations and on-screen explanations.”

Schreuder goes on to explain that he wanted to

use large virtual images in both the background

and foreground. “The look I wanted to create was

of an empty studio populated with some very big

green screens. The idea was to frame the news

pictures in such a way as to create urgency while

explaining stories for our viewers.”

Dynamic upgradingSo just how did RTL go about achieving the

effect it wanted to create?

Hank van de Loo, manager AV techniek,

RTL Engineering, explains more. “You have

to remember that we are talking about a

studio that was more than ten years old. It

was still operating in SD and so as well as the

need for the more dynamic look for our news

programmes, we needed to upgrade the output

to HD. Not only that, we thought this was a good

moment to see whether or not we were still on

track with our audiences. We wanted to know,

for example, if we were getting our messages

across in a way that fits with the current way

of perceiving news.”

Van de Loo says that because so many of

RTL’s viewers use devices such as iPhones and

tablets, television news output should offer

a similar look and feel, with the ability for presenters

themselves to ‘swipe’ to the next image in the story.

The first phase saw Belgian company Pièce

Montée create a new design for the studio. This

would include the ‘windows’ that would display

the virtual images that were essential in meeting

RTL’s objectives.

TVBEurope 21July 2015 www.tvbeurope.com

Workflow

Filling a window on the world

RTL developed a green screen concept that would provide images in different areas of the new studio

Philip Stevens learns how a dynamic virtual 3D solution breathes new life into Dutch news programmes

Because so many of RTL’s viewers use devices such as iPhones and tablets,

television news output should offer a similar look and feel, with the ability for presenters themselves to ‘swipe’ to the

next image in the story

www.tvbeurope.com July 2015

Workflow22 TVBEurope

“The Belgian developers came up with a

physical ‘window’ which included an in-built

virtual augmented frame,” describes van de

Loo. “This design centred on a virtual and

augmented environment in a studio that had

no cameramen, five robotic cameras on the

floor, and a production gallery with only three

people: the director, the assistant to the director

looking after robotics, and the editor-in-chief with

responsibility for the content of the broadcast.”

Close collaboration“With the concept in mind, we had the

additional challenge of a number of different

suppliers having to work together to achieve

our desired look,” states van de Loo. “But we

did get some significant help from other parts of

the RTL organisation. Although the Netherlands

operation of RTL had not previously used an

Orad product, I found that its virtual solutions had

been used with amazing results in other parts of

the broadcasting group. For example, M6 in Paris

employed Orad PowerWall, and later installed

the company’s solution for its dynamic graphics

across all 12 of its channels.”

The result was a period of intense collaboration

on the technical infrastructure and design from

Orad, Sony and Vinten as well as the RTL board,

technical management, editorial and news

teams. “This cooperation across multiple vendors

and groups was key in innovating the way we

ultimately designed the studio and now present

our news programmes,” emphasises van de Loo.

The outcome is a new RTL studio workflow,

which includes three virtual big green screens

and one large frame for augmented content

on the 11mx20m wide studio floor. Central to

the solution is Orad ProSet for keying content

over the virtual panels and creating augmented

reality elements.

Orad ProSet extracts camera, positional

and lens parameters from each of the robotic

cameras to enable the keyed graphics to be

accurately displayed on the three virtual panels

within the physical studio. ProSet’s authoring

software retrieves bitmap files in a format that

permits per-layer manipulation and animation. It

also has dynamic scene-blending architecture

that permits the triggering of multiple graphic

scenes at the same time using just one

system. This allows a virtual background to be

generated from one scene while foreground

objects are created from an alternative scene.

Both sources are then combined into a single

unified output channel to provide the overall

graphic solution.

The system’s internal chroma keyer is utilised

for controlling the sharpness of both the graphics

and video content. In addition, ProSet generates

the augmented reality elements to create the

distinctive look for each of the programmes that

are originated in the new studio.

Orad’s own HDVG4 rendering platform

renders intricate 3D graphics scenery in real time,

providing depth and perspectives as well as

realistic textures.

Full-screen graphics, tickers, lower thirds

and other graphic elements are under the

With ‘windows’ surrounding news presenters, dynamic images can be shown from various angles

“This cooperation across multiple vendors and groups was key in innovating the way

we ultimately designed the studio and now present our news programmes”

Hank van de Loo, RTL

TVBEurope 23July 2015 www.tvbeurope.com

Workflow

management of another Orad component:

Maestro control. This handles the workflow from

ingest, through authoring, managing, distribution,

playout, to archiving.

The playlist, including the virtual background

and the on-air graphics, are generated by the

Maestro News Producer plugin, embedded within

the Avid iNews newsroom computer system.

Rundowns are created by dragging and dropping

graphic elements into a playlist. These rundowns

are controlled by the Sony ELC studio automation

system, which triggers the Maestro-created playlist

to air. This automation also controls camera robotics

from Vinten with APS (Absolute Positioning System)

and Egripment track hanging in the ceiling.

Quick-change setsAccording to van de Loo, the solution provides

RTL with all the advantages of a video wall but

without having to install a ‘physical’ component.

“We produce 25 different shows each day from

that studio, so that’s a heavy workload. Although

the number of personnel in the studio and gallery

has been reduced, we have increased the size

of the graphics department to handle the new

demands. The screens are two metres high, and

eight metres wide, so that’s not a normal 16:9

picture. That means we have to be quite creative

when it comes to making images that are visually

good on the screen for the viewers at home.”

He concludes, “The new studio provides our

audience with a stunning visual set that is very

flexible in terms of graphics presentation. It has

enabled us to raise brand awareness that has

seen audiences more connected to the news

programmes, thanks to the hyper-reality richness

of the content. As far as the future is concerned,

we are already preparing with Orad for the next

generation studio which we anticipate will be

online later this year.”

“The new studio provides our audience with a stunning visual set that is very flexible in

terms of graphics presentation” Hank van de Loo, RTL

24 TVBEurope

in association with

www.tvbeurope.com July 2015

Bridging the gender divide

The gender imbalance in the broadcast industry is an on-going point of controversy. Much has been said and written about the obstacles that stand in the way of progress for females in broadcasting and technology roles, and the statistics make for uncomfortable reading, but what are the solutions? This TVBEurope roundtable

event sought to drill down into the fundamental issues that surround this imbalance by inviting a selection of prominent industry leaders to offer their experiences, and learned perspectives

Introduction

Michelle Munson, CEO and co-founder of Aspera, an IBM company

When I was honoured with the task of

moderating this debate, above all I wanted

it to be a frank and open discussion with a

group of women who individually represent

a broad spectrum of the broadcast industry,

from education through to heads of media

services companies. Second, we agreed

that we wanted the outcome to be the

start of a continuing conversation about

how we can encourage the next generation

of talent – male or female – into the

broadcast industry. So where do you start

a discussion on whether there’s a gender

gap in our industry, and if so, what can be

done to help to balance it out? Statistics

always help. Recently, I heard that in the

USA, just 25 per cent of women work

in technology. Of this 25 per cent, the

breakdown of those working in broadcast

technology hits single fi gures.

The discussion took on many routes to

analyse why this was, with education being

a big part of the debate. As well as what

the industry needs to do to encourage more

women into technical engineering.

At a higher education level, the consensus

was that there’s many respected educational

institutions providing excellent broadcast

engineering courses. Many of these universities

and colleges are even seeing their students

secure a job before they’ve fi nished the

course, which is very encouraging.

One prominent conclusion was that more

needs to be done at a grassroots level to

encourage children (of all genders) to pursue

an interest in maths and science. Through

education and getting children excited about

where their skills can lead, more generations

will want to pursue a career in broadcast

technology, ensuring that our industry

continues to innovate.

According to a Creative Skillset report,

representation of women in the

creative industries has increased from

53,750 in 2009 to 69,590 in 2012, yet this still

represents only 36 per cent of the total workforce.

A more recent survey conducted by the training

and skills agency, released in May, revealed that

women in TV earn on average £2,250 less than

men. These issues are not unique to the UK: the

Women’s Media Center published ‘The Status of

Women in US Media’ earlier this year and made

the disheartening conclusion that, “media on all

platforms are failing women”.

With the aim of examining the current landscape

for women in the industry, and the opportunities

for better representation across the board,

TVBEurope hosted the fi rst in a series of dedicated

roundtable events at The Bloomsbury Hotel in

London. Michelle Munson, CEO and co-founder of

Aspera, moderated the panel, which generated

impassioned insights and personal experiences

from fi gures across the broadcast environment:

Anne-Louise Buick, head of TV compression

portfolio marketing, Ericsson; Christine Corner,

partner, Grant Thornton; Sinead Greenaway,

director of operations and technology, UKTV; Sadie

Groom, managing director, Bubble and Squeak;

Lesley Marr, COO, Deluxe Media Europe; Meryl

McLaren, commercial manager, BBC S&PP; Emma

Riley, head of business development, dock10;

Sophie Wilson, director of sales and marketing, PHA

Media; and Carrie Wooten, head of commercial

development, Ravensbourne.

Despite gloomy employment stats, Greenaway

opened on a positive note, saying that she

“joyously walked into a business that’s 64 per

cent female”, and described UKTV as “bucking

the trend”. However, she admitted that in the

technology community there is a “ferocious

[gender] imbalance”.

Wooten agreed, saying that from a

creative point of view things are fairly

balanced, though women are still under-

represented in the broadcast technology

market. “I’m not feeling as positive,” she

admitted, using the example of being the only

woman on the bus leaving the

TVBEurope 25July 2015 www.tvbeurope.com

in association with

Roundtable: Evaluating the landscape for women in broadcastBy Holly Ashford

The panel listens intently to Carrie Wooten (foreground)

in association with

Las Vegas Convention Center at NAB, as

being indicative of the state of the industry

on a wider scale.

Perhaps responsibility for ‘bucking the trend’

lies with individual businesses, then? Compression

is one of the oldest parts of the business,

opened Buick, and although traditionally male-

dominated, “we see this widening out”

at Ericsson. The company has a stated goal

that by 2020, women will make up 30 per cent

of leadership and executives; at present, the

fi gure is 22 per cent, and “there is a massive

push and real commitment from Ericsson,

top down, for diversity and gender equality,”

according to Buick.

At dock10, said Riley, outside of the tech

departments there is roughly a 50/50 gender

split, however, “we have 40 engineers, of which

two are women”. She is the only woman on the

ten-strong senior management team, and only

one of seven members of the company’s board

is female. Wilson seems to sum up all of the

roundtable attendees’ experiences – and those

of many women in the industry – admitting that

“the elephant in the room is discrimination”. At

a recent trade show in Dubai, she said, she had

“had enough”, having been pretty much the

only woman at the tradeshow and experiencing

“rampant misogyny”.

Not all areas of the media industry have such

meagre female representation, though: there

are “tons of women on the production side”

of sports broadcast, according to Greenaway;

McLaren has experienced an overwhelming

amount of strong women working for production

companies; and at Deluxe there are “a lot of

women around the accounts side – that’s a

skills-based thing, women tend to be better

at negotiating,” according to Marr. dock10’s

Riley added her own experience of working in

production and that aside from one male boss,

everyone else was female, concluding boldly

that “women make TV”.

After sharing the challenges and setbacks

they’d faced, talk at the roundtable turned

to why there are not more women working

in the broadcast industry, particularly occupying

high-level positions.

“It comes back to confi dence,” said Marr. “I

do think that’s a massive problem especially

when it comes to women’s representation

at conferences and on panel discussions.”

Indeed, when Females in the Broadcast Industry

(FBI) hosted a panel discussion at IBC2014, it

was probably the fi rst time in the trade show’s

history that fi ve women in the industry (including

roundtable participant Sadie Groom) had

appeared on the same stage. “I was brought

up to be very confi dent,” said Groom, and

similarly Marr admits that confi dence is part of

her “personality type”. McLaren too says she

grounds her confi dence in “upbringing and

education”, as well as a love of sport, which

naturally drives and promotes competitiveness.

But is such confi dence the norm among women?

26 TVBEurope www.tvbeurope.com July 2015

There was a healthy balance of serious and light hearted discussion around the table

Sophie Wilson expresses her thoughts

Corner believes that “women generally are less

confi dent about speaking out, telling stories”.

And what about women who have experienced

a very different upbringing? Can confi dence be

so easily learned?

Marr puts a degree of her confi dence down

to “education” and a deep knowledge and

understanding of her subject matter. Wooten,

of specialist digital media and design college

Ravensbourne, also stresses the importance

of education and “enabling students to feel

confi dent in themselves”. She relayed the story

of a female student studying in an environment

in which she experienced persistent “male

banter” and sexist remarks – which as the vast

majority of women will know, is behaviour which

unfortunately endures beyond college level

and into professional environments. Women

helping women to gain, and retain, confi dence is

invaluable, in education and beyond. McLaren,

for example, says that having had “really strong

bosses and women in the right parts of my

career” has given her a boost. “More of us

being great role models, more of us getting

into schools will inspire girls and women and

hopefully go some way to rectifying the ferocious

[gender] imbalance,” implored Greenaway

earlier in the discussion.

But will positive role models and confi dence

be enough to address this imbalance? Or will the

imposition of compulsory quotas be the only way

to increase the number of women in high-level

positions in the broadcast industry? In November

2013, the European Parliament voted in favour

of a draft law that would impose a 40 per cent

quota for female directors on company boards.

To become law, the plans needed the backing

of EU member states. The UK has been reluctant

to impose quotas; in 2011, a government report

recommended that FTSE 100 boards should aim for

a minimum of 25 per cent female representation

by 2015, with the expectation that many would

achieve a higher fi gure.

“There has to be some sort of fi lter, some sort

of equilibrium forced on people, because I don’t

think it’s going to happen just organically,” said

McLaren. Although Wilson sees it as a good thing

that the UK has “aspired towards a 25 per cent

fi gure”, she asked: “Why cap it at that? Why can’t

it just be limitless?” The more negative aspect of

imposed quotas is that they run the danger of

women only being hired or promoted to meet

targets, rather than on ability and merit.

Strong role models, education and

confi dence – both innate and learned –

contribute to careers success in any fi eld,

and will go some way to narrowing the

gender gap in the broadcast industry. “Support

in the collective and in the sisterhood and

helping one another,” summarised Wilson,

is “crucial and key”.

However, the roundtable participants

also stressed the importance of looking

after yourself and commanding respect, so,

as Wilson added, “you can then be that

inspiration to other people”.

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TVBEurope 27July 2015 www.tvbeurope.com

in association with

T he Networked Society is changing all the

business rules; it’s an irreversible entity and

will continue to open up a whole range

of exciting and potentially ground-breaking

opportunities across all forms of video.

By 2020, we will see a fi rmly established

internet era of television. Over the next fi ve years,

operators, TV service providers, content owners,

broadcasters, investors and new innovators

will revolutionise the way content is produced,

delivered, discovered, and experienced.

The emergence of new technologies and

increased connectivity will enable greater

interplay between players across the entire

media spectrum. Market revenues will soar

to $750 billion.

This will be driven by the transforming elements of

mobility, broadband, and the cloud, overhauling

the traditional rules of engagement and redefi ning

how consumers demand and consume video. The

internet era of TV will not be mutually exclusive to

the traditional players in the existing value chain.

Vision, innovation, and a laser focus on the

consumer are the winning formula in the era

of the Networked Society and new players

on the market will have the same opportunity

to shape and drive this future TV landscape.

Widespread mobility, increased scalability and

unprecedented choice will enable disruption

and play a pivotal role in the way all forms of

video – premium, social, and informational – is

delivered to the consumer.

Redefi ning the TV experienceTV packages in 2020 will be both completely

different, and yet ironically similar. The concept

of bundling will be challenged where sell-through

of content will become more transparent and

selective, yet the service of aggregation will

be even more valuable in a highly fragmenting

distribution model.

Service providers are cognisant of consumer

demand for an integrated, accessible and tailored

television experience, which is personalised to

their interests, devices and personal situations.

Consumers ultimately want a continuous, seamless

and unifi ed viewing experience throughout the

day, with a content mix that is deeply tuned to

their specifi c needs at that moment. This does

not mean the end of an era of scheduled TV,

but the schedule becomes personal, suggestive,

and enables both lean-forward and lean-back

scenarios of consumer moods.

Although binge viewing has been a feature

for many years, thanks to the ubiquity of TV VHS

box sets and DVDs, OTT players are now offering

Feature28 TVBEurope www.tvbeurope.com July 2015

2020: visions of the future Television in the Networked Society

Television has come an extremely long way since the fi rst public demonstration of televised silhouette images in motion 90 years ago, writes Simon Frost, head of media marketing and communications at Ericsson. But as we move closer to 2020, we are about to witness the greatest transformation our industry has ever seen

unprecedented convenience and access to entire

TV series, without the prohibitive high cost of acquiring

the content. This is rapidly increasing competition

across the value chain, particularly for content

owners, broadcasters, and TV service providers.

These consumer trends are already challenging

the value of traditional bundled packages and

offers of content as new service providers drive

viewing time to on-demand libraries of content,

and consumers increasingly question the value of

so much linearly distributed, scheduled content.

2014 research by the Diffusion Group states that

around 15 per cent of adult broadband users

who subscribe to a pay-TV service are considering

abandoning it within the next six months.

Nevertheless, Ericsson ConsumerLab research

highlights that over 40 per cent of OTT users still

regard linear TV as a very valuable service. This

helps to demonstrate the balance that needs to

be struck between the provision of live content,

alongside the rapid popularity and integration of

OTT services. Ericsson Media Vision 2020 research

predicts the consumption of linear and VoD

services will be 50:50 by 2020 in advanced markets.

Empowering businessThe consumer is going to witness the explosive

fragmentation of their television experience as

content owners and broadcasters rapidly drive

forward with their OTT strategies and build-out

their ‘digital app environments’, hoping to keep

the consumer’s attention for as long as possible.

While the depth of content on offer may be

compelling, the experience of so many apps, on

so many platforms without consistency, will be

deeply frustrating to most.

So while OTT is certainly going to be successful for

those that own the content, it will require the next

generation of advanced aggregation platforms

and services to truly evolve the TV experience as

we know it, and secure the next wave of mass-

market consumer loyalty. We will witness significant

innovation inside single brand content apps, as

well as single brand ultimate aggregation services.

The birth of the internet era of TV saw just how

quickly new innovators can re-establish consumer

expectation and perception of value in content

offerings and access. The panacea for today’s

industry players is to become an organisation

that not only influences consumer perception

but also consumer behaviour. It’s imperative that

the media industry focuses on the next emerging

consumer trends and where the consumer

will want to go next while entrenching its core

values. From the content owner and broadcaster

perspective, their core asset is in the curation and

creation of great content. They need to develop

better distribution opportunities and extend strong

brand trust in local markets into broader markets.

We already see the trend of content owners

and broadcasters re-entrenching their intellectual

property in great content through investments

and acquisitions of creative agencies, content

rights and production companies.

Equally, we see large-scale TV service

providers consolidating their leverage and

position by investing both for broader market

coverage to drive buying scale, as well as

complementary technologies, especially to drive

a fixed and mobile IP broadband capability.

Charter Communications’ recent announcement

of its intentions to takeover Time Warner Cable

is illustrative of the types of industries that will

soon quickly fuse together and adopt a more

collaborative approach. The overall theme is

scale, in both the content and delivery roles.

Whatever media strategy an organisation may

have adopted today doesn’t necessarily have

to remain their strategy going forward. Different

industry players will need to adopt different

strategies for success. Their place in the value

chain is fluid; indeed, we are starting to see

the arrival of brands as broadcasters, with their

own approach and strategy. The increasing

connectivity and availability of video content is

enabling brands to reach their audiences with

niche and resonating content that can build

loyalty and a wider global reach.

An explosion of cloud servicesThe cloud is one of the current hot terms in the

industry, and as a topic is essential for several

reasons; yet the overarching one is agility.

Everything about the future of television will be a

moving target, an adaptation, and will evolve.

Many organisations from the internet industry

have this technology and service philosophy at

their core, serving the continually shifting and

ever changing demands of the consumer.

So, the cloud will play a primary role in the future

TV experience and those who embrace it and

who deploy new innovative solutions the fastest will

delight the next generation of TV consumer. It’s an

industry imperative which will deliver a whole host

of cross selling opportunities, social interactions, and

change the way consumers discover, navigate

and experience content. Cloud-based services

will enable service providers to offer an enhanced

video delivery experience and the capacity to

power and deploy new platforms that deliver ultra

agile and flexible TV services at web speed.

Underpinning the infrastructure of the Networked

Society will be the growth of IP. It will become the

future of video delivery and a fundamental ‘given’,

which will enable all the various types of activities

consumers will want to experience in TV. The need

for ubiquitous and higher capacity broadband

connectivity is fuelling an ever increasing demand

in data traffic in mobile networks, thanks to the

growth and uptake of video services across an

abundance of user devices. Ericsson’s June 2015

Mobility Report suggests video is the key growth

factor in mature mobile broadband markets, with

60 per cent of all mobile data traffic forecast to be

from video by 2020.

Despite widespread agreement that the future

of video delivery is IP via the internet, the internet

itself is not ready for ‘TV scale’. Large investments in

broadband capacity will be required to feed the

demands of video consumption in the Networked

Society and right now, many are discussing who will

pay for the investments needed to replace current

distribution networks with IP-based networks in the

medium term.

TV beyond 2020Over the next few years, the definition of television

itself will evolve. To enable the ultra agile and flexible

model that consumers want, the industry will have

to experiment in order to set the consumer agenda.

Nevertheless, even as we move towards 2020, the

fundamentals of the service of television will remain

the same. Television remains an emotive, storytelling

medium with a purpose to educate, entertain,

inform, and offer a means of discovery.

The true value of television will never be eroded.

Technological innovations are there to enhance

the television experience; greater picture and

sound quality, immediacy on every connected

device with a screen, interactivity, social groups and

sharing, and perhaps most crucially: discoverability.

The rapid emergence of new social broadcast

platforms such as Periscope present a future

challenge for the industry business model around

content rights, enabling consumers to stream and

deliver instantaneous live footage to a huge

critical mass of users.

Industry players that understand the potential of

the Networked Society the deepest and who are

prepared to focus on how to innovate the quickest

in response to consumer demands, will grow the

fastest in the new internet era of TV.

TVBEurope 29July 2015 www.tvbeurope.com

Feature

The true value of television will never be eroded. Technological innovations

are there to enhance the television experience

30 TVBEurope

The BBC’s Andy Baker summed up the

industry challenges, saying: “Today, we

have 4K TVs on every retailer’s shelves but

there’s very little 4K content to display on them.

The 4K content is being made but it’s certainly

not being delivered except by one or two well

known OTT suppliers.”

The IABM’s John Ive expressed the view that

consumers had very little choice when buying

into 4K. “They can choose a size but, as we saw

with HDTV when after a while it was very diffi cult

to get a standard defi nition set, I think the same is

happening to 4K.”

The panel agreed that 4K in retail stores

was now near ubiquitous, and that the price

premium for (so-called) 4K sets was no longer

a disincentive. But there was considerable

discussion as to the capability of those

displays to handle ‘true’ 4K, let alone cope

with today’s fast-moving developments in

higher frame rates, higher dynamic range and

the ‘better pixel’ arguments likely from wider

colour gamut images.

BT’s Mark Wilson-Dunn said, in his view: “The

material I have seen in 4K from the likes of

Netfl ix is less than perfect. The danger for all of

us is that people will buy into Netfl ix and think

that’s as good as 4K can be, and it certainly is

not. It could really backfi re on all of us, given

that they are buying panels at a huge rate

and those panels really are not ready for what

we all know as Ultra HD. And this isn’t helped

by the fact that there’s no content out there.

The other question that we all recognise is to

ask how many of these buyers will be viewing

4K at the optimal viewing distance. There’s

also the problem of the current crop of highly

fashionable curved sets which, in my view,

don’t help matters at all.”

The EBU’s Simon Fell argued that people

were already making 4K ‘programming’

from their own smartphones. “The end results

are quite spectacular. It is the same with

still images. In other words, it’s very easy for

consumers to be impressed by 4K displays but I

think we are seeing something of an ‘emperor’s

new clothes’ in that the display will look good

to them, and their neighbours, no matter how

close or far they are sitting from the screen.

Start 4K now

in association with

Sitting down a group of VIP broadcasting experts and asking them to deliver their advice on Ultra HD guarantees plenty of passion and some controversy, and yet there was a strong sense of consensus by the end of the session. Chris Forrester moderated the roundtable discussion, hosted by Marquis

Media Partners in conjunction with TVBEurope, during which panellists shared their views on 4K/Ultra HD, when we might see transmissions, and whether over-the-top (OTT) will be the dominating driver for 4K availability

www.tvbeurope.com July 2015

PanellistsTim Bertioli VP, media technology, NBC-Universal

Mark Wilson-Dunn VP, BT Media & Broadcast

Enterprises

Francis Rolland CEO, Globecast

Mike Whittaker director, operations & technology, SIS

Simon Fell director, technology & innovation, EBU

John Ive director, technology & strategic insight,

IABM

Mark Smith CTO, ITV

Doug Clark cloud leader, IBM UK & Ireland

Rod Fairweather senior director, infrastructure,

Viacom

Martin Turner director, media business, Inmarsat

Andy Baker controller, major projects/

infrastructure, BBC

Chris Steele MD, Marquis Broadcast

The Groucho Club in London provided an exclusive setting for the debate

TVBEurope 31July 2015 www.tvbeurope.com

We would argue, of course, that we want

improved frame rates and better resolution but

I can tell you the viewer is happy with what’s

out there already”.

ITV’s Mark Smith said that the complete

content delivery system needs to change.

“There’s storage for a start, then compression,

and I can see us ending up with bandwidth for 4K

not being that far off from today’s HD. However,

while we can all agree that three years from now

the technology will have improved, we still need

to make that transition.”

BT’s Wilson-Dunn reminded panellists that

while agonising over what might happen, there

were broadcasters who had already made the

switch. “There is a broadcaster who is running

4K today to a whole nation, and that’s Star TV

in India, who started their service on the back

of the ICC cricket earlier this year. BT carried

the signals from Australia, running for eleven

and a half hours a day in 4K and HD across two

continents through to their set-top boxes. It can

be done right now. We bolted four decoders

together and ran the signals over our existing

infrastructure. It coped. Add on HEVC and it

would have coped even better. We have done

football, rugby, golf, and now cricket. I have to

say they all require different fi lming techniques

to get the best out of 4K.

“The biggest issue we have, in my view, is that

everyone is talking about high dynamic range

and wider colour gamut, instead of talking

about how we can launch 4K and getting on

with it. I think we risk confusing the message.

The USA is having a problem getting over

the ‘fi nal mile’ of getting a signal into the

home because of the technical challenges.

Meanwhile, a couple of Indian operators have

just gotten on with it. We have to encourage the

industry to get on with it otherwise we will all be

waiting forever.”

NBC-Universal’s Tim Bertioli said there was little

interest from the USA’s main broadcast networks.

“It is the usual challenge: where is the money

coming from?”

His comments were echoed by Viacom’s

Rod Fairweather, and not helped by

his company’s focus on kids and music

programming. “And even with the high-quality

MTV Music Awards, I doubt whether you’ll see

much 4K action for some time. We’re not

going to lead this revolution.”

Globecast’s Francis Rolland said he expected

France’s Canal+ and Orange to be leading the

change to 4K, and as far as contribution and

distribution services were concerned, Globecast

was ready with extra bandwidth.

Asked to say when UK services would start,

the panel agreed that certainly as far as the UK

was concerned, within six months consumers

would see lots of 4K channels. They unanimously

expected Sky to lead the charge.

in association with

2015 will see TVBEurope attend and cover more of the key events on the broadcast media industry calendar.

Following the successful redesign of TVBEurope, we have developed a more comprehensive list of features for each

issue over the coming year, and will be launching a dedicated section covering the latest developments in OTT,

multiscreen, and TV Everywhere: TVBEverywhere. Our Opinion and Analysis and Features sections will deliver

the big stories every month; Workflow will continue our bedrock coverage of UHD, 4K, IT/IP infrastructures, and pre

and post production insights; and our Business section will provide a regualr analysis of the marketplace, and all of

the key M&A activity. Our Audio for Broadcast coverage will now be present in every issue and major sports/live

broadcast events will be reported on throughout the year.

EDITORIAL PLANNER 2015

For all advertising and sponsorship

opportunities, contact the sales team:

Europe

Ben Ewles:

+44 (0) 20 7354 6000,

bewles@nbmedia.com,

or

Richard Carr:

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USA

Mike Mitchell +1 631 673 0072,

mjmitchell@broadcast-media.tv

Issue DateExhibitions/

Events CoverageFeature

Audio for

Broadcast

Sports/

Live broadcast

August • IBC preview• Broadcast graphics forum

• IBC product preview

• Mics/ monitors/

consoles

• Wimbledon

2015

September • IBC show issue• Quality control forum

• IBC show issue: product showcase

October• Audio for broadcast special

• IP technology forum

• Broadcast audio

feature

November • TVBAwards • Acquisition focus: all encompassing

• Transcoding forum

• Rugby World

• Cup 2015

December• Media Asset Management forum

• Archiving and storage roundtable

“We have to encourage the industry to get on with 4K otherwise we will all be

waiting forever”Mark Wilson-Dunn,

BT Media and Broadcast

Most TV operators were set up to control

the entire distribution chain. They built

and controlled the technical distribution

(cable, satellite, terrestrial, etc), licensed the

channels/content, and also established the

consumer brand name and the billing and

customer relationships. The only thing they did

not control was the content creation and the

channel creation. The TV operator and the

channel provider built up a very attractive

partnership where both providers managed to

generate more and more revenues and profits

from a content-hungry consumer market with

relatively weak competition.

The operator had a virtual monopoly

regarding their distribution networks, either

because of the very high investment barriers or

due to legal hurdles. Consumers had stronger

personal relationships with the channels, where

higher competition existed for consumers’ time

and money. The TV operators typically enjoy

a sheltered competitive environment, in the

form of either an actual monopoly (only one

operator available per household) or a practical

monopoly (very long subscription periods and

high barriers to churn).

This will all change with the emergence of OTT,

and TV operators who can adapt to this new

opportunity can succeed.

The operator’s weaknessesMost TV operators are fully aware of their

strengths. It’s clear that the consumer

relationships, established billing processes,

attractive content agreements, and possibilities

of bundling with other services are all great

strengths when moving into OTT services. It is

always more difficult to be objective about

one’s weaknesses.

First of all, operators are defensive. Their

existing business is valuable to them and they’re

worried about implementing any measures

which may risk destroying margins or causing loss

of subscribers, even if they know that such moves

may be vital for long-term success.

Secondly, operators have a long history

of implementing and controlling technology

internally, with huge departments responsible for

distribution of video to consumers. Clearly, with

OTT, these departments will gradually be smaller,

both in terms of budget and manpower.

Finally, TV operators maintain that they

understand content due to their long history

of packaging channels. I firmly believe that TV

operators understand consumers enough to

price and market a subscription offering, but

generally do not understand content once we

drill down one level below the channel structure.

In an OTT transformation of a TV operator,

they need to address these weaknesses. If

they do, they have a fantastic opportunity of

becoming formidable competitors to the pure

play OTT companies.

OTT as a standalone service Now, I’m sure that many TV operators are of the

opinion that they have already launched OTT

services on the market. They have done this in

the form of a mobile extension to their core TV

offering, a value-add for existing subscribers.

In all likelihood, this has been deployed as a

defensive move on the market, where access

to content outside of the home is a key value

for the modern consumer. This is a good move,

which may significantly reduce churn over the

next couple of years.

The standalone OTT service is another beast.

The move to launch the possibility to subscribe

to an operator-powered OTT TV service is still

considered aggressive, even more so if the service

includes linear channels. Operators need to build

up new subscriber bases, new technology stacks

and establish new business models, both with

consumers and suppliers. The challenge of going

head to head with pure play OTT companies like

Netflix and Amazon is daunting, but if operators

want to grow rather than protect their market

share, this is an inevitable move. Operators like

Sky and Viasat have launched standalone OTT

initiatives on their respective markets to stay

relevant and keep the initiative in a transformative

market, and both have succeeded with creating

strong local standalone OTT services.

OTT as an enabler for a service aggregatorClearly, some TV operators may not be interested

or structured in a way that they can succeed

with a standalone service. Are these companies

destined to disappear a few years from now,

or can they find an alternative strategy to stay

relevant in an OTT world?

I believe that the way forward for more

traditional companies will be to slowly transform

into a service aggregator. The strong customer

and billing relationships in local markets, as well

as an understanding for consumer packaging,

will remain attractive in an OTT world. A service

aggregator will establish distribution agreements

with broadcasters, VoD providers and other

relevant video distributors on a multiscreen basis

and provide attractive consumer business models,

user experiences and marketing. Many consumers

are not particularly interested in visiting different

services to find the content they like, and the

operator is probably the only credible player to

solve the aggregation challenge in a market.

Of course, inclusion of third-party services and

apps in your own offering will probably mean

that operators should stop or at least downplay

TVBEverywhere32 TVBEurope www.tvbeurope.com July 2015

Why OTT is an opportunity and not a threat to TV operators

The media world has been evolving at a dramatic pace over recent years, writes Michael Lantz, CEO of Accedo. The improvement of devices and networks has made it possible to distribute high quality video directly over the internet to virtually any consumer device, and TV operators should embrace this new OTT technology

By embracing OTT technologies and relying on third-party vendors with

strong cloud infrastructure, it is possible to completely change the cost structure

their own video initiatives to be attractive as a

partner on the market. Similarly to what they did

when they started aggregating TV channels in

pay-TV packages, the operators should evolve to

be the best possible partner to the video services

on each market. This may mean relinquishing

some control to the third party, but also adding

value to them in a way where they can justify

getting a share of the relevant revenue streams.

OTT as a driver for cost transformationAn often forgotten opportunity with OTT is the

possibility to significantly lower the cost of setting

up and running a video service operation.

Historically, operators spend tens of millions of

dollars building networks, setting up headends,

creating and deploying a service, and licensing

proprietary technologies to distribute a premium

service. By embracing OTT technologies and

relying on third-party vendors with strong cloud

infrastructure, which can be shared between

many video providers, it is possible to completely

change the cost structure.

The pressure on TV operators to embrace OTT

technologies in order to lower costs will only

accelerate as OTT technologies mature and

become more reliable and faster to deploy.

The continued rapid innovation in the industry is

clearly indicating that this trend will continue for

the foreseeable future.

Short-term versus long-term changeWe at Accedo have been preaching the virtues

of OTT technologies for more than ten years. The

initial market change was slower than expected

while the change over the last three years has

been quicker than anticipated. Going forward,

we believe that the service fragmentation

will accelerate. Many well-funded media

companies are in the starting blocks of

providing their own standalone OTT service.

Business models of SVoD services of between

$5 and $10 per month and the abundance

of services lead us to believe that many

consumers will have two to three simultaneous

subscriptions. On top of this, operators will

increasingly use OTT technologies to drive

loyalty or new subscriptions. This will add to the

complexity and the market fragmentation in

the short-term future.

Long-term, it is likely that we’ll see some

consolidation. Consumers will converge around

the best services, and we will see merging

between several different companies to create

regional players and special interest companies.

We will still see healthy competition, but with a

reduced number of companies after the initial

burst of activity we will see over the coming two

to three years.

TVBEurope 33July 2015 www.tvbeurope.com

TVBEverywhere

The pressure on TV operators to embrace OTT technologies in order to lower costs will only accelerate as OTT technologies mature and become more

reliable and faster to deploy

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TVBEverywhere34 TVBEurope www.tvbeurope.com July 2015

The broadcasting value chain is facing an

era of convergence; one impacted by a

number of ‘disrupters’ both from outside

their organisations, to inside, as well as the

audiences themselves. We’re facing a time

of uncertainty as industry players adjust to

a confused technical landscape affecting

mainstream television. With OTT service subscribers

in particular predicted to increase from 92.1

million in 2014, to 333.2 million globally in 2019,

this uncertainty is only expected to increase.

TV is, and always has been, a world of many

acronyms. Those in the industry are constantly

playing catch-up with the next set of apparent

game changers. It’s perhaps a hassle to keep

on top of, but never have a group of acronyms

taken on such a menacing tone as those the

industry are dealing with today. From the modest

yet important move away from linear viewing to

‘VoD’, to the stellar rise of ‘OTT’, ‘SVoD’, ‘TVoD’

and ‘EST’, many of the services behind today’s

acronyms have been heralded as the beginning

of the end for broadcast TV as we know it.

Faced with new international market entrants

such as Netflix, whose content, subscribers and

revenue are fast making major waves, echoes of

the death knell abound: but in reality, how much

impact will such companies really have on the

traditional establishment? Are they game-victors

or merely new team players?

Recently, when Arqiva questioned leading

players in the industry, including free-to-air

broadcasters, pay broadcasters, rights holders

and platforms as part of our Connected

Broadcasting campaign, there was a general

sense of “powerlessness” with the imposition

of change being perceived to be brought by

“outsiders”. Broadcasters are anxious about the

“imposition” of a new reality by the newly arrived

international OTT players.

Broadcasters acknowledge the pace at which

the market is changing. One explained that

newer businesses, bringing new functionalities

and services into the market, have a greater

expertise in this area than themselves – a

challenge akin to trying to hit a moving target.

These newer businesses are evolving very quickly

while more “traditional” organisations are “just

learning how to walk”.

The chief concern among several

broadcasters is how to respond to the “massive

proliferation” of new TV services offering content

across “different price points, difference

operating systems and different vendors”. Whilst

most commentators agree that the quality and

experiences offered by these enhanced on-

demand services are exciting and valuable to

consumers, debate remains around how quickly

these new distributors will have a measureable

impact and how much of a ‘substitution’ they

are or will become.

An opposing view is that OTT services are set to

thrive best as value-add services used effectively

to complement traditional regional broadcast,

where brand, local investment and knowledge

are highly valued.

Those broadcasters dipping their toes into the

OTT water have said they will continue to have

a mix of distribution methods to match viewers’

consumption patterns, providing complementary

or video on-demand content on companion

devices. The industry acknowledges the fluidity

of the current environment, and that the

future outlook for consumption is unclear. One

broadcaster we spoke to recently said that the

big question in the short to medium-term was

to what extent activity and emphasis would

shift from its television channels to newer forms

of digital distribution, as live and on-demand

viewing finds a new equilibrium.

Those willing to take a bigger risk can benefit

from the alternative revenue streams generated

by the “outside” disrupters. The dynamism of

the current environment presents these new

opportunities. One broadcaster explained

that those broadcasters who are also content

creators or rights holders should benefit as

content moves online, providing new digital

avenues to exploit. If growth exists in this digital

world, they should “seek it”. Content owners

in the US have been using this model for years,

with recent hit shows such as Vikings, originally

produced for The History Channel, subsequently

being made available on Amazon Prime.

Whatever you believe, broadcasters and rights

holders can no longer ignore the advance of

the OTT companies, and are having to make

some serious decisions about their own direct-to-

consumer operations as a result.

Faced with new international market entrants such as Netflix, whose content, subscribers and revenue are fast making

major waves, echoes of the death knell abound

The future of broadcast, or part of broadcast’s future mix?

By Tom Cape, director of connected solutions, Arqiva

OTT service subscribers are predicted to increase from 92.1 million in 2014 to 333.2 million globally in 2019

White papers, webinars, opinions, blogs, case studies, tutorials and more.

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Sales: Ben Ewles bewles@nbmedia.com +44 (0)207 354 6000

Campaign Manager: Warren Kellywkelly@nbmedia.com +44 (0)207 354 6000

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In its 60th anniversary year, the Eurovision Song

Contest (ESC), one of the most popular TV

entertainment programmes worldwide, was

about to beat its own record. In addition to the

spectators in the hall, the final shows were watched

by almost 200 million viewers from 80 countries

– which included China for the first time in the

event’s history – and topped its 2014 viewing figures

by around two million viewers, according to EBU

reports. The show was even awarded a Guinness

World Record in 2015 for being the longest running

annual music television competition.

However, the real revelation was not Sweden’s

Mans Zelmerlöw beating his adversaries from

Russia and Italy, but the complex file-based

workflows Austria’s national broadcaster and host

of the event in Vienna implemented behind the

scenes at the event venue, the Wiener Stadthalle.

The overall technical concept of the

host broadcaster included the routing of all

audio signals via a RAVENNA/AES67-based IP

infrastructure, a novelty in the broadcasting of

the ESC event. In this context, both the Lawo

Nova 73 audio matrix – and all connected DALLIS

I/O systems used by Belgium-based company

VideoHouse, ORF’s broadcast supplier – and the

video and audio distribution of the commentary

solution were based on IP networking technology.

To distribute all of the audio signals to the

different suppliers and OB vans while minimising

equipment and cabling required, as well as

increasing flexibility, the signals were collected

by a central audio router. The heart of the set-up

consisted of a Lawo Nova 73HD audio routing

core. Ten DALLIS I/O systems were connected to

the core via RAVENNA audio-over-IP technology.

The installation comprised a decentralised

collection and distribution of the signals at the

venue, including 96 Sennheiser Digital 9000

wireless microphone systems, 32 Sennheiser

in-ear systems for the artists, and an AVID Pro

Tools playback system. In addition, all sync and

timecode signals needed for the production

were also distributed via the infrastructure.

According to Lawo, over 6,600 audio signals

to six OB trucks and to the FOH and monitor

consoles inside the venue were routed by the

Nova infrastructure. All OB vans from both ORF

and VideoHouse were equipped with m²66 or

mc²56 digital mixing consoles. In addition, the

VideoHouse trucks were equipped with V__pro8

video processing systems for audio embedding,

de-embedding and format conversion. To

manage and control the whole set-up, a VSM

system (L–S–B) was in use.

In addition to the signal routing, the

commentary system was also resting upon IP

networking technology. A team of 14 engineers

equipped 45 commentator cabins with LCU

commentary units, which were networked

via RAVENNA/AES67 with the commentary

control room and the commentary equipment

room. Here, the signals were forwarded to the

Prodys ISDN and IP codecs that connected

all international broadcasters with the event

location. The video signals for the 90 video

screens in the Eurovision commentary boxes

were streamed via V__link4 video-over-IP systems.

The equipment was provided by Audio

Broadcast Services (ABS), a rental partner of

German-based manufacturer Lawo AG, and the

technical concept as well as its implementation

and on-site support was managed by Lawo as a

turnkey solution.

Special Report36 TVBEurope www.tvbeurope.com July 2015

The 2015 ESC proved to be the most popular cross-media event in ORF’s history

All audio signals were routed via Lawo IP infrastructure

Eurovision Song Contest with record-breaking production

By Angela Buenger Austria’s national broadcaster ORF implemented complex file-based workflows for AV recording and distribution of the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest to 80 countries worldwide

All radio and intercom systems, as well as the

signal distribution system, were supported by

Riedel. In total, around 600 radio sets were used

to interconnect around 2,500 crew members on

site. For example, the intercom matrix comprised

nine Artist mainframes that were distributed

across the venue. In order to integrate the

OB trucks into the whole system, around 300

panels and 15 mainframes were implemented.

The signal distribution system included Riedel’s

MediorNet solution for video, data and audio

communication and comprised 45 MediorNet

mainframes and a total of 127 HD-SDI inputs as

well as 148 HD-SDI outputs.

For the video production workflow, ten EVS XT3

live production servers in an eight-channel SD/

HD configuration and eight IP Director suites

for ingest control, metadata management,

on-the-fly editing and playout scheduling were

operated. In addition, three workstations running

on XFile3-controlled file transfer, met archive

requirements of the workflow. The video codec

used in the production was Apple ProRes

422 HQ at 185Megabit.

All recordings and video clips were stored

on an Ardis DynamicDrivePool (DDP) with a

capacity of 70TB. Overall, the complete video

production workflow was file-based and the

XT3 production servers had an integrated

backup. However, to be on the safe side, all

recordings were additionally stored on tape

with two HDCAM, one HDCAM SR, and one

XDCAM in operation.

In total, four operators were in charge of the

whole production system and one supervisor

controlled the file transfer of the material

recorded to the various user groups in the

viewing room and the creation of specific

user profiles. A complex access control ensured

that each delegation only had access to

their own recordings.

Although the efforts that have to be made

in terms of production for TV and internet

broadcast as well as on-site security are

increasing every year, the event in Vienna again

set a landmark for the Eurovision Song Contest

and was considered to be the most popular

cross-media event in history for ORF. In a recent

statement, Alexander Wrabetz, director general

of the ORF, Michael Haeupel, mayor of Vienna,

and town councillor Christian Oxonitsch also

drew an upbeat conclusion: the costs for the

event were below the estimated budget and

the national and international reactions were

more than positive.

TVBEurope 37July 2015 www.tvbeurope.com

Special Report

In addition to the spectators in the hall, the final shows were watched by almost 200

million viewers from 80 countries

38 TVBEurope www.tvbeurope.com July 2015

CiaB Forum

Pixel Power’s French connection TV5MONDE is a worldwide network of channels

broadcast in French in more than 200 territories

across the world. It has nine different channel

feeds for various regions across the globe with

eight being broadcast from Paris, covering

all continents, and the ninth – TV5 Québec

transmitting from Montreal.

“TV5MONDE formalised plans to launch

new thematic channels, including a children’s

offering,” reports James Gilbert, Pixel Power’s

CEO. “It uses a third party for its playout, but

wanted to be able to launch these channels in-

house. This project needed to be as cost-effective

as possible, but also required sophisticated

automated channel graphics. In addition, it

needed a tightly integrated production and

playout solution, allowing a faster time-to-air. This

included the requirement for compatibility with its

main channel graphics playout technology, Pixel

Power’s dedicated LogoVision 3D unit.”

Content for the new channels is created

collaboratively and updated in-house, matching

the existing channel’s branding quality. Any

new technology also had to support material in

both 4:3 and 16:9. In short, TV5MONDE required

an economical yet rich playout and branding

solution to create, move and schedule video

and graphic assets across various channels.

Gilbert continues, “It was clear that a Channel

in a Box system would provide the cost effi ciencies

that TV5MONDE needed, but would it be able to

handle the more advanced playout requirements?”

To answer the question, TV5MONDE turned

to Pixel Power’s integrated playout solution,

ChannelMaster. “This is a highly scalable solution

that frees broadcasters from the compromises

of many existing Channel in a Box offerings,”

says Gilbert. “Alongside two dual redundant

ChannelMaster 3D systems, the broadcaster also

specifi ed Gallium, a highly integrated and scalable

scheduling, asset management and automation

technology, that provides the intelligence to build a

variety of playout solutions using Pixel Power output

devices. Already-installed versions of automated

The case for boxesThis month’s Forum takes on a different shape with Philip Stevens talking to a number of Channel in a Box vendors to discover how their solutions are being utilised to maximum effect

If anything has aroused comment among industry experts it has been the topic of Channel in a Box (CiaB). Defi nitions have varied as CiaB has come to mean different things to different people. But whatever designation is used, the technology has brought about changes in operational practices that have been far-reaching. However, there are still some doubts as to the appropriateness of the concept. How has your solution benefi tted the industry? Is CiaB the end of the story, or is there a better solution?

PARTICIPANTS:Don Ash, PlayBox TechnologyGoce Zdravkoski, StrymeJames Gilbert, Pixel PowerJan Weigner, CinegyJanis Krampans, VesetKarl Mehring, SnellTom Gittins, Pebble Beach Systems

James Gilbert, Pixel Power

TVBEurope 39July 2015 www.tvbeurope.com

CiaB Forum

branding playout software Pixel Promo and DJ – for

automated dynamic junction creation – have been

further developed as part of the launch process.

Integration with Polistream from Screen to deliver

DVB subtitles was also completed.”

As a result, TV5MONDE was able to realise its

primary aim of introducing channels cost-effectively

while deploying technologies that also support a

quicker and far more efficient launch model for

thematic channels moving forwards. Gallium is

configured with the ChannelMaster 3D systems to

create a powerful, dual redundant branding and

playout solution. Pixel Promo automated branding

technology continues to be used to extract

schedule metadata to populate graphic templates,

running alongside Dynamic Junction building

interstitials, both using pre-defined rules. This also

allowed TV5 to re-use existing graphic designs and

templates, further reducing time-to-launch.

PlayBox Technology in the Baltics Eesti Telekom, part of the TeliaSonera group,

purchased a PlayBox Technology system for the

broadcast playout facility at its headquarters in the

Estonian capital, Tallinn. It is being used to control

the branding, scheduling and delivery of four new

broadcast channels in three separate countries.

“Eesti Telekom chose this solution for several

reasons,” comments Don Ash, PlayBox

Technology’s managing partner and director,

sales. “Firstly, we are able to perform encoding

and redundancy routing within the system

which keeps the infrastructure size down and

allows easy future expansion to accommodate

extra channels. Secondly, management of

files in several languages is easy because we

can multiplex several audio channels into

one container using ISO-639 language codes.

Each of the four channels consists of an AirBox

playout server preloaded with TitleBox and

CaptureBox, plus a multi-language subtitling

server with a direct DVB output. They are located

in the company’s central apparatus area and

controlled from a master playout suite.”

According to Ash, the AirBox content playout

and streaming system can operate both in

SD and HD. “Designed for 24/7 unattended

operation, it can be connected easily to third-

party devices. AirBox supports MPEG1/2/H.264,

HDV and DV streams from practically any

production platform capable of providing AVI,

MPEG, MXF, QuickTime or WMV content. Files

from third-party broadcast content servers are

natively supported.”

TitleBox delivers on-air graphics that can

be controlled interactively. Multi-layered

simultaneous crawls, rolls, animated logos, clocks

and text templates can be activated by a

mouse click. TitleBox provides total control during

on-air sessions, including text selection, running

speed and transitions.

CaptureBox allows high-definition or standard-

definition content to be captured from SDI digital

feeds, analogue sources and MPEG transport

streams. Four video sources can be monitored

on a single screen and controlled via a new

streamlined user interface. Audio levels can be

monitored as loudness/true-peak displays and

adjusted when required.

Cinegy puts local station to Air Glimt Television, a Swedish TV station located in

Karlstad, the regional capital for Värmland, started

broadcasting last year using Cinegy Air PRO.

Live shows are sent to the playout as RTP feeds

over the city fibre network and played out live in

HD to a number of different distributors. Cinegy

Air also acts as a client to control the playout

engine from remote locations. “The brief from

Magnus Westlund, the managing director of

Glimt TV, was to provide a robust, cost-effective

and flexible CiaB solution for file playout, live

programmes and advanced real-time graphics,”

explains Jan Weigner, managing director, Cinegy

GmbH. “Magnus’ aim is to produce quality TV

with a local touch.”

Cinegy Air PRO technology removes the

monolithic black boxes, which are replaced

by TCP/IP network-attached real-time software

appliances. The system provides a broadcast

automation front-end and a real-time video

server for SD, HD and/or Ultra HD (4K) playout

in an integrated software suite. It offers a high

degree of flexibility by playing mixed format and

mixed resolution content, as well as un-rendered

Don Ash, PlayBox Technology

Jan Weigner, Cinegy

PlayBox server

BCC racing cars

www.ibc.org

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edit sequences straight to air.

Vericom AB, a Cinegy gold partner in

Scandinavia, worked closely with Glimt Television

throughout the entire installation process.

Weigner adds, “This is a prime example of

Cinegy’s broadcast, automation and branding

solutions providing broadcasters around the

world with flexible, scalable and cost-effective

solutions, which are designed to meet the

most demanding real-time requirements

of busy control rooms.”

CNBC swims with the Dolphins Business and finance news specialists CNBC

International has a long history of working with

Pebble Beach Systems, having deployed its first

generation Neptune automation system at the

broadcaster’s London facility over a decade

ago. So when the opportunity arose to streamline

the technical operations across CNBC Europe

and CNBC Asia, Pebble Beach Systems was

approached to offer a solution.

“The goal was to implement a single

operational structure across sites in London

and Singapore, enabling CNBC International to

benefit from efficiencies,” revealed Tom Gittins,

sales director of Pebble Beach Systems. “The

designed solution had to enable them to operate

both the London and Singapore sites using the

same operators, but without compromising

the on-air appearance or presentation style

of either region.”

Following an evaluation, Pebble Beach Systems

Dolphin integrated channel devices were

selected, under the control of the company’s

flagship Marina automation solution. In Singapore,

the Marina system replaced the legacy Louth

automation system. This transition was made

easier because of Marina’s ability to import the

database and playlists, and export As Run logs,

from this legacy system.

“The Dolphin devices deliver highly

automated integrated audio, video and graphics

functionality for ingest, channel branding and

frame-accurate multichannel playout,” says

Gittins. “The flexible pipeline design gives the user

the ability to customise the virtual output chain

for each channel, specifying the order in which

functions including graphics, effects, and aspect

ratio conversion are handled within the system.”

The channels carry a mix of live and clip-based

content and various graphics elements, including

a ticker generated from CNBC International’s

in-house system. Dolphin provides flexible keying

of the multiple elements that make up the CNBC

International channel style including a 2D DVE,

channel branding with static and animated

logos, and 2D graphics.

Racing ahead with Stryme AMUsys is an Austrian sports betting terminal

manufacturer that also owns the licenses for

two television channels, BCC TV 1 and BCC

TV 2. These channels broadcast 900 live races

each day live via satellite and internet streaming

from its own studio. The transmissions include

automatic timing to one ten thousandth of a

second, super-slow motion replays, referees,

sophisticated rules and perfect result processing.

A subsidiary in Poland owned 100 per cent by

AMUsys is responsible for the operation of the

BCC TV studio in Krakow.

Using a Genesix VideoServer supplied by

Stryme, the 24/7 playout automation of the mostly

live production content runs independently on

one machine and enables the station to reduce

the number of technical personnel need for

transmissions. In fact, the multichannel ingest,

playout and graphics solution is responsible for the

total operation of the Krakow studio.

The production schedule allows for races to

start alternately on each channel. Eight cameras

are employed on every racetrack, alongside one

slow motion camera for high-speed recordings

on the finish line.

Goce Zdravkoski, Stryme CEO, explains more.

“In this case, the high-end automation of the

VideoServer LPS (Live Production Studio) removes

the need for a traditional master control room. This

results in an enormous reduction of infrastructure

and personnel costs in BCC’s daily broadcast

business. The flexible out-of-the box configuration

of the Genesix VideoServer easily enables the

integration of various workflows, in this case the

automatic live production.”

The playlist for the server incorporates a

traffic lights system, with red and green

phases which indicate whether a studio is on

air, or ready for live transmission. In each studio,

there is a team that prepares the track for the

next race. When the team is ready, the referee

triggers the green light to indicate the server

can be switched to that studio. If neither studio

is ready to send live content, the Genesix LPS

automatically starts the predefined playlist that

is fed by background information on the races,

flashbacks and forecasts on new events.

“The whole system is designed to enable

BCC TV to react rapidly to any kind of

eventuality in live production and automation,”

explains Zdravkoski. “The use of the built in

signal detection means the LPS manages

the handover from the playlist model to the

live production and vice versa without any

human intervention.”

CNBC has a long history of working with Pebble Beach Systems

TVBEurope 41July 2015 www.tvbeurope.com

CiaB Forum

Tom Gittins, Pebble Beach Systems

Goce Zdravkoski, Stryme

Cinegy equipment

42 TVBEurope www.tvbeurope.com July 2015

Snell goes for the soft(ware) optionTo state the obvious, an increasing number of

CiaB systems are being implemented for premium

channels, playout than with traditional devices.

“With new lower cost CiaB systems being available,

such as Snell’s ICE LE, the argument for using CiaB

for low revenue channels and/or backup channels

is more compelling than ever,” states Karl Mehring,

head of product architecture, Snell. “To satisfy

the demands of premium channels, features like

rich 2D and 3D graphics, Dolby E, ancillary data

insertion and extras, such as Nielsen ratings, are

indispensable offerings for a CiaB product.”

He goes on to say that selecting the right

partners to provide key software technology

plug-ins is essential in order to fast-track product

development, and that greater fl exibility can be

achieved from keeping the overall solution in a

single platform.

Mehring reports that Snell has beta trials in

progress with its ICE On Demand solution, with the

fi rst product scheduled for release in mid-2015. “With

ICE OD being fully software-based and virtualised,

Snell is able to offer cost models of OPEX-only which

allow the deployment of new services by simply

enabling a new software licence.”

Being a software product with IP inputs and

outputs, ICE OD offers signifi cant reductions in

infrastructure costs and integration times. That’s

because there is no requirement for SDI cables,–

it’s just a case of utilising existing network fabric

to the distribution platform.

“Despite the fact that we have reached a

point where CiaB products are feature rich, there

is now a strong movement towards software-

based solutions. However, such solutions with the

same level of functionality demand a great deal

of processing. That means the most feature rich

channels are still utilising CiaB products, while

low cost and DR systems are moving to using a

software only solution.”

Snell has introduced a strategy to migrate

broadcast technologies to a software and IP

domain across the board. A number of fi le-based

and live conversion software products are already

available, and ICE On Demand is to be released

this year. The company is also developing a wider

portfolio for signal processing, live routing, and

production switchers in the IP domain.

Veset moves the box to the cloud

According to Janis Krampans, chief technology

offi cer at Veset, it was not long ago that

broadcast engineers were slow to take to

integrated channel solutions that collapsed

traditional functionality of disparate playout

devices into as few boxes as possible. “While

these integrated channel technologies cleverly

marketed themselves as one-stop-shop Channel

in a Box solutions, they eventually displaced

legacy automation systems by delivering easy

installation, easy operation, high reliability, easy

maintenance, and easy scalability. Although

they have become the mainstay of playout

capabilities today, they still require more than one,

and often several, component bits of hardware

and software that necessitate a tremendous

amount of confi guration, supervision and support.

The Channel in a Box solutions have effectively

shrunk the size of huge automated processors into

sleek small boxes, but not much more.”

It is the newly emerging cloud playout and

IP capabilities that truly eliminate the need for

component boxes, other hardware, and cabling,

yet simultaneously offer a full playout capability

complete with security, reliability and scale.

And while broadcasters may be somewhat slow

to adopt this new technology, there are those

who clearly see the operational cost savings of

moving playout from hardware to the cloud.

UK-based broadcaster Limeclip is one such

channel. Based in London, and with plans to

expand within Europe, it launched The Medical

Channel to deliver trusted, evidence-based and

unbiased health-related content to audiences

in eastern Europe.

In November 2014, Limeclip decided to migrate

its playout from traditional hardware to the cloud.

It contacted Veset and within a few months

completed planning, testing and implementation

of its new Nimbus cloud playout. “The Veset Nimbus

solution allowed the channel complete playout

functionality from playlist management, media

aggregation and graphics overlays to transport

and monitoring,” explains Krampans. “Limeclip’s

media assets are stored with one of the leading

cloud resource providers in the UK. The channels

are played out in 1+1 mode, the primary from the

UK and secondary based in continental Europe.

The video stream is then transported via two

separate paths over the internet to the headends

in Croatia and Slovenia. There, the video stream is

re-encapsulated back to DVB compliant UDP.”

As a result of migrating playout to the cloud,

Veset has enabled Limeclip to streamline its playout

workfl ow processes. Limeclip has now only to

provide video content and playlist timetables to

Veset and the rest is handled by the Nimbus solution.

Limeclip also gets a centralised and secure cloud-

based media archive, enhanced video quality and

lower broadcasting expenses.

“Limeclip can now quickly launch new channels

in other countries. This level of fl exibility would have

been unthinkable using traditional broadcast

methods, as it would require the deployment of

hardware across multiple headends and channels.”

In the coming months, The Medical Channel

is expanding to other platforms in Bosnia, Serbia,

Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania and Poland and

later has plans for the UK, Baltics, and the rest

of the EMEA region.

CiaB Forum

Karl Mehring, Snell Janis Krampans, Veset

Genesix video server

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