Broadcasters need to go beyond merely implementing technology; the future lies in innovation I recently had a chat with the head of one of the regions biggest broadcasters. Since they were one of the few broadcasters with money to invest, I suggested they should lead the world through innovation. His response was:”We are at the […]
Broadcasters need to go beyond merely implementing technology; the future lies in innovation
I recently had a chat with the head of one of the regions biggest broadcasters. Since they were one of the few broadcasters with money to invest, I suggested they should lead the world through innovation.
His response was:”We are at the forefront of technology; I send my guys to NAB every year.”
Theres nothing wrong with that except that it wasnt quite what I meant.
I have been to NAB, IBC, Broadcast Asia, CABSAT and so on. I always leave thinking its the same old story theres nothing exciting, nothing new. Yes, we saw HD and 3D before they became mainstream and now, 4K. But these are evolutions. When was the last time you saw something revolutionary?
More importantly, what initiated our adoption of HD, 3D and what made 4K a household name? Consumer electronics companies showcasing screens and the gaming industry releasing consoles? CES 2013 in Vegas saw consumer companies announcing 4K screens.
Will we once again be playing catchup? What appetite will our businesses have to invest when we have only just rolled out HD at huge infrastructure costs? Do these evolutions ever give us a return on investment?
Maybe the last real revolution came when Apple released FCP. Until then, an edit suite cost several tens of thousands of dollars. FCP was well featured and cost a couple of thousand bucks. Yes, you needed to buy hardware but in any case, it was affordable. Again, this revolution was mainly from a consumer source.
So how does our industry actually work? When vendors meet broadcasters, they ask “what do you need?” Broadcasters ask vendors “what have you got?” Integrators take the best from the vendors to meet the broadcasters needs, so who is innovating?
There are some interesting companies lurking in the small booths at the edges of every show. This is where I found the likes of iPharro and a little Japanese company that had a reality show concept based in second life.
Occasionally, you may see something new IPV with its data-mining, Mirandas I-Control when first announced and some great ideas in Invenio when Harris partnered with a University. This is what I am alluding to.
It is very easy to see something at a show and implement it, even in an innovative way. There are many examples of broadcasters coming up with a need and a vendor providing a partial answer. What we see so little now, however, are broadcasters driving innovation.
The BBC has its own research division from which products such as Pierro were born. Others such as NHK have their own research arms too. In the region, Im unaware of any full-fledged research departments. If we cannot start one, we should at least support research programmes or partner with universities to see some true innovation come from the Middle East.
Look at the FascinatE project for instance, or Project Glass from Google.
Wouldnt it be great to be able to say we were the first in the world to do this? Being able to show we have the talent to lead rather than to follow is important. We certainly have the resources and the ego. So what is lacking? The vision?
Why should we do this? Why should we stop following the leaders who have tried and tested products before we go to implement them?
For how long can we follow them? I guarantee you some things. Content isnt getting cheaper yet our customers are getting more used to not paying for it. We are going to have to find different revenue streams which dont rely at all on the content itself. Content will become a global market and the way we offer it and the services on top of it will become the only differentiator.
You will not find the answers to these challenges purely in our own industry. There is a lot we can learn from the Facebooks and Twitters of the world as they struggle to generate revenue from their massive user base. Add to that Google and Apple, Amazon and Yahoo, and you start to see the other alarming fact.
Consumer businesses have driven the major developments in our industry for a while now. We should seriously consider the threat to our core business. You Tube is more popular with our youth than any channel; it is well documented that the younger generation accesses content on devices rather than on their televisions, which is where we traditionally invest the most.
These social giants have access to users, technology, information and budgets that we can only dream of. They will challenge and take our content and offer it in ways we cannot. The message is simple. Innovate or die.
CABSAT is here. When you see any of the tech heads from Al Jazeera, DMI, MBC, Sky, OSN and so on or the enablers from the systems integration side or any of the innovators showcasing their products, ask them what their vision is for the future of broadcast and let me know if they say anything you didnt already know.
JD (name changed) is an entrepreneur and industry veteran with experience in the many facets of the broadcast industry. He has been travelling to the region for more than a decade working for and with multiple broadcasters. To comment on this piece, email vijaya@cpidubai.com
