THE CHANNEL
|
ISSUE 2 2015
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05
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andwhat it takes to get ahead
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CHIEF ExECUTIVE
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EDIToR
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Copyright
© 2015 Association for International
Broadcasting
ISSN
1477-8718
Print
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Wherever in the world you are reading this, you will
most probably have heard the brouhaha about
Top
Gear.
Clarkson and his antics are like Marmite or
liquorice – which you either love or hate. Soon he and
the lads will be strutting their stuff on Amazon – so let’s
hope that it doesn’t all buckle under the sheer weight of
demand. Speaking of network congestion, Ultra HD
doesn’t have any of the buffering issues that OTT has –
it’s high-quality encoded content delivered to the TV in
an extremely reliable method. Apparently 2015 is the
year of UHD growth.
2015 is also the year of some important media
anniversaries: CNN International is 30 (how time
flies…), and RT and Antena 3 both celebrate 10 years
on air. We look at their achievements and how they see
the future shaping up. And at a whole host of other
global channels – even though they probably don’t
reveal their most secret strategies to
The Channel
it’s
always fascinating to hear which path each is taking.
Expansion continues to be a key word, and relevance.
Bloomberg’s Adam Freeman says that the power of TV
is still really clear to him, and Sky News Arabia’s Nart
Bouran concurs, saying that channels must be able to
predict emerging trends and how they will impact on
their already established offerings. But how do you
predict accurately, given that innovation doesn’t
necessarily follow a straight line?
MediaGuru’s Sanjay Salil talks about denial –
companies don’t focus enough on the business that
their revenue will come from in the future. He pleads
for more passion for investing in a future which is not
that far off.
The media business is ruled by both head and heart. We
produce reports on heart-wrenching events which elicit
strong viewer emotions, we also make hard-headed
decisions on fees and budgets. Sports broadcasting
mixes emotions and money in an almost surreal way –
we look in-depth at some of the key issues. Over the
last 10 years we’ve seen significant rights inflation so
will there be a point where the ability to pay plateaus?
New channels are springing up in all parts of the world.
While a new station is likely to build in and on the
latest technology, established broadcasters – and among
them the pubcasters – cannot afford to throw things
out and have to integrate new technology into their
legacy systems. YLE’s revamp of its regional news
output makes an interesting case study.
And finally the future, the one that’s just around the
corner. Is it VR? In his thoughtful piece Louis Jebb has
an interesting take on virtual, stating that his mission is
to make people care about news and to demonstrate
that VR is a serious news medium. Being ‘in’ the VR
action of the Hong Kong unrest is certainly an amazing
experience. Oh, I forgot to say, it can also generate
revenue.
I hope you enjoy this edition of
The Channel
.
WELCOME
Businesses
needmore
passion for
investing in a
future which is
not that far off
”
“
WELCoME
|
THE CHANNEL
Cover photo and top image page 3: courtesy Reuters
