Welcome

Things may not have got off to a good start in Singapore. What with being bumped off Emirates, which was 20% overbooked ‘legally’ and the smoky haze that enveloped the city state last month! None of that, however, could dampen my spirits as I headed off to BroadcastAsia, which was every bit as unique and impressive as industry friends had promised it would be. My first trip to the show in Singapore last month was not just a humbling experience; it was also beautiful. I had the opportunity to listen to a number of presentations and was impressed to hear that some people flew down from other countries purely for the conference.

It was good to hear YouTube’s Benjamin Grubbs speak about how several Asian broadcasters and some individual entities were seriously maximising the potential of the platform and generating revenue. One of the examples that sticks in my mind is Hooplakidz, an online channel dedicated to animated nursery rhymes and stories designed to entertain and educate children between the ages of two and eight. The only thing I couldn’t figure out was why they were running the trailer for a Bollywood film prior to watching Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. I suppose, mothers are the first target audience. Still, the fact that it works makes this an interesting platform.

Some other speakers that caught my attention at BroadcastAsia were Reuben Verghese, Vice President of Asia & Global Head of TV Everywhere Solutions at Accedo, and David Godfrey, Vice President Asia Pacific of Elemental Technologies on OTT technology. Unlike in the Middle East, where we are talking about a lot of OTT technology deployments without having much experience deploying them, it was nice to step into a market, where there were real life experiences from various end users.

It would be wrong, though, to not make a mention of the facilities offered to the media at BroadcastAsia. It is, by far, one of the best I have witnessed at such shows. Now, if CABSAT could take a few tips from that!