Caretta Research Limited

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Whether you’re buying or selling technology, we’re putting real-life information to accelerate and target your decision-making for product selection, production positioning, sales targeting or go-to-market.

Built on accurate, comprehensive data for global technology buyers in media and telecoms we’re pioneering a fresh and innovative focus on digital transformation technology buying priorities. We look at the world through the eyes of buyers, grouping trends and segmenting behaviours to make sense of who is deploying what technology, how and why.

In The Hub Ep 21 – OTT Broadcasting – w/ KC Lee

In episode 21, Neil speaks to KC Lee – Founder & Managing Director at Amrick Solutions. This week’s topic is all things ‘over-the-top’; KC takes us on a detailed journey of a full end-to-end OTT implementation process for modern broadcasters. Learn some of the history behind OTT and why content security is still so important and what we can expect from the future of digital video.

In Conversation with Playbox Technology

In this IABM TV interview, we are joined by PlayBox Technology’s Ben Gunkel to discuss how advertiser priorities in the media have changed as we move further into 2021 and how broadcasters can keep their advertising revenue flowing as a result of these changing priorities.

We look at how Covid-19 has influenced advertising priorities and how it will continue to have an impact.

Ben talks us through how crucial social media is becoming as a tool for broadcasters in 2021 and how Playbox Technology’s solutions can help to future proof broadcaster operations into 2021 and beyond.

Media and broadcast technology trends to watch in 2021

There’s not much I can say about 2020 you either haven’t already heard or experienced. However, we can’t start looking ahead to 2021 without first acknowledging how the COVID pandemic fundamentally (and permanently?) altered the broadcast and production worlds. When the live events, sports and production communities shut down, professionals in these industries got creative and ultimately managed to make something out of what seemed like a totally bleak situation.

We all learned to redefine innovation, speed, agility and flexibility. Many of the new practices we were forced to adopt out of necessity became a reality seemingly overnight, as the typical rate of industry change was compressed from years into months.

For example, before the pandemic remote production was gaining traction, and then COVID certainly accelerated its adoption from an emerging workflow to a day-to-day reality. \There’s no denying COVID will be a daily presence throughout 2021, even with the promise of wider vaccine rollouts. Still, it’s far from the only focus.

Now that we’re into 2021, it’s a perfect time to highlight the technology and business trends we see as the ones to watch. It’s also interesting to parallel Telstra’s growth with the emergence of these industry shifts. For example, through the efforts of Telstra Broadcast Services, we’ve made ourselves ready for anything the new year throws at us. We’ve advanced our networks to closely align with our customers’ strategies for 2021 and beyond. We’ve been strengthening our remote production capabilities for years and we were ahead of the game by having cloud-based delivery integrated with our Global Media Network (GMN).

Cloud-based delivery

In 2020, we saw an increase in organizations evaluating cloud-based delivery. Even before COVID, overall cloud spending was increasing. According to a recent survey by DPP, more than a third of industry professionals have voiced plans to purchase cloud-based solutions and managed services. Cloud infrastructure costs have also lowered dramatically making cloud-based business models more practical and attractive for addressing capture and access to file storage to asset management to the monetization of content.

However, as any technology improves so do the capabilities of cyber-criminals. Security will increase in focus as broadcasters adopt new cloud delivery models. Maintaining customer trust is critical for online streaming services to continue thriving, and this can be threatened by the speedy emergence of new risks.

Hybrid networks

Demand for international bandwidth is more than doubling every two years, according to statistics from TeleGeography. At the same time, some organizations are not comfortable moving everything into the cloud and relying on only one delivery model.

That’s where hybrid networks present an attractive option, delivering content using different forms of transport based on different cost structures, geography, reliability and availability. These alternatives include dedicated fibre, internet solutions where dedicated fibre is too expensive and satellite in regions where it is the most feasible option due to geography.

Some global locations will always be fibre-heavy while others will be satellite-heavy. In other words, no one size fits all. There will increasingly be a need for hybrid networks that integrate fibre and satellite networks to serve more markets. Internet-based or cloud services can do more than simply extend fibre networks. They also present significant new revenue opportunities, providing a cost-effective method for broadcasting diverse programming over different media delivery networks.

Hybrid will be a hot topic during 2021. If you’re in the market for a customized hybrid transport model, it’s important to choose a provider like Telstra that can deliver the entire spectrum of services – from dedicated fibre networks to Internet networks with superior global peering arrangements to satellite teleport access.

5G and OTT

5G technology continues to mature in most major countries, and we will see more trials of content delivery over a 5G cellular network.

In addition to enabling a range of key technologies with potentially huge impacts on the media market, we see one of the first wide scale uses of 5G in the media space. Untethered cameras can roam over wide areas — particularly advantageous in covering geographically diverse events such as golf or motor racing. It also holds the promise of further reducing equipment loadouts for all live event coverage and further facilitating the move towards remote production.

The combination of bandwidth and low latency expands new distribution capabilities. Nearly 30 percent of broadcasters have expressed interest in using 5G for video contribution back-up from the field and we expect that number to increase. It would be wise for companies to explore wireless technologies to address business challenges and increase audience engagement.

Speaking of audience engagement, who didn’t enjoy long stretches of binge-watching over the past few months? While OTT services are not likely to see similar growth in the post-pandemic world, they are also not going away. Subscriptions are increasing across the large OTT players, but growth might slow as people evaluate the necessity of multiple subscriptions (“subscription fatigue”).

Changing business models

Media and technology suppliers continued their transitions to “as-a-service” business models, mostly due to the pandemic. We’re at the point now where short-term contracts and consumption-based business models are preferred.

The value chain is being dominated by larger players to meet customers’ preference for an end-to-end delivery service and management provider. Broadcasters are increasingly looking for a “tiered” approach to serve different markets with different technologies. For example, not all broadcast affiliates will have the same level of resources to run their platform. Some may be able to afford a dedicated fibre network or a “gold” level of service, while other affiliates may be more cost-sensitive and choose internet-based or cloud solutions, which may be more cost-effective but have a lower, or “silver,” level of service.

The Telstra Special Events Network (SEN) perfectly fits this evolving “as-a-service” model. For special high-profile events, more customers will need tailored solutions with the highest levels of redundancy, planning, design and execution, plus advanced onsite and remote management.

Ready for new opportunities

In 2020, the Telstra Broadcast Services team was busy adapting to all these changing business conditions and shifting technology trends, while maintaining the premium level of service customers expect. As a result, for 2021, we’re well-positioned to meet and exceed the new production requirements of our customers – and their audiences.

We’ll continue adding new capabilities throughout 2021, strengthening and expanding the GMN, adding new points of presence and positioning our network to transport any type of programming our customers, and their audiences, demand.

Nobody knows for certain what 2021, or any new year, will bring. But we do know Telstra will be ready to meet any challenge or business need.

Are you ready to explore new opportunities with Telstra? Connect with us here.

Protecting media content at a time when piracy is thriving

Crisis has always been a powerful catalyst for social change and there no doubt the COVID-19 pandemic is proving the same. As we adapt to the new normal the popularity of streaming services has grown dramatically as isolation creates more free time. Launched in November 2019, Disney+ recently announced that they have surpassed 50 million paying subscribers.

Along with that rise there’s been a similar rise in a whole range of cyber security threats on these streaming services. In fact, one of the key focus of Privacy Awareness Week is the importance of safeguarding personal information as we spend more time online.

Some example of the Cyber Security threat we have seen include hundreds of fake websites which mimic popular streaming services such as Netflix, where sign up pages harvest personal information for use in criminal activities. Akamai’s 2019 State of the Internet / Security: Media Under Assault highlights daily web attached on technology and media companies doubling and 35% of credential stuffing attacks targeting this vertical. Media companies are attractive targets for criminals due to the amount of personal information stored by these services including credit card information.

Criminals are also stealing media streams during high profile sports events in order to sell it various markets. Finally, Internet based attacks such as Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) is being used to disrupt streaming services, affecting subscriber retention, reducing ad revenue and potentially bring down the service completely.

Telstra Broadcast Services and Akamai are both recipients of the DPP Committed to Security programme. A robust programme ensuring broadcast media and production customers the networks use to deliver content are secure.Telstra has the network and solutions to protect broadcast operations against digital threats. Known as Broadcast Security, Telstra Broadcast Services optimises Akamai’s delivery, acceleration and security platforms to provide broadcasters and media companies the best possible audience experience while being protected from attacks and threats.

At Telstra we are responsible for enabling so much of the connectivity in Australia and globally, and as such we certainly feel the responsibility to continue to help our customer stay connected and safe from cyber risks. Thus, Telstra is committed to reducing cyber threats and has recently launched the Cleaner Pipes initiative to further reduce instances of customer data being compromised through malware, ransomware and phishing. Cleaner Pipes means we are able to more actively block cyber threats on our network that would compromise the safety of our customers’ personal information.

Maintaining customer trust is critical for online streaming service to continue to thrive, this can be threatened by the speed at which new risks are emerge. We understand that there is significant cultural change that needs to occur in traditional media companies to deal with these threats and in most cases, there simply isn’t the right skills with the organisation.

As media organisations continue to innovate, so do cyber criminals. At a time when cybercrime is thriving, choose a team taking proactive measures to ensure content is protected and revenue is secure.

Why Network Infrastructure is an Increasingly Critical Piece of the Gaming and Esports Ecosystem

In May 2019, the League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational, set in Chinese Taipei and Vietnam, drew peak viewership north of 1.7 million. The massive audience watched in near real-time as G2 Esports claimed the title, knocking off Team Liquid 3-0 in the finals.

Production for the event was done remotely, thousands of miles away in Riot Games’ studio in Los Angeles. Via a mix of local internet providers in combination with Riot Direct, the company’s privately owned global internet network, video and audio HD feeds were sent from Asia to L.A., where the feeds were edited, finalized for broadcast and sent back to streaming and broadcast partners throughout the world.

“All of that took a matter of moments, and it’s an awesome success story,” said Adam Day, Head of Technology + Media, Americas for Telstra, whose global network of fiber-optic subsea cables supports Riot Direct. “Riot now handles all of their production for global events out of those studios, leaning heavily on our network infrastructure.”

Contrast this to less fortunate stories around the gaming universe. For example, a professional gamer loses in a major tournament because of latency issues. Or more players than anticipated logon for the launch of a new title, resulting in thousands of gamers being kicked off or unable to connect. This seems particularly problematic in China, where up to 25 percent of mobile gamers recently said they have turned off a game and moved on to the next one because of technical difficulties, according to a 2020 survey by market research firm Niko Partners.

Highly important, but far less talked about

Success in this industry is dependent on a multitude of factors: storylines and graphics, community and competition, but also a far less talked about and visible consideration – the reliability of the network through which publishers get their games into players’ hands or esports properties broadcast their events around the world.

“As a gamer, you just assume the network will be there when you want to play,” Day said. “It’s not visible until something goes wrong. But there’s a considerable amount of work that goes into ensuring that the network is reliable, fast and efficient. It’s critical that game publishers and esports companies are working closely with telecom network providers like Telstra to do that.”

In addition to online battle arena games such as League of Legends, first-person shooter games and fighting games are especially reliant on networks that provide for low-latency competition. The shift toward cloud and mobile gaming also makes the network increasingly key, according to Day.

While League of Legends was among the esports competitions able to stay up and running during the pandemic, many fighting games shut down because of latency and connectivity inefficiencies. Some game publishers have failed to develop a coherent strategy around esports and were unprepared for the shift to online competition.

The trend toward online competition and remote production started before and will continue beyond the pandemic, industry insiders believe. With the exception of major tournaments, playoffs and finals, esports properties will be more prudent about which events they place in venues. This enhances the importance of network capacity and connectivity, as companies look to streamline the number of people and amount of equipment they have onsite.

Esports on TV

Another trend accelerated by the pandemic was traditional sports leagues and broadcasters offering esports programming to their fans. Facing a shortage of content caused by the shutdown of traditional sports in March, NBA2K made its national television debut on ESPN2, FS1 drew over 900,000 viewers for NASCAR’s iRacing Pro Invitational Series, and the Formula One Virtual Grand Prix Series attracted 30 million viewers across TV and digital platforms.

As linear TV networks look to capitalize on the popularity of esports, they’ll demand top-quality production for their audiences and advertisers. This marks a change for esports, whose fans have gotten used to hanging out on Twitch waiting for a tournament to start past its scheduled time.

“When an ESPN or a Fox Sports pays for and is distributing your content, you need a company that knows how to bring that content to the viewers. Your expectations are pretty high as to the quality of a broadcast,” Day said.

Linking the esports markets in Asia-Pacific and North America

Asia, meanwhile, is critical for game publishers eyeing a larger piece of the $150 billion industry, as about 60 percent of the world’s 2.5 billion gamers are based in Asia, half of those in China.

With up to 30 percent of the internet traffic in Asia traveling across its network, combined with the fact the company has licenses in 20 countries, including China, Japan, and Korea, Telstra has a unique perspective on the challenges and regulations within these enormous gaming and esports markets.

“As you see the gaming market continue to grow between North America and Asia, which are the two biggest markets with massive audiences, the network strategy and how you deliver content between those regions will start to become more visible and important,” Day said.

“The Asia Pacific region is an incredibly diverse and unique group of countries and not one of them is the same,” Day added. “Each country across Asia Pacific has their own language, their own traditions, culture, political landscape, regulatory environment, and they all come with their own complexities as it relates to telecommunications infrastructure. It does cause challenges to deliver gaming and esports content into those countries. We’re in the unique position of making that happen for game publishers every day.

“Additionally, with the demand for games and esports content unlikely to slow in Asia or North America, Telstra is investing in more infrastructure and technology to enable the entire ecosystem to continue to grow.”

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The 5G journey towards immersive content

Each generation of new cellular technology has represented a significant step up from the previous one. From the first generation technology in the late 1980s that provided basic voice services, to the 2G that introduced the world to text, picture and MMS services, the 3G that introduced the mobile internet and paved the way for the smartphone, and the 4G that sped everything up and advanced mobile video streaming – each new generation has raised the bar considerably and changed what we understand to be mobile communications.

Arguably though, the change that 5G represents is the most significant of all. Its combination of speed – from a peak speed perspective it is projected up to 10x faster than Australian standard 4G – and lower latency to enable real time experiences means that it can become a ubiquitous technology that can impact our lives at all levels, from device capabilities at home or a venue to the way content is delivered from events and broadcasters to audiences. Devices are just the very start of a world composed of the Internet of Things, autonomous vehicles, Industry 4.0 production and more.

So, as we stand on the cusp of a new year, where are we with the 5G rollout? And, if we narrow our focus down to examine 5G’s role for media, what might the future bring?

The state of the art

Despite all the disruptions that the Covid-19 pandemic caused, that 5G rollout has continued apace. If we look at our work in Australia as an example, our 5G network now reaches 44% of the Australian population and that will have expanded to 75% by June 2021. We now have 5G sites in selected areas of more than 60 cities and regional towns around the country, and 40,000 new 5G devices are being connected to our network every week. While there are regional variations, if we look around the world this level of infrastructure support for the technology is becoming the increasing norm, and those numbers of connections are indicative of where we are heading in the short term. In the long term they are only going to increase.

What it enables?

5G enables a range of key technologies that will have potentially big impacts on the media market.

First off though it is worth pointing out that it is already starting to make inroads in sports broadcasting. According to a recent poll, 76% of sports industry decision makers plan to use 5G to drive innovation, and close to the same amount (65%) would happily consider it for remote production. We see 5G contribution as being one of the first widescale uses of the technology in the media space, with untethered cameras able to roam over wide areas being particularly advantageous in the coverage of geographically diverse events such as golf or motor racing. They also hold out the promise of further reducing equipment load outs for all live event coverage and further facilitating the move towards remote production.

And, of course, it potentially changes the economics of distribution. Currently the default model of routing back to a production hub is to use fibre networks, microwave links or satellite. 29% of broadcasters have already expressed an interest in using 5G for video contribution back-up from the field and we expect that number to increase as the use cases grow. The combination of bandwidth and low latency expands new distribution capabilities.

Different spectrum will provide a range of options to cater for coverage in and out of buildings, for example we can use low band spectrum (700Mhz and 850Mhz) for use cases over long distances and ensuring building penetration from outside, while the mid band (3.6Ghz) provides the main bulk of the service.

Next to come is mmWave, large bandwidth, short-range, higher frequency spectrum that brings more speed and capacity into the network to cater for both the explosion in the number of connected devices and massive capacity uplifts where needed. This is the sort of technology needed to connect whole stadia of people at once, allowing them to communicate with each other, watch video highlights, and drive social media.

This is going to be a strong requirement. The average Bundesliga soccer match, as an example of a sporting event in a country with a robust 4G infrastructure, already attracts 43,000 spectators who consume an average amount of data between them of 500GB. [1] Our data shows that 5G device users will likely consume about 2x as much data as 4G. In other words, with consumer demand for more video offerings enabled by 5G, we are going to need the capacity that technology such as mmWave can deliver.

5G network slicing is a key component of the technology’s deployment too. This allows network providers to create specific, time-limited networks for different customers with precisely the latency, bandwidth and quality attributes they require. For example, one slice can be created that prioritises high bandwidth and low latency to support broadcast contribution in a specific area, such as a sports stadium; another can be created that maximises the available bandwidth for 8K streaming and so on.

Edge computing enables the processing to be conducted closer to the source of the data. This reduces latency to applications, improves customer experience and can increase the resiliency of those applications. It is here, where we really start to see the benefits to AR and VR applications as the increased processing power is available – and, of course, it is almost infinitely scalable – as the cloud is bought closer to the user to provide a seamless experience.

What is to come?

Quite where this will take us is anyone’s guess. We suspect though that the first significant new developments of 5G in media will be felt where it is already in the first stages of deployment, in sports broadcasting. We have already seen 5G-enabled cameras used at the US Open for Fox Sports and as part of the pre-match soccer coverage for BT Sport, and its use in the delayed Tokyo Olympics next summer will prove to be a major watershed for the technology. It’s not too hard to imagine new forms of fan engagement being developed both in-stadium and at home that leverage the greater collection and analysis of data in real-time thanks to edge computing and present it to the individual through an array of 5G-connected wearables.

The technological evolution from 1G to 5G has been quite a fascinating journey that has already transformed the media industry. But change is accelerating all the time and it’s not too fanciful to say that we could see as much change in the next three years as we have seen in the last three decades. From the way we make media to the way we distribute it and the way we consume it, the rollout of 5G is going to be fascinating to watch unfold.

Helping major media rights holders get their content into China – and just in time

No one needs to be reminded that China is one of the world’s fastest growing markets, but getting content in and out of the country can take some finesse. Making rights deals and signing contracts is only part of the job. You might have sold rights to the Chinese market, but can you reliably deliver that content into the country?

What’s required is someone on the ground who can be your infrastructure liaison; someone who understands your needs and is at home with the Chinese technology ecosystem as well.

Telstra has an international presence in over 20 countries and has been operating in China since 1989. Through its joint venture, Telstra PBS, it became the first foreign company licensed to provide connectivity and network services on the mainland. Telstra operates data networks in 39 key Chinese cities and has data centres in the country, with connections to Telstra Global Media Network (GMN) points of presence in Beijing and Shanghai.

As a result, Telstra has become the go-to provider for media industry connectivity into and out of China.

But beyond its technology, Telstra is distinguished by the expertise of its personnel on the ground.

“Since we have an operating licence for providing connectivity and network services in China, we have our own staff operating our data centres and managing the network,” says Sai Ping Sung, CTO of Telstra PBS. “The scalable services we offer in China are the same as what Telstra sells worldwide. The one-stop shop experience customers enjoy with us across the globe is identical to what they get in China.”.

These services make Telstra very attractive to some of the biggest rights holders in the world, and they’re partnering with the Telstra PBS network to deliver content to Chinese media companies. Likewise, they are providing the infrastructure for Chinese and international content owners and event organisers (particularly live sports) to reach audiences worldwide.

Esports is becoming a huge global phenomenon and China has been both a big consumer and host of major esports content. Telstra’s network is already very active in helping gaming companies both inside and outside China fuel the hunger for this new content sector. The collaborative nature of Telstra PBS means Telstra has an experienced Chinese team on the ground.

“Working with incumbent technology providers for access to a network can often come with uncertainties, as there may be unforeseen compatibility issues with your own architecture. Ideally, you need someone with the right expertise on the ground, who can help both sides build the best solution,” explains Sung.

Having Telstra’s team available in China also allows its customers to have an in-country liaison who can speak for the customer, track down faults and talk to the right people to get solutions implemented quickly. In addition, Telstra has the infrastructure to support internet delivery, which is becoming more of a critical request. With years of experience helping the world’s major video platforms stream in Australia and building infrastructure in China, Telstra offers an established and secure solution for internet delivery into the country.

“Our Telstra GMN point of presence (PoP) in Hong Kong sits next to our internet PoP. It’s just a cross connection. Then, customers can get whatever bandwidth they want easily from our global IP network,” concludes Sung.

As the world’s second largest economy with a significant audience base, China is only going to grow as a content market and producer. With its infrastructure, technologies and expertise on the ground in China, Telstra stands ready to help media companies grow with it.

This article first appeared on the Winter 2020/20201 edition of FEED magazine.

Caretta Research Limited