+ 5 October-December 2020+ + www.apb-news.com OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2020 NEWS & VIEWS 6 CREATION 14 MANAGEMENT 17 +TELECOM & ICT 21 DISTRIBUTION 25 Accept, adopt & accelerate changing role of technology ... or die! The Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 has cast a pall on ❝IABM, early in the pandemic, the broadcast industry, halting production, disrupting took radical action and created workflows and forcing the cancellation of live events a Virtual Platform … hugely and trade shows such as NAB Show and IBC Showcase. successful in helping members How can we recover, what changes will define to communicate and the next 12 months and how should broadcasters put them in front of navigate themselves in 2021? APB+ Managing Editor technology buyers.❞ Raymond Tan speaks to Peter White, Chairman of — Peter White, Chairman, IABM the International Trade Association for the Broadcast & Media Industry (IABM), on his thoughts of what lies consolidation as well as increased investment in content. ahead … The move to DTC with its thin- ner margins also requires increased APB+: What is the state of the mar- a new generation of IT and environ- efficiency and agility, producing a ket now and how has the pandemic ment-aware talent. greater focus on business models. – from lockdown restrictions to The pandemic and ensuing lock- Technology has become merely an the cancellation of trade events – downs have driven digital subscrip- enabler for those business models, impacted the broadcast and media tions massively upwards, while tradi- and broadcasters are increasingly industry, derailing growth and tional pay-TV and advertising-based turning to insourcing for better innovation in 2020? business models have been hit hard control and responsiveness. Peter White: IABM has just released – especially so in relation to cancelled Today, the new skills required a Special Report – Charting the Un- live sports programming. are often being recruited from charted – which examines the effects Stay-at-home mandates have outside the industry, with traditional of the Covid-19 pandemic on the also caused a fundamental shift in broadcast engineering skills becom- industry. It offers a comprehensive working patterns – and tremendously ing less and less in demand. overview of where we’ve got to and accelerated the industry’s previously where we’re heading — and it is well pedestrian progress towards de- How do you continue to engage worth a read. materialised operations in the cloud, technology buyers without meet- The key findings were: underpinned by as-a-service technol- ing them face-to-face? The coronavirus pandemic has ogies and business models. White: In the aftermath of cancella- INSIDE: compressed fundamental changes To survive the storm, traditional tions of trade shows, our members APB+ that were already slowly under way broadcasters have moved rapidly began to explore and develop virtual in the industry into just months or to supplement their output with promotion. IABM recognised early in Satellite even weeks. The propellants include DTC offerings, and to search for the the pandemic that radical action was Special the changing role of technology, the necessary scale to compete with the needed to support members through See pages 27-34 move to as-a-service, insourcing and digital giants through acquisition or 88 2 NEWS & VIEWS May-June 2019 Seek the best, embrace the new, October-December 2020 (Volume 37 Issue 5) be persistent & stay positive to EDITORIAL editorial director Andrew Yeo, [email protected] managing editor overcome pandemic in 2021 Raymond Tan, [email protected] contributing editor (technology) Karl K Rossiter, [email protected] Like many industries, the coronavirus has debilitated the more funding, revenue and better distribution, with cloud news editor broadcast, media and entertainment sectors, bringing platforms, gaming companies and broadcasters getting Lara Tan, [email protected] us down several pegs from where we were just nine into the fray. CORRESPONDENTS months before. With travel restrictions continuing, virtual and hybrid And as we approach the start of a new year, what trade shows should continue to be de rigueur. They may n The Philippines will 2021 be and how best can we navigate the changing even become a permanent fixture when conferences Tina Arceo-Dumlao, [email protected] landscape? venues are full, with contact tracing and safety regulations n India In this last print edition of the year, APB+ takes note being SOP for trade show organisers. Shirish Nadkarni, [email protected] of some prominent industry voices and stakeholders on n USA how they have been navigating the coronavirus crisis, Onus of change on broadcasters Mike Feazel, [email protected] and learn how they are evolving by leveraging digital The Covid-19 crisis has transformed the industry globally, PRODUCTION technologies and embarking on new initiatives for 2021 and I see the biggest onus to change lying with broad- production editor [See Outlook prognoses on pages 10-12]. casters – they face shorter timescales to market, must find Zuraini Ridzwan, [email protected] We’ve also been hearing a lot of talk about the ‘new new ways to create content, reduce complexity and costs accounts manager normal’. But what exactly is the ‘new normal’? in production as well as shift towards automated business Tan Hui Min, [email protected] How much have we understood the new survival models and workflows. MARKETING dynamics, what are the opportunities that will resonate Broadcasters stand at the precipice of a new digital director - marketing & business development in 2021, and how ready are we to transform ourselves? landscape and must transform themselves to serve the Joey Tan, [email protected] Digital transformation was in motion in the indus- changing market needs – no matter how onerous they marketing/circulation/editorial intern try well before the pandemic started. Covid-19 has are – to stay relevant. It won’t be an overnight excercise; Rachel Tan, [email protected] compressed changes at a speed unseen. McKinsey best they must strategically adapt to the new normal and PUBLISHING encapsulates this accelerated transition by describing it change accordingly. publisher as “vaulting five years of consumer and business digital A Deloitte report on how the TV industry will evolve in Andrew Yeo, [email protected] adoption” in just weeks. 10 years’ time (see Insight, page 7) painting a scenario in MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES where broadcasters can redefine their roles in the future n China What is the ‘new normal’? of TV, or risk being overtaken by digital platforms that will Yang Ou There are clear and discernible trends that we can see win the content and customer relationship war as they can BEIJING BUNCH EXHIBITION going into 2021. engage with audiences directly, embrace DTC and kill off SERVICES LTD Covid-19 has jump-started digitalisation and accel- content for broadcasters. Room 501/B1, Thunis Development erated the transition to the cloud and into new business IABM chairman Peter White puts this challenge suc- Building, No. 11 Huixin East Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029 models. Today, we are working with faster Internet cinctly in our cover story interview that the die for change Tel: +86-10-6482 3808-106 speeds, improved network infrastructures and new has already been cast and that the industry cannot roll Fax: +86-10-6482 3670 compression standards, among other new developments. back to its old ways. E-mail: [email protected] The cloud is a game changer. Thanks to micro services, We stand poised for another challenging year but the n Japan building and deploying products and services to the resilience of the industry to overcome crises in the past Mikio Tsuchiya cloud is much easier and quicker to do. The cloud is ena- gives me many reasons to be optimistic. WORLD MEDIA SERVICES INC bling content creators to manage their video production I believe another defining moment is upon us and that 3-35-1-302, Hongodai, Sakae-Ku, Yokohama 247-0008 chain from end to end. success is often borne from the result of seeking the best, Tel/Fax: +81-45-891-1852 Remote production and live streaming were first embracing new ideas, hard persistent work and learning E-mail: [email protected] conceived as a strategic diversification, but with no from the past. n USA & Canada certainty on how long Covid-19 will last, they are likely Finally, be strong and stay positive … and on behalf Gary L Rhodes to be ‘the norm’ for live events, news or sports in 2021. of the APB+ team, I wish you a SEDOR MEDIA INC Increasingly, we will move away from non-cloud rewarding Q4 2020 … and all 45 Florence Avenue, Leonardo, NJ 07737, USA proprietary and legacy systems. REMI and automation the best for 2021! Tel: 1-848-757-2930 will be important as they can help broadcasters reduce E-mail: [email protected] expensive human resources required for live produc- tion. AI and IP-based software defined tools can offer Asia-Pacific Broadcasting is published by: them an expedient way to cope with complexity in their workflows. Editec International Pte Ltd Working remotely, self-isolation and stay-at-home 8 Burn Road measures are likely to remain in some manner and this #08-06 Trivex will continue boosting media consumption in the home. Singapore 369977 Tel: 65 6282 8456 This will also continue to lead to a high engagement of entertainment services such as video on-demand and n www.apb-news.com gaming. n www.facebook.com/APBnews Indeed, we can expect to see new business and data RAYMOND TAN n www.twitter.com/APB_News monetisation models based on advertising around VoD – MANAGING n www.linkedin.com/company/ asia-pacific-broadcasting and catch-up TV. EDITOR It will also be interesting to see if eSports can gain All rights reserved.