One may be forgiven for thinking that things start to wind down once that extraordinary spectacle called IBC closes its doors for yet another year on September 15.
Not so, and certainly not in Central and Eastern Europe, where the conference season truly gets on its way in the second half of the month.
Rather than provide an overview of the many events that lie ahead, let’s focus on one that takes place less than a fortnight after Amsterdam’s IBC.
Now in its third year, Media Platform has its roots in what was an annual cable show in the resort town of Tihany by Lake Balaton in Hungary. The organisers decided to relocate it to Budapest in order to raise its international profile and on the evidence of the first two years in the new venue – the SYMA sport and events centre – the move proved a success.
Media Platform 2015 will again feature a two-day conference, with the second part of the first day split into content and distribution and technical sessions.
While the former session will look at such issues as copyright, the future of linear TV and the changing nature of content, the latter will focus on – amongst other things – OTT and the new challenges facing broadcasting.
Meanwhile, the second day will have a distinctly technical feel to proceedings.
From personal experience, Media Platform is a good event in which to “get behind the scenes” and find out what really is going on in Hungary’s cable industry and TV market as a whole.
Last year, one of the main talking points was the imminent – or so we were led to believe – arrival of Netflix. Twelve months on, there is still no sign yet of the SVOD service in Hungary, and indeed Central and Eastern Europe, though we of course know that will soon change.
It will be interesting to see what is up for discussion this year. My hunch is that it will be much more than Netflix.
Further details about Media Platform 2015 can be found by clicking here.
