Earlier this month, Vewd, a leading provider of OTT and hybrid TV solutions, hosted a 3-day virtual event ‘The Vewd Virtual Experience’ showcasing roundtable discussions, presentations, Vewd talks, thought leadership and customer success stories on a wide range of topics in the PayTV and OTT video segment.
Pay TV and OTT video are expected to be the main drivers of the USD100 billion video content industry. Device manufacturers, operators and content providers and aggregators, who share a major stake in this industry, stand to benefit from the proliferation of data networks which enables video content to be delivered across a growing number of interfaces, channels and subscription models to an unlimited number of viewers around the globe.
Regions with a higher penetration of fixed broadband are clearly ahead in terms of adoption of OTT video services, as presented by Dataxis during the event. Dataxis shared that there were more than 500 million subscriptions on Subscription Video-on-Demand (SVoD) services by the first quarter of 2020, in comparision with Pay TV subscriptions which posted only half of that figure. While global OTT video revenue is currently less than half of the global direct Pay TV revenue, its share is expected to rise steadily over the coming years to surpass the latter which is expected to remain stagnant in the near future, according to Dataxis' projection. Market challenges for Pay TV were discussed in detail, covering market structure, content aggregation, control over content, evolution of broadband access and COVID-19 outcomes.
For telecom operators, integrating Pay TV packages into their own content offering has now become part of their revenue diversification strategy that leverages the synergies between content and connectivity. However, such partnerships may have branding implications to both the content providers as well as the Operators, especially with the rising popularity of today's OTT content channels. Interesting perspectives were shared by leading Operators on this. On what influences a telecom operators’ decision to choose the right content partners to be included on their content platform, operators participating in the sessions shared the various models they have deployed to-date. These include ‘the more the better’ approach where Operators enrich their platforms with as much as unique content as possible, and the ‘best-fit’ approach where Operators zoom into niche segments that complement the nature of their existing offerings, for example, long-form content or certain genre such as sports or horror, and content that fits into their unique selling point.
In terms of content aggregation, Vewd shared how combining on-demand apps and games on a single portal allows Operators to offer the whole range of popular entertainment and gaming offers which can include linear TV channels, Operator on demand library, on-demand content from TV channels, Netflix, Youtube and games. Vewd also shared how content aggregation should be based on relevance and the viewing model instead of being dictated by technology and transmission and emphasized the importance of Operator video services being innovative yet familiar, feature-rich yet simple to use.
The 3-day event was conducted in partnership with leading research firms Omdia, Dataxis, 43Twenty and Ampere Analysis and was participated by leading content providers and operators from around the globe including Vodafone Spain, Bulsatcom, Virgin Media, Zee5, Tubi, 43Twenty, Hisense, Vestel, Ali, Bitmovin, BitRouter and TP Vision.
Aneesh Rajaram, CEO of Vewd, in her statement said that, “We wanted to address the gap of face-to-face events by inviting some of the leading industry influencers to share their perspectives, experience, and knowledge in a centralized, contextual environment. We’ve created a one-of-a-kind destination loaded with a vast portfolio content that informs, inspires, and educates. We’re excited to continue the conversation with our customers, partners, and prospects in the Vewd Virtual Experience.”
The following are the list of topics/sessions which took place during the event:
State of Smart TV: “From A Home’s Screen To The Homescreen: Smart TV’s Ongoing Evolution” by Paul Gray, Research Director, Omdia
Industry Panel: “Leveraging The Smart In Smart TV” hosted by Paul Gray, Research Director, Omdia with Andy Quested, Chair, Working Party 6 ITU, Peter Lanigan, Senior Manager – Standardisation, TP Vision and Vincent Grivet, Chairman, HbbTV Association
Vewd Webinar: “Creating Competitive Advantage With Content” by Kevan Qureshi, Senior Product Manager, Vewd
Vewd Talk: “The Battle for the Homescreen” by Vewd CEO Aneesh Rajaram
“How OTT Is Reshaping Pay TV” presented by Quentin Stallivieri, Analyst, Dataxis
Industry Panel: “OTT And Pay TV: Arranging The Perfect Marriage” hosted by Maria Rua Aguete, Executive Director, Omdia with: David Bouchier, Chief TV and Entertainment Officer, Virgin Media, Ignacio García-Legaz, TV Director, Vodafone Spain and Stanislav Georgiev, CEO, Bulsatcom
Vewd Webinar: “Deploying A Modern Pay TV Experience In The Age Of OTT” presented by Marco Frattolin, Senior Product Manager, Vewd Vewd Talk: “Pay TV on the Smart TV” by Vewd Chief Product Officer Sascha Prüter The State of OTT Content: “To D2C Or Not To D2C” by Lottie Towler, Analyst, Ampere Analysis
Industry Panel: “The Impact And Challenges Of Content Globalization” hosted by Ed Border, Research Director, Ampere Analysis with: Adam Lewinson, Chief Commercial Officer, Tubi, Archana Anand, Chief Business Officer, ZEE5 Global and Kirby Grines, Founder, 43Twenty
Vewd Webinar: “Leveraging Technology For Global Content Distribution” presented by Kevan Qureshi, Senior Product Manager, Vewd and Michael Winneker, VP Content Partnerships, Vewd
Vewd Talk: “The Global Content Opportunity” by Vewd CEO Aneesh Rajaram
To have access to all the content delivered during the 3-day event, simply register for one-time access at https://vx.vewd.com.
