There are many interesting trends on the European broadcast landscape. The number of high-definition (HD) channels is on the rise, telcos are entering the TV markets and the capability of mobile devices is growing. A number of analysts take a look at the dynamic broadcasting market prior to IBC 2008.

IBC e-Daily: What are the significant trends on Europe’s broadcast landscape?

Bob Larribeau, principal analyst, TelecomView: I think the biggest trend is the general success of the telco IPTV services, especially in France. Telco IPTV has become an important TV service in Europe. HD services are starting to be offered. This will put pressure on telco IPTV, cable, satellite and digital terrestrial providers to support HD. HD will become as important in Europe as it is in the United States
Incorporation of IP into convergence strategies. IMS Research is currently researching a study titled IPTV: Beyond Telco TV that looks at the opportunities that IP and the Internet are providing for non-traditional delivery of content to the PC and the TV set.
Gerry Kaufhold, analyst, In-Stat: Another major trend in the broadcast sector is direct-to-consumer content distribution. As audiences continue to migrate online, broadcasters and content producers are able to distribute programming direct to consumers. Through proprietary or partnered Web-based platforms, broadcasters can attract audiences with enhanced features such as catch-up TV or interactivity without distributing content through cable, satellite or IPTV services.

IBC e-Daily: Has the take-up of HD in Europe been in line with your expectations?

Larribeau: I think HD is doing OK in Europe. I think the problem is the availability of HD content. This is a big problem for telcos such as BT that do not have enough bandwidth on their broadband services to support HD.
Christopher Khouri, analyst, Datamonitor: It is important to outline that there is no European-wide deployment of HD services and that service rollout is dependent upon country-specific dynamics. Competitive pressure, broadcast regulation and consumer demand each play a significant factor in subscriber uptake of HD content. Despite this, broadcasters are continuing to make considerable investments into upgrading production and distribution infrastructure to handle the migration to HD service provision. A significant issue, however, is through the integration of standard definition and HD systems in managing multiple production workflows. This is a primary challenges for broadcasters and content producers as an increasing number of HD channels and services go live over the coming year.

IBC e-Daily: With consumers wanting access to a multitude of content on all different devices, how is this impacting the broadcast landscape? How is the Internet changing the face of traditional broadcasting?

Mark Little, principal analyst, Ovum: The proportion of people watching TV programs online has more than doubled from 8 percent to 17 percent in 12 months. This has been driven by broadcasters’ three-screen strategy: engaging viewers on PC and even mobile as well as TV. In the United Kingdom. for example, Sky now offers Sky Player for PC’s offering a catch-up TV service and Sky Anytime Mobile for mobile handsets. Traditional linear broadcasting has been impacted by the consumer’s desire to watch what they want when they want. This has driven the growth of on demand services enabling telcos to challenge broadcasters’ traditional dominance, with IPTV offerings such as BT Vision.

IBC e-Daily: Will other satellite pay-TV operators have to offer triple-play options to remain competitive?

Michelle Abraham, analyst, In-Stat: It all comes down to what value is being provided for the subscription fee. Triple-play bundling provides more room to maneuver on pricing as providers can reduce the margin they earn on one service while still earning a good margin on the others. Single-play service providers don’t have the same luxury, but we have seen many partnerships between broadband and satellite pay-TV providers in order to offer a triple-play service to customers who are not within reach of the high bandwidth broadband network.

IBC e-Daily: Do you think mobile TV will take off in Europe and around the world?

Abraham: Digital mobile TV is doing very well in Korea and Japan while analog mobile TV is expanding in China, the Middle East and Africa. However, the one thing these all have in common is there is no subscription fee. Business models still need to be sorted. There are many ways to receive video content on a mobile phone. Mobile operators continue to improve their data networks and subscribers with unlimited data plans can easily get their video from the Internet, so all mobile TV services need to take into account these options.
Larribeau: It will, but not next year. I think that the mobile operators need to invest in the development of compelling content. Compelling content will pull people to these services. This will take much longer if the mobile operators wait for the content industry to generate this compelling mobile-TV content on its own.

IBC e-Daily: Finally, do you see any major changes/shifts in the broadcast landscape in Europe over the next year?

Michael Philpott, principal analyst, Ovum: There are already shifts in all directions. An increasing number of broadband service providers are moving into TV and video services. An increasing number of Internet service providers and consumer electronics equipment vendors will provide TV and video services in one way or another to a myriad of devices including the TV. And more traditional broadcasters will increasingly adopt new technologies and platforms to offer their own content and services in new ways, either under their own initiative, in partnerships with other players, or both. These developments will lead to the launch of new services, new partnerships and much more on demand content in the coming year.