AVOD IS READY FOR PRIMETIME - CSI MAGAZINE
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www.csimagazine.com
The magazine for global video
TV Broadcast • Streaming • Satellite • Cable • Hybrid
The leading media for video delivery technology
April 2020
CSI Awards 2020
Low latency streams
AI and the TV UX
5G and satellite
AVoD is ready for primetime
June 2016
• OTT, VoD, Cloud TV, Cable, Satellite, IPTV, DTT, IoT • The latest news, views and features
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Contents TV Broadcast • Streaming • Satellite • Cable • Hybrid
The leading media for video delivery technology
The magazine for global video
18 AI and the TV UX
Can Artificial Intelligence transform and
www.csimagazine.com
improve the television user experience?
TV Broadcast • Streaming • Satellite • Cable • Hybrid
The leading media for video delivery technology
April 2020
CSI Awards 2020
21 The future of TV with MediaKind
Low latency streams
AI and the TV UX
Embracing the future of TV with streaming
Editor
5G and satellite
Goran Nastic
AVoD is ready for primetime
22 CSI Awards 2020
1_Cover-V2.indd 1
June 2016
• OTT, VoD, Cloud TV, Cable, Satellite, IPTV, DTT, IoT • The latest news, views and features
23/03/2020 14:53:37
Our annual awards are now open for entry Commercial
Camilla Capece
06 Analyst corner
26 Cloud security
How ‘premium’ AVoD will disrupt free-to-air Design and production
MovieLabs on the future of production
viewing Matt Mills (Manager)
security
Jessica Harrington
08 COVER STORY: The rise of AVoD
29 Quibi Regular contributors
Why are AVoD services suddenly all the
Can it crack premium short-form video? Adrian Pennington, Philip Hunter,
rage and what will their growth mean for the
David Adams, Stephen Cousins,
industry going forward?
30 Q&A with Verizon Media Anna Tobin
How digital is changing sports
12 Low latency streaming with Circulation
Verizon Media Joel Whitefoot
32 5G and satellite
How to reduce time behind live for
Two articles explore different elements of Accounts
OTT streams
the landscape Marilou Tait, Mohamad Saidani
14 Executive interview
38 Interactive live streaming Editorial
ATSC president Madeleine Noland talks to tel +44(0)20 7562 2401
nanocosmos on a new era for interactivity
us about ATSC 3.0/NextGenTV goran.nastic@csimagazine.com
40 Tech corner: Scaling IP video
17 Insight: Discovery’s DTC pivot Advertising
DPP looks at the pros and cons of tel +44(0)20 7562 2438
Discovery has big plans for aggregation
multicasting and edge computing camilla.capece@csimagazine.com
Subscriptions
tel +44 (0) 20 1635 588 861
Editor’s report: perspectivesubs@dynamail.co.uk
Circulation manager: joel.whitefoot@
perspectivepublishing.com
The global success of you-know-who turned the last decade into one dominated by
SVoD, so much so that ‘subscription-fatigue’ has now become a common phrase. Subscription rates
Right at the end, however, 2019 saw ad-funded platforms enter the discussion, Per year: Europe £88; UK £68;
showing SVoD is not the only way to offer and watch (quality) video. As the Rest of World £98. Cheques payable to
Perspective Publishing
2020s are widely anticipated to be the streaming decade, can AVoD really match
Limited and addressed to the
the success of SVoD services, especially as it goes premium and hybrid models evolve? In the Circulation Department
wider world, the global spread of you-know-what has turned whole ways of working and living
on their heads. Entertainment and communications are not just an important part of daily Printed by Buxton Press
lives but can play a critical role in these tough times and it’s great to see so many tech compa-
nies pitching to help in different ways. Goran Nastic Managing Director
John Woods
Perspective Publishing Publishing Director
3 London Wall Buildings
London Mark Evans
2020 EC2M 5PD
www.perspectivepublishing.com ISSN 1467-5935
www.csimagazine.com April 2020 03
News
news in brief Europe rallies together with video
Fox to buy Tubi
Fox has agreed to acquire
traffic as virus exposes some
ad-supported TV streaming
service Tubi for $440
creaky infrastructure
million, becoming the Most things in life can be Thierry Breton, who
latest media company to viewed through a positive or is in charge of the
add an AVOD platform to negative lens and so it is internal market and
its main business. The with the current Covi-19 digital policy. Breton
broadcaster hopes the pandemic as the situation wants streaming
takeover will help pertains to Europe’s platforms to
strengthen its direct-to- broadband infrastructure. cooperate with
consumer digital reach On the one hand, European telecom providers and
and engagement, especially networks largely coped quite temporarily
among young people, as well with the sudden surge in downgrade the quality
well as provide advertising residential bandwidth of video streaming by
partners with more brought about by sweeping offering standard
opportunities to reach societal, educational and definition rather than
audiences at scale. Fox working practices. high definition. engaged in similar practices.
also expects to build on But at the same time, the Netflix, which has over 42 From a 5G perspective, the
the streamer’s capabilities European Commission is million users in EMEA and mobile rollouts have not quite
in digital advertising, concerned about abnormal contributes to a sizeable come in time in a meaningful
DTC interfaces and peaks in traffic distribution chunk of video consumption, volume to ease the burdens.
personalisation during the virus outbreak agreed to reduce bit rates The UK only has 3 million
technology. that it has launched the across all its streams in out of some 26m homes that
hashtag #SwitchtoStandard Europe for 30 days. “We can get fibre broadband,
RDK progress, cameras to encourage people to use estimate that this will reduce which compares to 80%
RDK Management says SD rather than HD video in Netflix traffic on European availability in south Korea.
its tech platform now order to conserve bandwidth. networks by around 25%, Europe in general lags behind
powers more than 60m “Streaming platforms, while also ensuring a good the developed Asian
devices deployed by telecom operators and users, quality service for our economies, which explains
service providers around we all have a joint members,” the company said for these throttling measures,
the world, up from 50m responsibility to take steps to in a statement. although it is also worth
at this time last year.RDK ensure the smooth YouTube and Facebook, pointing out that Europe also
broadband software has functioning of the internet the other large hoggers of has an ageing population,
branched to cover during the battle against the upstream and downstream especially when compared to
DOCSIS, DSL, and virus propagation,” said bandwidth alike, have the Asian economies.
GPON gateways, though
it remains more prevalent
in the cable sector from
Connecting satellites to standard phones
which it originates. The race for launching a devices that are currently in announced its own
The RDK group said commercial product that hard to reach and poorly breakthrough in this area
that dozens of new service connects normal mobile connected areas. by successfully sending a
providers are in various phones with no special Earlier this month, text message from a LEO
stages of using it. A new hardware to satellites is Vodafone and Rakuten satellite to an unmodified
open source software for heating up. invested in SpaceMobile, an Android handset.
connected cameras will There are several initiatives upcoming LEO satellite Lynk has 4 satellites in
see RDK cameras join ongoing by companies that network from AST & Science, space so far and aims to
the list of supported believe cracking this market which aims to connect expand testing in the summer
devices, starting with represents a multi-billion directly to standard of 2020 to additional
IP-connected cameras dollar opportunity, as it smartphones, through 4G countries and mobile network
from Sercomm. opens up revenues by now and 5G in the future. partners, of which it currently
connecting billions of Then Lynk Global has around 30.
04 April 2020 www.csimagazine.com
News
Disney+ comes to Europe news in brief
not in France. HTS boon with NGSOs
Also, there are Euroconsult projects high
far more series throughput satellite
and films in revenues reaching $15
the UK than in billion by 2028, thanks to
other countries, several non-geostationary
according to satellite orbit (NGSO)
JustWatch. HTS constellations going
Disney+ is into service during this
priced at time period. As a result,
GBP5.99/ HTS capacity supply is on
EUR6.99 per the verge of entering a
month, or period of “unprecedented
After months of anticipation said Kevin Mayer, chairman GBP59.99/EUR69.99 for an near-term expansion”,
Disney+ is finally here, of Walt Disney direct-to- annual subscription. according to the analysts,
going live in the UK and consumer and international. The application is now jumping from 2,100 Gbps
Ireland, as well as Germany, “We humbly hope that available on select Sony at the end of 2019 to
Italy, Spain, Austria this service can bring some Bravia Android TVs and a 26,500 Gbps by 2024.
and Switzerland. much-needed moments of number of other connected While this jump has been
French consumers will respite for families during CE devices. anticipated, it is now
have to wait a little longer these difficult times.” To widen reach and usage, imminent as high-volume
as that launch was postponed Disney+ features 26 the service launches with manufacturing and batch
until April 7 on the back original series alongside a number of distribution launch campaigns are
of a government request to library content from brands and strategic agreements underway for both SpaceX
help the country’s ISPs such as Pixar, Marvel, Star with European operator and OneWeb. “The NGSO
deal with the ongoing virus Wars, National Geographic partners including Deutsche constellations are poised
crisis. Even the markets and The Simpsons. Telekom in Germany, Sky to fundamentally shift
where it has activated, According to analysis and O2 in the UK, the HTS landscape,”
Disney said it is initially from JustWatch - which lists Telefonica in Spain, TIM in said Euroconsult.
limiting its bandwidth use all current films and series Italy and Canal+ in France.
by at least 25% to assist for Disney+ in the United Some of these deals are on DAZN going global
broadband infrastructure to Kingdom, France, Spain, an exclusive basis. Sports streaming service
handle anticipated consumer Germany, and Italy - there is Additional Western DAZN plans to expand to
demand for the service. some difference between the European markets including more than 200 countries
“Launching in seven countries. For example, Belgium, the Nordics and territories this year,
markets simultaneously marks Disney+ offers Black Panther and Portugal will follow starting with a boxing fight
a new milestone for Disney+,” in the UK and Spain but this summer. to be distributed globally
on 2 May. The sports
Broadcom sues Netflix streamer is currently
present in nine countries,
Broadcom has decided to sue “Netflix has built its with minimal interruptions, but will make its
Netflix because the SVOD familiar video streaming to ensure the efficient use subscription platform
service has effectively business, in part, on the of Netflix server resources, available almost
disrupted the payTV business Broadcom Entities’ patented and to encode Netflix universally, initially based
and in the process taken technology. Netflix relies on streaming content in a on its global boxing rights.
massive chunks of potential this technology for crucial format compatible with The new service is
revenues as the set-top box aspects of the Netflix a large percentage of expected to be priced at
sector shrinks with it. streaming service. This the client devices” around £4.99 a month in
Broadcom claims that Netflix includes, for example, the alleges Broadcom, which the UK. The company is
has built its streaming Netflix systems used to makes semi-conductor also busy getting on more
business, in part, on its ensure effective and reliable solutions used in STBs operator boxes.
patented technology. delivery of streaming content and other products.
www.csimagazine.com April 2020 05
Analyst corner
Ushering in the next early signs suggesting it could usher
in a new wave of disruption as
impactful as the subscription video-on-
wave of disruption: demand change we have all witnessed.
That new wave is advertising-
supported video-on-demand (AVoD).
AVOD in three charts At one level this is already a crowded
market: social media players like
YouTube, Facebook, Instagram
Guy Bisson of Ampere Analysis on and Snapchat are all heavily involved
in ad-supported video. Roku has
why 2020 will be the year of AVoD and been aggregating free streaming
services for some years, and online
how ‘premium’ AVoD will disrupt publishers have also got in on the act.
I
free-to-air viewing and the ad model too So what’s new and why do I think
that 2020 will be the year of AVoD?
s there anyone out there as entertainment suppliers For one thing, where there’s a gap,
who would argue with to the world. there’s an opportunity. To date,
the statement: the TV But disruption to date has longer form free streaming TV
business has been disrupted? focused largely on a single business programming is a little less well
Global streaming has been model: subscription. As the market served: platforms like Pluto, Crackle,
a catalyst for change across for subscription streaming services Vudu and Tubi are leading the
the entire TV value chain, gets ever more crowded, it’s also charge, but are still relatively poorly
from viewing behaviour and increasingly difficult to innovate penetrated and primarily focused
patterns, to content production and differentiate; and to completely on the US market. Ampere’s US
and distribution, to the relationship disrupt the market yet again? Surely consumer survey suggests that
between channels and platforms impossible. But there is a new wave uptake for the major AVoD players
and the position of the US majors of change already underway, with averaged around 5% of online homes
06 April 2020 www.csimagazine.com
Analyst corner
Advertising-on-Demand in three charts:
in the third quarter of 2019. studio direct platforms. How about the advertising model
On some of the services, almost If 2020’s story is AVoD, then its itself? That’s exactly the ‘white space’
90% of content is more than five plot twist is hybrid. Mixing pay that NBCUniversal has seen in the
years old. That’s great news if you and free business models is market and will attack with its
have catalogue content to sell, but something the US majors have Peacock service. Yes, Peacock is a
perhaps not so great for many of long done through their channel hybrid with three tier levels (only
the potential viewers and the businesses… through control of one of which is free), but by utilising
competitive positioning of both US network and thematic the content offer as the lever to drive
the services. and premium pay TV assets. So consumers to the mid-tier (which
It’s easy to forget that the great the strategy is nothing new and on gives full access to content for a small
disruptor that is Netflix started its own, certainly not enough to usher subscription fee with advertising) and
with a large volume of older content in the next wave of true disruption. then disrupting the US network
too, and no original content strategy. advertising model by capping ad-load
Even as recently as five years ago, Disrupting the advertising at just five minutes an hour or less,
50% of Netflix’s content was over model itself the studio has a real opportunity to
five years old. That has dropped But let’s start pulling the threads usher in the next wave of TV disruption.
rapidly to around a third of together. The nascent streaming AVoD Disruption of the free to air sector by
content today. market is well established, but yet to go changing the relationship between
AVoD services, will, of course, global. Penetration remains relatively viewers and the concept of free-to-air
follow a similar strategic trajectory. low and content based around older viewing — and that viewing’s
As their viewer base and income and lower value programming. Hybrid relationship to advertising breaks —
scales, so their content strategy will as a model is well understood by the will be every bit as impactful as the
evolve to embrace newer content studio groups and allows them to shake-up seen in the subscription
and even originals. This will be massively expand potential reach by market thanks to Netflix and knock-on
driven by the pure-play AVoD leveraging content assets across cycles that set off that have changed the
services like Pluto and Tubi, but different windows and tier levels. content and distribution market. The
it will be boosted by the hybrid The missing link is the content offer, industry is just getting started with
models (models that combine but that will surely evolve. What’s ‘premium’ AVoD, but its disruption is
subscription and advertising) of the left to disrupt? happening right now.
www.csimagazine.com April 2020 07
Cover story: AVoD
AVoD is ready for primetime common – unlike in
the US – which is why
an ad-supported model
Ad-supported entertainment has proven with no subscription fees or registration
is more familiar than a SVoD one.
to be a winning model since the beginning Consumers are more and more willing
to look into easy access AVoDs and are
of television. Add digital targeting and likely to stick if they find an appealing,
accountability and you have AVoD lift-off, unique offering.”
T
says Adrian Pennington “There is a very high
he future of TV looks Pluto TV across Europe on Android
a lot like the TV of and iOS devices. Tubi, which records 25 market potential
old. Ad-supported, million monthly active users, has an
premium content imminent UK launch, part of an even if in Europe it
reconfigured with the
measurement and
international push which includes a
kids’ service. is still at an early
targeting capacities
of the digital world.
Other notable international AVoDs
include Sony Crackle and Amazon’s
stage.” Olivier
Many analysts predict that 2020 will
be the year of ad-supported VoD as ad
IMDb-affiliated Freedive, but it is NBC
Universal’s Peacock that is expected to
Jollet, MD Europe,
funded models start to build scale and supercharge the AVoD market. Pluto TV
roll-out internationally. DTV Research Launching in April/May, the hybrid
says AVoD will grow at 17% through SVoD/AVoD service, will prompt a
2024, from revenues of $36 billion in surge in online video add with a hybrid According to The Trade Desk, 59% of
2018 to $87 billion in 2024. AVoD/freemium model. consumers in the UK are willing to
“AVoD is coming, and it’s going to To date, online ads have remained accept ads in exchange for no
make its mark on the VoD landscape relatively small, even in developed subscription fees.
rapidly,” declares Ampere Analysis markets like the US where 27.2% of “Consumer openness to AVoD is
director Guy Bisson. “AVoD services online ad spend is on video, states growing exponentially as they weigh the
are following a well-trodden path with Ampere. Now, IHS Markit predicts cost-to-benefit ratio of either sticking
an early reliance on older content, but AVoD opportunities will lift US with ads or subscribing to a platform,”
as their market position grows we can online video ad revenues to $27 says Antonio Corrado, CEO at video
expect them to begin acquiring newer billion by 2023. delivery network Mainstreaming.
content and even move into original The race for premium exclusive
production activity as they battle Why AVoD now? content is also exhausting SVoD
for eyeballs in an increasingly It’s the proverbial perfect storm which contenders. Netflix may have over 167
crowded market.” is giving AVoD wings. One reason is million subs worldwide but is billions of
Facebook and YouTube are expected market saturation with SVoD, which is dollars in debt. “The cost of content
to continue leading the market in the not only pushing content prices sky acquisition cannot be subsidised by
US, followed by Hulu, Roku and high but maxing out consumer wallets. subscription models,” says Ariff Sidi,
Lionsgate-backed Tubi, all which will A recent The Trade Desk study revealed Verizon Media Platform.
carve a greater slice of market share, that in the UK Brits are willing to pay “Consequently, we will see more
according to IHS Markit. Content from around £20 a month for streaming AVoD services and models blending
UK indie All3Media will soon be subscriptions. This is an amount that’s free with pay.”
offered through a new AVoD platform easily covered when more than two At the same time, broadcasters want
from Cinedigm. services are used. to maximise return on investment in
In Europe, key services include ITV “There is a very high market potential their archives to reach as wide an
Hub (UK), Joyn (run by Discovery and even if in Europe it is still at an early audience as possible. In this sense,
ProSieben.Sat.1) in Germany with stage,” says Olivier Jollet, MD Europe removing the financial barrier to entry
territory expansion planned and Spain’s at Pluto TV. “Part of the reason is, that of a subscription from audiences has
Rakuten TV. ViacomCBS has landed in Europe, free to air television is the potential to increase viewership,
08 April 2020 www.csimagazine.com
Cover story: AVoD
making AVoD an attractive model. boosts ad recall by 49%. Where TV sold itself on metrics such
Often associated with low quality “When ads are relevant users seem to as the estimated size of its audience,
or even UGC content, one key in accept it better,” says Davies. “AVoD AVoD is increasingly able to accurately
the success of AVoD models is will take off when advertising becomes quantify audiences, creating better ROI
quality content. relevant and focused. If you’re just and greater accountability.
Ampere Analysis observes that as banging out ads in front of content it “While TV needs to fit into the mass
SVoD services shift towards originals won’t drive engagement. If you can be market, AVoD models can go to special
and new content acquisitions this has targeted, engagement goes up, the value interest and offer a high value
created an opportunity for AVoD of the ad goes up, you can charge more environment for advertisers and users
providers to focus on older catalogue for it and you can reduce the ad load.” alike,” says Jollet at Pluto TV. “It is
titles. Tubi, for example, boasts 12,000 The Trading Desk’s survey indicates a probably the biggest difference in the
movies and TV shows, more than consumer willingness for streaming business model with traditional TV.”
double in size to Netflix. services supported by ads particularly Multi-tiered pricing models offer
if the format and pacing of audiences the flexibility to choose
Targeted AVoD models commercial breaks differ from which package works best for their
In doing so, providers are facing a traditional TV content. viewing needs and cost limitations.
perennial problem. “If you are working “Consumers are willing to view ads if “By providing your audience with the
across different territories reaching it means their subscription costs go power to decide how they want to pay
different demographics then one size down, even more so if those ads are for your content (and how much), you
doesn’t work,” says Adam Davies, relevant to their interests and are just can make your OTT service engage
product manager for Synamedia. “You not the same ads repeated,” confirms more viewers—and optimise your
need flexibility to fit the service to the Brian Stempeck, chief strategy officer revenue by leveraging more points
demographic and territory. Therefore, of TTD. “This indicates that ads will along the demand curve,” says
you need to make sure the ads fit.” fund the future of streaming TV, and Lexie Knauer, Product Marketing
Sky AdSmart, which uses key that broadcasters and advertisers have Manager, Brightcove.
capabilities from Synamedia to pinpoint an opportunity to improve the
audiences, revealed that addressable TV advertising experience in a way that It’s all about data
cuts channel switching by 48% and simply is not possible with linear TV.” Calling AVoD a ‘gold rush’ IHS senior
www.csimagazine.com April 2020 09
Cover story: AVoD
research analyst Sarah Henschel says restricted cookie-less environment, a advertising now face an extra layer of
ultimately, the winners and losers combination of IP address and user complexity due to the requirements for
will be determined not only by agents can be used to create a unique solid ad-tech sales and data strategies,
content, but also by data strategies identifier (UID). Depending on the along with content and user acquisition.
and user acquisition. level of privacy restrictions, that “Having a common measurement
“What’s really important in terms of identifier may need to be hashed. This between the AVoD players, would help
data management is putting control in can be accomplished client-side or gaining trust from the advertisers and
the right hands,” says Chris Gordon, server-side using a measurement SDK. from the agencies,” Jollet says. “We
VP, Global Sales, OTT & Targeted Buying third party data from entities know that some of our competitors are
Delivery, Imagine Communications. like Nielson, Barb or Kantar ratings is using different calculations, which are
“That means the ability to manage always an option as well.” misleading for advertisers.”
which data to send to which part of the Sidi describes Verizon Media’s ad He adds, “The worst thing for a user
ecosystem and which to obscure – to platform as a ‘Switzerland in the ad is to see the ‘traditional’ black screen
protect and safeguard. We all recognise world’ whose momentum is gaining over between content and ads. This happens,
that data is valuable, but it can’t be a that of Google and Facebook; “Ads will when an ad break arrives, and the
data free-for-all. Using the data is be contextual, based on factors like product is calling the ad servers. Even if
important but it’s just as important to search keywords, not cookies or those calls are taking place in
manage who gets access to that data.” browsing history,” he says. milliseconds, you still see the loading
Pluto TV offers a TV-like inventory wheel on a lot of platforms.
“with a focus on brand safety and Pluto TV has developed its own
“We all recognise awareness” and is additionally able server-side ad delivery solution allowing
that data is valuable, to target viewers based on a
combination of first, second and third
it to have no loading between content
and ad breaks (ads are stitched into the
but it can’t be a data party data as well as contextual and
environmental targeting.
stream). Also notable is its current ban
on pre-rolls. “Being free is a massive
free-for-all.” Chris However, companies aiming to
monetise online video content through
plus but starting the experience with
ads without having watched any content
Gordon, Imagine
Communications
Ad-loading should be managed
dynamically. “Not every piece of
content is the same, not every user is
the same, not every daypart is the
same,” says Gordon. “You need the
tools to manage ad loads dynamically
so they are appropriate to the particular
viewing session.”
Understanding audience demographic
information as well as viewing
preferences can drive up the demand
and CPM value of the provider’s
inventory while ensuring viewers are
seeing the most relevant ads at the
right frequency.
“The best strategy is to facilitate
active consent to collect first-party
subscriber data to target against for the
viewer’s benefit,” says Knauer. “If that’s
not available, there are still strategies to
mitigate this challenge. In a GDPR
10 April 2020 www.csimagazine.comCover story: AVoD
“For programmatic ads, employing
header bidding can ensure timely
ad requests.”
No one platform to rule them all
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings may have
ruled out running ads on Netflix any
time soon, but there won’t be one SVoD
(or indeed AVoD) to rule them all.
Instead, the SVoD market will fragment
while less-impressive SVoD libraries
(due to popular content being spread
among different services) and
subscription fatigue contribute to the
point where AVoD and SVoD coexist,
sometimes in hybrid models, satisfying
yet is way less appealing,” Jollet says. screen ads prove particularly profitable. different consumer needs.
Shoppable ads are currently “Viewing is fragmenting but here’s Once smaller, specialised AVoD
booming in social media and with what’s staying the same: the highest services begin to capture a decent
Walmart’s Vudu just one of a few value inventory is on the living room chunk of market share, Brightcove
services looking into ‘shoppable TV,” says Gordon (see eMarketer/ expects to see more content acquisitions
content’ allowing viewers to click Conviva chart). “It’s a different level of and a return of the ‘skinny bundle’ as
and buy. engagement which translates to a we’re starting to see with Disney+
Brightcove for one supports different level of inventory value. The packaging and bundling.
clickable ad creatives for server-side significance of the living room TV as “Households will potentially settle on
ad insertion (SSAI), where interactivity the main AVoD platform is that it two or three SVoDs and will look into
historically hasn’t been available. increases ad value.” AVoDs as free add-ons more and more
“We’ve seen a great response Corrado focuses on the need frequently,” Jollet predicts. “We don’t
from customers experimenting with for services to prioritise quality of feel pressured by whatever decision
in-content purchasing,” reports Knauer. experience. “The AVoD business Netflix might make in terms of
Advertisers may also be able to requires large amounts of users ad-supported models and I don’t think
show different creatives to the same viewing content for free so capacity other AVoD services do either. We are
viewer over time. One example is a necessity to facilitate the stream choosing to embrace an ad-funded
could be for a car advertiser. The request volume,” he says. “If viewers model, choosing to explore niches,
first time you show the outside of the experience buffering or ads not choosing to go with channels instead of
car, the second time you show the starting quickly enough, it has been on-demand and that has paid off.”
inside of the car, the third time you proven that they will leave the Indeed, analyst WARC’s Global Ad
show the dashboard, the fourth time stream and eventually churn will Spend report estimates that ad spend
you show the price and the fifth you increase on the platform. Infrastructure on AVoD is set to double by 2023,
provide a call to action. is the number one thing that needs to reaching $47bn worldwide.
be focused on when looking to Even as dollars shift inexorably
Other attributes of a implement an AVoD offering as you online, there may always be a space
successful AVoD need to ensure the quality of experience for traditional linear advertising
To ensure reach, availability of the remains high.” to reach the mass market around
service on all current OTT devices, Video playback performance can be marquee events. A stark reminder of
as well as being present in app stores impacted by ads as well. In a live this occurred during Super Bowl LIV
for streaming on mobile devices, stream, the ad server needs to handle when Fox quickly sold out inventory for
is essential. requests for each viewer in a relatively its TV broadcast with prices up to
Nevertheless, video content is still short amount of time. $5.6m for 30 secs. Buyers included
mostly streamed on Connected TVs, “The best way to improve Disney, pitching the arrival of a Marvel
while users relax on the couch in their performance is to maximize direct- series on Disney+. Netflix paid for
living room. A March 2019 survey by sold ads, allowing them to be filled similar exposure in the three previous
Attest confirms this. Non-skippable full- directly from inventory,” says Knauer. Super Bowl telecasts.
www.csimagazine.com April 2020 11Low latency streaming
Want to reduce time behind with twice as many requests.
More responsive,
live for OTT streams? Start faster CDNs
These are difficult challenges, but
with a faster CDN
not insurmountable. In the case of
the Verizon Media Platform, we’ve
developed an optimisation called
By Harkeerat Bedi, research scientist, Verizon Media, hot filing to deal with the “flash
crowd” phenomenon when many
and Scott Yeager, software engineer, Verizon Media live viewers join a stream at once. A
be downloaded. hot file quickly replicates a popular
Segment size impacts latency because segment to additional servers within a
the player, per industry convention, is point of presence (PoP) as demand
required to completely download three rapidly increases.
segments before streams can start By spreading the load to many
playing. This is done so the client player servers, hot filing keeps any one server
can buffer enough video for smooth from getting overwhelmed as file
R
video playback in the event of brief requests suddenly spike. When a server
connection disruptions. If a segment is gets overloaded, similar to a denial of
educing latency has 4 seconds long and the player has to service attack, the server will be slow to
increasingly become buffer 3 segments before it can start respond to file requests, potentially
a focus for streaming playing, then the client is already 12 leading to rebuffering in the client
service providers. seconds behind live. Cut the segment player. By quickly identifying and
Live tweets from size down to 2 seconds, and the client replicating hot files, the risk of
viewers and is now only 6 seconds behind live. overloading a single server is much
newscasters at the lower. Sudden changes in demand are
venue can spoil exciting moments More responsive workflows met without adding latency.
for fans streaming the game or needed Reducing the time behind live is an
watching on traditional TV. And Shorter segment size may seem like a important goal for live video streaming
with more viewers using a second fast and easy way to reduce latency, but service providers, and the use of shorter
screen while viewing live sports, the impact is actually quite significant. segment sizes is an attractive way to
it’s no wonder reducing the time Your video workflow now has to be achieve that goal. However, it requires
behind live is becoming a more much more responsive to deliver a that your workflow and video delivery
important requirement. buffer-free live-video streaming infrastructure are equipped to deliver
One of the more popular approaches experience. This is due to two factors. the buffer-free experience viewers
that many OTT providers are First, by reducing the segment size, expect, especially as audiences grow for
considering to reduce latency is the use the player is now storing less video, so popular sporting events.
of shorter segment durations. it’s more likely that the congestion Contact us to learn more about how
might cause a rebuffer. our Media Platform simplifies the
The role of segment size in latency Second, since shorter segment sizes workflow and delivers superior
Adaptive bitrate (ABR) technologies mean more files, your video workflow, performance and always-on availability
break a stream into many individual and the CDN, must process and deliver of content.
video segments or chunks. Each more file requests from players over a
segment is the same duration or size given stream duration. Compounding
but is encoded at different bit rates so the problem, live sports often see surges
the stream can adapt to the viewer’s in viewers when the game starts, or
Harkeerat Bedi is a research
available bandwidth. Both of the main when a close game nears the final scientist at Verizon Media
ABR protocols, Apple’s HLS and minutes. As file requests increase,
Scott Yeager is a software
MPEG-DASH, provide controls for the CDN not only needs enough engineer at Verizon Media
adjusting segment size – but not capacity to handle the surge, but it
the number of segments that can must also be able to handle a surge
12 April 2020 www.csimagazine.com2020
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Q &A
CSI spoke to Madeleine Noland, president of the Advanced Television
Systems Committee, about recent developments and future evolution of
ATSC 3.0/NextGenTV in the US and globally.
Advanced Television
Systems Committe
CEO, Noland,
as additional audio tracks, advanced viewers. There will be a tremendous
IBC
emergency messaging, yet more 4K/ amount of collaboration needed to
HDR content, and the list goes on. make this work. And that has been the
Madeleine
case, so far.
Michael Crimp,
Why is ATSC 3.0 a voluntary
transition and not mandated by the Those stations who decide to go
FCC? And was this the right with ATSC 3.0 will make the leap
approach in your opinion? straight from ATSC 1.0. What
Yes I think so. No one wants to strand happened to ATSC 2.0?
millions of viewers. The number of ATSC 2.0 was designed as a compatible
What are the main selling points viewers watching with an antenna has technology to ATSC 1.0 and would
that the ATSC 3.0 technology been growing over the past few years. have brought three-dimensional viewing
standard - or Next Gen TV as it But it’s also true that the large majority and rudimentary Internet functionality
is known in the US - brings to of viewers still get their TV signals from to digital TV. But, while it was being
the table? a network provider – cable, satellite, or developed, streaming came into vogue.
NEXTGEN TV powered by ATSC 3.0 telco. We want the TV features ATSC It became obvious that we needed to
is truly state-of-the-art as the first 3.0 to be available to all viewers of enter the Internet age in a big way, and
broadcast standard built on an Internet broadcast programming, regardless ATSC 1.0 technology would not be able
Protocol backbone, and it promises to of platform. to support that. We needed the most
deliver new choices through both over- While there would be certainty with a advanced, modern approach that would
the-air broadcasts and broadband mandated transition, I think the FCC give broadcasters and viewers the best
connections. ATSC 3.0 is designed to struck the appropriate balance between of both worlds – that is, the best of
be easily upgraded to handle future technology and the realities of the broadcasting and the best of Internet
technology developments. Its deep marketplace by insisting that the delivery. That remarkable standard is
feature set, flexibility, and “evolvability” transition to ATSC 3.0 be strictly ATSC 3.0.
promises to create new business voluntary. While there are similarities
opportunities for the all stakeholders in between the analogue-to-digital Are you happy with the TV product
the ecosystem and new compelling transition and the move from ATSC announcements that came out of
experiences for television audiences for 1.0 to ATSC 3.0, the reality is that CES recently or is more needed in
years to come. there are no loaned channels or terms of consumer devices and
The ATSC 3.0 suite of standards has consumer subsidy programs like there receivers (especially mobile
the capability to easily deliver 4K Ultra were in 2009. phones) to encourage take up as
HDTV signals with sharper images and American broadcasters are coming services start to go live?
crisp audio quality with additional, off a Spectrum Repack that will be We were delighted by the 20 TV models
customisable audio features such as completed later this summer. So, they announced at CES, and it was
“voice boost” and consistent audio are poised to take advantage of the serendipity that “20 models in 2020”
levels, which we expect to see in latest technology and the most became our slogan during CES. That’s
commercial NEXTGEN TV broadcasts advanced transmission system in the a remarkable commitment for our
this year. As we look to the future, we world that was specifically designed to nascent deployment of ATSC 3.0 so far,
anticipate additional features of merge over-the-air with over-the-top but the largest TV makers know that
NEXTGEN TV in broadcasters’ service functionality. All the while, broadcasters broadcasters are serious about
offerings as the rollout progresses, such must maintain ATSC 1.0 service for NEXTGEN TV. That’s why LG
14 April 2020 www.csimagazine.comInterview
Electronics, Samsung,
and Sony are making
sizable investments to
add this functionality to
their most advanced
sets. Of course, it
will find its way
into even more
models and more
manufacturers next year
– as well as a variety of
accessory set-top
receivers, dongles and
other products. We do
expect mobile options in
the future, too. But it all
starts, naturally, with the
television set.
Is there anything you
would also like to see
more of from
the wider broadcast
vendor community?
We’re excited to see the
number of broadcast
equipment suppliers who
have stepped up so far to
offer a wide range of
options – from
traditional transmission
vendors to the extensive
network of
equipment companies
that will put the
flexibility of ATSC in the pipeline by US broadcasters spectrum (unlike the 2009 digital TV
3.0 into the field. Some are even in the next 12-24 months? transition in the US). That means that
experimenting with ways for ATSC US broadcasters are focused on broadcasters will need to collaborate to
1.0 broadcasters to launch the Top 40 Nielsen markets, as well share channel space for both ATSC 1.0
transmissions that test ATSC 3.0 as another 21 markets beyond that. and ATSC 3.0 signals. Work in the
reception. I would expect to see a Together, those 61 TV markets Phoenix, Arizona “Model Market” has
wide variety of products and services will reach 70% of the US population. shown how this might be achieved, and
throughout 2020, and I have no doubt The transition to offer ATSC 3.0 that same model is expected to be
that we’ll see a wide variety of new service will be on a market-by-market replicated across the country.
things at the next NAB Show. basis, largely because ATSC 1.0 service
must be maintained at the same time Is there a role for satellite,
What kind of deployments are and there is no loan of additional cable and mobile operators to
www.csimagazine.com April 2020 15Interview
Q &A
the ITU has adopted it as a Bearing overall industry trends in
“We were delighted recommended global standard? mind, do you think there will ever
Do you expect rollouts beyond be an ATSC 4.0 or is this likely to
by the 20 TV existing ATSC markets? be the last standard that
The very first country to go “on incorporates a terrestrial OTA
models announced the air” with ATSC 3.0 service component?
at CES, and it was was South Korea, which launched
Ultra HDTV programs in conjunction
We designed ATSC 3.0 to be extensible
and adaptable. And we’ve already done
serendipity that ‘20 with the winter 2018 Olympic
games. And unlike previous standards
some preliminary work to consider
what future encoding options might
models in 2020’ or technologies, ATSC 3.0 is
designed to be adaptable and flexible
need to be accommodated in the future.
Planning Team 4 on Future Broadcast
became our slogan and work for both over-the-air and over-
the-top applications. As such, yes –
Technologies (www.atsc.org/
subcommittees/planning-team-4-future-
during CES. We we believe ATSC 3.0 is an ideal
transmission technology for
video-technologies) was formed to
explore new topics as they arise and
do expect mobile virtually any country or location. determine when and how the standard
It’s the most advanced system should be expanded as the future
options in the now available. unfolds. I can’t say whether ATSC 3.0
will be the “final” terrestrial standard,
future, too. But What is your main bit of advice but I can say that we are committed to
to anyone who wants to get reviewing and adapting and changing it
it all starts, involved with ATSC 3.0, whether as technology evolves.
manufacturer, regulator or
naturally, with the service provider? Finally, what can we look
forward to seeing with Next
television set.” Obviously, the first step would be to
join ATSC to keep abreast of the latest Gen TV at NAB?
activities. There are dozens of We’re very excited about the NAB
play with Next Gen TV in companies involved in the first markets Show in Las Vegas, particularly after
North America? to go on-the-air with the interest expressed in ATSC 3.0 at
While NEXTGEN TV powered ATSC 3.0 in Phoenix, Arizona and last fall’s NAB Show New York and at
by ATSC 3.0 is standardised first Dallas, Texas and other locations. The the recent CES. ATSC will have a
as a broadcasting technology, it’s Phoenix Model Market group has even large exhibition space in the “Future
IP-based backbone will make it developed a Host Station Manual to of Delivery” area of North Hall at the
easier for carriage via other content give stations guidance about what is Las Vegas Convention Center. Our
distribution methods – including required to successfully begin booth number is N1612. We’ll be
cable, satellite, and through mobile transmissions and collaborate with highlighting the deployment plans by
networks. Over-the-air, over MVPD other stations in the market. I would US broadcasters and showcasing the
and over-the-top are all essential for also advise staying attuned to activities many members who have chosen to
success. NEXTGEN TV is not exclusive at upcoming events such as the NAB exhibit with us. There are many
to over-the-air broadcasting. In fact, it Show in Las Vegas, which is expected different facets to the transition to
was developed to anticipate consumer to be a hotbed of NEXTGEN TV NEXTGEN TV, including the
needs regardless of device powered by ATSC 3.0. Another introduction of the first consumer
of platform. suggestion would be to join the receivers for the new technology. So we
subscription list for our free monthly think NAB will be the perfect venue for
What are your expectations newsletter –THE STANDARD – which the advancement of ATSC 3.0 in the
for ATSC 3.0 globally, now that is available from ATSC.org US and beyond.
16 April 2020 www.csimagazine.comInsight
Discovery’s DTC pivot in Europe and Latin America. Disney
and Netflix are great brands but will
Goran Nastic dissects Discovery’s plans for US always be 90/10 or 80/20 [in content
T
split] and so this idea of local feels
channel aggregation via OTT and Dplay in Europe quite good for us,” said Discovery CEO
he Olympics being the end of 2021), which the company David Zaslav during the latest investor
postponed until 2021 will use as the basis for its expansion analyst call.
may have temporarily plans for its Dplay streaming service. “This is a time of unprecedented
scuppered Dplay is currently available in 10 change,” Zaslav added. “We continue to
Eurosport’s first countries (Denmark, Spain, Finland, fight an uphill battle with cord cutting
Summer Games, but Italy, Netherlands, Ireland, Norway, and cord shaving.”
owner Discovery still UK, Sweden and Japan) with further Partly as a result of these changes,
has some big ambitions for this rollouts under way in the Middle Discovery is pivoting to a hybrid mode
year as far as all its properties are East with Stazplay, and Discovery that blends B2B with DTC.
concerned. promises a “super-expansion” this year One idea that had analysts especially
Discovery’s, the world’s largest factual to double its presence to at least 20 interested was the opportunity for
programmer and one of the few markets in EMEA. aggregating every channel it owns in the
companies that owns all of its content Its strategy for growth is exclusive US into one OTT product.
globally, has been busy consolidating local content, entertainment and sports, “Curation is a big issue with these
everything onto a single unified based on a robust technology. SVOD platforms. Algorithms are good
technology stack (the Eurosport Player “I’m very excited about Local but people are still confused about what
has already transitioned to it and the language and local sports and to watch next. The biggest challenge
portfolio-wide migration is expected by partnering with other local broadcasters over next decade with people
consuming more content than ever is
Network Genre curation, ” Zaslav explained.
Animal Planet Arts/Education “Do we aggregate or go into super
fan silos? We’ll make that decision
Cooking Channel Niche
soon. Super-aggregation won’t be for
Discovery Channel Arts/Education everyone. How compelling would
Discovery en Espanol International/Ethnica/Foreign such a product be and what churn
would it see?”
Discovery Familia International/Ethnic/Foreign
The issue would not just be churn,
Discovery Life Channel Arts/Education something that affects OTT services as
DIY Network Arts/Education much as traditional payTV platforms,
but, as Zaslav acknowledged, the sheer
Food Network Niche breadth in variety of Discovery’s brands
Great American Country Music by genre type (as the table illustrates).
HGTV Niche Moreover, there is the balancing act
of moving the money that comes from
Investigation Discovery General/Variety its distribution deals with operators and
American Heroes Channel OWN: Arts/Education onto DTC/OTT.
The Oprah Winfrey Discovery makes substantial revenues
Network Arts/Education from distribution partnerships in the
Source: Courtesy of SNL Kagan
US and analysts will be carefully
Destination America Arts/Education watching the financial impact of
Science Arts/Education shifting income from the linear pay
TV business to create dual revenue
Discovery Family Channel Family/Kids
stream direct-to-consumer platforms.
TLC Arts/Education Discovery posted revenues of $2.87
Travel Channel Niche bn for Q4, and $700 million came
from OTT and ‘next-gen’ revenues
Motor Trend Sports
last year.
www.csimagazine.com April 2020 17AI in TV
A
I may touch just
about every aspect
of the television
Service providers seek
user experience
but content
providers are
proof that AI works
increasingly
demanding evidence that it really
does deliver on all those promises
across the TV UX
from vendors of the technology. Philip Hunter assesses what new
The problem is such evidence
relating specifically to the
applications the use of AI opens around the
contribution of AI is elusive. There television user experience and how it can
is abundant evidence that
recommendation in general works enrich video
with or without AI, down from the foundation for recommending content of graphics.
big players with huge amounts of by linking deeper knowledge of the “Processing the video/audio streams
user data such as Netflix and asset with the affinity of subscribers. themselves can be done to extract
YouTube, to smaller individual pay “But there is no evidence of that certain types of metadata to improve
TV operators. There is also plenty happening yet as most operators are content understanding,” Docherty
of promising research along still trying to establish basic metadata.” adds. “These techniques may be
numerous avenues, but also a Content metadata, however, is only appropriate more for certain types of
feeling that it may be jumping applicable to on-demand video where content and use cases than others such
the gun to rush in too soon there is time to generate it before as live events.”
with AI before establishing distribution. Advance recommendation
sound foundations. on the basis of prior knowledge of the Deeper metadata: moods
This view is espoused by Jacques- content is irrelevant in any case for live and themes
Edouard Guillemot, SVP Executive sports where viewing decisions are Nevertheless the area of closed
Affairs at Nagra, who contends that AI based on user expectations rather than captioning, related to metadata but
applied to poor data merely amplified information. Partly for this reason, but usually derived directly from the audio,
the flaws and would be totally also because metadata alone is is an area of growing application of AI/
counterproductive. “Not a lot of people insufficient to generate effective ML with some promise. Closed
are doing it yet. You have to have to recommendations even for VoD captioning is expensive and leads to
have data of good quality, people who content, operators need additional tools frequent errors given the speed at which
understand data and processes to in their armoury and this is where AI/ it is done, spawning development of
exploit it. That is 90% of the job, and ML can come in. ML algorithms to improve the accuracy,
AI or Machine Learning is just the icing “Much of the raw TV and video cut costs and reduce delay to under a
on the cake.” Guillemot reckons there is metadata available today is not rich second. This is work in progress with
still a lot of money to be earned by just enough to power rich user experiences human assistance still required, but
applying the basics of data preparation without adding additional insight,” says significant investment is being made
and analytics without that icing. Peter Docherty, CTO at Think because of proven benefits of closed
That said, he acknowledges the Analytics. “There is also the challenge captions beyond catering for viewers
potential of AI in various departments. of metadata constantly changing and who are hard of hearing or who speak
One of those lies in the area he evolving as new content is added. a different language from that of
emphasised; preparation and For providers offering services in the dialogue.
normalisation of the data itself. multiple languages, this task is For example, a study by PLYMedia
“When you have harmonised clean made even harder.” has reported a 40% increase in views for
data between CRM, consumption and Then there is that of live content, videos with captions and were 80%
content metadata, then you have more where there is some scope for more likely to watch until the end, while
detail about location, revenue and other generating metadata in advance, Facebook has found that adding
key measures,” says Guillemot. The next but only for enhancing the viewer captions boosts view time by 12%.
step might then be to enrich the experience as it unfolds by perhaps IBM’s Watson Captioning Live
metadata to provide a stronger injecting some additional information system already deployed by some
18 April 2020 www.csimagazine.comAI in TV
enterprises for video, as well as by
Sinclair for local broadcasting.
“Today, closed-captioning requires
that businesses dole out a lot of money
and additional resources to achieve a
result,” notes David Kulczar of IBM
Watson Media. “With AI and machine
learning automated, fast closed-
captioning can be achieved with
minimal hardware and set-up time. As
the machine learns industry-specific
terms and local dialects, captioning will
become that much more expedited and
accurate for viewers everywhere, all the
while saving businesses resources.”
Kulczar also insists that accurate
closed-captioning can enhance search
and discovery for on-demand content,
by providing a convenient and reliable
source for extraction of metadata. distributors of such assets. argues that traditional
However, there is some valuable “Most content that exists and is recommendations engines based on the
information about movies that cannot consumed sits in the long tail of the collaborative filtering approach
be extracted from text alone, especially popularity curve, being obscure to the perfected by Amazon for ecommerce
relating to emotion, according to vast majority,” says Wassén. “AI/ML fails badly for video in general and
Anders Wassén, Head of Online Video provides a way to guide users to niche content in particular, unless
Development at Red Bee Media. these assets, which they might not reshaped around AI and ML.
“Videos are notoriously hard to stumble upon through mainstream “Typical collaborative filtering
categorise based on metadata alone. AI advertising methods.” algorithms provide the same
can help by for example assigning a Swedish content discovery platform recommendations, irrespective of time,”
mood to a particular video.” vendor Vionlabs has also had some says Srivastava. “For instance, do
The company’s Head of Product and success liberating the long tail for viewers typically want to watch a sci-fi
Architecture, Content Discovery, some of its customers, according action series first thing in the morning,
Valdimar Wik, adds: “By combining this to CEO Marcus Bergström. “The or are they more likely in the mood for
with scene level data extracted from the problem with many recommendation more morning-friendly content such as
content itself using AI/ML, our goal is engines being used is that they try and a news summary?”
to improve the recommendation and suggest films and TV shows that are Aided by AI/ML, deeper metadata
search experience in ways we never similar to what the viewer has already such as moods and themes can be
could before.” The algorithms help align watched,” says Bergström. “However, incorporated. “The even better way to
the discovery process with the attributes while every person has individual address this is to use classification
of interest to users in determining what interests and preferences, that doesn’t algorithms to segment the audience into
they watch, related to mood and genre. mean that they want to watch the same taste groups and target them based on
In the context of recommendation AI thing over and over again. AI their tastes,” Srivastava adds. “For many
has twin goals, to understand in greater understands this and can lead viewers services the key to success is to widen
detail the viewing personality and down different pathways and provide viewers’ horizons and introduce them to
behaviour of individual users on the one them with recommendations to the new and varied content.”
hand and to analyse content more type of content they enjoy as well as Srivastava suggests that closed
deeply on the other so that these two content that takes them outside of captions can help generate such
sides can be moulded more intricately. their ‘bubble’.” segmentations. “The future of metadata
One benefit is that the great The long tail has also been targeted is going to rely a lot on scene by
preponderance of content, the long tail, by Conviva, which has expanded from scene and frame by frame tagging with
can be liberated much more effectively its foundations in QoE monitoring into object, emotion, and mood recognition
than in the past, generating new video analytics. The firm’s Senior to identify more complex theme
revenues for both producers and Product Director, Sanjay Srivastava, metadata dimensions.”
www.csimagazine.com April 2020 19You can also read
