Asia-Pacific Broadcasting (APB) Systems Integration 2016 | Page 3

OVER VIEW
Working with the right technology
partners gives broadcasters a better
platform to develop enhanced workflows
and operational efficiencies. This, in turn,
will help them cope more efficiently with
emerging technologies, and to meet the
needs of their consumers.

SI can help to shape
the transformed
broadcaster
Arguably, the broadcast industry is currently facing
one of its most challenging times in recent memory.
Besides having to navigate a wave of technology
transformations, the emergence of a slew of alternative
content providers is multiplying the challenge of
meeting consumers’ increasingly varied and demanding
needs for diverse content. However, these disruptions
need not necessarily stymie broadcasters, who have the
opportunity to successfully transform themselves, as
SHAWN LIEW reports.
According to United Nations estimates,
the world population, as of August
2016, stands at 7.4 billion. Global mobile
devices and connections, on the other
hand, numbered 7.9 billion in 2015 alone,
Cisco reported, with no evidence to
remotely suggest that this number is
likely to dwindle this year.
Because of the lack of broadband
connectivity in some countries,
coupled with the issue of affordability,
the statistic on global mobile devices
and connections can be skewed, and
its distribution concentrated within
the boundaries of the world’s more
developed countries.
However, this is taking nothing
away from the fact that an increasingly
connected world is fundamentally

transforming the way that TV and video
content is packaged and delivered to
consumers. For underserved populations
on the wrong side of the digital divide,
terrestrial TV, and other more traditional
platforms, will continue to be the main
source of information.
Neither will these platforms lose its
relevance in more developed countries,
even as the traditional TV set’s once
all-conquering role is diminishing.
Mobile devices are transforming into
quintessential platforms to consume
content — for some, it is the first screen
of choice in which to consume content.
A new consumer-driven era of
transformation and disruption
The broadcast industry has undergone a

systems integration 2016

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review, rethink & restructure

number of key transformations in its long
and storied history, going from blackand-white TV to colour TV; and from
analogue to digital TV — an ongoing
process, it has to be said.
Through these technology transitions,
however, there is arguably no point in
time like today, where consumers hold
almost absolute power in dictating not
only the content they want to watch, but
also when they want to watch, and on
the devices of their choice.
The passive viewer is no more; in
his place emerges the assertive viewer,
who will gladly, and without a second’s
thought, turn to another service provider
if broadcasters cannot provide them with
what they want.
Disruptors or innovators —
depending on your point of view — like
Netflix, Hulu and Amazon have ushered
in a new era of content consumption,
further emboldening the consumer,
who, compared to years past, no longer
face a dearth of choices. This is without
taking into account content aggregators
like Facebook and Twitter, who have
significantly raised the profile and
popularity of short-form content, much
of which is user-generated.
The broadcast industry today is
facing a disruption the likes of which it
has never faced before, was the blunt
assessment of Aale Raza, director of
Whiteway Systems.
What can broadcasters do or, more
specifically, how can broadcasters
transform themselves to address the
needs of consumers today?
Being receptive to change would
appear to be a good start. Open yourself
to user-generated content, and be
active on social media platforms and
augment TV broadcasts with a live
website delivering additonal stories, Raza
suggested.
But most importantly, he added,
broadcasters need to embrace
technologies, be it video-over-IP, filesharing over IP, video-on-demand (VoD),
and so on, and transform themselves in
the process.
Is technology outpacing us?
If you had the opportunity to visit the
Future Zone at IBC 2016, chances are,
you would have been left impressed by
NHK’s dazzling display of 8K footage
shot from the recent Olympic Games in
Rio de Janerio, Brazil.
With the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
now on the horizon, the Japanese
public broadcaster is pushing ahead in
developing and refining its Super HiVision programme production system.
Realistically though, it is hard to
envision many broadcasters — for
reasons of practicality and costs — to
be considering introducing 8K services
in the near future. Even 4K/Ultra HD
(UHD) may be a current step too far