KPMG report highlights reluctance to pay for content
KPMG’s Media Barometer surveyed a total 4,312 UK consumers from YouGov’s panel in September, for its Media and Entertainment Barometer. (KPMG report here)
Among the main findings:
—27 per cent own a smartphone. “This rose to 44 per cent and 43 per cent amongst the 18-24s and 25-34s respectively.”
—35 per cent have downloaded paid apps in the last year – a tenth of those had spent more than £10
—Just two per cent own tablets
—”Subscribers most commonly paid for music (23 per cent), online gaming (21 per cent), business news/analysis (19 per cent), online newspapers/magazines (19 per cent) and TV (19 per cent).”
—”Nine per cent (of people who don’t currently subscribe to online content) indicated they would possibly become a paid subscriber (in the next 12 months).
—”Only 2 per cent would be prepared to pay for unrestricted access to a website they use regularly if a paywall were introduced. 79 per cent would seek similar content elsewhere. ”
—”86 per cent of consumers said they preferred to consume media offline rather than online. The most popular reason was a preference to reading physical copies.”
KPMG’s media head David Elms commented: “Whilst the appetite to pay for web content is moving slowly, the pace of spending money to download content on mobile devices is moving much more quickly, particularly in the crucial 18-34 demographic.
“A key question is whether consumers, increasingly used to paying for premium content on their mobiles and tablets, will become more willing to pay for online content to their desktop – but, at the moment, it is too early to identify any discernible trends.”
“Whilst the availability of tablets and smartphones is providing consumers with wider access to media, the gap between the time spent on new media and traditional activities has not narrowed over the past year. In fact, traditional media still remains more popular particularly reading books (68 per cent) and watching TV (93 per cent).”
What can the STB manufacturers do to manage the threat from Connected TV’s
The last 12 months have seen a deluge of Connected TV’s dropped into the shops and peoples homes. All major CE vendors have a Connected TV offering with little to differentiate between them (as all content offerings appear to be similar). STB manufacturers are assessing their position in this new marketplace, and if they’re not then perhaps they should be.
Connected TV’s (providing Over the Top TV) are not the first threat to STB manufacturers and they have traditionally provided a vital interim solution until the new technologies become adopted by the TV manufacturers and consumers. They will continue to fulfill this important role.
But where next, what other tactics could they adopt to manage this threat from Connected TV’s. In essence they could derive more margin in the following ways:
Compete directly - the STB manufacturers could diversify into providing Over the Top Tv services via their own product. This could be through a 3rd party platform or they could own/operate their own
Landgrab - securing a place in the market will help grow an earlier consumer base. A large and mature base will be the key a potential spin off/sale later
Ship more product - by getting into the Over the Top TV space the STB manufacturers will be able to address traditional markets and sell to the new OTT TV markets
BCi continues to provide services and thought leadership in the Over the top TV market. We provide a number of related white papers via our website.
Delivery of OTT TV and Games - can the STB do both?
We’ve seen the addition of OTT TV services on the games consoles. The Xbox 360 can access Sky content in the UK, although there we a few hiccups at first. Sony’s PS3 and the Nintendo Wii also provides access to OTT TV services. But can it work the other way around - can the STB support gaming and OTT TV?
Games consoles are specifically designed to provide a rich, immersive, engaging and (perhaps most importantly) interactive environment. All of this requires considerable and well purposed hardware (think physics engines for example). On top of that they then perform the task of rendering these images for consumption on our TVs, including OTT TV.
It doesn’t seem likely that STB’s will be able to flip the situation around and double up as the means of receiving OTT TV and providing a gaming experience comparable to the leading games consoles. Many STB’s do currently provide limited gaming experiences and there’s no doubt that there’s opportunities to develop and improve these. Maybe the STB manufacturers should consider making games consoles that provide TV services?
Why does it matter? If someone solves this then it could mean the reduction of so many boxes in the home. The integration of a great games console and a great STB would tick so many of the consumer requirements that they would be able, and very willing, to pay a premium. Imagine access to all of that OTT TV, playing great games, DVD playback, DLNA, etc all through a single device.
Marlin DRM White Paper
This Marlin DRM White Paper discusses the key drivers in the adoption of DRM for Over the Top TV (OTT TV) solutions and whether the Marlin DRM will be adopted wider following the recent decision to use it for the UK’s YouView service (formerly Project Canvas)
2nd OTT TV White Paper relased
This our 2nd OTT TV white paper reviews the leading OTT TV platforms including HbbTV, Google TV and YouView (formerly Project Canvas).
BCi’s first OTT TV White Paper can be found here
BCi release a 2nd Over the Top TV (OTT TV) white paper to coincide with OTT TV Mashup Event
BCi, Europe’s leading IPTV, Video on Demand and OTT TV Systems Integrator have released a second OTT TV white paper to coincide with the forthcoming OTT TV Mashup Event to be held in London on 12th October 2010.
Our 2nd OTT TV White Paper
Our 2nd OTT TV white paper concentrates on reviewing a number of the leading OTT TV platforms including HbbTV, Google TV and YouView (formerly Project Canvas) and can be downloaded by clicking on the PDF image below:
Those of you who missed our first OTT TV white paper can download it here
The OTT TV Mashup Event
The OTT TV Mashup Event, which costs just £35, will be held at Ogilvy Labs, Canary Wharf on 12th October 2010 and will include the following panel members:
Jon Varney - former CTO, BBC
Anthony Rose - CTO, YouView
Casey Harwood - Turner Broadcasting
Graeme Oxby - MD, Virgin Media
The key impacts of OTT TV will be discussed at the Mashup with questions such as the following being debated:
What are the business models that will make blended TV services sustainable?
When and how will Google TV make an impact?
How will Over the Top TV impact multi-screen TV?
How will the stakeholders react to OTT TV and where are the opportunities?
The role of the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) in the connected world?
Will OTT TV change the business model for Pay TV providers?
You can reserve yourself a place at the OTT TV Mashup event here
BCi adds 3 screen capability
Clients are increasingly demanding 3 screen capable platforms for delivery of their content. The BCi Test lab now support 3 Screen testing via the Envivio 4Caster C4. The 4Caster C4 supports live and on demand transcoding services to 3 screens in a variety of formats. Format configuration has been dramatically simplified through the use if intuitive menus resulting in rapid deployment in the Test lab.
The 4Caster C4 supports single or multiple format output allowing Operators or Content owners to provide services to mobile, PC and TV’s all from a single device. This has obvious cost and space saving implications.
BCi remains committed to maintain its position as a leader of Over the top TV services and sees onging development of its Test lab core in that goal. For more information please contact Mark Hooper on +44 (0) 2380 988606 or info@bci.eu.com
BCi completes Alfresco integration
Over 2 years ago BCi embarked on finding what they considered to be the best open source back office solution for its own use and as a possible integration for its clients. Having developed a set of functional and performance criteria we went out to find the best fit to our requirements. A number of contenders were assessed but it was clear that the Alfresco solution was the best match to our criteria.
As well as being a feature rich solution and generally stable it is well supported by the alfresco community. We we’re particularly interested in it’s potential to address some of our clients requirements and perhaps form part of a wider solution as a pre-integrated component.
BCi’s own integration of Alfresco as it’s back office and content management system has allowed us to improve internal processes, document management and even quality it now forms a core element of our ISO9001:2008 Quality standard.
For more information about BCi and how we can assist you please contact Mark Hooper on 07968 582391 or John Bartlett on 07801 959393.
BCi Partner Marlin selected for Canvas platform
The new You View (Canvas) platform will consolidate the catch up TV offerings from the PSB’s (Public Service Broadcasters) into a single ‘over the top TV’ offering via a set top box. The platform partners have selected Marlin DRM for the protection of it’s content as it offers a flexible and ‘Open standards’ approach.
BCi are Marlin experts and have a working demo of the technology in their Southampton lab. The solution is set top based and demonstrates the encryption of content, storage on a server and playback on a set top box with a Marlin client. The demo also includes playback on a PC client.
As System Integrators BCi continues to innovate and adopt the leading technologies in the over the top TV market.
The defintion and likely impact of Over the Top TV
This white paper provides a clear defintion of Over the Top TV and explores the impact for existing stakeholders as well as opportunities for new entrants.
