IPTV Operators Need to Offer TV on Multiple Devices, Personalize for Consumer Demand, Experts Say
IPTV operators recognize the need for personalization to appeal to customers who want TV on multiple devices, said industry experts during a Azuki Systems and Parks Associates webinar Wednesday. TV watching patterns are moving from a multicast to omnicast model, with video-on-demand and DVR service and all channels available inside and outside the home, said Steve Sklar, CenturyLink vice president-consumer products. The challenge is enhancing the customer experience, which can be achieved through TV Everywhere, he said.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Export Compliance Daily combines U.S. export control news, foreign border import regulation and policy developments into a single daily information service that reliably informs its trade professional readers about important current issues affecting their operations.
Omnicast networks are being examined to see if they can deliver large channel maps with over the top (OTT) content, said John Hargrave, Microsoft general manager-global solutions. “We have the technology now, so this is a content rights issue,” said Hargrave. “Operators need to figure out alternate dispute resolution schemes in order to make this work.” ADR can eliminate some of the costs for providers to get into the business, Sklar said. Monetizing TV Everywhere can also be a challenge, but it becomes easier as “multiscreen advertising becomes more like TV,” said Hargrave. Ad insertion can also be attractive to monetize OTT, he said. Monetization depends on where operators place their value, said Brett Sappington, Parks Associates director-research. “Operators need to get access and rights and these govern what services can be offered,” said Sappington.
Customers also need to have the same user experience across all of their network-connected devices, said VIDDEC Consulting owner David Cox. “The quality of content will vary across platforms and when people see degrading quality they can actually call the operators and let them know,” said Cox. Therefore, quality of customer care needs to be better across all platforms because customers hold the operators accountable if something goes wrong, said Cox. New technologies, such as adaptive bit rate technology, can help to bring this technology to all households, said Chris Mumford, Azuki Systems engineering director. “Through fiber to the node and fiber to the premises, 20 percent of customers have access to this connection for this service,” said Mumford. “We have the technology to make it available to 100 percent of customers.”
The linear experience of watching TV is already changing, said Mumford. “We need to develop an infrastructure to let people know what’s been on TV for the past 24 hours,” he said. The user experience also changes to match customer needs, said Cox. “On demand content becomes more valuable because you find what you really watch,” said Cox. It becomes especially important for discovery and metadata purposes, he said. However, the quality will not be diminished by TV Everywhere experience. “Quality TV will still be watched on the prime viewing screen,” said Cox.