Streaming Forum 2013: Chairman’s Picks

By on April 23, 2013 in Conference Sessions, General Conference Information

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Eric Schumacher

Eric Schumacher, Programme Director, Streaming Forum
Editor, Streaming Media Magazine

 

The thing I like best about the Streaming Forum is that we’ve tagged each of our 30 sessions with one of eight “Focus Areas,” so attendees can easily identify the panels and presentations that are most relevant to them and their business.

But I have to admit that I’m especially excited about a few sessions in particular:

• HBO Europe—A Broadcaster’s Guide to the TV Everywhere Universe

HBO GO has been one of the biggest success stories in the emerging OTT market, but that doesn’t mean that the deployment in Europe was an easy one. This session will offer great lessons for any organisation hoping to launch or expand its OTT offering in the European market.

• The Future of the Fashion Show—The Live Streaming Social Networking Experience

2013 is shaping up to be the year that live webcasting really comes into its own, with interactivity and social network integration a crucial part of that success. In this case study, attendees will find out how Topshop, Google, and Streaming Tank put together a multi-platform, interactive live web event to create “the world’s most viewed catwalk.”

• How to Choose a Cloud Encoder

Jan Ozer’s how-to sessions on encoding are always some of our best -attended, and this year we’ve got four of them. In this one, he’ll walk attendees through the pros and cons of choosing a cloud encoding service and present case studies of companies that have made the switch.

• MPEG-DASH & HEVC: New Standards Enabling Ultra-High Quality Video Services

We’ve got three sessions relating to MPEG-DASH, but this one is especially exciting because it brings together engineers and researchers who’ve helped build and advance the standards, from bitmovin, Qualcomm, CISCO, Fraunhofer/HHI, and Orange.

• Watching Sport Online: Better Than TV?

In a discussion featuring companies that have worked with major sport organisations including Manchester City FC and the Women’s Tennis Association, panellists will discuss and debate the important role of data and viewer interaction to create truly immersive fan experiences.

• Successful Models for Webcasts and Webinars for Education and Training

There are plenty of technologies that make it easy to create webcasts and webinars—but simply having the right technology is only one piece of the puzzle. What’s interesting about this presentation is that it digs deeper into helping attendees learn what makes for successful online learning events in both academic and corporate environments.

Read our full programme here

Register for the conference here

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Adoption of New Media Technology: Western Europe leads the way

By on February 21, 2013 in Industry News, Media & Entertainment, Uncategorized

Western Europe is setting the pace when it comes to the adoption of new media technology, accounting for all of the Top 5 international markets in 2012, according to a new study.

The New Media Forecasts Report from ZenithOptimedia tracks the adoption of IPTV, smartphones and tablets in the top 19 digital markets in the world. In 2012, Norway ranked first, followed by France, Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark.

Norway’s first place was driven by high take-up of smartphones and tablets.

Across all the markets analysed, smartphones were the most prevalent device, but smartphone penetration varied widely between countries, ranging from 73% in Sweden to 18% in Brazil. IPTV was the slowest growing of the three technologies and also had the widest range of adoption.

Looking ahead, the report forecasts that the Netherlands will claim top spot by 2015, driven by its extremently rapid uptake of IPTV which is forecast to be in 91% of Dutch households in two years.

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Streaming Forum Speakers Wanted: Sport and Education Verticals

By on February 21, 2013 in Uncategorized

The program for Streaming Forum 2013 is coming together nicely, but we still need your help. We’re looking specifically for sessions and presenters that can address the growing applications for online video in education and the ever-expanding sport market. In particular, we’re looking for how-to sessions and innovative case studies that can help our attendees understand best practices and new approaches to solving the specific challenges faced in those verticals.

We’re also still looking for speakers who can present sessions or help us fill out panel discussions in the following areas:

  • Formats, Protocols, and Standards
  • Encoding and Transcoding
  • Live Event Webcasting
  • Online Video Delivery Infrastructure
  • Corporate Communications
  • Media & Entertainment
  • Social Video & Second Screen

You can make your submissions via our online submission form, or feel free to reach out to me directly at erics@streamingmedia.com. Streaming Forum 2013 will be at the Park Plaza Victoria London on 18-19 June, and we’re looking to have the program completed by the end of the first week of March.

The Streaming Forum event is a “re-boot” of our Streaming Media Europe events; we’ve moved it out of the busy autumn conference season, relocated to a more central location in London, and put more emphasis on high-level networking and learning. Previous events have included speakers from YouTube, Samsung, BBC, Dailymotion, Red Bee Media, Channel 4, Xstream, Vimond, MTV Oy, Virgin Media, and Deutsche Telekom.

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UK Mobile Video Audience Grows 262%

By on February 18, 2013 in Industry News, Mobile, Mobile Video

The UK mobile video audience grew by 262% in the year to December 2012 to more than 11 million, according to a report just released by comScore. During the same period the audience for video viewing across all online platforms also grew by 8%  to more than 37 million.

Not surprisingly, YouTube remains the top video destination, followed by Amazon and Facebook.

According to the report, the UK has the highest level of online engagement in Europe, with hours spent online increasing by 5% year on year and UK consumers each spending on average more than 37 hours online. Films and job search sites are the fastest growing content categories.

UK smartphone penetration stands at 64% but is increasing: 82% of phones acquired in December 2012 in the UK were smartphones, compared to 74% in December 2011. And more than 6 million Brits had both a smartphone and a tablet in December 2012. Looking at the five major European markets (Germany, UK, Italy, France, and Spain), the total mobile audience now numbers more than 240 million people, and smartphone penetration stands at 57%.

Other highlights include the finding that 15% of Europe’s 408 million internet users are in Russia where the internet audience grew 15% since December 2011, to more than 61 million.

 

 

 

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Film Release Windows Limit Digital Opportunity in Europe: Kroes

By on February 17, 2013 in Media & Entertainment, Media & Entertainment

Rigid film release windows restrict flexibility, and make it harder for the sector to capture digital benefits, according to Neelie Kroes, Vice President of the European Commission. Kroes, who is responsible for the Digital Agenda for Europe, argues in a blog post that a one-size-fits all approach does not work for audiences, or for films. Different movie outlets, whether in the cinema, on TV, on DVD or online all have their own strengths and respond to different consumer needs.

“While some films might be better served by a first exclusive cinema release – like blockbusters with a big audience appeal”, she comments, “others may do better by going online earlier.” She goes on to say that the lower digital distribution costs “may especially suit low-budget, niche films.”

All parts of the film ecosystem should be able to experiment, she argues. However she also makes it clear that she does not wish to impose anything on the film industry. Her goal, she says, is to benefit everyone in the chain – filmmakers, cinemas and audiences – through encouraging the use of digital channels to the full.

According to Kroes, a more flexible approach would boost revenues, and bring European films to wider audience. And she poses a pointed question to underline her argument: “how many of the 915 European feature films made in 2011 did you see; and how many were you able to see?”

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Most British TV Viewers Use Second Screen

By on October 9, 2012 in Conference Sessions, Industry News, Media & Entertainment, Media & Entertainment, Uncategorized

Most British TV viewers have tried using a second screen, according to new research revealed today by Red Bee Media.

86% of owners of smart devices polled said that they had used their phone, tablet or computer as a second screen while watching TV. This includes using the device for a range of activities including emailing, interacting with social media, browsing and shopping on the internet. 52% of respondents said that they had used their second screen to find out more about a specific TV programme. But just 1 in 5 survey respondents reported that they had tried a synchronous companion app.

Those that had tried using a companion app reacted positively to the experience: 78% of this group said that they thought that smart devices offered a better way to engage with their favourite TV shows compared to more traditional methods such as phone-ins or red button services.

More than 2000 UK-based smart device owners were polled in the survey.

Delivery and monetisation in a Multi-Screen World is the subject of a panel discussion at Streaming Media Europe next week, featuring Hewlett-Packard’s Dion Eusepi, Robert Gribnau from Octoshape, Helge Høibraaten of Vimond Media Solutions, Xstream’s Frank Thorup, and Sami Kanninen, Head of WebTV at Finland’s MTV Oy. More details here.

 

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YouTube Launches Original Channels from UK, France and Germany

By on October 8, 2012 in Industry News, Media & Entertainment, Uncategorized

YouTube is extending its Original Channels lineup with a ‘new generation’ of channels from the UK, France and Germany. The company announced back in October 2011 that it was adding  nearly 100 new original channels from established producers and media companies, with the first tranche of channels all coming from US content producers.

The UK channel lineup includes On Earth, featuring natural history content from BBC Worldwide, Jamie Oliver’s Food Channel (Jamie Oliver Ltd and FreshOne), and Truthloader, a citizen journalism channel from ITN Productions. French channels include celebrity news from Endemol’s It’s Big and extreme sport channel X-Treme Video. German channels include motoring, humour, fitness and entertainment.

YouTube’s top 25 original channels are now averaging over a million views each week, according to a blog post by Robert Kyncl, YouTube’s Global Head of Content.

The ways in which broadcasters and content producers are fostering deeper relationships with their online and broadcast audiences will be a major focus at Streaming Media Europe next week, with speakers including the BBC and Channel 4. 

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Digital TV Now in Over 50% of Homes Worldwide

By on October 8, 2012 in Industry News, Media & Entertainment

A new report estimates that the digital TV market worldwide now stands at over 50% of TV households, despite real disparities between countries.

Looking ahead to 2016, the number of TV households worldwide will reach more than 1.5 billion, an increase of more than 9% in 5 years, according to the report from IDATE. The penetration of digital TV households worldwide will be 77% of TV households by 2016.

Cable will remain the main access mode for these households, but will gradually lose ground to satellite and IPTV which the report forecasts will account for 30% and 7% of TV households, respectively, by the end of 2016. Terrestrial TV will continue its decline despite the development of hybrid TV solutions, dropping to the number three access method by 2016 with approximately 26% of the global market.

The global TV industry’s revenue will come to €340.1 billion in 2012, estimates the report. Pay-TV revenue will grow an average of almost 3% annually between 2012 and 2016, and advertising revenue will see strong growth of more than 21% during the same period. The reports also forecasts that public financing and license fees will increase significantly during the period.

 

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Olympics drive record usage of BBC iPlayer

By on October 2, 2012 in Conference Sessions, Industry News, Keynotes, Media & Entertainment, Media & Entertainment

The London Olympics drove record usage of the BBC iPlayer catch-up service, according to the BBC, with 196 million requests during the month of August. Usage on mobile and tablet devices also broke records, contributing almost a fifth of total requests in the month.

The BBC’s data includes all scheduled TV channel output but excludes the 24 web-only sports streams produced for the Olympics.

Jane Weedon, Director of Business Development for BBC Future Media will be giving the opening keynote on Wednesday 17 October at Streaming Media Europe. To attend the keynote for free, register here.

 

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Streaming Media Europe Readers’ Choice Awards: Finalists Announced

By on October 2, 2012 in Exhibit, General Conference Information, Industry News

The Finalists have been announced for this year’s Streaming Media Europe Readers’ Choice Awards.

Almost 4,000 readers submitted their votes for a total of 304 nominees in 15 categories.

Below is the list of finalists — the top three vote-getters in each category, in alphabetical order. The winners will be announced at Streaming Media Europe in London later this month. The Awards ceremony will take place during the drinks reception in Streaming Media’s Expo on Tuesday 16 October and entry is FREE for all pre-registered exhibition visitors. Click here to register and celebrate with the lucky winners!

Analytics/QOS solution
ADTECH
Bridge Technologies
Touchcast

Video Advertising platform
Gorillabox
Smartclip
Videoplaza

Music & Audio Delivery solution
Grooveshark
Soundcloud
Spotify

Best Live Webcast 2012
Interlake Media
Showcaster
Streaming Tank

Video Discovery Service
Redbee
ThinkAnalytics
Veeseo

Best Streaming Innovation 2012
BBC
Vimond
Wowza

Webcast platform
Polycom
Sonic Foundry
StreamUK

Delivery Network
Alcatel-Lucent
Octoshape
Qbrick

TV over IP solution
Haivision
Vimond
Xstream

Streaming Services Provider
Qbrick
i2i Media
Xstream

Mobile Video app or soln
LiveU
Polycom
RealNetworks

Cloud Video Service
BeBanjo
Sorenson
Mixmoov

Online Video Platform
Qbrick
Vizrt
Xstream

Server hardware/software
Haivision
Wowza
Xstream

Transcoding solution
Realnetworks
Sorenson
Wowza

 

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