March/AprilMay/June 2019 App, app and away The rise of Android TV pOFC DTVE MayJun19.indd 1 22/05/2019 19:13 AVAILABLE ACROSS ALL AVAILABLE ACROSS ALL AVAILABLE ACROSS ALL HYBRID TV STANDARDS OPERATING SYSTEMS MAJOR CHIPSETS HBBTV Linux MediaTek Broadcom ATSC 3.0 ATSC Realtek Novatek GINGA Android TV + + AM Logic Marvell RDK HiSilicon HYBRIDCAST MEET US HALL 8, STAND K32 MEETING ROOM HALL 14, STAND F02 Read more about Vewd and other products at vewd.com pIFC Vewd DTVE MayJun19.indd 1 22/05/2019 18:47 Digital TV Europe May/June 2019 Contents March/AprilMay/June 2019 16. Onwards for Android The rise of Android TV as the operating system of choice for an ever-growing range of service providers speaks to the realisation that aggregation of multiple app-based video services and a App, app and away compelling user experience are the key competitive tools for operators. Stuart Thomson reports. The rise of Android TV pOFC DTVE MayJun19.indd 1 22/05/2019 19:13 21. Taking on the cord cutting threat 21 Zappware’s inaugural Strategy Summit in Ghent saw a raft of industry participants discuss strategies for succeeding in pay TV and taking on the cord-cutting challenge. 24. Speed merchants Broadband providers are engaged in an arms race to deliver ultra-fast services to subscribers. 24 HFC cable network operators are making use of a fast-evolving range of tools to stay ahead of rivals, writes Adrian Pennington. 28 28. Telcos get smart Telecom operators are increasingly looking to smart home applications to deliver additional revenues, but partnerships are crucial to making this work, writes Anna Tobin. Regulars 2 This month 4 News digest 32 Technology 38 People 40 Final analysis Visit us at www.digitaltveurope.com 1 p01 Contents DTVE MayJun19 V2 JE.indd 1 22/05/2019 19:23 This month > Editor’s note Digital TV Europe May/June 2019 Issue no 345 The new triple-play Published By: Informa Tech Blue Fin Building 110 Southwark Street service providers face serious challenges. London SE1 0TA Multi-play The phrase ‘highly competitive environ- Website: www.digitaltveurope.com ment’ has been making an increasingly frequent appearance in cable and telecom operators’ quarterly earnings presentations, as they have strug- gled to differentiate their offerings on the basis of something other than Editor Stuart Thomson price and to drive up margins. Tel: +44 (0) 20 7017 5314 Ahead of the annual ANGA COM trade fair in Cologne, this issue of Email: [email protected] Digital TV Europe looks at some weapons in operator arsenals that could give them an advantage in the battle to win and retain subscribers at a Deputy Editor Jonathan Easton time when other ways to differentiate offerings are losing their edge. Tel: +44 (0) 20 7017 5390 Exclusive content is becoming prohibitively expensive for territory-specific service providers Email: jonathan [email protected] while the way content and other services are packaged is already being used to maximum ad- vantage and can easily be copied. Operators competing head on in the classic triple-play market therefore are tapping into the Contributing Editor Manori Ravindran potential differentiating power of the user experience, raw broadband speed and value-added broadband services to stay one step ahead of rivals. Contributors In this issue of Digital TV Europe, we first take a look at the user experience and, in particular, Kate Bulkley, Andy Fry, Adrian Pennington, at the rise of Android TV as the operating system of choice for a growing number of service Anna Tobin providers. Android TV‘s popularity has been enhanced by Google’s introduction of Android TV Opera- tor Tier, which gives operators much more scope to design the user interface and decide which Commercial Director Patricia Arescy content to surface at the top of search results. But Android TV’s popularity remains due, above Tel: +44 (0) 20 7017 5320 all, to the access it gives to the Google Play store. In the battle to win and keep subscribers, Email: [email protected] service providers know that they have to provide easy access to the expanding range of OTT TV services that consumer now use. Access to third-party apps via the set-top box is growing in Art Director Matthew Humberstone importance as the appeal of the big basic TV bundle declines. Tel: +44 (0) 20 7017 5336 Second, appropriately for our ANGA COM issue, we take a deep dive into how cable opera- Email: [email protected] tors can tap the latest innovations from CableLabs to deliver ever greater broadband speeds to their customers. In this issue we assess which technologies operators are prioritising for investment – such Marketing Executive Abigail Dede as CCAP, R-PHY, or Full Duplex DOCSIS – as they seek to maximise the use of their existing Tel: +44 (0) 20 7017 6018 hybrid fibre-coax infrastructure to stay ahead of telecom rivals that may find it necessary to lay Email: [email protected] fibre-to-the-home to remain competitive. Finally, we take a look at one of the new service categories that multi-play operators are look- ing to roll out to provide added value to their customers over and above a competitively-priced Printing Walstead Roche, Cornwall triple- or quad-play bundle. We examine how service providers can break into the market for smart home services, looking at the market, what makes sense for operators to focus on, and the pitfalls and challenges of expanding the range of offerings to encompass devices that are often sold at retail. l To subscribe to this magazine or our daily email newsletter please visit digitaltveurope.com/registerhere © 2019 Informa UK Ltd All rights reserved Stuart Thomson, Editor Reproduction without permission is prohibited [email protected] Visit us at www.digitaltveurope.com 2 p02 Ed Note DTVE MayJun19v4stJE.indd 2 22/05/2019 18:35 Are you at cloud speed? Create faster Produce anywhere Deliver everywhere aws.amazon.com/media See us at ANGACOM, 4-6 June 2019, Hall 7, E9 AWS003-003pXX AWS DTVE Full MayJun19.indd page advert 090519v2.indd 1 1 09/05/201917/05/2019 15:2710:06 News > digest Digital TV Europe May/June 2019 News digest > Disney acquires Hulu > Vaunet slams Vodafone > Mediaset pivots to free as Premium goes OTT > SVOD impact on UK production ‘overstated’ claims COBA exec > Viacom plans major expansion following acquisition of Pluto TV Disney wraps up deal with Comcast to gain full control of Hulu By Manori Ravindran > until late 202. The company has Iger: “Hulu represents the best also agreed to distribute Hulu of television.” Disney revealed on May 14 that on its Xfinity X1 platform. it will assume full operational NBCUniversal can terminate Guy Bisson, research director control of Handmaid’s Tale most of its content licence at Ampere said: “With full streamer Hulu, effective agreements with Hulu in operational control of Hulu, immediately, in return for three years, and in one year Disney’s streaming jigsaw Disney and Comcast entering NBCUniversal will be able to puzzle is complete. The into a “put/call” agreement take some of the content it concept of building a family of regarding NBCUniversal’s currently licenses to Hulu for its services to capture audience in 33% ownership stake in the own streaming platform. a fragmented and competitive platform. Hulu struck a deal with TV offerings. We are now able world is not new – it was first Under the deal, Disney can AT&T in April to take back a to completely integrate Hulu explored when digital TV came buy NBCUniversal’s interest in 9.5% minority stake from the into our direct-to-consumer along in the early 1990s – Hulu as early as January 2024. company for US$1.43 billion. business and leverage the full Disney now needs to update Effective now, NBCUniversal Comcast has reportedly been power of The Walt Disney that model for the 21st century has relinquished voting rights mulling a sale of its 30% stake Company’s brands and creative and Hulu is the key.” around Hulu. in Hulu for some time. In late engines to make the service During an earnings call in Hulu’s fair market value April, it was reported that the even more compelling and a November 2018, Iger said that in 2024 will be assessed by business was weighing the pros greater value for consumers,” Disney spoke on the company’s independent experts but Disney and cons of doing a deal now The deal is the latest step in ambitions for Hulu, hinting has guaranteed a sale price for rather than later. Disney’s efforts to capitalise at international expansion. He Comcast of at least US$27.5 Disney company CEO and on the rapidly growing said: “Given the success of Hulu billion (24.6 billion). chairman Bob Iger commented streaming space, following the so far in terms of subscriber In addition to the put/call on the acquisition, saying: announcement of Disney+. growth and the relative brand agreement, Comcast has agreed “Hulu represents the best of According to a report from strength and other things like to extend Hulu’s licensing of television, with its incredible from Ampere Analysis, buying demographics, we think there’s NBCUniversal content and the array of award-winning original Hulu will “allow Disney to an opportunity to increase Hulu Live carriage agreement content, rich library of popular reinvent the TV ‘channel family’ investment in Hulu notably on for NBCUniversal channels series and movies, and live for the streaming generation”. the programming side.” The Deutsche Telekom subsidiary CAB> Telenet gets lift from Austria will market its services under Belgium fixed-mobile convergence the Magenta retail brand, while Liberty Global-backed Belgian CAB> T-Mobile and UPC to retaining the T logo as its corporate CAB> Proximus sees growth cable operator Telenet’s operation- become Magenta Telekom brand.