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Aptil 2018

Shotoku partners Magna Systems in ANZ region

Manga Systems has entered a partnership with Shotoku Broadcast Systems . Under the new deal , the Australian systems integrator will bring all Shotoku ’ s solutions , including robotic , AR / VR and manual camera supports , to Australia and New Zealand . This alliance , according to James Eddershaw , managing director of Shotoku , will also strengthen the company ’ s presence in the region .

Pebble Beach Systems makes key executive changes

Pebble Beach Systems has named David Russin ( pictured ) as the company ’ s vicepresident of sales . Having previously held positions at Grass Valley , Harris Broadcast , Omnibus and Masstech , Russin brings more than 35 years ’ experience in selling automation , automated workflow and infrastructure solutions to North American broadcasters . Pebble Beach Systems has also hired Robert Amoroso as sales engineering manager for North America . Prior to joining Pebble Beach Systems , Amoroso managed the pre-sales engineering at Leitch / Harris for 14 years where he collaborated with solutions architects and applications specialists for master control and newsroom solutions .

Next Issue @ Management

Production Switchers

Fintan Mc Kiernan

CEO Ideal Systems South-east Asia

Patrick So

Regional Manager Asia Pacific Magna Systems & Engineering

Craig Johnson

Managing Director - Media Nielsen

Piracy , an illegal act of content distribution prior to release , is one struggle that media companies have been combating against since the advent of the Internet . And in the current converged landscape between linear

TV and online video , media operators are finding it necessary to introduce new security measures as a way to safeguard revenues , as Josephine Tan discovers .

Some 82 % of executives interviewed by the Pay-TV Innovation Forum agreed that the competition in the pay-TV industry is set to increase over the next five years , and 71 % believe that service providers will struggle to grow their business during the same period ,

Three key challenges facing the industry worldwide , according to the 2017 report , include the proliferation of cheaper over-the-top ( OTT ) services , changing consumer behaviour and demand , and the rise of content piracy , noting for example that 67 % of exe cutives agreed that the competition from subscription video-on-demand ( SVoD ) services will have a negative impact on pay-TV , resulting in lower prices and increasing churn .

Launched in 2016 , the Pay-TV In-

To combat illegal downloads , copyright infringement , and piracy in the online streaming space , media operators will have to reinvent their content security strategies to find the best approach in protecting their revenues and filmmakers ’ works .

novation Forum is a global research programme developed by Nagra , a Kudelski Group company , and MTM , a research and strategy consulting firm , designed to explore and catalyse innovation across the pay-TV industry .

Stephane Le Dreau , senior vicepresident , regional general manager , Asia-Pacific , Nagra , tells APB : “ At Nagra , we believe that we are entering what we call the ‘ post-OTT era ’ — a world where consumers have more control to pay for and consume the content they love , when they want it , on the device of their choice . It is also a world where traditional linear and video-on-demand ( VoD ) content are just seen as a combined source of ‘ great content ’ by consumers , blurring the lines between online video and linear TV .”

Another research paper , entitled Television Tribes , which is commissioned by Nagra in partnership with a UK-based TV industry research firm , Ampere Tribes , reflected that the combined TV and video market is “ growing positively ”, Le Dreau says . This is despite the slowdown in the growth of traditional TV services , as well as the emergence of a new and more

PHOTO CREDIT : ISTOCK , GETTY IMAGES segmented TV consumer market .

He continues : “ The implications of these changes are significant for content creators , programmers and distributors . There is a real risk that digital transformation will lead to market disruption in several regions if value chain incumbents do not adapt fast enough .

“ Yet , broadcasters and pay-TV providers are in a position — with strong brands , broad content offerings and large audiences — to keep their roles as the aggre gator of choice for consumers . To succeed , as our research showed , operators will need to keep innovating in a much more agile mode .”

Scot Mason , senior staff solutions architect , Asia-Pacific , ARRIS , agrees on Le Dreau ’ s point on the convergence between linear and VoD content , and emphasises that the advent of OTT platforms has caused a “ partial fracture ” of the relationship between traditional video providers and their customers . He explains : “ Previously , service providers enjoyed a near monopoly , which enabled them to deliver previously negotiated content packages to their customers via the preferred delivery platform .

“ However , OTT solutions have enabled non-traditional video service providers , such as content creators or aggregators , to directly engage with customers . These non-traditional content providers have now redefined themselves to behave as both content providers and direct competitors to the traditional operator .”

While this may seem paradoxical , he adds , it also demonstrates a “ symbiotic relationship ” for both parties in many cases . For instance , a number of media operators in Asia-Pacific have either augmented or enhanced their traditional content offerings by integrating their platforms with non-traditional video service providers , or have developed an OTT app to enhance their current consumer experience .

Fundamental to the success of nontraditional content is advanced rights management and the Common Encryption ( CENC ) model , Mason suggests . “ Solutions such as the ARRIS MultiTrust Advanced Rights Manager bridges