October 2015 In partnership with In partnership with pOFC DTVE CIA Oct15.indd 1 25/09/2015 17:00 SNI2175_SNI-MIPCOMpXX DTVE CIA Oct15.indd 2015-Trade 1 Ads_DigitalTVEurope_216mmx303mm_1.indd 1 11/09/20159/9/15 4:59 17:56 PM Digital TV Europe October 2015 October 2015 Contents In partnership with In partnership with pOFC DTVE CIA Oct15.indd 1 25/09/2015 17:00 4K Initiative of the Year 4 Cloud TV Innovation of the Year 8 Social TV Innovation of the Year 12 Industry Innovation of the Year 14 Best New Channel Launch 16 MCN of the Year 18 Best International TV Networks Group 20 Channel of the Year 22 TV Technology Award (content discovery) 24 TV Technology Award (second-screen experience) 28 TV Technology Award (service-enabling technology) 32 Multiscreen TV Award 36 Pay TV Service of the Year 38 Best Content Distributor 42 International Production Company of the Year 44 Best Series Launch of the Year 46 Champagne Multiscreen TV Award Social TV Innovation of the Associate Sponsors Reception Sponsor Sponsor Year Category Sponsor EUROPE EUROPE p01 Contents DTVE CIA Oct15v2st.indd 1 25/09/2015 21:13 This month > Editor’s note Digital TV Europe October 2015 Issue no 321 Rewarding initiative Published By: Informa Telecoms & Media Maple House 149 Tottenham Court Road Content Innovation Awards is a new initiative from Digital TV London W1T 7AD The Europe in partnership with our sister publication Television Busi- Tel: +44 (0) 20 7017 5000 ness International (TBI), that is designed to celebrate some of the great innova- Fax: +44 (0) 20 7017 4953 tions from content providers, distributors and technology companies that are Website: www.digitaltveurope.net helping transform the way we produce, distribute and consume TV. Why another awards event, and why this awards event? Editor Stuart Thomson The production and consumption of content are undergoing a transfor- Tel: +44 (0) 20 7017 5314 mation as the range of devices and opportunities to view video grows ever Email: [email protected] wider. With viewing no longer confined to the TV alone, but increasingly being done on multiple devices including tablets, smartphones, game consoles and computers, the type of content that is created and the way it is produced and distributed is also being forced into a period of rapid Deputy Editor Andy McDonald change. This brings challenges – but it also brings creative opportunities. Different industry Tel: +44 (0) 20 7017 5293 participants are collaborating in new ways to deliver new types of content, new windows and new Email: [email protected] forms of interaction and engagement with viewers. The lines between the production, distribution and consumption of content are blurring. Con- Contributing Editor tent producers are increasingly involved in distribution and in moving closer to their viewers Stewart Clarke through social and interactive initiatives. Pay TV service providers are investing in content and in platforms that engage their subscribers in new ways. And viewers are themselves becoming ac- Contributors tive participants by engaging with content on social platforms and by providing data to suppliers Kate Bulkley, Andy Fry, Adrian Pennington, that shape what content is made and the way it is packaged. Adam Thomas, Anna Tobin, Jesse Whittock For all of these reasons, we thought the time was right to bring different parts of the industry -– producers, distributors and technologists – together in a single event that celebrates innovation Correspondents across all parts of the content production and delivery chain. The Content Innovation Awards will honour industry excellence in multiple fields, with 16 France: Julien Alliot; Germany: Dieter categories announced for 2015 including best channel, best series launch of the year, 4K initiative Brockmeyer; Italy: Branislav Pekic of the year, and pay TV service of the year. Other categories include MCN of the year, social TV initative of the year and cloud TV initiative of the year. Sales Director Patricia Arescy Our independent judging panel collectively boasts many decades of industry expertise and in- Tel: +44 (0) 20 7017 5320 cludes specialists in multiple fields who have contributed their insights in particular categories. Email: [email protected] The shortlist is profiled here in full, with summaries of the achievements of the companies behind the entries. l Art Director Matthew Humberstone Publisher Tim Banham Printing Wyndeham Grange, West Sussex SUBSCRIPTION HOTLINE INFORMA GROUP TEL: +44 (0) 207 017 5533 © 2015 Informa UK Ltd All rights reserved Stuart Thomson, Editor Reproduction without permission is prohibited [email protected] Visit us at www.digitaltveurope.net 2 p02 Ed Note DTVE CIA Oct15v3am.indd 2 25/09/2015 21:08 p03 AMC DTVE CIA Oct15.indd 1 24/09/2015 10:56 Content Innovation Awards 2015 Digital TV Europe October 2015 4K initiative of the year Whether it takes the form of a new channel or pioneering effort in content creation, this award pays tribute to the most exciting uses of 4K. Blue Ant Media for Love Nature Canada-based Blue Ant Media rebranded its HD linear broadcast channel Oasis as Love Nature in January this year having realised that there was a huge opportunity to meet a growing market demand for high-quality natural history content as 4K Ultra HD technology came of age. This led the company to make the bold move of commiting itself to produce some 300 hours a year of 4K documentaries, series and ‘slow- TV’ programmes to build a formidable catalogue of nature content, through a mix of in-house production and international partnerships. The channel was initially promoted through a free preview to homes in Canada. Blue Ant Media says Love Nature uses state-of-the-art drone and 4K technologies to deliver high-quality content, distributed without Jago: A Life Underwater commercials on linear and OTT platforms. The company will also distribute its content direct-to-consumers via Big Feed, Volcanoes, Land of Gremlins and Arctic Secrets, building on a newly-launched subscription video-on-demand app. a number of earlier titles including Lewa Diaries and Nomads of the This year Blue Ant Media has rolled out 4K content including The Serengeti. BT for BT Ultra HD Service BT Sport Ultra High Definition launched in August, becoming the content at higher resolutions, BT is delivering faster frame rates of 50 first live sports UHD channel in Europe, distributed via a new UHD frames per second, seen as particularly beneficial for fast moving sport set-top box. content. The channel kicked off with 4K coverage of the FA Community Other picture improvements include the use of 10-bit sampling of Shield football match on August 2 between Chelsea and Arsenal. BT brightness and colour rather than the 8-bit technology typically used expects the UHD service to be the star element in its top TV package, for HD content. with weekly broadcasts of content including Barclays Premier League The service is delivered using HEVC compression to the new Ultra games and the British MotoGP race at Silverstone. HD box via multicast. Customers are required to have a BT Infinity BT took the decision to launch a channel based on fibre broadband subscription and a compatible 4K TV set to receive the DVB UHD-1 Phase the channel, which is delivered at about 30Mbps. 1 standard, meaning BT deployed new Ultra HD cameras at venues using a new outside that it had to make broadcasting capability. New infrastructure has been put in place to a considerable effort transport the high bandwidth Ultra HD broadcast streams back to to put in place the the BT Sport studios for decode, monitoring and then for onward delivery chain that distribution across the BT TV multicast network, and technology has enabled the channel been put in place to support a 24/7 channel that includes live feeds, the to reach customers’ replay of pre-recorded content and advertising – among other features. homes. According to BT, the service has been very favourably received, with In addition a price point that puts a high-quality viewing experience within the to delivering reach of a mass-market audience. Visit us at www.digitaltveurope.net 4 p04,06 DTVE CIA Oct15v4st.indd 4 25/09/2015 18:08 B:216 mm T:210 mm S:195 mm “Deeply rich and provocative.” RETURNS - VARIETY THIS OCTOBER “Television’s wisest, deepest drama.” - ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY B:303 mm S:282 mm T:297 mm pXX Sundance Rectify DTVE CIA Oct15.indd 1 16/09/2015 10:22 Content Innovation Awards 2015 Digital TV Europe October 2015 4K initiative of the year Sky Deutschland for the first 50fps live broadcast over satellite delivered the UHD video at a resolution of 2160p50 from the Allianz Arena. The match was shown on several Ultra HD TVs in Sky’s HQ in Unterföhring, Upper Bavaria. Stefan Kunz, vice-president of business and distribution services at Sky Deutschland, says that Sky Deutschland’s first trials with UHD technology date back to 2012 and since then the company has made good progress over the years. “The first big step we made [was] by broadcasting for the first time [a] full live football match directly from the stadium. That was the first point where we really saw 4K, UHD transmission as possible,” says Kunz. Since the trial, Sky Deutschland has continued its UHD experiments and in July of this year secured additional capacity for broadcasts on SES’s Astra satellite at 19.2° East. “At Sky Deutschland, we believe in Sky Deutschland last year claimed a world first when it broadcast a being innovative with our offerings and providing our customers with live Bundesliga football match over satellite in Ultra HD as a part of the best TV experience, and have therefore been investing in Ultra an internal showcase.