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X-PLATFORM
November 2018
Global demand for content growing
Worldwide paying SVoD subscriptions will increase by 409 million between 2017
and 2023 to a total of 777 million, according to Digital TV Research.
Pay-TV and subscription video-
on-demand (SVoD) subscriptions
worldwide will reach 1,877 million
by 2023, up by 505 million (37%)
from 1,372 million at end-2017.
Reporting these figures, Simon
Murray, principal analyst at Digital
TV Research, said: “China is the
brightest star by adding 171 mil-
lion subscriptions during this pe-
riod to take its total to 610 million.
Its pay-TV total will ‘only’ grow by
32 million to 375 million, but SVoD
will rocket by 138 million to 235
million subscriptions.
“India will add a further 49
million pay-TV and SVoD subscrip-
tions to take its total to 210 million
in 2023.”
Emphasising the continued
shift in viewing habits, Digital
TV Research also reported that
worldwide paying SVoD subscrip-
tions will increase by 409 million
between 2017 and 2023 to a total
of 777 million. Eleven countries
will have more than 10 million
SVoD subscriptions by 2023, with
China and the US accounting for
more than half the world’s SVoD
subscriptions.
Digital TV Research also pre-
dicted that China will have the
most SVoD subscriptions by 2019,
and by 2023, the country will have
235 million SVoD subscribers — up
from 97 million in 2017.
Murray continued: “The US will
have 208 million SVoD subscrip-
tions by 2023, up by an impressive
76 million on 2017 despite its rela-
tive maturity. [However], its share
of the global market will fall from
36% in 2017 to 27% by 2023.”
By 2023, Digital TV Research
expects Netflix to contribute 192
million subscriptions (25% of the
global total), while Amazon Prime
Video 120 million (15%).
Overall, SVoD revenues will
reach US$69 billion by 2023, up by
nearly $44 billion since 2017. The
US will remain the SVoD revenue
leader by a “considerable dis-
tance”, adding $17 billion between
2017 and 2023 to take its total to
$29 billion.
Bitmovin sets up Benchmark tool for optimal encoding
Bitmovin has launched the Per-
Title Ladder Benchmark Tool, an
online resource for any video con-
tent owner or network operator to
receive guidance on the optimal
over-the-top (OTT) encoding
configuration for their content.
David Godfrey, vice-presi-
dent and general manager, Asia,
Bitmovin, told APB: “One of the
biggest issues in online video to-
day is that it does not always rival
broadcast in terms of quality. We
do not believe that technology
should be a reason to deliver poor
experiences to consumers, which
is why we have created the Ladder
Benchmark Tool.
“The Ladder Benchmark Tool
has been designed to help the
industry identify the best quality
and bitrate combination for each
piece of content. A synthesis of
industry standard practices and
tools combined in a user-friendly
way, this solution enables users
to benchmark assets and pre-
determined fixed ladders.”
The Per-Title Ladder Bench
mark Tool incorporates Per-Title
Encoding, which offers automated
ladder (a set of individual en-
coded streams corresponding to
a given asset or live stream) crea-
tion intelligence for video-on-
demand (VoD) services, optimised
by content type to achieve video
quality benefits while lowering
total cost of ownership.
When paired with Bitmovin’s
three-pass encoding technology,
this approach maximises video
quality for content, empowering
operators to enhance their brands
and VoD offerings, said Bitmovin.
The tool also provides band-
width and video quality data
required to optimise any existing
encoding technology. New users
can use the tool up to 20 times
to upload assets representing
their typical content to receive
an assessment of their chosen bit
rate ladder, as well as a content-
specific bitrate ladder obtained
through the Bitmovin Per-Title
Encoding algorithm.
“The ultimate objective of our
tool is to optimise distribution to
the consumer via a video player,
where there is a strong need to
deliver a great picture with mini-
mal bitrate ratio,” Godfrey added.
“With this tool, the industry can
benchmark the total cost of ope
ration with data, such as bitrate
Bitmovin has incorporated the Per-Title Encoding algorithm and three-pass
encoding technology within the Per-Title Ladder Benchmark Tool to achieve
optimal encoding configuration.
and storage costs, as well as video
quality, measured in peak signal-
to-noise ratio (PSNR). The user
can then identify the most effec-
tive ways to deliver a best-in-class
experience while reducing the
delivery and storage costs asso
ciated with the content.”