Connected TV Markets Insight n°1 Æ Key events : Qriocity, YouView, Amazon Instant Video and Google TV Æ Analysis : les app stores, killers apps of connected TV? Æ Case study : Samsung App M11205 – April 2011 Contributors Sophie GIRIEUD, Senior Consultant for "TV & Digital Content Services" Copyright IDATE 2011, BP 4167, 34092 Montpellier Cedex 5, France Tous droits réservés – Toute reproduction, All rights reserved. None of the contents of this stockage ou diffusion, même partiel et par tous publication may be reproduced, stored in a moyens, y compris électroniques, ne peut être retrieval system or transmitted in any form, effectué sans accord écrit préalable de l'IDATE. including electronically, without the prior written permission of IDATE. Connected TV Markets: Insight n°1 Contents 1. Key events of the 1Q 2011................................................................................................ 4 1.1. International deployments - Qriocity: Sony launches its proprietary VoD and online music services in Europe.......................................................................................... 4 1.2. Announcements & Releases - Postponed to 2012, the YouView Connected TV Platform Launches its API ........................................................................................ 5 1.3. Offer Innovations - Amazon Offers a Video Streaming Service to its Prime Subscribers ............................................................................................................... 6 1.4. Partnerships & Strategies - Google TV: Two New Partner OEMs ........................... 7 2. App Stores Connected TV’s Killer App? ........................................................................ 8 2.1. A model to follow: The Apple App Store................................................................... 8 2.2. Selling Applications… In Order to Sell TVs .............................................................. 9 2.3. Upcoming Challenges............................................................................................... 9 2.4. The First Deployments… ........................................................................................ 10 2.5. ... Waiting for Apple?............................................................................................... 11 3. Case study Samsung Apps, Connected TV’s First App Store .................................. 13 *** Tables & Figures Table 1: Rates of movies rented by the unit of the Qriocity VoD service in the study region............................. 4 Table 2: Distribution of Amazon Instant / Prime Video, Netflix and Hulu Plus on key connected TV platforms in the US .................................................................................................................................................. 7 Table 3: Major applications available on Samsung Apps in the five European countries under study and in the US ...................................................................................................................................................... 15 Figure 1: Smart Hub, Samsung Smart TV’s user interface ............................................................................... 13 Figure 2: The keyboard side of the new Samsung Smart TV remote control.................................................... 14 Figure 3: Structure of the Samsung Apps offer in the United States by application category, March 2011...... 16 Figure 4: Structure of the free and fee-based Samsung Apps offer in the United States by application category, March 2011 ........................................................................................................................ 16 www.idate-research.com © IDATE 2011 3 Connected TV Markets: Insight n°1 1. Key events of the 1Q 2011 1.1. International deployments - Qriocity: Sony launches its proprietary VoD and online music services in Europe The Facts In late 2010, Sony launched its VoD platform on the five largest European markets (UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain). Named "Video On Demand by Qriocity", it is available on the "Bravia Internet Video" connected TV platform and will be gradually enriched with new content (recently with music and forthcoming with games and e-books). Already available in the US since April 2010, the Qriocity video on demand service offers hundreds of titles – some of which in HD - from the catalogues of the American majors (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, Lionsgate, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, NBC Universal International Television Distribution, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Digital Distribution), as well as blockbusters from important local production companies. Movies can be rented by the unit for 48 hours from the HDTVs, Blu-ray players and home theatre systems equipped with the Bravia solution. Table 1: Rates of movies rented by the unit of the Qriocity VoD service in the study region UK (GBP) Eurozone (EUR) HD new releases 4.49 4.99 SD new releases 3.49 3.99 HD library titles 3.49 3.99 SD library titles 2.49 2.99 Source: ScreenDigest Launched in the UK and Ireland in December 2010, followed by France, Germany, Italy and Spain last January, "Music Unlimited" by Qriocity is a subscription music service based on cloud computing and accessible on various Sony connected terminals: Bravia TVs, Blu-ray players and home theatre systems, or PlayStation 3 games consoles or and VAIO computers. This service is based on a catalogue of six million titles from the majors (Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group and EMI Music) and independent labels. Similar to a Web radio, the Basic plan (EUR 3.99 per month) provides access to dozens of thematic channels, without having to download or manage music files. The Premium plan (EUR 9.99 per month) lets users listen to any song in full on demand, create playlists and enjoy 100 premium radio stations. To access Qriocity’s music and online video offers, users must create an account on the service’s website unless they are already members of the PlayStation Network. www.idate-research.com © IDATE 2011 4 Connected TV Markets: Insight n°1 IDATE Point of View In Europe, Sony has taken up the challenge of deploying its own branded VoD service on its connected TV solution rather than forging partnerships with third-party VoD services (with the exception of the UK, where Lovefilm is also distributed on Bravia Internet Video). Sony already has some experience with the acquisition and management of VoD rights, as it has been distributing a range of films and series on the PlayStation 3 since Fall 2008. In the five major European countries, the Bravia connected TV platform offers three complementary video services: • a fee-based VoD service of in-house produced content (Qriocity); • a free catch-up TV service provided by partner local TV channels (M6 Replay in France, Antena 3 and TV3 in Spain, BBC iPlayer in the UK and ProSieben, Sat.1 and Kabeleins in Germany); • free content from the catalogues of the leading players of the online video community (YouTube and Dailymotion). This go-it-alone strategy in the field of VoD contrasts with the approaches adopted by its competitors – based on partnerships – but also with the one pursued by Sony itself in the US: there, Bravia Internet Video includes indeed several other VoD services in parallel to Qriocity, including Amazon Instant Video, Netflix and Hulu Plus. 1.2. Announcements & Releases - Postponed to 2012, the YouView Connected TV Platform Launches its API The Facts In late February, YouView officially postponed its commercial launch – originally planned for this summer – to early 2012. Built on a hybrid broadcast-broadband architecture, the British connected TV platform is experiencing some technical difficulties which forced it to reconsider its deployment schedule. A pre-test phase should be launched at the end of this year. Through the voice of its CEO Richard Halton, YouView has also announced the release of its API (Application Programming Interface) allowing all OEMs to build products incorporating this technology. This announcement will take place after the publication, on April 14, of the solution’s key technical features. IDATE Point of View By opening its API to third-party developers, YouView confirms its status as an open technical platform and comprehensive solution composed of a connected device, content and a programming interface. The consortium behind the project hence agrees to have its technology used under other brand names, particularly outside of the United Kingdom. www.idate-research.com © IDATE 2011 5 Connected TV Markets: Insight n°1 1.3. Offer Innovations - Amazon Offers a Video Streaming Service to its Prime Subscribers The Facts Since February 2011, the subscribers of Amazon’s Prime service in the United States can now enjoy unlimited access at no extra cost to Prime Instant Videos, an online streaming video offer without advertising with more than 5,000 movies and TV shows extracted from Amazon’s Instant Video catalogue. Offered at a subscription rate of USD 79 per year (about EUR 60), Amazon Prime is, initially, the premium delivery service of the e-commerce giant. The video offer thus presents itself as a free bonus to existing logistics services (free delivery within 48 hours, at will without minimum order amount, and fast delivery in 24 hours at the preferential rate of USD 3.99 (EUR 3) per article). Prime Instant Videos can be accessed on PC and on some 200