Asia-Pacific Broadcasting (APB) December 2018 Volume 35, Issue 11

www.apb-news.com NEWS & VIEWS W O R L D I N B R I E F SINGAPORE – Pay-TV revenues in APAC have grown by 5% in 2018, taking region-wide industry rev- enue past the US$56-billion mark, according to the Asia-Pacific Pay- TV Distribution report by Media Partners Asia (MPA). The report predicted that continued growth will see revenues exceeding US$66 billion by 2023, a 3% CAGR. 45% of Thai viewers use illicit streaming devices BANGKOK – A study commis- sioned by Asia Video Industry Association’s (AVIA) Coalition Against Piracy (CAP) revealed that 45% of consumers in Thailand use Illicit Streaming Devices (ISDs) to stream pirated TV and video content. Of the 45% of consum- ers who purchased the ISDs, more than 69% stated that they cancelled all or some of their sub- scriptions to legal pay-TV services. FCC launches 5G spectrum auction WASHINGTON – The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has commenced its first high-band 5G spectrum auction. The FCC will be making 1.55GHz of spectrum available through the auction of spectrums in the 28GHz and 24GHz bands. 6 CREATION 10 MANAGEMENT 12 DISTRIBUTION | DECEMBER 2018 | VOLUME 35 X-PLATFORM 14 | ISSUE 11 16 2018 – a transformational year for the M&E industry Positive growth outlook for pay-TV in APAC 5 NEWS & VIEWS December 2018 BY SHAWN LIEW SINGAPORE – To suggest that 2018 has been a transformational year for the broadcast and me- dia (M&E) industry is perhaps an under statement. Television, as we know it in the most traditional sense — pre- programmed content transmitted over a linear platform — has been irrevocably changed. Consumers, in increasing numbers, are em- bracing their personal connected devices as the main medium in which to consume content. Non-traditional content pro- viders continue to thrive and flourish, as epitomised by the fact that Netflix is expected to spend up to US$8 billion on 700 original series this year. Sports, traditionally a stronghold of pay-TV, is shifting From a technological perspective, 2018 has seen broadcasters and media companies explore various technologies as key enablers that will allow them to redefine key broadcast workflows with more efficiency and cost-effectiveness. seismically towards the over-the- top (OTT) and video-on-demand (VoD) domains — the likes of Ama- zon and Facebook have acquired live streaming rights to some of the most sought after sports content in the world, including the hugely popular English Premier League. How then are media companies adapting to these changes? Consolidation of resources appears to be one way to go — Comcast’s takeover of the UK’s Sky and AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner are just some of the high- profile examples that reflect a wave of merger and acquisitions that is likely to continue. From a technological perspec- tive, 2018 has seen broadcasters and media companies explore vari- ous technologies as key enablers that will allow them to redefine key broadcast workflows with more efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Of these technologies, IP has arguably, been the most keenly discussed, particularly with the 8 8 Singapore first in SE Asia to go fully digital SINGAPORE – The next chapter in Singapore’s broadcast TV history is ready to be written, as the republic prepares to shut down all analogue TV transmission on 1 January 2019. This, according to Goh Kim Soon, head, broadcast engineering, Mediacorp, is the culmi- nation of a journey that began in September 2014, when the Info-communications Media Development Authority of Singapore (IMDA) launched the Digital TV Assistance Scheme to help low-income households make the switch to digital TV (DTV). “To help more Singaporeans transition to DTV, the scheme was expanded in April 2018 to all Singaporean households that do not subscribe to pay-TV, through the Digital Starter Kit,” Goh added. To further raise awareness about the digital switchover (DSO), IMDA organised weekly DTV carnivals and pop-up counters at various community centres, where residents can get their DTV-related queries answered and book appointments for free installations. Reminders about the analogue switch-off date were also displayed on the TV screens of analogue TV viewers, to remind these households to switch over as soon as possible Reflecting on a journey nearing its conclu- sion, Goh said: “Seamless migration to DTV re- quires a national effort involving all stakeholders in the industry — from the government to the broadcasters, retailers, TV manufacturers and 8 8 I s y our Ra di o S t a on a l l i t c a n be? Vi s ua l Ra di o f r om www. i dea l s y s . c om www. i dea l s y s . c om