Two news items from the past week. The first: the three major US networks, ABC, CBS and NBC, are blocking their programmes from access by Google TV. The second: in the US, Netflix represents more than 20% of downstream traffic during peak times and is heaviest between 20.00 – 22.00 – television’s prime time.
What do these stories tell us? One, that watching television via the internet is real – with just one single provider (Netflix) taking up as much as one fifth of all traffic. Two, that current business models for television might soon be outdated.
The move by the three networks comes as no surprise – local affiliates of the US networks have been complaining for some time that the networks make programmes available for free on the web, while they have to pay for the right to broadcast them. With connected TV sets such as Google TV it is just too easy to watch network TV series on demand – for free.
One response from the networks has been the introduction of Hulu Plus, a paid for service, a premium section of the Hulu video portal, a joint venture between News Corp, NBCU and Disney. One solution for the networks might be to start to offer TV series against payment via Hulu Plus to connected TV owners. And indeed, Hulu and Google TV confirmed that talks are going on the make material from Hulu Plus available on Google TV on a transactional basis.
Meanwhile in Europe
Now these examples apply to the US, but in Europe connected TV sets, as well as all kind of hybrid devices, are also making big inroads into the market. On the one side, there are the consumer electronics manufacturers who bring out TV sets and Blu-ray players with connected services such as Philips Net TV, Samsung@Interent and Sony Bravia Internet TV who offer access to a limited walled garden of video content – and, in theory, also access to selected video portals on the open internet.
Then there are the platforms such as Canal+ in France who combine their regular TV offer via DTH satellite, IPTV or DTT with online access to their own walled garden – in the case of Canal+ the Le Cube box, which offers direct access to their ‘Canal+ a la Demande’ VOD service. And in the UK, BSkyB has started the phased roll out of its Pull VOD service Anytime+ using the connected capabilities of its Sky+ HD service. Such services only offer content from the platform – or at least controlled by the platform.
The question is now – will customers accept these limitations? The answer will of course be ‘no’ – people have grown used to the open internet and will also demand that of video over the web services.
UPC – the Horizon project
Cable operator UPC has taken the concept one step further with the Horizon project. Liberty Global chief strategy officer Shane O’Neill gave attendees at the recent TIF conference at Dublin Castle the first glimpse of the Horizon Connected Home Gateway, scheduled for deployment across the UPC network during 2011.
“On the face of it Google TV looks like a threat, but in reality the cable industry will do what it has always done, and try to embrace innovation developed elsewhere and incorporate it into its own service. I think there’s a very strong likelihood that you’ll see the cable industry embed Google television and that functionality into its own set-tops, so that it’s not a threat but a cool new way to search for video”.
Explaining that the new box would bring a marriage of linear TV and the internet, O’Neill said that multiple screens had meant the social aspects of TV had disappeared, but that the social networking features included in the UPC Horizon box would go some way towards restoring this. “We won’t necessarily watch together, but we will discuss it on the television, through Facebook”.
Horizon will enable the consumer to do four key things; to access the internet, as well as the pay-TV offering; to enable to stream content downloaded on the PVR throughout the house; it will enable any content held on a PC or other devices to be viewed on the main TV. Navigation, which O’Neill said UPC was becoming increasingly obsessed with, comes through the NDS Snowflake UI.
We have not yet seen a Horizon box actually working and it will be interesting to see how access to web content will be handled. The easiest way would be using widgets or apps, which will give easy access to various web services. A keyboard on the remote, which is planned for Horizon, will also make sure that any website can be accessed – at least in theory.
Vodafone’s hybrid TV in Italy and Spain
Vodafone Italy has deployed the Vodafone TV Connect service, involving a hybrid set-top box bringing together a DVB-T tuner, internet access via dedicated widgets and access to locally stored content. The company is now also launching a similar service called Vodafone Internet TV in Spain. The box, developed by French company WyPlay, receives DVB-T channels, both free-to-air and pay-TV, as well as a number of IPTV delivered services including VOD.
In Italy, the TV Connect widgets include Vodafone Calcio (football), the weather, horoscopes, information and more. The STB is available in retail under €200, with discounts available for Vodafone DSL customers.
In Spain, the new service is set to compete with Telefonica’s IPTV service Imagenio and Orange TV as well as with cable. However, in contrast to its competitors, Vodafone does not plan to invest in content itself, but rather rely on DTT services in a hybrid box. Vodafone also has no IPTV services in the two countries, but has chosen to rely on DTT broadcasts for its main TV offer.
A series of widgets will provide access to Spain’s catch-up TV services. Additional content will be available from National Geographic Channel, Canal de Historia and Canal Cocina (entertainment).
The hybrid box, developed by French company WyPlay, allows access to the internet on the TV, including on-demand and streaming sites, and gives access to locally stored content, such as videos, photos and music. The box is “PVR ready”, allowing recordings to be made to a USB device, and includes DNLA, Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity and is also ready for both HD and 3D content.
At an IBC lunch hosted by NDS, which is providing middleware and security for the German launch, Diego Massidda, director of video & connected, Vodafone Germany said the project could be replicated in other markets. However, the German initiative is a different beast, combining Vodafone’s own IPTV offer with additional channels from cable or satellite, while in Spain, viewers get access to all the DTT channels, both FTA and premium, with additional content from the open internet using dedicated widgets for easy access. In addition, the WyPlay box also acts as a media centre, giving people access to their own locally stored content.
What is up for SFR?
Wyplay has also been selected by French IPTV provider SFR, in which Vodafone owns a share, to collaborate with its technical team to develop the software for its next generation of HD IPTV set-top box. With over 4 million broadband subscribers in France, SFR has decided to shake up the existing solutions in the market by proposing a revolutionary HD IP-STB solution in 2010. “We want to bring a new user experience to our customers by facilitating access, exchange, and consumption of all media; TV, internet, mobile, PC, NAS,” said Pierre-Alain Allemand, general manager Networks SFR, in a statement.
More details on the set-top box are expected before the end of the year. We expect the new SFR box to offer some kind of web access using widgets (or apps), as well as to locally stored content. The French IPTV is the most competitive in the world and SFR will need a device that will beat those of its rivals, which include the Canal+ Le Cube and the Orange Livebox 2.
Belgian’s Mobistar TV offer
The Belgian mobile operator Mobistar has launched its new Mobistar TV ‘quintuple-play’ package offering mobile and fixed telephony, broadband access and IPTV, DVB-T and DVB-S television.
Mobistar says it has developed a complete television solution combining multiple available technologies. Its hybrid television receiver gives access to satellite (via DVB-S), digital terrestrial (DVB-T) and IPTV television signals. Satellite offers HD quality (Full HD 1080) and 3D television experience and brings over 500 television and radio channels. The internet gives customers access to interactive services (EPG), content on demand (VOD) and “thanks to Mobistar TV’s intelligent platform”, customers can watch, record and manage their favourite programmes both on their television or mobile devices.
The satellite portion of the offer, delivered from Astra at 19 degrees East, echoes a similar implementation by Vodafone Germany. Mobistar is working together with the two Belgian DTH platforms from the M7 Group, TV Vlaanderen and TéléSat. The telecom operator uses the Viaccess PC4.0 encryption.
Mobistar is part of the France Telecom group and will use their Livebox to connect to the internet and to offer TV and radio to the television set. The Livebox 2.0 has wifi, is DNLA enabled and contains a 320 GB hard disk.
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